Category Archives: Passages & Crossings

Penultimate sailing day is spectacular

Still one reef in the main, couple wraps on the foresail but still managed to squeak out 196miles toward destination in a 24 hour period. Not too shabby. The sun is out, the waves are not being (&(@#&$ (obnoxious) so it’s pretty spectacular.

Gorgeous day

Well the Jib fairlead decided it wasn’t happy with the strain of its job, so it parted ways. After all they have been through these past few years, couldn’t they keep it together a few more days? He hadn’t even been expressing his discontent. He had come onboard only a couple of years ago as replacement when his predecessor did the same thing. Seems that stainless pivot point isn’t really up to keeping them together, but no worries, nothing a little bit of creative macrame bondage can’t solve temporarily. Call it therapy. When we tack, I’ll clean that up a when it’s not under load.

Knots that bind us together

Burning though the meats that are illegal, marinated some pork loin to create some Vietnamese Bahn Mi sammiches, Mexican style. Roll’em up in tortilla with the last of the fresh veggies. Might have made too much, we still have to have dinner.

Wind will die later tonight and on will come the drone of the engines to keep us going toward the goal.

250 miles to go.
All well on board, except its getting colder, layers are being added now 19c, or 66F inside the cabin.

What a difference a day can make

Waited till daybreak to shake out one of the reefs on the main sail. Good thing, it’s much easier to see in the daylight. The spaghetti of lines were soaking wet and not running as ‘free’ as usual so took a bit more to shake out that reef.

After a lumpy, “bash your way into the wind”, waking up with a little better sailing angle was like “pinch me, is this for real?” Wasn’t actually Champagne sailing more like Prosecco sailing, pretty good in its own right, but just doesn’t have that same feeling. There were still some waves to contend with, but all in all a beautiful blue sky sailing day.

That “bash” for 24-36 hours was just demoralizing, we knocked off a mere 100 miles toward the destination but sailed almost double that back and forth. Oh well, that part of the trip will be referred to as the “bash” and never discussed again. It’s now over, and we replace it with a beautiful day of sailing.

Prosecco dance moves

Pulled pork over a baked potato for a lunch snack and bbq chicken enchiladas for a late dinner.

Wind piped up after dinner, but still rocking along with 420 miles left to Marsden, looking like we are on track to be in before the next cold front.

Oh, and that spinning thing in Vanuatu got baptized today. It was given the name Lola, the first cyclone of the season, and she is very premature arriving before the season actually starts. And to top it off, one of the models has Lola swinging down the west coast of New Zealand next week. Oh my!

Passage day, Sunday day of rest?

Starts out beautiful, tho not quite heading on course to New Zealand. On the horizon is a nice wall of clouds that further changes the cours.. Shorten sail, you never know what you are going to get. As momma used to say about a box of chocolates. And nothing really but a wind shift and now cloudy day.

New Zealand says, “Not today!”. We are home of Team Emirates, you must “want” to sail to come here!

At least the ‘Noser-lys’ were in the forecast where the wind was predicted to come straight at you for day or so. Our little pointy thing at the top of the mast is pointing to New Zealand as that is exactly where the wind is coming from. This is definitely NOT champagne sailing more of Jagger-Bomb sailing.

With Jagger-Bombs you never do them by yourself, same with this passage we are all swilling the Jagger today The top circles are the boats that left Fiji, and the others from Vanuatu and Tonga. Vanuatu boats were waiting for a bit, but they the cyclone activity pressed them into action. As the boats from Tonga had already made minerva reef when the activity picked up and initially forecast to head that direction too. Makes for a busy ocean out here.

Can’t go directly into the wind, unless you are in an airplane, or car, or well anything but a cruising sailboat

Morning can’t come soon enough for the Advil in the form of another wind shift(high pressure), this time favorable, that lets everyone recover from the Jagger-Bombs and remember that champagne sailing is why we do it..

Just short of being half way: 590 miles to go, all well shaken up on board. James bond would be proud.