Category: 2012 Sept Blog

Day 5, Transition? A message from afar…..

30 September 2012 (Eastern Hemisphere)

Dear F&F,

The last 24 hours has been interesting. Yesterday, we were in more frequent squalls which came from the south, crossed over us, rained on us and moved on. The winds shifted a bit, but mostly the intensity ranged; 12-28 knots. With one reef and the staysail poled out to windward, all was easy. The seas a bit confused and lumpy, but overall pretty comfortable. We\’ve done exciting things like the morning routine of cleaning all the dead flying fish off the decks, topping off the diesel and of course, the expert Ms. Nicola Woodrow, \”celestially\” guiding across across the sea, sextant in hand…:-)

At 4 a.m. this morning local time, we switched watches and Nikki told me that the wind had just quit. We motored on one engine and soon the wind started to shift to the Northeast! This may be the transition from the Southern Indian Ocean weather to the Northern Indian Ocean weather. This transition zone is known as the \”ITCZ\” (inter tropical convergence zone). Sailors in the Pacific are quite familiar with it when sailing from the US to French Polynesia.

For a detailed explanation, \”google it\”…:-)

The winds have turned north east now, wind speed around 12-16 knots. So with full main and reacher, we\’re on the starboard tack (now there\’s a change) and reaching directly toward Salomon Atoll. The seas have really flattened out, the swell around 2 meters and we\’re very comfortably zipping along around 6.5 – 8.5 knots.

We just received an email from Mike and Linda on s/v \”Integrity\”. They\’re out of San Diego, California and are currently in Spain. They noticed our position on Winlink and told us that friends of their\’s from Alaska are in Salomon Atoll now aboard s/v \”Sunflower\”. We\’re looking forward to meeting them. Hopefully we\’ll get an email from them soon?

We made a very slow 153 nm today. \”Beach House\’s\” average is 175 nm and \”Ms. Piggy\” is feeling her weight…:-) The trip is in jeopardy of taking 10 days instead of 9, but we shall see what the winds have in store for us. We\’re just over half way, 724 nm to go!…Currently, drying air (less humidity), calm and pleasant sailing conditions. Watch out for Nik, she\’s going on deck to \”shoot the sun\”…

KIT, Scott and \”ON WATCH WOODROW\”…:-)))

Day Four to Chagos – breakage and a fix!…..

29 September 2012 (Eastern Hemisphere)

Dear F&F,

The miles are clicking away, but overall this passage has been fairly slow. We\’ll most likely do around 155 miles today. I always do my planning on around 170 miles/day. The reason is squalls. We get 20-22 knots for several hours, then a line of squalls come by and the wind is 9-15 OR 27-28. So we must sail accordingly. Overall, we\’ve kept the amount of sail we carry down in case a big squall line blows hard and would then otherwise stress the sails and rig.

Speaking of which. We went to reef the main (make is smaller) in expectation of the above conditions. Fortunately we decided to do this well before dark. When we were taking in the first reef, the down reef control line just snapped in two! This would be a potential disaster as without this line we cannot adjust the size of the main sail and as you know, we\’re along way from the marine chandlery. Also fortunately, I could reach the roller drum and knew how to replace the line. Good fortune has us having at least two line up for the job of the correct diameter and length.

I used a spectra line we used to use for a former main preventer system and we began the minor surgery. First, we removed the 10\” diameter cover off the roller drum mounted about 7 feet up the mast where the boom connects. It\’s this high as the deck in front of the mast is where we have to access the plate. Carefully removing the four screws and cover, we exposed the line wrapped around the furling drum. I then counted 29 wraps of the line around the drum as I removed it. Nikki and I fed the new line in place, threaded it back through the leads and rope clutch and we were back in business. The furling system has a lock on the drum which I normally do not use. I will use it from now on to remove the stress on the furling line. It also held the boom mandrel in place which enabled me to swap out the lines. All done within an hour and before dark. We then finished taking in the reef we\’d started to test it; all worked well.

Currently, it\’s 6:45 a.m. local time and we\’ve about 890 nm to go. A squall is coming by and the wind is shifted to the east (temporarily) and has dropped to 12 knots. Rain\’s a commin\’!

As I send this blog to be posted, I\’ll be picking up our GRIB weather file from saildocs. This file is a a computer generated map of the expected wind and sea conditions for up to 5 days ahead. It\’s usually quite accurate in the open ocean. It often under estimates the wind speeds by 2-5 knots.

Position report will be posted in about an hour. We\’ll be half way this time tomorrow, now expecting an approximately 10 day passage.

KIT, Scott and of course, sleeping Nikki

Settling In….. 28 September 2012 (Eastern Hemisphere)

Dear F&F,

Last night was night three for us and it takes about till the third day to settle in on a long passage. Since we\’d made a few three day passages in the last month, it felt like we were more or less still in our routine. We saw a thousand foot super tanker on our AIS last night. I haven\’t a clue where he came from, but he said his destination was \”Pacific Basin\”. That\’s about like saying, \”somewhere on planet earth\”…:-)

A frequent writer, Ken from Norwich, England asked about water depths? Several people have asked so… 16,000 – 17,000 feet or about 4,800 – 5,100 meters. If you can\’t stand up in it, does it matter?….:-)

Conditions have been generally mild with winds in the 12-20 knot range. We\’ve been flying the genoa to port on the pole and a full main for almost 36 hours. When the squalls come by, the rain lasts a few minutes and then the wind dies off and shifts for a half hour or so. Then back to normal. We\’ve motored only to get away from the wind holes; a total of about 30 minutes in the last three days. Each day so far has been progressively slower. Today we\’ll do about 150 nm (nautical miles). We\’re still staying south as the weather predicts steadier winds below the rhumb line. The rhumb line is the straight distance from point A (Cocos in our case), to point b (Chagos in our case). We\’re currently about 90 nm left (or south) of the original rhumb line.

Just sailing along, Nikki diligently working on her sun shots.

KIT, Scott with Sleeping Nikki (really, she\’s only sleeping because she\’s off watch when I write the blog…:-)

Entering the Back of Beyond….. 27 September 2012 (Eastern Hemisphere)

Dear F&F,
Last night we anticipated another bit of breeze so we took two reefs in the main and kept up the full genoa. The wind never came. By midnight, we\’d shaken both reefs out and the wind has steadily dropped into this morning at about 10-14 knots. The seas are calm and we\’ve had a few rain squalls; to be expected with these \”ITCZ\” type equatorial low cells. (Google ITCZ – Inter Tropical Convergence Zone).

Nikki\’s been very diligent and working hard on her Sun shots and working them up to keep a running fix. Celestial navigation of course has more or less gone out with the dial up telephone, but Nikki\’s always wanted to know how to do it and … she\’s learning.

As we now get about 320 miles west of Cocos with 1200 miles to go to Chagos, you can certainly feel how we\’re entering the \”Back of Beyond\” as they say down under. From the perspective of the central USA, we\’re pretty much on the opposite side of world. As Jimmy Buffet wrote, \”The Far Side of the World\”.

We actually saw a Japanese fishing trawler on our AIS system yesterday, only 9 miles away. A bit gray, cooler and pleasant conditions. Just wish we had another 5-7 knots of wind. Drifting along…. KIT,

Scott and sleeping Nikki (NO, she doesn\’t sleep too much, she\’s just off watch when I write!)….:-)

Day One to Chagos….. 26 September 2012 (Eastern Hemisphere)

Dear F&F,

The first few days are all about getting your sea legs and tummy back. I\’m doing very well for only 24 hours out of Cocos, we\’ll see how Nikki is when she wakes up. She was working on her celestial navigation last night which is a good sign.

It was a nice 20 knot day yesterday, but to be prudent, we took a second reef in at dark and it paid off. We had several hours of 23-29 knots during the evening and with the staysail poled out, we were fast and comfy. No speed records today, but a decent passage of about 175 miles. We\’re also staying a bit south due to what is effectively an ITCZ low pressure system. The ITCZ or \”inter tropical convergence zone\” is where weather from the northern hemisphere meets the weather from the southern hemisphere. It is often, rainy, squally and gusty. As the trade winds on our latest weather file show strengthening at this latitude, we may gybe a bit north and just follow the low\’s without catching up to them. I do so prefer to stay away from the high 20 knot wind field. Currently, we have two reefs and the staysail poled out. We\’ll see about a gybe shortly?

Nothing to exciting to report, all is going well. New position report out in a few minutes. (see links below)

KIT, Scott and Nikki

Weather Delay…Cocos Island

Dear F&F,

We did some relaxing and touring around in the dinghy yesterday awaiting the latest weather to see if we\’d be off today for Chagos. We tried to find the local (one and only) Dugong here at the western edge of Direction Island, but no luck. We then took advantage of the very calm conditions to motor over to Horsburgh Island (at the entrance to the lagoon). We did not go ashore, but saw the WW2 big gun that was to protect the entrance to the lagoon in case of a Japanese invasion. We also went to Turtle Beach (no turtles) on Home Island and a lovely trip over to Prison Island. Prison Island can be walked around in about 5 minutes. It\’s a small, lush tropical setting with sugar white sand beaches inside the lagoon. A lovely day all in all.

Bruce/June and crew aboard s/v \”Ainia\” left this morning for the North of Madagascar direct. Their route will initially take them south of here and keep them away from the unsettled squalls which would be following us to Chagos if we left today.

Hence, we\’re on \”weather delay\”. It seems that if we wait 24 hours (possibly 48), we\’ll be back in settled average trade winds for our journey. Of course, weather is always subject to change! There is a very strong low pressure system right off the Antarctic coast at the moment. You ask, why should that concern us? The long tail on the front (which is very weak up in our latitudes) is causing unstable, moist air to mix in which will cause squalls. This is rainy/dry, windy, no wind and a bit aggravating after awhile. As my Mom used to say, \”discretion is the better part of valor\”, so we shall sit.

Standing by for weather window…May take another day trip to West and Home Islands.

KIT, Scott and Nikki

Liquid Gold…..

September 21-22, 2012 (Eastern Hemisphere)

Dear F&F,

Well Peter and I of s/v \”Mango\” topped up our fuel. The Co-op at Home Island charges $2.42 Australian per LITER! That\’s about $9.30 per GALLON US. So 21 gallons (80 liters) cost 200.00 US! If you think you\’re paying a lot at the pump, try filling up here! Most of the locals have electric powered or gasoline powered 4 wheel ATV\’s and golf carts. This island is only about 1.5 miles long by a quarter mile wide. Come to think of it, I don\’t think we saw a car anywhere on Home Island.

It\’s interesting to see the Malay community on Home Island in full cover up and head scarves for the women and skull caps for the men driving around golf carts on a tropical island! The call to prayer can be clearly heard here at the anchorage 2 miles away. Another interesting fact is that we can see no real industry of any type here. We see a very few stores and infrastructure support, but no real sign of anything else? Apparently there is a move to start a boutique gourmet food business with genuine \”Cocos Island Sea Salt\”. They\’re using a drying technique for the sea water that is very slow, but very traditional. The article I read here says that unemployment is as high as 65%. There is a rumor that a new detention facility will be built here and that may become the local employer. Otherwise, it\’s \”centrelink\” (welfare) for most of the Malay population on Home Island.

The ferry here is brand new. One of the crew told me it cost 1.8 million USD! Air conditioned, fast, attractive, 600 hp Caterpillar diesel engines. Yesterday, when we went to come back to Direction from Home Island, the new Ferry (3 months old), wouldn\’t start! So we had to take the old ferry back here to Direction Island. Ah Paradise….:-)

We made the trip in the dinghy to Home Island from Direction Island, not too wet. Then took the \”new\” ferry (back working now). It\’s computer got fuzzed up which is why it stopped working yesterday. The trip was 25 minutes and a brand new dock facility is on West Island. It\’s been open only 6 weeks.

Think they\’re building up the infrastructure? The main use of the ferry is to bring the high school students back and forth from Home Island to West Island which is why I\’m sure the money was spent.

We took the shuttle bus into town. Town has 200 people. We learned that there are about 450 on Home Island. We went to the super market which is a local Mom and Pop. It was much better stocked than the one on Home Island. We went to the Visitors center, did some internet and walked about the area. The golf course here has 9 holes and like a few other Pacific Islands, the fairways are part of the run way for the jets. So of course, sometimes you can\’t play! If you came here to surf or dive and sit for awhile, it seems you\’d have good options. There is a dive company here, but they won\’t come over the to Direction Island to pick anyone up. The one and only resident Dugong live on the entrance channel to Direction Island. We may take a ride and see if we can find him/her.

We\’re watching the weather and will leave as soon as things settle. This may be 1-3 days.

Stand by, Scott and Nikki

Cocos-Keeling Island…..

19-21 September 2012 (Eastern Hemisphere)

Dear F&F,

We arrived at Cocos-Keeling Island after an exactly 3 day passage from Christmas Island. It was uneventful and a nice sail.

Upon arrival, we noticed the 150 Australian Customs vessel and two small boats which had come in with boat people from Sri Lanka. Apparently, the Sri Lankans head their clients here as it\’s closer than Christmas Island. We learned that the going rate from Sri Lanka is about $8,000.00 pp/US. AND, no crew comes along on any of these \”Leaky Tiki\’s\”. If crew come, they are arrested and prosecuted. So at the last minute, someone aboard is given essentially a hand held GPS and \”follow that line\” instructions. Wow! No experience and sent 1500 miles out to sea on questionable vessels. The boats themselves are taken out to sea and burned by Australian Customs. This is another reason they get a premium fee as the boats are \”throw away\”.

Here on Cocos, there is essentially two communities. One on Home Island, former copra plantation of the Clunies-Ross family, and the other is West Island where most of the ex-pats live and is the center of the small tourist industry here. There is a ferry that goes from Home Island to West Island every day, several times a day, but only comes here to Direction Island, twice a week. We took the Ferry to Home Island yesterday and found out about topping the diesel off, grocery shopping (pretty weak!) and paying our $50.00 Australian for a weeks right to anchor here.

We did a big walk and got an internet fix at their small business center. We had a rice/noodle lunch at their one and only cafe. After that, it was back to Beach House and Nikki has been working on her Celestial Navigation skills. First two sites were worked out and she did virtually a perfect site. Beginner\’s luck? Naw, she\’s good!

This morning, Peter from Germany aboard s/v \”Mango\” and I took our dinghy with jerry cans to fill up on Home Island, about a 20 minute trip. The weather has turned a bit nastier and I got pretty wet on the ride. We\’re seeing our first rain in three months here! It looks like it will be a bit unsettled for the next few days as well, so we\’ll plan our departure accordingly.

We were going to go back to Home Island with the dinghy today and take the ferry to West Island, but we\’ll leave that to be \”weather dependant\”.

There are 8 boats here now. One from the UK, three Americans, one Canadian, one German, one South African en-route to OZ (a power cat!) and one unknown.

The water here is perfect. Warm, clear and lots of fish and well trained black tip reef sharks. These are the \”hamsters\” of the shark family and only hang around to see what goodies we might throw off the boat. If we go swim with them, which I may later, they\’ll flee very fast. However, if you spear fish around them, they\’ll steal your catch right off the spear. As I don\’t do any of that, no worries. Friends John and Paula on \”Mr. John\” recounted when they were here years ago how the black tips would come in when they saw a diver spear fishing. Not so dumb animals after all!

Stand by, hope to tell more before we\’re off…. KIT,

Scott and Nikki (working out those sun shots…:-)))

Nice day at sea…..

18 September 2012 (Eastern Hemisphere)

Dear F&F,

The last 24 hours of sailing has been some of the steadiest and sublime I\’ve yet experienced in a long ocean passage. The swell is 3 meters from the south (10 feet), but it\’s a 10 second period swell with little or no \”seas\” on top of it. The winds have been between 13 and 19 knots. Very steady, very comfortable. All systems are working well (quick find me a piece of wood!).

Last night we had a bit of excitement when we went to put our large reaching sail away. It did not roll up properly and started to come undone in the wind. Nikki and I got it down and stowed in the sail locker. We\’ll have to sort that out, re-raise it and roll it up correctly. However, with the current conditions, we\’ll most likely use if for awhile as it gives us a bit more speed. We\’ve been sailing anywhere between 6 and 9 knots depending on the moment. The current push is not as strong as the leg to Christmas, but we\’re getting a little help from it for sure. I expect we\’ll do another approximately 180 mile day, giving us less than 160 to go. This means we\’ll be slowing down tonight as to not arrive at Cocos before we have good light.

Christmas Island was a \”high island\” at around 1000 feet and easy to see at distance. It also had no outlying dangers as to reefs, etc. Cocos on the other hand is a true atoll. The coconut trees on it are the tallest objects and it\’s much harder to see until we\’re close. The pass seems easy to enter, but the water is shallow and the lagoon full of \”bombies\” (aka: rocks!). So we do want good light to enter there.

We did see what were most likely four Indonesian fishing boats last night. Hard to believe we\’ve sailed 850 miles from Bali, but we are still fairly close to Indonesia which runs mostly east/west at it\’s southern islands. That will of course change quickly once we leave Cocos.

Depending on what there is to do there and how much we\’re enjoying it, we\’ll stay anywhere from three to seven days. Then off to Chagos, 1500 miles to the NNW.

KIT, Scott and Sleeping Nikki….:-)