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May 20th, (Eastern Hemisphere) 2011, 8:30 p.m local time

Conditions: Very nice, very comfortable 31 deg 28 min South 178 deg 20 min East Wind: 12 knots SSE Swell: 1.5 meter SSE Barometer: 1025 and rising Heading: 011 True Speed: 5.5 knots (got light tonight, windy ahead) Temp: 65 deg F – 18.3 deg C Water Temp: 71 deg F – 21.7 deg C (definitely warming up) North Minerva Reef: 470 miles to go Savusavu, Fiji: 850 miles to go Day: 2 1/2 at sea, sailed 160 miles. A bit better than yesterday and keeping us on average of 150 miles/day. This is my conservative figure. With more consistent winds, we\’d easily be doing 180 miles/day without pressing. Maybe \”later\” in the trip.

\”Sailing\”…..Christopher Cross

Dear F&F, (posting \”live\” to the website \”ship\’s log\” section).

Today was a day. When Kate woke from her off watch at 8 a.m. this morning, we set the full main sail and genoa on a starboard reach. The wind had quit the previous night and we motored for about 8 hours. It was clear, warming, calm seas and ideal \”Beach House\” sailing conditions. \”Beach House\”, aka: \”Miss Piggy\” has been floating down the waves with aplomb today. We\’ve been averaging 7 knots since early this morning. As I started to write this, the wind has backed off as the central part of the windless high pressure to our southwest gets closer. As we move north, the winds will shift to ESE and strengthen with a low pressure system off to our East (which will continue to move east). The tradewinds per the boat reports ahead are 20+ knots in the Minerva Reef area, ESE; which is now only 470 miles ahead.

We will be less than 100 miles from the Kermedec Islands tomorrow night. These are a small group of three islands which are a New Zealand National Reserve. You must have a permit, very difficult to obtain to go ashore. The diving in photos and video I\’ve seen is exceptional.

The \”Orange Iceberg\” returns: When we first took delivery of \”Beach House\”, now 7 years ago, my Dad and Cindy were on watch in the Mediterranean. They both woke me in almost panic. \”Scott, come look at the horizon, there\’s an orange iceberg\”. I was half asleep, so I adjusted my eyes and with the binoculars could see the Moon rising on the horizon, a brilliant orange color. I told Kate this story as we\’ve had full moon nights and low and behold, tonight through the clouds, the \”orange iceberg\” returned. Maybe Art and Cindy are watching out for us tonight…..

Kate awoke me at 7:30 p.m. local time as she\’d spotted a ship on the horizon. She was concerned about a crossing/meeting situation with \”heavy metal\”. We assume this was a large fishing vessel as he was doing weird turns and such. We tracked him with our Radar and \”mini ARPA\” system. This told us that the other vessel would never get closer than 3 1/2 miles.

Kate is doing an exceptional job in the galley, absorbing the sailing and may start the theory part of the Scuba class tomorrow. She\’s got a few more modules in her \”Day Skipper\” class but is getting a little burned out on it. A change of pace may be in order.

Well, the boat speed is back up to 7 knots and……..we\’re sailing.

Scott with sleeping Kate (she\’s supposed to be asleep, it\’s her off watch!).

May 20th, (Eastern Hemisphere), 2011 6:45 a.m. local time.

Conditions: Motoring, awaiting Kate\’s watch and we\’ll set sail on a starboard tack beam reach 32 deg 49 min S 177 deg 35 min E Wind: SSE, 15 knots Swell: SSE – 2 meters Temp: 63 deg F, 17.3 deg C (warming?) Sea Temp: 68 deg F, 20 deg C (definitely warming) Heading: 015 true Speed: 7.5 knots (both engines) Auckland: 260 miles ago North Minerva Reef: 560 nm to go.

\”Dark Star\”….Crosby, Stills and Nash

Dear F&F, Last night was very dark, gray and overcast. Just as I came of watch a series of small rain squalls appeared off our starboard quarter (back right hand side for those of you who don\’t speak boat). I told Kate that these were the \”see through\” kind, not the dark heavy black we may encounter as we near the low to our north. Not much wind or rain in them, but often the precursor of major wind shifts. Indeed this is exactly what happened.

At first we had no wind, rolled up the sails and put on the \”Iron Genoa\’s\”. Just an hour ago, the new wind filled in markedly further to the SSE from our yesterday\’s SSW. We\’re due south of Savusavu and slightly west of the Minerva Reefs. We should be able to do a nice fast blast reach with the main and genoa which will set right after sunrise.

The swell is still up to 2.5 meters on occasion, but quite flat. That will change soon! The sun has risen behind the clouds, but right now, it\’s just a \”Dark Star\”…..

Scott with sleeping Kate. (Have you noticed with a crew of two we don\’t see much of each other on long passages?)

May 19th, 2011 (Eastern Hemisphere)

Conditions: 34 deg 33 min S 176 deg 19 min E Day 1 run – A very pedestrian 141 nm. Day 2 is already off to a faster beginning 690 nm to North Minerva Reef Speed: 7.1 knots Heading: 015 True Wind: 15-23 knots SSW Swell: 2 meters South Temp: 63 deg F – 17.2 deg C Sea Temp: 65 deg F – 18.3 C

Now have one reef in main and full genoa on starboard side using new spinnaker pole.

\”Everybody\’s Talkin\’ At Me\”….Nilson

Dear F&F, The song was the title from Midnight Cowboy and it\’s always been a sailing song to me. The line \”Banking off of the NE Wind, Sailing on Summer Breeze\” has always caught my attention. As you can see from the above report, we\’ve a SSW wind and really hope to never see a NE wind on this trip as we are headed essentially due North. It\’s also the beginning of Winter here, but for most of you reading this, the sentiment applies!…

It\’s gray and overcast, still cold, wooly\’s will remain on for at least 3-4 more days I suspect. Kate is doing her \”Day Skipper Course\” on her computer for the RYA (Royal Yachting Association). Once she\’s chewed that up, we\’ll start her on the PADI Open Water DVD.

It really doesn\’t get much better than we\’ve got so far. The weather looks to be like we have now for a few days and then the \”fun\” may begin as we enter the trade winds in the tropics. The South Pacific Convergence Zone always has a bit of lick to it when crossed as the tropic and sub tropic weather systems meet. Often a low pressure along it will enhance the high pressure we are currently enjoying to pick the breeze up a bit. I am expecting brief periods of 30 knots up there around the Minerva\’s and it will be from the SE. Hence, we\’re actually going a bit East now to hopefully be able to keep the wind and sea more behind us when we find that lovely spot. It\’s just more comfortable.

We\’ve a twist in our main halyard, otherwise I would have hoisted the full main. I\’ll fix it if we get really light before the wind and lower the main all the way to do it. In the meanwhile, we\’re just settling in, will check on the Pacific Seafarers Net today at 0300 UTC, 14300 USB for those of you who lurk on amateur radio.

Hugs, Feel free to drop us a note at any email you\’ve got for us. Scott with Studious – Kate

May 19th, 2011 (Eastern Hemisphere) not yet one full day at sea….

Conditions: 34 deg 56 min S 175 deg 56 min E Wind S 15-20 Sea SSE 1.5 meters Cloud 30% Baro: 1026.6 rising Heading 035 true (reaching up for speed and strategic placement of winds expected ahead) We\’re under canvassed and will add sail during the day. Distance traveled: 118 nm 707 nm to North Minerva Reef

\”Stones in the Road\”…..Mary Chapin Carpenter

Dear F&F,

We\’ll as this sail is sort of a bit of a shake down and find the bugs. We have!

Our AIS system has packed up, no big deal, that\’s why we stand watch Our Autopilot\’s \”Go To\” feature has disappeared, no big deal, the auto pilot is steering to a course just fine Alarms on our new electronic system have been so annoying that I\’ve had to disconnect them, also no big deal. One \”mini big deal\”…Our port sail drive skirt is leaking. This is where our transmission actually looks like an outboard motor and goes through the bottom of the boat. There is a double rubber seal to keep out Mother Ocean….she\’s having a bit of her way with us. The bilge pump, (one of six electric we have) kicks a liter or so of water out of the water tight space every 10 minutes and is very easily keeping up. This may have to be addressed in Fiji? I actually carry a complete spare transmission aboard and as many of our followers may remember, I had to change a transmission on a sand bar in El Salvador two years ago. (Carmina, I am thanking you again for the good times, assistance and hospitality you showed us while at your home in Guatemala).

So a few bumps, a fast start, a slow first night with a beautiful full moon…AND, a couple of \”Stones in the Road\”…

For you position report followers, I put out an official one on this sail, every day at noon local, 1 a.m. in the UK….

Scott with soon to awake Kate for here 8 to noon watch no footer

May 18th, 2011 0915 UTC/2115 local time (Eastern Hemisphere)

Current Conditions: We\’re 20 miles north of Great Barrier Island, heading for the Minerva Reefs. 750 miles to go if we stop there. Position: 35 deg 44 min S 175 deg 23 min N Wind South 22 Swell South 1.5 meters Temp: 59 deg F, 15 deg C Heading: 020 True Speed 7.7 knots

\”Moondance\”….Van Morrison

Dear F&F,

Well, what a marvelous night for a Moondance. We\’ve a full moon and relatively benign conditions. When the prediction for the wind to drop down to \”20 knots\” finally occurred, Kate took the helm, headed us to wind and I raised the main to the 3rd reef point. Still a small bit of sail, but plenty for \”Beach House\” aka: Miss Piggy to get up and rock. I wanted to have a nice easy first day and the conditions are cooperating. The North Island of New Zealand is still providing us protection from Ms. Tassie, we\’ll loose that within the next 24 hours.

As I write, I\’m downloading the \”mean surface level\” fax from New Zealand MET (Meterology) to keep an eye on what\’s developing.

This afternoon, good old N6ABC got back on the roll call for the Pacific Seafarer\’s Amateur radio net and checked in. We were number 18!…Busy folks out here. I got to speak with old friends including Chuck from \”Jacaranda\” still in Mexico an Joan on \”Tender Spirit\” headed also to Savusavu but from the opposite direction in the Marshall Islands. She wants to \”race\” and only has a 500 mile head start….:) Yeah, we\’re faster, but that\’s a big handicap to give.

Kate is having her first offshore and night sailing experience, doing one of the most important things she can do….SLEEPING. It sounds normal and natural, but remember, we\’re moving around constantly 24/7. It\’s an important skill. We trade watches every 4 hours and keep an egg timer going to insure we take a good look around every 20 minutes. I have no boats in sight and our AIS (automatic identification system) isn\’t seeing anyone either. However, our radar detector does see a signal, most likely at least 10-20 miles away. We\’re watching.

According to the weather fax, we should be sailing into lighter but more South Easterly winds over the next few days. If conditions warrant, we\’ll put up more sail in the morning and let Miss Piggy stretch her legs a bit.

Hope you like the \”live blog\” posts, it keeps me company and away from my dreams….

Hugs, Scott with sleeping Kate

May 18th, Eastern Hemisphere, 0200 UTC, 2 p.m. local time.

Position: Hauraki Gulf 36 deg 25 min South 175 deg 01 min East Heading 020 True Speed 6.5 knots (taking it easy, staysail only) Wind 31 knots, SSW Sea 1 meter (protection from land), it\’s gonna get big once we clear North Cape and are exposed to the full force of the \”Tassie\”. (North Tasman Sea). 60 deg F, 15.5 deg C Clear Sky\’s, Barometer 1019.5 steady, but choppy Depth 100 meters, 300 feet

\”She came in through the bathroom window\”…..Joe Cocker

Dear F&F, Well, this is our \”weather window\” and the way it blew and rained this morning, I felt like the Joe Cocker song and we were in the shower! It\’s a bit of a Goldilocks and the three bears window. Too soon and papa bear will eat you (big wind!), too late and mama bear will swat you with a Nor\’easter in the face. We think we\’ve gone with Goldilocks, you\’ll know soon!… Some of the boaters who\’ve done this trip many times said, \”this is as good as it gets mate!\”. Hope they\’re right. This trip has seen much grief come to some boats, but with weather guru Bob McDavitt as our spirit guide, we should be good. The next window could have been a month out. Didn\’t want to sit and wait for that one. More cold and rain would not have been good for the disposition of Captain and Crew.

We were the third of four boats to leave Gulf Harbour today and got 40 knot gusts as we left the bay. Glad that\’s over with. Predictions are for 15 knots over the next 24 hours starting this evening. Hopefully it will be correct. The good news is that it is right on our \”six\” as they say in the airplane world; right behind us. Kate and I played, put up the staysail on the new spinnaker pole. She did great. We have only our staysail up and it\’s enough in this \”breeze\” to keep us at 6-7.5 knots. The odd 30 knot plus gust confirms this is a smart idea. We expect that at dinner time tonight (4 pm for we watch keepers), we may get to add a bit of main sail and then we\’ll be doing 8+ knots. Partly, we\’re also waiting to clear the two barrier islands of the north Haruaki Gulf; Little and Great Barrier Islands. We\’ll clear them around sunset.

First day\’s are always a bit nerve wracking and this one to me should be, but so far doesn\’t seem to be. Kate is very excited. I had to send her down for a \”power nap\” so she can get into the rhythm of the 4 hour on/off shifts we started at noon today. She\’ll have the midnight to 4 a.m., I\’ll have the two night shifts on either side of her. During the day, we keep the schedule, but it\’s a bit looser in terms of watch standing.

Kate has pre-prepared 35 meals. It\’s all heat and serve, she has been very organized, efficient and terrific in the galley as well as everywhere else.

Wanted you all to know we finally got off the dock. Said our farewells to friends in New Zealand and leave with desire to get to warmer climate. I need to move on for a whole lot of reasons. Within 4 days, it should be considerably warmer.

KIT, Scott with sleeping Kate.