32 38'15N 153 48'48E - APRIL 18
"Hove to at 32"
Solis log:
Hove to is a technique used in sailing for various things, which I will
not get into them all, but today we're using it as a stall technique.
This is where we back the jib sail (the sail in the front) then spin the
wheel over and force the boat into a stall. Kind of like stalling an
airplane. One sail and the rudder are trying to do one thing and the
other sail is trying to do the exact opposite.
For the last two days the wind has been coming at us head on from the
east. Well, for that matter we have had a due east wind for almost this
whole damn trip. We are going to Hawaii! So we need wind from the west.
This is beyond irritating, frustrating, just plain maddening!!! My boat
is of good quality and is "capable" of close haul sailing about 37
degrees from the wind. In simple terms it means that if you take where
the wind is coming from, draw an arch of 37 degrees to either side, the
boat can "climb" towards the oncoming wind at about angle. I have done
this many times, as close haul is normal. What I have quickly learned in
my trials hundreds of miles out to sea is that when the wind is coming
dead on at 25 to 35 knots and the ocean is kicking up waves 10 to 20+
feet high, is that I can just completely throw out my 37 degree rule.
For the last two days (and before that) we have been at this point of
sail. With the sails reefed down (making the sails smaller to handle the
stronger winds) and the waves, I have found that the best we can do is a
little better than a right angle to the wind.
We have been banging down hard on waves with the boat heeled over
fighting this head wind and it seems that we have done only 110 miles in
two days!!! That is terrible....awful...If we had a crew (currently it
is still a 1 man crew: me) we could do better. But I am only human and
do need sleep, so I set the self steering gear and lay down for the
night...or day...or whenever it is that I can't bare to be awake
anymore. Lets compare this 110 miles to our first day. The first day out
of Japan we did about 210 miles in 24 hours.....we were screaming.
Back to the hove to at 32 situation. The weather says that in about 12
hours the wind will shift and come from the south (a good thing) then in
about 24 hours shift and come from the west (a great thing). Rather than
bang our heads any longer in the close haul position and barely gain
ground, I've decided to stall us out (and actually we are currently
drifting west, the wrong direction, at about 1.5 knots) so that we can
try and get a rest and wait for the wind. But "getting a rest" is the
equivalent of putting a small toy-boat in a bathtub then slamming your
fist vigorously over and over and over until the water is all turbulent
and sloppy, then looking at the little boat saying to the little action
figures inside "get some rest guys"....with a little chuckle from the
pacific ocean gods.
I can really deal with pretty much everything that is going on. But the
thing that is really getting to me is this wind. It's blowing the wrong
way. I've bought all the books and all the guides, we're in the best
season to do this. And we're in the season when there are NOT supposed
to be any typhoons and in the season when the wind should be steadily
blowing from the east to west. What I see going on here though is an
early typhoon season. What we say when we were still in port was in
every single way a typhoon. Getting over 70 knots of wind inside a port
with 30 to 40 foot fortified concrete walls is not a spring squall or
little front. The zone we are trying to work through is really a
typhoon. I may stand to be corrected, but I recently did see something
on TV that said the average number of typhoons Japan has been hit by per
year is something like 6. In recent years we have been nailed by
something close to 30 per year. Some crazy stuff going on in the weather
world. Anyway, all I'm saying is that we did everything correctly as far
as season, course, etc. but we are just getting hammered storm after
storm after storm.
Last comment of the day.
Yesterday Luke got some energy and came out on
deck to do some fishing. Even though we are 700 miles or so away from
land, there are quite a few albatross birds. They are beautiful. They
fly around the boat, they check us out, we check them out, what a joy to
see them spread their wings and skim the water with grace. We were so
very excited yesterday when something hit out fishing lure. Luke and I
started shouting with excitement and for the first time in days dad
actually was able to at least poke his head out to see what the
excitement was all about. We caught something! We got a big fish! It's
sushi tonight. We were so excited. As we reeled it in it looked stranger
and stranger. Wow, it has some kind of huge fin. What is that thing.
Some kind of bizarre fish. And it's big! As it got closer something
resembled a wing rather than a fin. And the closer it got we began to
realize that an albatross dove down and bit onto our lure. We felt so
terrible as we pulled is lifeless body up. It must have struggled to get
free but finally been dragged down. I didn't say anything to the guys,
but I had hoped it's not bad luck or something.
Episode 2. We thought that maybe the fish would bite at night and at the
same time the albatross would not be able to see the lure at night so we
threw the lure overboard at sunset. This morning I got up at sunrise to
check sails, etc. When I went out on deck there were three albatross
flying around the lure. I decided I had better just real it in before
another one bits the lure and dies. As I was preparing, I looked back
and it seemed one had bit onto the hook again! I felt so terrible. I
could see it wings spread wide apart doing everything to get lift-off,
but being drug down by the line. I thought, not this time, and I
immediately dropped sails in an attempt to stop the boat to at least
give him a fighting chance. And if necessary I would real him in, throw
a shirt on his head and try and remove the hook for him. By the time I
had dropped the sails I could see he was still alive, but was starting
to go underwater. The wind was blowing around 20 knots so the boat still
drifts at about 2 knots or so, still pulling the line. Just as I was
about to begin pulling in the line, I suddenly saw him disappear under
the surface. In that instant I knew it was too late. I was still on deck
alone, dad and Luke were down sleeping. I reeled him to the deck, what a
magnificent creature. I tried removing the hook without actually
touching him, not out of fear to touch a dead animal, but somehow I felt
the guilt. I could not remove the hook. The ocean here is some what
cold, but when I reached out and clinched his neck just below his head I
was amazed at the warmth of the creature. Around his neck did not feel
like feathers, but rather something so soft and pleasant. Only 2 minutes
ago he was still struggling for his life, now he lie floating on the
surface with his legs extended to sky. Two more albatross hovered above
his floating body as to give him their regards and their good-byes.
Are the lives of us too so fragile? That we might be tempted by some
lure to be dead only minutes later? Yes I thought, life is that fragile.
It made me reconsider our safety procedures and precautions.
Solis log:
Hove to is a technique used in sailing for various things, which I will
not get into them all, but today we're using it as a stall technique.
This is where we back the jib sail (the sail in the front) then spin the
wheel over and force the boat into a stall. Kind of like stalling an
airplane. One sail and the rudder are trying to do one thing and the
other sail is trying to do the exact opposite.
For the last two days the wind has been coming at us head on from the
east. Well, for that matter we have had a due east wind for almost this
whole damn trip. We are going to Hawaii! So we need wind from the west.
This is beyond irritating, frustrating, just plain maddening!!! My boat
is of good quality and is "capable" of close haul sailing about 37
degrees from the wind. In simple terms it means that if you take where
the wind is coming from, draw an arch of 37 degrees to either side, the
boat can "climb" towards the oncoming wind at about angle. I have done
this many times, as close haul is normal. What I have quickly learned in
my trials hundreds of miles out to sea is that when the wind is coming
dead on at 25 to 35 knots and the ocean is kicking up waves 10 to 20+
feet high, is that I can just completely throw out my 37 degree rule.
For the last two days (and before that) we have been at this point of
sail. With the sails reefed down (making the sails smaller to handle the
stronger winds) and the waves, I have found that the best we can do is a
little better than a right angle to the wind.
We have been banging down hard on waves with the boat heeled over
fighting this head wind and it seems that we have done only 110 miles in
two days!!! That is terrible....awful...If we had a crew (currently it
is still a 1 man crew: me) we could do better. But I am only human and
do need sleep, so I set the self steering gear and lay down for the
night...or day...or whenever it is that I can't bare to be awake
anymore. Lets compare this 110 miles to our first day. The first day out
of Japan we did about 210 miles in 24 hours.....we were screaming.
Back to the hove to at 32 situation. The weather says that in about 12
hours the wind will shift and come from the south (a good thing) then in
about 24 hours shift and come from the west (a great thing). Rather than
bang our heads any longer in the close haul position and barely gain
ground, I've decided to stall us out (and actually we are currently
drifting west, the wrong direction, at about 1.5 knots) so that we can
try and get a rest and wait for the wind. But "getting a rest" is the
equivalent of putting a small toy-boat in a bathtub then slamming your
fist vigorously over and over and over until the water is all turbulent
and sloppy, then looking at the little boat saying to the little action
figures inside "get some rest guys"....with a little chuckle from the
pacific ocean gods.
I can really deal with pretty much everything that is going on. But the
thing that is really getting to me is this wind. It's blowing the wrong
way. I've bought all the books and all the guides, we're in the best
season to do this. And we're in the season when there are NOT supposed
to be any typhoons and in the season when the wind should be steadily
blowing from the east to west. What I see going on here though is an
early typhoon season. What we say when we were still in port was in
every single way a typhoon. Getting over 70 knots of wind inside a port
with 30 to 40 foot fortified concrete walls is not a spring squall or
little front. The zone we are trying to work through is really a
typhoon. I may stand to be corrected, but I recently did see something
on TV that said the average number of typhoons Japan has been hit by per
year is something like 6. In recent years we have been nailed by
something close to 30 per year. Some crazy stuff going on in the weather
world. Anyway, all I'm saying is that we did everything correctly as far
as season, course, etc. but we are just getting hammered storm after
storm after storm.
Last comment of the day.
Yesterday Luke got some energy and came out on
deck to do some fishing. Even though we are 700 miles or so away from
land, there are quite a few albatross birds. They are beautiful. They
fly around the boat, they check us out, we check them out, what a joy to
see them spread their wings and skim the water with grace. We were so
very excited yesterday when something hit out fishing lure. Luke and I
started shouting with excitement and for the first time in days dad
actually was able to at least poke his head out to see what the
excitement was all about. We caught something! We got a big fish! It's
sushi tonight. We were so excited. As we reeled it in it looked stranger
and stranger. Wow, it has some kind of huge fin. What is that thing.
Some kind of bizarre fish. And it's big! As it got closer something
resembled a wing rather than a fin. And the closer it got we began to
realize that an albatross dove down and bit onto our lure. We felt so
terrible as we pulled is lifeless body up. It must have struggled to get
free but finally been dragged down. I didn't say anything to the guys,
but I had hoped it's not bad luck or something.
Episode 2. We thought that maybe the fish would bite at night and at the
same time the albatross would not be able to see the lure at night so we
threw the lure overboard at sunset. This morning I got up at sunrise to
check sails, etc. When I went out on deck there were three albatross
flying around the lure. I decided I had better just real it in before
another one bits the lure and dies. As I was preparing, I looked back
and it seemed one had bit onto the hook again! I felt so terrible. I
could see it wings spread wide apart doing everything to get lift-off,
but being drug down by the line. I thought, not this time, and I
immediately dropped sails in an attempt to stop the boat to at least
give him a fighting chance. And if necessary I would real him in, throw
a shirt on his head and try and remove the hook for him. By the time I
had dropped the sails I could see he was still alive, but was starting
to go underwater. The wind was blowing around 20 knots so the boat still
drifts at about 2 knots or so, still pulling the line. Just as I was
about to begin pulling in the line, I suddenly saw him disappear under
the surface. In that instant I knew it was too late. I was still on deck
alone, dad and Luke were down sleeping. I reeled him to the deck, what a
magnificent creature. I tried removing the hook without actually
touching him, not out of fear to touch a dead animal, but somehow I felt
the guilt. I could not remove the hook. The ocean here is some what
cold, but when I reached out and clinched his neck just below his head I
was amazed at the warmth of the creature. Around his neck did not feel
like feathers, but rather something so soft and pleasant. Only 2 minutes
ago he was still struggling for his life, now he lie floating on the
surface with his legs extended to sky. Two more albatross hovered above
his floating body as to give him their regards and their good-byes.
Are the lives of us too so fragile? That we might be tempted by some
lure to be dead only minutes later? Yes I thought, life is that fragile.
It made me reconsider our safety procedures and precautions.
Comments
Dad's phone call home was a HUGE sigh of relief for us all.
ILU
Whew! Tough sailing.
Thinking of you guys, and wishing you well, like many others. Remember that.
The albatross was confounded by the rough weather(as were you) and met its fate due to chance and circumstance, nothing else. Don't even think about wearing that albatross around your neck.
I Ching(24) Return(The turning point): A movement is accomplished in 6 stages, and the 7th brings return. Action brings good fortune. Change returns success; coming and going is without error.
everything passes, everything changes. Just do what you think you should do, and hopefully there is clear sailing ahead.
I hope there is smooth sailing to Hawaii! I can't wait to hear your voice, Luke.
I love you.
Hope you catch a break from the headwinds and unfriendly weather.
Fishing for birds is tough....you guys have serious, "yakitori" skills.
Peace
"Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing -- absolutely nothing -- half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats."
Kenneth Grahame
Wind in The Willows
The next best thing to being on the actual trip is reading about it.
I'm glad that you are sharing your adventure with us - the good, the bad, and the ugly. Thank you.
Potty
Popeye
Cornelia
I received a phone call this evening from Darshaun letting me know that all was well... It was uplifting and amazing to actually hear his and Luke's voices. Darshaun sounds extremely hopeful that the worst is behind them as he has been told getting out of Japan is the most difficult part of the journey. Let's all hope and pray that is the case for these weary boys. The last few days have improved as far as conditions and progress, they made over 200 miles in the last day as opposed to -3 miles in the previous days. This has made him hopeful for the next few days if weather predictions hold out. I could hear tiredness in his voice. He is getting rest but still has to get up three times during the night.
He is limited to internet access, only thirty seconds at a time. He has an email into tech support! As a result he has not been able to read the comments so far. As soon as this is resolved either Taj or I will be emailing all the comments on to them, which will be uplifting to their spirits. Information and contact being so essential on both ends. I let him know that there were some wonderful responses coming in. It's quite extraordinary to participate in this amazing interactive adventure!
Luke sounds good and says he is feeling much better. Dreaming of Hawaii...
Ron has made some progress in recovery, but still not doing all that great yet. I passed on a few of the suggestions from the comments, "GET HIM ON DECK!"
I'm looking forward to a "Welcome Home Party!"
love and gratitude,
Shannon
Jeff
First of all, Darshuan is a sailor in the true sense of the word. He has been sailing since childhood. Sailing is an obsession of his, and he's been wanting to do this trip across the Pacific for a very long time.
He purchased two boats in Japan leading up to this Pacific journey. His first boat was a 34 foot Hunter. It was a small yacht that he purchased so that he could practice his craft while waiting for just the right boat to come along - a boat that would eventually be the one that could take him safely across the Pacific, if not around the world. The boat that he eventually found to do serious blue-water sailing in was a 48 foot Baltic. For those who know about sail boats, the Baltic brand is one of the best makers of sailing yachts in the world. This particular yacht was well-cared for by the previous owner who spared no cost in keeping the boat in ship-shape. The boat was also set up to be sailed single-handedly with hydrolic furlers, a remote-controlled bow thruster and auto pilot. Darshuan has done extensive sailing by himself many times in this particular yacht, taking numerous lengthy cruises out to the islands off of Shimoda. He also has many experienced sailors as his good friends. One man in particular is the coach of the Japanese Olympic Sailing team (Takashiro) and has made the trip to Hawaii from Japan 3 times. In addition, Darshuan has studied extensively for this trip, reading books written by numerous sailors who have done world cruises. He has been especially interested in how to sail in bad weather and deal with huge breaking waves. From his research he realized that there were two theories in dealing with big waves out at sea. He developed his own analysis on which theory was the best. Over a period of months, he tested his theory out on his friends, especially those friends with extensive sailing experience. He then purchased a device called a drogue which extends off the back of the boat about a 100 meters and keeps the boat from being turned over by a huge breaking wave. Darshaun even went as far as to make a minuature model of his boat and the drogue device and tested it on real waves at the beach. I'm telling you all this because I want you to know the kind of man Darshuan is. He is an extremely thorough person. He is smart, learns from his mistakes, and is even-tempered, in fact, I've never seen him angry, even during those times at sea on his boat that I screwed up big time. During those times, he always tried to be positive, even when I deserved to have my ass chewed out. Ajectives that best describe Darshaun are impressive, remarkable. I would trust him with my own life in a second because I have seen him in action on the sea doing his sailing thing that he does so well. He is "the man" at sea. He knows what he is doing, and if there is ever a person who could be one with his boat, he's the one. For those that don't know him, know this about him.
Of course, we are worried about our three Pacific Sailors. Mother Nature is powerful. The three of them will figure out solutions to their problems and make the necessary adjustments. I'm confident that they will do that, and I am also confident that Ron is going to feel better very soon.
Smooth sailing guys.
Our thougths and prayers are with you.
This trip is a life time dream and goal for Darshaun. I have complete confidence that the great moments are yet to come on this trip. I also suspect there could be more trips in the future!
Thoughts of good winds and strong sailors.........