March 8; day 8, Enroute Galapagos to Easter Island

position: S15deg06min;W100deg26min
day 7's run - 148 nm
average speed - 6.2 kn
dist to go - 869 nm
wx - squally; mixed wind conditions
sails - 2 reefs in main; staysail; partially furled yankee jib
r/r - 0
comments - the beam seas are rolling us a bit; about the time we put out more sail area the wind picks up and we have to reef down again!

S: The goal is to do the best speed you can in the direction you want to go - as comfortable as possible. Sounds so simple! We've been lucky to have wind and not have used our engine since we left. (We do run it in neutral for an hour every 2-3 days to run the water maker and engine driven refrigerator. Our wind generator has been having a workout. Last night we weren't so comfortable when the wind was 26-30kts. with waves crashing around and over us. Not ideal sleeping conditions, though Infini takes it in stride. We just needed to reef the jib in more; with the double reefed main and staysail, there's not much work other than releasing the sheets when we feel overpowered. Oh, besides hanging on!--the simple rule of 'one hand for the boat' gets changed to two hands! I kept having the Grateful Dead song 'Truckin' playing in my head (thanks Matt for downloading all those songs on my Ipod!) Oh yea; another party aboard-(cheese & crackers, smoked clams, cranberry juice!)- we've passed our half way point, and are celebrating being a week out! Cheers! P.S. We really do love hearing from you all and keeping up with happenings in your life too!!

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day 7

pos - S12deg55min;W099deg26min
day 6 run - 158 nm
avg speed - 6.6 kn
dist to go - 1011 nm
wx - strong winds thru the night; moderated this morning to SE @ 14 knots, seas 4-6'; wind and seas are expected to build again over the next 24-36 hours
sails - main has 2 reefs; staysail; partially furled yankee jib.
r/r (repair/replace) - 0
comments - we're presently on a beam reach, rolling a bit, as we make a very slow turn to starboard towards our rhumb line. our halfway party (955 nm to go) will be this evening, so please think of us and raise a toast - cheers!

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day 6 March 6, 2010

day 5's run - 151 nm
avg speed - 6.3 kn
distance to go - 1163 nm
wx - partly sunny; 20 knots SE wind; swells 6'; close hauled
sails - single reef main (probably will double reef it soon); staysail; partially furled yankee jib
r/r (repair/replace) - 0
Had a very comfortable night and morning as the wind was 15kts. and the seas much calmer. Our 4 hr. night watches seem to be working fine...day is informal. (10pm-2am Michael. 2am-6am Sue)

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Why and where is Easter Island? 3-5-10

Day 5
Day 4's run - 142 nm
avg speed - 5.9 kn
dist to go - 1310 nm
wx - wind 18-20, seas 6'
sails - double reefed main, staysail, partial furled jib
r/r (repair/replace) - 0

S: Our landlubber friends and family probably don't realize this has been a dream of ours for 30 years. I vetoed the call to sail to Cape Horn; and Michael didn't want to see it unless it was from the deck of his own boat. But Easter and Pitcairn are in the warm climes still...although there's no guarantee we'll make it to shore if the weather isn't cooperating, as there are no safe all-weather harbors there. Also, it's a personal challenge to finally do some 'ocean cruising', though at times it's seems to be simply an endurance test. Even though there are no protected harbors on these volcanic rocks out in the middle of nowhere, every year more and more cruisers (thirty?!) are making the effort to visit. (We'll try to find out the numbers and post them in a later blog.) Easter was named by the Dutch navigator Jacob Roggeveen when he first sighted it one Easter Sunday in 1771. It's Chilean name is Isla de Pascua, and the islanders refer to it as Rapa Nui. It's been called "the world's loneliest island" by Thor Heyerdahl,(1985 mi. to the closest mainland point of Valpariso, Chile) who spent a year there studying the famous statues (moai) of a past lost civilization. I remember reading his book "Kon Tiki"(?) many years ago. I think that National Geographic and the Nature channel have some great info on these remote islands as well.
We joined the 2010 PPJ Group (Pacific Puddle Jump group) sponsored by Latitude 38 (a sailing publication). They have planning sessions/parties in certain central cruising ports (we left before the one in Balboa, Panama). Most boats have come down the west coast of the US...and jump from one of many points along the west coast of central/south America. We're taking a different route, and don't know that we'll make any of the welcoming parties that are held for the fleet in French Polynesia, but it's fun to hear of other boats' passage notes and trials....(when we get a chance to log on to the internet!)

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Day 4

Day 3's run - 157 nm
average speed - 6.5 kn
Distance to go - 1449 nm
Weather - evening calmed down a bit. SSE winds 16-18; seas 4'.
Sails - double reefed main; staysail, partially reefed yankee jib
R & R - 0

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Day 3

I figured I'd start an info sheet:
Day 2's run - 156 nm (Day 1's run was 132nm)
average speed - 6.5 - 7 knots
Distance to go - 1606 nm
weather - SSE winds 23-25; seas confused and lumpy! Partly sunny.
R & R - starboard upper spreader wire lift; fix: will have to wait for me to climb the mast
Garhauer double cheek block for wind vane steering broke; fix: two Nicro single blocks attached to the base plate are doing the job

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3-2-10 Enroute to Easter Island

S02deg33min;W092deg32min. We had a fairly comfortable night in lumpy seas, getting used to going to windward. Wind averaged 16-18 knots, and seas were 4-6' from several directions. Our noon to noon run for this first day was 132nm, not bad all things considered. We're still checking into the morning SSB net, but expect to change nets over the next week or so as propagation isn't so good for our reception. Our buddy boat, Soggy Paws, departed Isla Isabela this morning, so we're a bit ahead of them, but expect SSB radio contact once or twice daily with them. Another 1775nm to go!

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3-1-10 Enroute to Easter Island

We did a bunch of last minute preparation yesterday, and in late afternoon enjoyed happy hour aboard Elice, a custom 62' aluminum catamaran built in New Zealand headed back to the Chesapeake Bay area. We were joined by our friends Dave & Sherry (Soggy Paws) and Roger & Janice (Beaujolais). This morning we raised anchor and departed at 1145 hours, and expect to keep in radio contact with our buddy boat, Soggy Paws. Beaujolais will be spending time in the Galapagos, awaiting parts from the US and effecting refrigeration repairs before departing for Australia. From various e-mails to Sherry and from what we hear on the SSB net, it look like there may be 5-6 boats at Easter Island while we're there. From what we've heard, damage to the island was minimal, but we're hoping those reports are accurate. Again, you can track our progress on this 1910 nautical mile passage by going to www.pangolin.co.nz and typing in my Ham call sign, KJ4IHF. Sue's updated our photo album section of this blog, but we'll have to wait for internet before posting more pictures.

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