| From : | Ken Williams [kenw@seanet.com] |
| Date : | Tue, 10 Apr 2007 11:10:05 -0600 |
| To : | pacific@talkspot.com |
| Subject : | Various blogs regarding crossing the Pacific |
|
All: I’m passing along information on three Nordhavns which
are crossing the Pacific, in case you have been tracking them: 1) Eric and
Christi Grab – On Kosmos – a Nordhavn 43. Their website is: http://kosmos.liveflux.net/blog/ They
depart direct from 2) Keith
Degreen – on Global Adventure – a Nordhavn 55. His website is: http://www.theglobaladventure.com/
He is currently in the middle of the Pacific, and a few days out from 3) Dick and
Gail Barnes – Ice Dancer II, a Nordhavn 57, is crossing to the Marquesas
now. They are currently in the Galapagos. I don’t believe they have a
website, but I’ve included their blog below. Beneath the blog from Ice Dancer I’ve included the
latest info I have on “who is cruising where, when”. Review it, and
if I have anything wrong, let me know. My list shows seven boats crossing to
the Marquesas next Spring. Here’s something amusing: A few days ago, I received an email from David Pabst, who
identified himself as a Selene 53 owner. We have never met but were swapping
correspondence on one of the various message boards about sea anchors and
drogues. At the end of his email he mentioned that he and I were crossing the
Pacific together. This puzzled me, as I do not show him listed as someone
planning to cross the Pacific, or as having ever registered on the www.rtwcruising.com website. I wrote to
him to state my confusion. His equally confused response: “We are indeed crossing
the Pacific together! Your boat and mine are sitting next to each other, right
now, out in the middle of the Pacific onboard the same freighter, enroute to
the US.” -Ken Williams Here's the latest from Dick
and Gail Barnes, aboard Ice Dancer II, a Nordhavn 57. Copy and paste the
co-ordinates provided into <http://maps.google.com>
to follow their progress north. Saturday 3/31/07 Puerto Ayora 00 44.9 South 090 18.5
West At 4 p.m., we dropped anchor
at Puerto Ayora, Isla Santa Cruz, Islas Galapagos. The 2,550 nautical
mile passage took 12 days and three hours. We arrived with 200 gallons of
diesel on board. Both time and remaining fuel were just about as
planned. We arrived rested, although rising for watches after the first
three hours of sleep during the passage was never easy. Watching dvd
movies made staying awake less troublesome. We saw no other boats on the
passage, but kept watch on radar and AIS, on all nights. Unlike our visit to Puerto
Ayora in December, there is a cadre of about 25 cruising sailboats anchored in
the harbor. This is a natural stop for sailboats heading to the Marquesas
and on to Family will join us on April
8 and leave on April 15. On April 16, we will fuel at Baltra, a nearby
island, and head for Zihautanejo. In the meantime, we are not
allowed to move Ice Dancer II, so we will be using excursion boats to visit
various sites in the islands. Weather is pleasant with
some fog. On the opposite side of the island it is quite warm, if
conditions are the same as we experienced in December. 3/31/07 Offshore 01 44.9 south 089 55.6
west We are on the glide path to
Puerto Ayora--65 nm to go and Nobeltec shows that we will arrive around 3:40
this afternoon, CST. Four different currents
converge, here, and one of the interesting results is fog, which we have this
morning, and 77 degree water, down from 87, yesterday. Uninterrupted sleep,
tonight. What a treat! Tuesday 3/27/07 Offshore 13 24.6 south 085 42.4
west Our passage is going along
right on plan. If conditions remain the same, we should anchor in Puerto
Ayora on Saturday afternoon. The job of lookout has not
been demanding. Since leaving Flying squid continue to
amaze. Clean up this morning was 15 squid and two flying fish. The
record squirter made it on top of the pilot house, although we haven't checked
the bimini top. Fishing has been a little
odd, with two released, undersized mahimahi and a huge two very large billfish
that we were able to shake off the hook. Weather today was overcast,
with 20 knots of SE wind on the starboard quarter. Water temperature is
up to 79.5 degrees. Monday 3/26/07 Offshore 17 33.2 south 084 08.1
west It is hard to imagine that
we raised anchor in a snowstorm, on March first, and now we are in tropical
waters. Water temperature at noon was 75.5 degrees, it is sunny and nice. We had eight squid and two
flying fish on board, this morning. One squid this morning and the same
yesterday, managed to land on the boat deck, about 15 feet above the
water. One came through the pilot house door. How do they do
it? The seas were fairly mild and no water was shipping aboard. Oil for the main engine was
changed this morning. 42 quarts of 175 degree used oil plus a large
filter. It is easier in a calm anchorage, but we were running on our
auxiliary engine in a rolling sea. It was time. Our stabilizers
were helping, powered by the large hydraulic pump on the auxiliary. Thursday 3/22/07 Noon Offshore 30 37.7 south 078 29.7 west Big seas, yesterday, but
improving today. No sign of Humboldt current. No push and 70 degree
water. It should be under 60 degrees and pushing. It may be an El
Nino issue. When we passed Isla Robinson Crusoe, in the Juan Fernandez
group, the seas were raging. We had 36 knots of wind and
12-14 foot seas, on the port quarter and beam, so, putting out a fishing line
was not a good option. One of our autopilot rudder pumps failed. Fortunately,
we have a redundant autopilot system. Fuel is going ok, but the
expected Humboldt current would have allowed more margin. I have
throttled back a little. Oil change day is Monday or Tuesday. That
should be interesting. The hardest part is the oil filter, which is
large. The filter holds two quarts of oil and when it is hot, it is awful
to handle without getting burned or spilling. I will turn on the wing
engine while the operation is underway. Tuesday 3/20/07 Noon Offshore 36 49.9 south 075 13.9
West Weather is clear and bright,
due to the S. Pacific high out our port window. Yesterday afternoon was
boisterous with large swells and 25 knots of wind waves on our port quarter and
beam. So far, today, we have calmer winds. The large swells are
still with us. The grib file weather forecasts show 25 knot winds
tomorrow and the next, on our track. We are enjoying a push of 0.2 to 0.5
knots of Humboldt current. That's nice, but we were due, after coming
south against it. We are trying to get used to
three hour watches, again. It will take a few days. Monday 3/19/07 Offshore from 39 25.7 South 073 41.5
West This morning, we checked out
of the country with the Armada's port captain, immigration and national police
and cast off into Rio Valdivia. Offshore seas were influenced by storms
to the south, causing high winds and large seas on the port quarter and abeam. We spent four days in 8 miles up Rio Valdivia from
the ocean. It has a large contingent of Germans and its culture, in a
positive way, is seen in many ways. The weather was clear and
mild. Large trees were growing, everywhere. It was sort of the best
of the Pacific Northwest and the Friday 3/16/07 Rio We took on 1,386 gallons of
diesel from a tank truck, today, in preparation for our passage to Islas
Galapagos. The fuel came from YPF, the national oil company of neighbor
country, Thursday 3/15/07 Rio 39 51 South 73 19 West Yesterday's transit of the
notorious Canal Chacao came off without a hitch. The overnight run to Rio
Valdivia was into a head sea. We entered the river and passed Puerto
Corral at 8 a.m., in dense fog. Using charts and radar, we
made it to Alwoplast's dock, about six miles upstream, before nine.
Concrete walls, designed to channel flow and protect river banks, subsided
below the surface during a massive earthquake in 1960. Now they are a
hazard to navigation if you stray out of the fairway. Wednesday 3/14/07 Canal Chacao 42 19.3 South 073 15.4
West We anchored early yesterday
and will leave late this morning from Caleta Anihue, near Mechuque. The
plan is to enter Canal Chacao at the end of an ebb tide and enter ocean waters
when the tide begins to flood. The worst waves are those opposing an ebb
tide. Canal Chacao is 15 miles of tidal race, that can reach 10
knots. If our planned schedule works out, we will continue on overnight
and enter Rio Valdivia on an incoming tide, Thursday morning. We have a
reservation at Alwoplast, which is a boat builder located on the river that
accommodates a few visiting yachts. Once again, the contrast
between the rugged and rough south and the upper, inside passage area is
striking. The hills here have softer contours and much of it is
cultivated for crops or pasture. It looks very much like the Monday 3/12/07 Golfo de Corcovado 43 15.9 South 073 12.3
West The good and bad news about
southern Sunday was raging. The
further north we travel, the more protection we will get from the South
American high. You can see the isobars on the weather fax spreading
further apart, indicating less wind. We plan to stop at a small
village this afternoon, and anchor where we can pick up critical supplies
(wine, fruit and veggies). Wednesday afternoon, we will
traverse Canal Chacao and out to sea. This is equivalent to
exiting the Sunday 3/11/07 Puerto Juan Yates 43 38.6 South 073 00.6
West Weather cleared and seas
were calm when we crossed Golfo de Cocovado to Puerto Juan Yates. On
rocky islets in our anchorage were penguins with young chicks. The cove
was rich with sea mammals and birds. Saturday 3/10/07 Caleta Amita 44 04.9 South 073 52.8
West It was tough sledding in the
main inside channel, Canal Moreleda, so we moved in among the islands and
worked our way north, through Canal Perez. At least the rain is warmer,
and so is the water temperature. Both are up 10 to 15 degrees
from the far south. Friday 3/9/07 Puerto Americano 45 01.5 South 073 41.9 West Anchored last night at
Caleta Yate, in Canal Darwin. Decided not to continue in Thursday 3/8/07 Offshore 45 30.2 South 074 54.6
West In another two hours, we
will be turning into Canal Darwin. Yesterday, we crossed the
Golfo de Penas in benign conditions and our luck continues today, with very
little wind. We saw several minke whales and a freighter. We are a little tired after
a late arrival at Caleta Cliff, then changing oil in the main. Before
leaving this morning, the job was completed by changing the oil filter, which
was too hot to deal with last night. Tonight, we will be back to
inside-passage waters, so we will be less exposed to gales. The further
north we go, the fewer storms we should see. The twin to the stationary
North Pacific high sits a bit further north. Wednesday 3/7/07 Golfo de Penas 47 25.6 South 075 03.3
West We did have a lovely
evening, yesterday. At anchor, our boat kept its bow toward the wind, and
as luck had it, the sun was shinning from the opposite direction.
Lounging in our deck chairs, behind the cabin, it was shorts and short sleeves
and cold beer. The flying bridge was untenable, with 15 knots coming over
the top at 55 degrees temperature. One day of clear weather was all that
we were afforded. Today, we are crossing the
Golfo de Penas in overcast. Winds are off the starboard quarter, which
helps knock down the usual SW swell. We have a full day of it, so we will
see if our good luck endures. One of our cruising guide books says that
freighters don't cross when the weather is stormy. Now that's a thought. We plan to use Caleta Cliff
for an anchorage tonight. We left marks on our chart plotter from our
last ocean entry, so it should be an easy landing. Charts, both paper and
electronic are way off from reality. It will be time to change oil in the
main (42 quarts), so there will be that chore to tend to after we anchor. Tuesday 3/6/07 Canal Messier 48 47.6 South 074 24.9
West We passed through Angostura
Inglesa this morning, a tight spot that sports high velocity currents.
Moving through between ebb and flood tides tames the ride. Complaints about the weather
seem to have made an impact. Today is without clouds; bright and sunny.
The barometer has risen from 980 to 1020 in a day and a half. Traveling
through the channels without seeing the scenery is not much fun. Tonight, we plan to anchor
near Faro San Pedro and cross the Gulfo de Penas, tomorrow, weather permittng. Monday 3/5/07 Caleta Lucas 48 59.9 South 74 24.7
West Passed Puerto Eden, in
improving weather, this morning. We reported by radio to the Armada
station all of our boat and navigation information. Sunday 3/4/07 Canal 50 16.1 South 074 35.2
West Left Puerto Mayne in heavy
rain but reduced headwind. The storms and seas, here, are easy to
recognize. Conditions are just like When summer is over, it's
over, and a parade of storms begin. The season is over--even the tour
boats have disappeared from the channels. About five minutes of sunshine
peaked through, this afternoon. Maybe it is a good sign. We have
had wind and rain for several days. Yesterday, it was 35 to 40 knots on
the nose, as a cold front passed. Added to the opposing current, we only made 6 to 7
knots of headway. We need to get up to 30 degrees south.
After that, it should be reliably nice. One of our autopilot
compasses is acting a little schizophrenic, but other than that, everything is
working properly. We are warm and dry. We continue to pick up a few
centolla crabs while at anchor overnight. They are so sweet and good,
there is no need for melted butter. Anchored at Caleta Bolina
with lines to trees. Friday 3/2/07 Caleta Darde 52 28.6 South 073 35.4
West Rain most of the day.
Estrecho de Magallanes was very rough toward the west end, with some 40 knot
winds. Current caused fits. Anchored in Caleta Darde in
light rain. Thursday 3/1/07 Caleta Playa Parda 53 21.4 South 072 58.2
West We raised anchor this
morning in a snowstorm. Good news was four centolla or small king crabs
in our crab pot. We should have put the pot out weeks ago. Weather is squally in the
Straits of Magellan. We start and anchor up early, to beat the afternoon winds.
We are headed toward Caleta Playa Parda, about five miles ahead, and should
have anchor down by 3:15 p.m. Winter is
not far away, here. Wednesday 2/28/07 Caleta Hidden,
Estrecho de Magallanes 53 56.9 South 071 35.2
West Rough crop early, but improving
later. Humpback whales were passed, making their own journey through
these waters. Anchored, swinging on a single-point with ample room.
Wind and rain heavy. Tuesday, 2/27/07 Canal Balenero 54 26.1 South 071 59.4
West We are making progress to
the west, which must come before turning north. We have just made a
transition from Canal Brechnock into Canal Cockburn. The junction is
located at an ocean entrance, which gives all kinds of interesting flows of
currents, tides, winds, chop and swell. This morning, we were
greeted by snow accumulations, half way down the mountains. The change of
season is moving right along, and so must we. We finally put out a crab
trap last night and caught a small king crab. Guess we better drop it
again, tonight. Monday 2/26/07 Caleta Silva 54 56.9 South 070 46.5
West We have been at anchor since
2 p.m., yesterday, waiting for weather to improve. There is a crush zone
between the permanent high and a deep low system pressing against it.
Pressures dropped 2 mb per hour yesterday and last night; it is rebounding this
afternoon, although winds are still brisk. Winds in the anchorage, today,
have alternated between 15 and 40 knots, with frozen rain every twenty
minutes. Our next segment, through Canal Brechnock and Canal Cockburn are
exposed to ocean swell. So, we decided to hold up until winds
calmed. We plan to leave early, Tuesday. Sunday 2/25/07 Brazo Noroeste 54 52.4 South 070 05.3
West We are back on the road,
again, after enjoying two days in Caleta Olla (54 56.4S 69 09.4W). We
anchored along with Egret, a 46 Nordhavn and two sailboats--one from Sweeden
and the other from Two stern lines ashore from
each boat and tall trees on a wooded rise behind the beach, kept the
brisk winds above us. Nearby, tall mountains made high frequency radio
propagation impossible, so, we had no news from friends and family. We
enjoyed dinners on our boat and on the other Nordhavn, where we swapped
cruising experiences. Egret came to the Cape from
the Southern Patagonia shares
many similarities with Thursday 2/22/07 54 55.7 South 068 20.4
West Most of our time since
rounding We had to wait four days for
a tanker to unload bunkers before we could fuel, at the same dock. We
rigged up three large fenders, tied together, to make a single, mid pivot point
to ride up and down a concrete pier, then strategically tied lines from the
dock to hold us tight. It worked fine, but again, pulling up to a
floating fuel dock seems like a basic facility. But, more often than not,
it doesn't occur in the third world. The good news is that diesel is
subsidized in Usuaia, up to the first 4,000 liters, which fit our needs,
perfectly. The policy is for economic development of a frontier
area. The effective cost was $2.03 per gallon. For this end of the
world location, that is extremely good. The cruising sailboats at
Ushuaia, took plastic jugs to the service station then transferred fuel into
the boats. Others rolled drums down the dock and pumped diesel aboard. Ushuaia is a thriving town
of over 70,000 population. We saw five or six ships arriving each day and
several jet airline arrivals. It is a jump off for Cape Horn, Antarctic
and Puerto Williams, as a
contrast, is a Naval Base with a modest population living astride.
Earnings appear low, compared to Ushuaia, only 28 miles away. Housing is
very modest and the population appears more Native, in Puerto Williams.
Accommodation for yachts is minimal, even though the Armada insists on stopping
those passing by, for paperwork and fees. Legitimate reason is hard to
discern. Ice Dancer II is pointed
north. After getting a new Zarpe from Puerto Williams and checking
through the police, immigration, and the Armada, we are set to go. Winds on Canal Beagle have
been hostile for the past week. We had great luck with calm conditions
for our fueling. With that exception, we have seen 35 knots or better,
every day, including our beat up Canal Beagle, today. It is fall, and the
weather is turning. It is time for us to head
north. ### 2008 – Galapagos – N40 -- Scott and Marian Bulger (uncertain) N68 -- David and Debbie Sidbury N55 – David Bock N47 – Larry and Deedee Biggs N64 - Eric and Annie Bloomquist |
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