Sat. June 30th, 2012 - Day 1

Engine Start 10:40am
Engine off 12:05pm
Depart Nawiwili Harbor 11:35am

4:20pm

Earl and Phil waved us off the docks this morning. Jim from "This Boat" stopped by and said "Fair Winds" yesterday. As far as we know Eric and Emmy are still in Hanalei and are supposed to leave tomorrow. We did not catch the name of the Columbia a few slips down which is headed for Vancouver sometime in the next few days. We left Nawiwili Harbor at 10:40am and made a couple of turns around the basin to re-calibrate the tiller pilot. East winds blowing 15-20 with 4-5 foot wind waves. Sailing on deep reefed main and working jib.

8:50pm
I have taken first watch. We passed the Northern most point of Kauai just a few minutes ago. The moon is bright and three quarters full and there is minimal cloud cover. Bree made a real mess this afternoon. Sigh, she should be used to this by now. We got off the docks this morning in fine form. Light meals this afternoon. Oatmeal and coffee before we left this morning. PBJ for lunch and stonefire flatbread w/ avacado and Kamuela tomatoes for dinner. Tasty but needed salt....Not particularly looking forward to it getting cold but we are certainly better prepared this time around. Chuck is, thankfully, showing no signs of mal de mer....yet.

Mon. July 2, 2012-Day 3

24.36N 160.32W
Course 340 degrees   Speed 3.2 Knots
Winds 15K Easterly
Seas - 6' with 4' S. swells
Working jib-deep reefed main
Baro - 29.7
Temp - 84 degrees
2228 miles to first waypoint

I felt seasick yesterday and spent most of the morning in Chuck's usual spot curled up on the floor. I tried reading several times throughout the day but could only do so for a few minutes and eventually gave up. I did not feel like writing either. Bree had an accident last night, although I'm not sure how "accidental" it was. One pair of sheets down early in the game. I think we might have to ban her from the bed for the rest of the trip. We are still running with the working jib and deep reefed main which seems to be a good combination as we averaged four knots through the night.

12: Noon

Made 70 miles yesterday. Easy night with Chuck and I taking turns on the bunk. Breakfast of oatmeal but Chuck couldn't finish his. Skies are mostly clear with cumulous clouds. Supper last night of toasted flatbread with avacado and tomato, seasalt and dill. Chuck pulled out the self steering bungee so the tiller pilot is off for now. None of us has our sea legs yet. Deck check found three flying fish and the pin for the boom coming out again. Must keep a close eye on that.

9:00pm
Mostly a full moon. Chuck went forward this evening and put more loktite on the boom pin. We just ran into a brief rain squall followed by a moonbow. Will think of our friend, Anne, who promised to hang a note for us on the next full moon which should be tomorrow night. Chuck got officially seasick this afternoon. He has been queasy for the last few days but we were hoping....Water is nearly flat this evening and we are making good time.

Tues. July 3, 2012 - Day 4

26.23N 160.41W
Course 330 degrees
Winds 15-20kts Easterly
Seas - 4' with light S swell
Working jib - reefed main
Speed 5 knots
Baro - 29.9
Temp - 84 degrees

11:45am
Taking a while to get our sea routine down. A squall passed by around 9am, noted as "sail drill" in the log. We pulled down the main for about twenty minutes then put it back up again. I made Chuck two scrambled eggs for breakfast and I finished off the Mac 'N Cheese from last night. We had the last papaya this morning as well. Tomatoes and carrots are still holding up well, need to pull them out of the green bags and dry them off today. Bree remains hidden in the rope locker, we are almost expecting her not to come out one of these days. Ran the tiller pilot all last night and switched to the bungee around 10am. We are hopefull there will be enough sun this afternoon to recharge the batteries. Will need to run the watermaker today.

1:30pm
Ran the watermaker for 55 minutes. Bungee on the helm, course 340-350 degrees. Winds, so far, remain constant Easterly at 15-20 with the exception of this mornings squalls.

11:30pm
Hit by a series of squalls around 6pm. Never, ever, do that again! I was sitting on deck this afternoon thinking it would be a good idea to bring out the #3 jib and lash it on deck. Unfortunately I waited (see squalls) when it was much more difficult. DUH! Not much of a supper tonight since Chuck wasn't hungry. I made him a cup of tea and a cup of instant coffee for myself then we shared a can of peaches and a few ginger snaps. We have been making excellent time all day running at 5-7 knots. Current speed is 3 knots with our #3 jib only. It is a partly cloudy evening with a bright full moon...Hi Anne!

Wed. July 4th, 2012 - Day 5
Happy Independance Day

27.40N 161.17W
Course 330 degrees Speed 4.5 knots
Winds 15-20kts Easterly
Seas -5' with 6-8' S.E. swells
#3 jib only
Baro- 29.9
Temp 80 degrees

7:00 am
Lumpy night. No sleep for anyone.

10:30am
Veggie day, 4 roma tomatoes left and one will need to be used today. Five kamuela tomatoes, all look good. Thirteen carrots, one showing signs of rot and will need to be used today. Six yams, four avacados, all look good. Turned the eggs yesterday and checked the onions. Oatmeal for breakfast with a cup of instant coffee.

11:35pm
Another beautiful evening. Have not used the tiller pilot all day. Bungee has been consistant since around 2pm. Seas were pretty lumpy all afternoon but the winds have remained a constant 15-20 knots East, perfect! We have decided to quarantine Bree. She has decided her box is justa bit to far and everything else is closer. I will make a spot for her forward and severly restrict her movements before she completely wrecks the boat. Supper tonight was a close call. I decided to make flatbread w/ fresh tomato, avacado and onion and topped with a fried egg. As soon as I dropped the egg in the pan we started bouncing around. It was still a nummy dinner but the eggs were obviously stressed from the ordeal. Getting our sea legs and routine in place at last. Got the boat cleaned up and veggies looked afer. Also placed roach traps in the engine compartment. If I never see another roach....Spotted one small piece of plastic earlier today but don't expect to see much more for a while. It's going to be hard to get pictures since you generally see the object just as it is passing by. Hopefully we are able to add something to the data being collected by UH. We were both commenting tonight on how warm it is still. Wearing a flannel shirt but still in shorts and barefoot. Sweet! Every extra warm day from here is a bonus. Chuck felt a bit nauseus several times this afternoon but in general he is feeling not to bad. So far, so good, everything working well and nothing broken. The new spot for water tank is working out extremely well, wish I had thought of it sooner.

Thurs. July 5, 2012 - Day 6

28.41N 161.49W
Course 010 degrees Speed 5 knots
Winds - squally, Easterly gusts
Seas Moderat
High overcast
Working jib - reefed main
Baro - 29.9
Temp - 82 degrees

9:25am
Sail change at 8:15. Pulled the number three down and changed to the working jib and reefed main. Shorts and barefoot again this morning. Instant coffee and oatmeal for breakfast. Will need to run the watermaker today. Mixed skies with patches of blue but mostly hazy overcast. Winds holding steady 15-20 E. Seas are moderate, it is a nice day for sailing.

Fri. July 6, 2012 - Day 7

29.55N 161.24W
Course 0 degrees Speed 4.5 knots
Winds 15-20 gusting to 25 E to ESE
Baro - 29.9
Temp 80 degrees

1:30am

Moon is still big and bright. Makes watches so much more enjoyable. We had a very pleasant day and I think we put in some good miles. Checked before Chuck's first watch and we had just clicked to under two thousand miles. Fleece pants, flannel shirt and no socks seven days out. Surprisingly comfortable. Bree stayed in her locker all day and only came out during supper for a quick compllaint and a drink. I'm worried about her. Lunch of tortilla, tomato, avacado and cheese. Simple supper of canned pork and beans shared out of the pot and some grilled flatbread. To bouncy for much else. Will need to start filling the thermos with hot water in the evenings. It's that time to start thinking about hot drinks during watch. Supplies holding up well, no surprises.

6:00pm
Complete lazy day. Put the main up around 8:30. Left the #3 up as we could see several ugly looking squalls to windward. Got a boost from them anyway. Sun is shining and it is a beautiful day. We decided to use the tiller pilot around lunch time as long as the sun was out, 6 and we are still using it. Breakfast of oatmeal and for lunch I heated up some dehydrated beans for a cheese quesedilla with beans, tomato, avacado and onion. Bree did not come out of her hole at all this afternoon but I did manage to coax her out to drink some water just a few minutes ago. We are noticing more leaks in the deck. Chuck got a drip on his head this morning but nothing a super plus couldn't fix. Still, not nearly as bad as our first trip this way. We are lounging on the setee in t-shirts and underwear. It is still nice and warm. We've been averaging four knots comfortably all day.