Author: Scott
As we approach Nuku Hiva many thoughts have been rushing through my head. There are the obvious things like ICE. It is amazing how much of a luxury ice can be in your life when you have just crossed the equator without even the use of your refrigerator, due to the broken water pump. Coconuts and pineapples filled with mysterious Polynesian concoctions and adorned with the obligatory foofy umbrella or more savage plastic sword piercing succulent tropical fruit come popping randomly into my head. We have a new fancy ice cooler on deck that will keep ice frozen for five days. If it was full of luscious ice today, I would stick my head in it until my ears turned blue. I have also been thinking of food, I know big surprise since we seem to fixate on food quite a bit in the Journal. I am not sure what we can expect on an Island with just a few thousand people, but I am beginning to salivate with visions of spiny lobsters and succulent fresh fish, not to mention a big fat juicy cheeseburger. As we get deeper into our stock of non perishable food (today dinner is chilli with three week old warm American cheese and our last sliver of onion, my stomach is drawing us closer and faster to our destination, and Pam thinks it’s the wind, no way Jose it is my great tummy magnet sucking us in to French Polynesia. In all of our cruising guides there is mention of fresh French pastries and breads baked daily, yeah baby bring those baguettes and croissants on!
There are also other personal indulgences that are filling our brains like long walks on land and cool showers (if we can find them). But I also find that I have spent a lot of time thinking about the significance of the crossing to myself. It is important to me because it is now the longest passage made by legally blind people to date, and I hope this translates as an example of the capabilities and determination that are in all people, with and without disabilities. I sure as hell hope it hits and sinks into a few peoples brains like the guy who would not let me drive my own bumper care when I was a little kid living in Santa Monica, just because I was blind. Imagine that, I wasn’t allowed to drive a car that was intended to crash into other cars, go figure. But this crossing is also a huge personal goal, in many ways more challenging than starting and running a business with my partner Steve. This trip represents years of planning and preparation, a financial commitment, and a change in my safe life in San Francisco. Now we are almost to our first major destination, after crossing nearly three thousand miles of open ocean! I am thrilled! So, you think about all of the things you will do when you get there, but these are all things you could probably do anywhere, though the venue is vastly different and probably fascinating. The real excitement is in the journey and overcoming the obstacles, like eating purple food or continuing on without an engine, and of course doing it anyway when so many said we couldn’t or shouldn’t.
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Monday, May 30, 2005
Journal Entry – May 30, 2005 Pacific Puddle Jump Day 26 Tournesol Heard in San Francisco
Author: Pam
It seems after our magical moment with King Neptune and the others, he gave a tug on the wind chain (or contacted his connections) and we have been flying since crossing the equator. We have been averaging 6.5 knots and made 150 miles in 24 hours, a record since the beginning of our voyage. With this wonderful wind there are also some pretty good sized waves, bumping and banging over the port side of the boat, including through the hatch and on our head while sleeping on occasion. This makes our ride a bit like being on a bumpy roller coaster, but no complaints though, we are flabbergasted by the speed. Our celebration dinner was pretty yummy, well except for the Bananas Foster. Another treat for Nemo, perhaps the salt water helped soften the bananas. It was not the best first experience with freeze dried food, hopefully the other delicacies we have on board “unfreeze” or whatever they are suppose to do better than the bananas. We finished “An Ocean to Cross” in the afternoon after crossing the equator. We highly recommend this book, very inspirational. We started “The Incredible Journey”, a story about two dogs and a cat and their journey out in the wild as they search for their home. We decided it was time for a little break from sailing books. After the excitement of yesterday and the rolling of the boat we didn’t have a lot of energy to cook today, so we had soup for lunch and clam chowder for dinner. It can be quite a challenge to keep up with your soup in these conditions, but it seemed to do our heart and soul good as they say. We got an e-mail from our friend Richard Wallace today and learned after a number of attempts he finally heard us check in on the Amigo Net, right before we crossed the equator. How cool is that. We knew he had been taking his shortwave radio and various other equipment, including an antenna he was stringing from a tree to the park near his house (while he walked the dog) for several days in attempt to hear us. He was very persistent and extremely creative. It sounds like he had as good reception as Net Control and us, if not better. We did not have good reception and we announced that day it would be our last check in on the Amigo Net. I have been trying to conjure up the image of him standing in the park with electronics set-up at 7:00 am in the morning. He said no one approached him, maybe they thought he was trying to connect with aliens. Even the police officer who decided to stop by and enforce the leash law didn’t ask him what he was up to and fortunately only gave him a warning since Willie had had a short romp off leash. Besides his attempts to hear us on the radio, Richard has also been posting all of the journal entries we have submitted since leaving for the crossing. We do not have internet access (only access to send and receive e-mail through our SSB radio), so we send him a text e-mail with the copy and he proofreads them several times and then he posts the entries. Thanks Richard for all of your amazing support and friendship!
It seems after our magical moment with King Neptune and the others, he gave a tug on the wind chain (or contacted his connections) and we have been flying since crossing the equator. We have been averaging 6.5 knots and made 150 miles in 24 hours, a record since the beginning of our voyage. With this wonderful wind there are also some pretty good sized waves, bumping and banging over the port side of the boat, including through the hatch and on our head while sleeping on occasion. This makes our ride a bit like being on a bumpy roller coaster, but no complaints though, we are flabbergasted by the speed. Our celebration dinner was pretty yummy, well except for the Bananas Foster. Another treat for Nemo, perhaps the salt water helped soften the bananas. It was not the best first experience with freeze dried food, hopefully the other delicacies we have on board “unfreeze” or whatever they are suppose to do better than the bananas. We finished “An Ocean to Cross” in the afternoon after crossing the equator. We highly recommend this book, very inspirational. We started “The Incredible Journey”, a story about two dogs and a cat and their journey out in the wild as they search for their home. We decided it was time for a little break from sailing books. After the excitement of yesterday and the rolling of the boat we didn’t have a lot of energy to cook today, so we had soup for lunch and clam chowder for dinner. It can be quite a challenge to keep up with your soup in these conditions, but it seemed to do our heart and soul good as they say. We got an e-mail from our friend Richard Wallace today and learned after a number of attempts he finally heard us check in on the Amigo Net, right before we crossed the equator. How cool is that. We knew he had been taking his shortwave radio and various other equipment, including an antenna he was stringing from a tree to the park near his house (while he walked the dog) for several days in attempt to hear us. He was very persistent and extremely creative. It sounds like he had as good reception as Net Control and us, if not better. We did not have good reception and we announced that day it would be our last check in on the Amigo Net. I have been trying to conjure up the image of him standing in the park with electronics set-up at 7:00 am in the morning. He said no one approached him, maybe they thought he was trying to connect with aliens. Even the police officer who decided to stop by and enforce the leash law didn’t ask him what he was up to and fortunately only gave him a warning since Willie had had a short romp off leash. Besides his attempts to hear us on the radio, Richard has also been posting all of the journal entries we have submitted since leaving for the crossing. We do not have internet access (only access to send and receive e-mail through our SSB radio), so we send him a text e-mail with the copy and he proofreads them several times and then he posts the entries. Thanks Richard for all of your amazing support and friendship!
Sunday, May 29, 2005
Pacific Puddle Jump Day 25 A Very Important Journal Entry
This morning felt like Christmas. At last we were going to cross the Equator. With the crossing into the southern latitudes comes an important maritime tradition. The following is an excerpt from our Pacific Puddle Jump Book written by Don Anderson that describes this ritual: "Those who have never crossed the equator are called Pollywogs. On crossing the equator for the first time, one is immediately elevated to the title of Shellback and is entitled to hold that distinguished appellation until confined to the deep. On crossing the equator at any time and in either direction, all hands must toast King Neptune by individually pouring over the side, a wee dram of the most expensive beverage in the liquor locker. A few years ago, a Pollywog told me that it was OK if the libation had recently been filtered through the kidneys. Now I am not usually superstitious, BUT, shortly thereafter that fellow became a permanent resident of Davy Jones' Locker." We have been chomping for days to hold this sacred ceremony and earn the title of Shellback. After taking our morning position we set about preparing for the crossing. We pulled special bottles out of their resting place under the navigation station seat (that King Neptune is sure a party animal drinking at nine in the morning). We got our theme song for the event cued up in the stereo and brought out all the necessary paraphernalia on deck. As we approached the equator Pam stood in the cabin and read off the GPS in real time while Scott helmed the boat. Right before crossing we hove to in hopes of drifting over the equator, unfortunately the wind pushed us in the opposite direction. So as not to drift off to Hawaii, we returned to sailing and slowly sailed across the equator into the southern hemisphere. We crossed at exactly 0910 (PDT). We immediately fired up our chosen song for the crossing "Somewhere over the Rainbow" by Isriel Kamakawiwo'ole (a Hawaiian version). We heaved to again, this time in the southern latitudes, as "Somewhere over the Rainbow" continued to play. We were stopped in place with only a slight drift and Scott pulled off his shirt and dove into the ocean for a swim across the equator. It was a quick swim, so as to avoid any hungry mouths that may be lurking, and to avoid a marathon swim back to the boat. The water was warm and crystal clear. Once back on deck we both made a toast to King Neptune and read a poem and toast that we had written in advance. We each gave Neptune a healthy slug and then shared a sip ourselves (our individual poems are posted as separate journal entries). After toasting we read a card given to us from Kathy Abrahamson that she gave to us for the crossing. Pam finished off the festivities by presenting Scott with a special gift, an alligator squirt gun. The ceremony was a little silly and at the same time deeply moving for each of us. What an accomplishment to sail to the other side of the planet! We have made the entire day a holiday with a feast planned tonight. On the menu is a canned ham, baked potatoes, French cut green beans, and a freeze-dried package of Bananas Foster (thanks for dessert Mike and Randy). We will also polish off our wine from the morning's ceremony. At noon we got one of our first incoming satellite phone calls from our friends Kenneth and Sylvia congratulating us on our equatorial crossing. It was nice to hear friendly voices from home out in the middle of this vastness. As we bask in the glow of our equatorial crossing we now have our sights eagerly set on reaching Nuku Hiva and completing this first important step of crossing the Pacific Ocean.
Journal Entry – May 29, 2005 Scott’s Toast to Neptune
Author: Scott
Here is to Neptune and Poseidon, who preside over the ocean blue.
And if you don’t mind us saying a quick hello to our little friend Nemo too.
After years of prepping and planning, we have finally reached this hallowed spot
And now that we are finally here, I must say your home is freaking hot
Tournesol has done well, and she is sailing like a young pup.
She got here with only her sails, without ever giving up.
You have shared so much with us, even without all of our sight
You gave us dolphins, fiery sunsets, and even a rainbow at night
I do have a humble request; please see what you can do
You see my fishing has been lacking, could you spare one or two?
Pollywogs we were yesterday but today Shellbacks are we
Perhaps the first that use white canes, and a monocular to see
So thank you for keeping us safe and out of Davy Jones’ hands
And for guiding us in our little boat until we reach the land
Today we have brought you a nip of the finest Sonoma has made in years
We raise our glasses to you both, and wish you a mighty cheers!
Here is to Neptune and Poseidon, who preside over the ocean blue.
And if you don’t mind us saying a quick hello to our little friend Nemo too.
After years of prepping and planning, we have finally reached this hallowed spot
And now that we are finally here, I must say your home is freaking hot
Tournesol has done well, and she is sailing like a young pup.
She got here with only her sails, without ever giving up.
You have shared so much with us, even without all of our sight
You gave us dolphins, fiery sunsets, and even a rainbow at night
I do have a humble request; please see what you can do
You see my fishing has been lacking, could you spare one or two?
Pollywogs we were yesterday but today Shellbacks are we
Perhaps the first that use white canes, and a monocular to see
So thank you for keeping us safe and out of Davy Jones’ hands
And for guiding us in our little boat until we reach the land
Today we have brought you a nip of the finest Sonoma has made in years
We raise our glasses to you both, and wish you a mighty cheers!
Journal Entry – May 29, 2005 Pam’s Poem to Neptune
Author: Pam
Attitudes and Latitudes: What a thrill, to be here almost standing still. Where North meets South, pouring a wee dram into Neptune, Poseidon and Nemo’s mouth. I have never under estimated the power of the sea, and now it is my turn to find out all of the effects it can have on me. As I cross your waters, thank you for helping to show me what matters. When I next cross 0 latitude, I am sure there will be changes in my attitude.
Attitudes and Latitudes: What a thrill, to be here almost standing still. Where North meets South, pouring a wee dram into Neptune, Poseidon and Nemo’s mouth. I have never under estimated the power of the sea, and now it is my turn to find out all of the effects it can have on me. As I cross your waters, thank you for helping to show me what matters. When I next cross 0 latitude, I am sure there will be changes in my attitude.
Saturday, May 28, 2005
Journal Entry – May 28, 2005 Pacific Puddle Jump Day 24 The Day that Slipped Away
Author: Scott
Today was one of those days that just slips on by and is over before you know it. We realized late yesterday that we would not make the equator until Sunday, so we had to postpone the festivities one more day. Much of the morning was spent lounging and reading independently. Our food during the day was simple, cereal and Zone bars, and more fruit cocktail and peanut butter and crackers. I looked at my watch after lunch and somehow time marched forward to 1630 almost an hour and a half later than we usually start reading together. We got through another couple of chapters in our book and started cleaning up for dinner.
Fish Report: Before dinner I checked the Charlie Tuna Line and after hauling it in, I noticed that though the lure was in tact, the hook was missing. I had put one of the fish captured on deck on the line for bait, and it looks like it was swallowed along with the hook. This completely exhausts the useable inventory of fishing lures and gear, and so sadly there will be no further fishing reports until we can get a new supply somewhere in the South Pacific. These darn fish are proving to outwit me! What will we do with our wasabi powder? Maybe we can eat it with our fruit cocktail. Fish 11 (plus 2 lures and a hook) – Tournesol 0
The evening was restful with a good long “chill session” then we topped off the day with Pam’s favorite dinner, spaghetti with clam sauce. Then it was off to bed and our watches for our big date with Neptune in the morning.
Today was one of those days that just slips on by and is over before you know it. We realized late yesterday that we would not make the equator until Sunday, so we had to postpone the festivities one more day. Much of the morning was spent lounging and reading independently. Our food during the day was simple, cereal and Zone bars, and more fruit cocktail and peanut butter and crackers. I looked at my watch after lunch and somehow time marched forward to 1630 almost an hour and a half later than we usually start reading together. We got through another couple of chapters in our book and started cleaning up for dinner.
Fish Report: Before dinner I checked the Charlie Tuna Line and after hauling it in, I noticed that though the lure was in tact, the hook was missing. I had put one of the fish captured on deck on the line for bait, and it looks like it was swallowed along with the hook. This completely exhausts the useable inventory of fishing lures and gear, and so sadly there will be no further fishing reports until we can get a new supply somewhere in the South Pacific. These darn fish are proving to outwit me! What will we do with our wasabi powder? Maybe we can eat it with our fruit cocktail. Fish 11 (plus 2 lures and a hook) – Tournesol 0
The evening was restful with a good long “chill session” then we topped off the day with Pam’s favorite dinner, spaghetti with clam sauce. Then it was off to bed and our watches for our big date with Neptune in the morning.
Friday, May 27, 2005
Journal Entry – May 27, 2005 Pacific Puddle Jump Day 23 Maybe New Friends in Nuku Hiva
Author: Pam
The day began with the morning check in to the Amigo Net. The goal of the Net is for the cruising community to stay in touch and as a venue to keep your whereabouts known. The Amigo Net is for the cruising community in Mexico, but it has been fun to keep in touch with the friends we made. One of the things you can do while checking in is contact other boats (call traffic) to say hello… We were contacted this morning by Novia, they are the only other boat still making the crossing that we know of. This morning they were about 100 miles ahead of us. We have never met them, but we look forward to meeting them in Nuku Hiva, their destination also. At 0900 we tried to reach Abe and Amy on the SSB radio, we had prearranged a time through e-mail. We could hear Amy, but she couldn’t hear us. We tried again at 1400, but nothing was heard. It looks like the distance has gotten too great for us to communicate on the radio. They are on their way to El Salvador, so it looks like e-mail and hopefully Skype, the internet phone service we are now signed up for will have to suffice. We look forward to connecting with them soon.
Today was a beautiful day, clear, steady wind (we averaged 4 knots) and not a drop of rain. We spent some time this afternoon taking care of miscellaneous boat chores and reading. We are making good progress in “An Ocean to Cross”. We plan to contact the authors Liz and Pete the next time we have an internet connection, they are living in Fort Lauderdale, FL. It would be tons of fun to meet them one day. We had ramen for lunch and nachos for dinner (with Velveeta Cheese food). No fish report today.
The day began with the morning check in to the Amigo Net. The goal of the Net is for the cruising community to stay in touch and as a venue to keep your whereabouts known. The Amigo Net is for the cruising community in Mexico, but it has been fun to keep in touch with the friends we made. One of the things you can do while checking in is contact other boats (call traffic) to say hello… We were contacted this morning by Novia, they are the only other boat still making the crossing that we know of. This morning they were about 100 miles ahead of us. We have never met them, but we look forward to meeting them in Nuku Hiva, their destination also. At 0900 we tried to reach Abe and Amy on the SSB radio, we had prearranged a time through e-mail. We could hear Amy, but she couldn’t hear us. We tried again at 1400, but nothing was heard. It looks like the distance has gotten too great for us to communicate on the radio. They are on their way to El Salvador, so it looks like e-mail and hopefully Skype, the internet phone service we are now signed up for will have to suffice. We look forward to connecting with them soon.
Today was a beautiful day, clear, steady wind (we averaged 4 knots) and not a drop of rain. We spent some time this afternoon taking care of miscellaneous boat chores and reading. We are making good progress in “An Ocean to Cross”. We plan to contact the authors Liz and Pete the next time we have an internet connection, they are living in Fort Lauderdale, FL. It would be tons of fun to meet them one day. We had ramen for lunch and nachos for dinner (with Velveeta Cheese food). No fish report today.
Thursday, May 26, 2005
Journal Entry – May 26, 2005 Pacific Puddle Jump Day 22 So What Did You Do Today?
Author: Scott
It is a great feeling to be moving again. The trade winds are amazing, continuous and fresh, they spoil us. Never before have we enjoyed such uninterrupted sailing, and our hearts sink a little if we manage to drop below three knots.
We are building up quite a routine these days. I am up every day at 0700 to take a position and usually pass this information on to the Amigo Net. Next is breakfast with me usually opting for cereal and Pam often choosing a Zone Bar. Mornings tend to be personal time either individually reading, or meandering away in personal projects. At 1130 we take another position and then create a YotReps position report to be emailed so our web page will be updated with our whereabouts, and then we answer and prepare emails. We also check the Coast Guard frequencies for weather (if we can get it). At about 1300 we send all of this information off into the either via the SSB radio modem and through the wonders of technology the information is disseminated. We are currently having the best luck sending to the West Panama SailMail station. It is a strange feeling being closer to Panama than San Diego. Usually about now we start thinking of lunch. Lunch is usually a lighter meal and tends to be served cold, since it is often too hot to cook. Today we had soda crackers and peanut butter, with a can of fruit cocktail, and let it be known that fruit cocktail is seriously underrated. I love the stuff. I was thinking just the other day that my land based shopping will be different in the future, because of renewed loves such as fruit cocktail, peanut butter and Velveeta cheese product. After lunch we usually work on projects and then take a boat tour to look for potential problems, and to get a change of scenery. When 1500 hits we settle down in the cockpit with each of us perched in their respective cushioned chairbacks and we read together. After two hours of reading we may have to go shopping in the V-berth for dinner groceries or for the following day’s meals. Also, every other day is egg turn day, when we flip the eggs to keep them fresh. Once things are ready for the evening meal we settle down for our “chill hour” and listen to music and sometimes enjoy a little nip. This is usually the time of day where we talk, plan, and spend time together. After the “chill hour” we prepare the evening meal, tonight it was fried rice with chicken, water chestnuts, and even canned peas. Pam would not touch the peas or chestnuts. After dinner there is the nuisance of dishes, we sometimes watch a movie on the computer or we just hang out in the cockpit and look at the sky, or we start our watch schedule early and end the day.
Today after dinner we tuned into frequency 8.188.00 on the SSB radio to try to catch the Puddle Jumpers Net and for the first time we heard our friends from Zihautanejo who left for the South Pacific before us. We talked to both Grasal and Costa Vida and it looks like we will all be in Tahiti at the same time!
From 1600 to midnight we had squalls that continually crept up and dumped rain on Tournesol and blasted us with wind. We would just open all the ports and hatches for air and we would have to close them all again. We may be out of the ITCZ but we are sure still getting rainy equatorial weather.
Fish Report – Another day of no luck even with my collected dead fish bait! Fish 10 – Tournesol 0.
It is a great feeling to be moving again. The trade winds are amazing, continuous and fresh, they spoil us. Never before have we enjoyed such uninterrupted sailing, and our hearts sink a little if we manage to drop below three knots.
We are building up quite a routine these days. I am up every day at 0700 to take a position and usually pass this information on to the Amigo Net. Next is breakfast with me usually opting for cereal and Pam often choosing a Zone Bar. Mornings tend to be personal time either individually reading, or meandering away in personal projects. At 1130 we take another position and then create a YotReps position report to be emailed so our web page will be updated with our whereabouts, and then we answer and prepare emails. We also check the Coast Guard frequencies for weather (if we can get it). At about 1300 we send all of this information off into the either via the SSB radio modem and through the wonders of technology the information is disseminated. We are currently having the best luck sending to the West Panama SailMail station. It is a strange feeling being closer to Panama than San Diego. Usually about now we start thinking of lunch. Lunch is usually a lighter meal and tends to be served cold, since it is often too hot to cook. Today we had soda crackers and peanut butter, with a can of fruit cocktail, and let it be known that fruit cocktail is seriously underrated. I love the stuff. I was thinking just the other day that my land based shopping will be different in the future, because of renewed loves such as fruit cocktail, peanut butter and Velveeta cheese product. After lunch we usually work on projects and then take a boat tour to look for potential problems, and to get a change of scenery. When 1500 hits we settle down in the cockpit with each of us perched in their respective cushioned chairbacks and we read together. After two hours of reading we may have to go shopping in the V-berth for dinner groceries or for the following day’s meals. Also, every other day is egg turn day, when we flip the eggs to keep them fresh. Once things are ready for the evening meal we settle down for our “chill hour” and listen to music and sometimes enjoy a little nip. This is usually the time of day where we talk, plan, and spend time together. After the “chill hour” we prepare the evening meal, tonight it was fried rice with chicken, water chestnuts, and even canned peas. Pam would not touch the peas or chestnuts. After dinner there is the nuisance of dishes, we sometimes watch a movie on the computer or we just hang out in the cockpit and look at the sky, or we start our watch schedule early and end the day.
Today after dinner we tuned into frequency 8.188.00 on the SSB radio to try to catch the Puddle Jumpers Net and for the first time we heard our friends from Zihautanejo who left for the South Pacific before us. We talked to both Grasal and Costa Vida and it looks like we will all be in Tahiti at the same time!
From 1600 to midnight we had squalls that continually crept up and dumped rain on Tournesol and blasted us with wind. We would just open all the ports and hatches for air and we would have to close them all again. We may be out of the ITCZ but we are sure still getting rainy equatorial weather.
Fish Report – Another day of no luck even with my collected dead fish bait! Fish 10 – Tournesol 0.
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Journal Entry – May 25, 2005 Pacific Puddle Jump Day 21 Cruising in the SE Trades
Author: Pam
Once we hit the 12 knots of wind we were on the move again at a nice steady pace all night. However, with this wind and new wind direction also came the more than familiar waves hitting us on the port bow. Again, sometimes with such force it sounds like you just hit the side of a barn. Also on this outside edge of the ITCZ we encountered the strongest squalls so far, they started at 1530 in the afternoon and continued until 0700, packed with rain (we caught enough for our next bug shower) and wind, sometimes up to 25 knots. We also got our first bit of lightening at 0530. Fortunately we were through it quickly and without it being too scary. We did not have enough warning for the chain to go over the side, but the handheld GPS, VHF radio and video camera went into the oven. Next time the computer will go too, but in the moment that didn’t happen. Scott also disconnected the antennas from the SSB and VHF radios. It is confirmed we are definitely in the SE trades, yippee!!!
As mentioned once we hit the SE trades we tacked to port. Except for a very short period we have been on a starboard tack. Well, I am here to tell you life is a bit more challenging on a port tack. I never really thought about it too much, but I also didn’t have days and days to look forward to. If there are waves hitting you on the nose, cooking and washing dishes are an Olympic event, the galley is on the port side of the boat, so everything rolls of flies to starboard. While making lunch, the jar of pickles (I took my eye off it for one second) and the knife covered with mustard went flying halfway across the cabin. Of course the knife grazed the edge of my clean pillowcase and left a lovely mustard and deviled ham blob. Speaking of Jamon del Diablo (Devilled Ham), that was a blast from the past. I don’t think I have eaten it since I was ten. As you can see we have all the old standbys on board in attempt to fill the need for protein. What a challenge. Back to the port tack, we sleep on the settees, of course the smaller one is on the starboard side, not as comfortable as the bigger one on the port side. For some reason we can not figure out, the steps creak on a port tack, it can be so noisy you feel like you are in a torture chamber during your nighttime watches. Then there is the matter of the head, also on the port side of the boat. You feel as though you will be pitched forward at any second (mostly those waves again) and that is while the toilet seat is smacking you in the back if you are me. Figuring out a solution for that is on the to-do list. Then lastly it seems all of the storage spaces on the port side have more room for shifting their contents, so everything has a tendency to rearrange itself. Bottom line, life is more comfortable on this boat on a starboard tack, tough luck though it is a port tack the rest of the way.
While touring the deck today Scott came back with two small fish that had landed on board. He decided after reading “Kon Tiki” they would make good bait. The worst part was the one he saved for later in the plastic cup in the cockpit, not smelly really just kind of gross. Well, he is getting more creative, but after today it remains Fish 9, Tournesol 0.
Once we hit the 12 knots of wind we were on the move again at a nice steady pace all night. However, with this wind and new wind direction also came the more than familiar waves hitting us on the port bow. Again, sometimes with such force it sounds like you just hit the side of a barn. Also on this outside edge of the ITCZ we encountered the strongest squalls so far, they started at 1530 in the afternoon and continued until 0700, packed with rain (we caught enough for our next bug shower) and wind, sometimes up to 25 knots. We also got our first bit of lightening at 0530. Fortunately we were through it quickly and without it being too scary. We did not have enough warning for the chain to go over the side, but the handheld GPS, VHF radio and video camera went into the oven. Next time the computer will go too, but in the moment that didn’t happen. Scott also disconnected the antennas from the SSB and VHF radios. It is confirmed we are definitely in the SE trades, yippee!!!
As mentioned once we hit the SE trades we tacked to port. Except for a very short period we have been on a starboard tack. Well, I am here to tell you life is a bit more challenging on a port tack. I never really thought about it too much, but I also didn’t have days and days to look forward to. If there are waves hitting you on the nose, cooking and washing dishes are an Olympic event, the galley is on the port side of the boat, so everything rolls of flies to starboard. While making lunch, the jar of pickles (I took my eye off it for one second) and the knife covered with mustard went flying halfway across the cabin. Of course the knife grazed the edge of my clean pillowcase and left a lovely mustard and deviled ham blob. Speaking of Jamon del Diablo (Devilled Ham), that was a blast from the past. I don’t think I have eaten it since I was ten. As you can see we have all the old standbys on board in attempt to fill the need for protein. What a challenge. Back to the port tack, we sleep on the settees, of course the smaller one is on the starboard side, not as comfortable as the bigger one on the port side. For some reason we can not figure out, the steps creak on a port tack, it can be so noisy you feel like you are in a torture chamber during your nighttime watches. Then there is the matter of the head, also on the port side of the boat. You feel as though you will be pitched forward at any second (mostly those waves again) and that is while the toilet seat is smacking you in the back if you are me. Figuring out a solution for that is on the to-do list. Then lastly it seems all of the storage spaces on the port side have more room for shifting their contents, so everything has a tendency to rearrange itself. Bottom line, life is more comfortable on this boat on a starboard tack, tough luck though it is a port tack the rest of the way.
While touring the deck today Scott came back with two small fish that had landed on board. He decided after reading “Kon Tiki” they would make good bait. The worst part was the one he saved for later in the plastic cup in the cockpit, not smelly really just kind of gross. Well, he is getting more creative, but after today it remains Fish 9, Tournesol 0.
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
Journal Entry – May 24, 2005 Pacific Puddle Jump Day 20 Purple Food and Rainbows
Author: Scott
The day started with a little wind at last; just be have our hopes dashed as the wind vanished at 13:00. The sun cooked us for yet another day of fun in the sun in the ITCZ. The doldrums are turning out to be everything we were promised and then some. Of course if we had use of our engine, we would rip across the ITCZ and find the southeast trades, but because we are in pursuit of the real deal and because we have no spare for our circulation pump, we are braving the doldrums like real sailors. We did break out the staysail today, this is a secondary headsail that is flown behind the main headsail and attaches midway up the mast. This sail will allow us to quickly change sail area for weather, and provides for greater sail area in times of fair wind. At the end of our sweat fest we were rewarded because today is bug shower day, and as the sun began to set we broke out the bug shower and had a chance to use our collected rain water. The water was clean and pure and soon we were squeaky clean.
Tonight’s dinner was a foray into the fine world of canned food cooking; we finally tried to make something with canned corned beef. Yankee Red Flannel Corned Beef Hash was the delicacy on the menu! Our dinner was comprised of canned new potatoes, canned beets, a dash of milk, and of course canned corned beef. I knew we might be in trouble as I opened the can of corned beef to reveal a congealed mass that looked like a cross between silicone gel, dog food, and grated brains. I held tough, handed the can back to the galley and hoped for the best. Pam grew up eating hash and said that hash can be delicious. My next job was to mash up the potatoes and beets and I got a kick out of the purple hew that dinner was taking on.
Pam said that she thought things were going well, until she added the milk. Apparently milk is not a normal ingredient in hash, but Pam being true to the recipe boldly moved forward. Pam cooked away but the substance refused to brown and stubbornly kept it’s baby food properties. There was just no frying this blob, and so we decided to release it from the pan, and give it a go. “If you don’t like it you don’t have to eat it, and we can always have ramen instead”, said Pam. You know how it is when you bite into something and think maybe it will get better, well this was not one of those times; I knew that the purple paste was not going to get any better. I cautiously asked Pam what she though of dinner and she said that it has the right taste but the wrong consistency, so I persevered through two thirds of my serving. At that point I whispered an apology to Nemo and sent the remainder of my dinner over the side, “Sorry old sport, but you got to take the bad with the good, maybe I will have some crackers and peanut butter for you tomorrow.” In the end Pam agreed that din-din really was not very good and so we made a pact to try to barter off our eleven remaining canes of corned beer in the South Pacific, it is supposedly a high demand item. Lobster for corned beer, could it be possible? From now on we will stick to canned chicken and tuna, even Spam will be welcomed with open arms.
Pam passed out a round of Tums and we settled down in the cockpit for a late “Chill Hour” and as we sat there discussing the hazardous hash dinner the clouds built and built until we had an ominous black beast hanging just off our port quarter. The clouds soon turned to squalls and we had heavy rains and winds from varying directions. We had to abandon the self steering vane and hand steer when the wind became too fluky to hold a course. The weather was intense but never really scary. We were just sent sailing off in many directions just to turn off and head in another direction. We tried to edge our way south, away from the ITCZ, but continued on in the chaos for hours. During our frenzied sail we were visited by a dolphin or whale, we could not see it but we could hear it making squeaks, and we could hear the telltale sound of their breathing. It was almost as if we were visited to let us know that there would be an end to this mess.
Around midnight we were engulfed in a particularly dense and nasty rain cloud. We sailed on through the blackness until all at once we were free and under an inky sky with a blazing moon. Just then I saw something that I have never seen before, the moon was so bright that it made two distinct rainbows across the cloudy sky. We both blurted out “look at that” at the same time. With so many things that we do not visually see on this trip, such as much of the varied sea life (I certainly have not caught any), it is magical when we get the opportunity to see such an amazing site as our moonlight rainbows. It is something I will never forget. As we were staring at the sky with monoculars in hand, another incredible thing happened, the wind hardened with zeal in the sails and the anemometer said we had a twelve knot breeze directly from the southeast, and we fell into a port tack. We had reached the southeast trade winds and the end of the ITCZ. What an exit!
The day started with a little wind at last; just be have our hopes dashed as the wind vanished at 13:00. The sun cooked us for yet another day of fun in the sun in the ITCZ. The doldrums are turning out to be everything we were promised and then some. Of course if we had use of our engine, we would rip across the ITCZ and find the southeast trades, but because we are in pursuit of the real deal and because we have no spare for our circulation pump, we are braving the doldrums like real sailors. We did break out the staysail today, this is a secondary headsail that is flown behind the main headsail and attaches midway up the mast. This sail will allow us to quickly change sail area for weather, and provides for greater sail area in times of fair wind. At the end of our sweat fest we were rewarded because today is bug shower day, and as the sun began to set we broke out the bug shower and had a chance to use our collected rain water. The water was clean and pure and soon we were squeaky clean.
Tonight’s dinner was a foray into the fine world of canned food cooking; we finally tried to make something with canned corned beef. Yankee Red Flannel Corned Beef Hash was the delicacy on the menu! Our dinner was comprised of canned new potatoes, canned beets, a dash of milk, and of course canned corned beef. I knew we might be in trouble as I opened the can of corned beef to reveal a congealed mass that looked like a cross between silicone gel, dog food, and grated brains. I held tough, handed the can back to the galley and hoped for the best. Pam grew up eating hash and said that hash can be delicious. My next job was to mash up the potatoes and beets and I got a kick out of the purple hew that dinner was taking on.
Pam said that she thought things were going well, until she added the milk. Apparently milk is not a normal ingredient in hash, but Pam being true to the recipe boldly moved forward. Pam cooked away but the substance refused to brown and stubbornly kept it’s baby food properties. There was just no frying this blob, and so we decided to release it from the pan, and give it a go. “If you don’t like it you don’t have to eat it, and we can always have ramen instead”, said Pam. You know how it is when you bite into something and think maybe it will get better, well this was not one of those times; I knew that the purple paste was not going to get any better. I cautiously asked Pam what she though of dinner and she said that it has the right taste but the wrong consistency, so I persevered through two thirds of my serving. At that point I whispered an apology to Nemo and sent the remainder of my dinner over the side, “Sorry old sport, but you got to take the bad with the good, maybe I will have some crackers and peanut butter for you tomorrow.” In the end Pam agreed that din-din really was not very good and so we made a pact to try to barter off our eleven remaining canes of corned beer in the South Pacific, it is supposedly a high demand item. Lobster for corned beer, could it be possible? From now on we will stick to canned chicken and tuna, even Spam will be welcomed with open arms.
Pam passed out a round of Tums and we settled down in the cockpit for a late “Chill Hour” and as we sat there discussing the hazardous hash dinner the clouds built and built until we had an ominous black beast hanging just off our port quarter. The clouds soon turned to squalls and we had heavy rains and winds from varying directions. We had to abandon the self steering vane and hand steer when the wind became too fluky to hold a course. The weather was intense but never really scary. We were just sent sailing off in many directions just to turn off and head in another direction. We tried to edge our way south, away from the ITCZ, but continued on in the chaos for hours. During our frenzied sail we were visited by a dolphin or whale, we could not see it but we could hear it making squeaks, and we could hear the telltale sound of their breathing. It was almost as if we were visited to let us know that there would be an end to this mess.
Around midnight we were engulfed in a particularly dense and nasty rain cloud. We sailed on through the blackness until all at once we were free and under an inky sky with a blazing moon. Just then I saw something that I have never seen before, the moon was so bright that it made two distinct rainbows across the cloudy sky. We both blurted out “look at that” at the same time. With so many things that we do not visually see on this trip, such as much of the varied sea life (I certainly have not caught any), it is magical when we get the opportunity to see such an amazing site as our moonlight rainbows. It is something I will never forget. As we were staring at the sky with monoculars in hand, another incredible thing happened, the wind hardened with zeal in the sails and the anemometer said we had a twelve knot breeze directly from the southeast, and we fell into a port tack. We had reached the southeast trade winds and the end of the ITCZ. What an exit!
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