Day 17

We had good conditions reaching with main and genoa until this afternoon when the forecasted light wind area finally overtook us. Interlude is now motoring and most likely will continue under power until we anchor sometime around noon tomorrow at Penrhyn.

Only one more Korean fishing vessel with AIS marked net just starting to deploy as we crossed their stern.

 

Kurt has been checking into the Pacific Seafarer’s Net every day and for the last two days even served as a relay station for one single hander vessel leaving Hawaii for Alaska. No one but Kurt could copy him and after two days at sea his satphone stopped working. He was to call his wife every day to reassure her he is okay. This is why we have backups for backups. I’ll bet they are glad there is a HAM radio aboard and people working the PacSeaNet.

 On May 31, 2024, our position at
1200 Cook Island Time
1500 PDT
1000 NZST (June 1)
was:
6d37.7m S, 155d51.8m W

24 hr noon to noon:  218 nm

 

Day 16

With the wind dying yesterday afternoon we redeployed the Code Zero and managed to keep it up during some nighttime squalls. This morning however the sail had had enough and ripped leech to luff. We furled the tattered sail and got it and the furling gear stowed in the forepeak. Interlude is back to making 10 kn tracks beam reaching with the genoa and one reef in the mainsail.

We are starting to time our landfall at Penrhyn which would ideally be sometime midday when the sun is overhead allowing us to see the numerous coral hazards in the lagoon and make our way to Omoku village. A weekend arrival could be problematic for some clearance officials so we used the Iridium satphone to call the Government Executive Officer, Mr. Puna John Vano. He was very nice and sympathetic to our arrival schedule especially since Monday is a holiday (King’s Birthday). We agreed that Interlude could remain quarantined at anchor (flying the ‘Q’ flag)  until Tuesday when the official boarding party would process us. We have to be sure not to do any work, swimming, diving or dinghying on Sunday as the Islanders there are very religious.

On May 30, 2024, our position at

1200 Cook Island Time

1500 PDT

1000 NZST (May 31)

was:

3d53.3m S, 153d27.9m W

24 hr noon to noon:  186 nm

Day 15

We crossed the equator at 0200 last night and paid tribute to King Neptune today.

We are both shellbacks and there are no pollywogs aboard, so the ritual was limited to appeasement with a splash of rum over the rail. Kurt has crossed eight times and Katie five.

 We also decided not to wait until landfall to change to Cook Island Time. With the wind dying we could use three more hours to pad our stats:

On May 29, 2024, our position at

1200 Cook Island Time

1500 PDT

1000 NZST (May 30)

was:

1d24.8m S, 151d36.1m W

27 hr noon to noon:   215 nm

Day14

At around midnight we had another encounter with our non-responsive fishing buddies. The same two Korean boats, the Okyong and the Dongwon (hilarious names) we encountered yesterday had somehow got ahead of us and set their gear right in our path. Although not good at answering the radio, they were very good at marking their net with five AIS buoys allowing us to avoid any issues with a slight course change.

Our conditions have stabilized but with slightly more wind than the 15 kn forecast. Since it was all hands on deck to deal with the Koreans, we also tucked in a reef at around midnight with no loss of boatspeed. We still have the same wind and seas this afternoon and are making good progress. A favorable equatorial current is adding at least a knot to our speed yielding 9 -10 kn SOG while beam reaching with genoa and reefed mainsail.

A few days ago one of our gaggle of wayward sea birds disabled the B & G masthead unit that gives us wind direction and speed. We happened to catch sight of the likely suspect, a tattered petrel sitting atop the rocking mast trying to hang on. As part of prepping for this cruise, we replaced the masthead unit that was previously broken off by a bird with the spare now damaged by another bird. These units for the 38-year-old instrument system are hard to get. Fortunately there is a company in the UK that makes aftermarket parts that are even better than the original B&G. We got a new spare and are now glad we used the old spare first. We are not however (ie unlike Ellen MacArthur) going to the top of the mast to swap it out while underway. This was all to say that we are now sailing the traditional way, looking at the water, Windex and telltales for wind speed and direction. At night the Windex has its own light and we make full use of Interlude’s foredeck, spreader and cockpit LED floodlights while changing and trimming sails. The masthead unit will be repaired or replaced at anchor (<800 nm to go!)

On May 28, 2024, our position at

1200 Interlude Time

1200 PDT

0700 NZST (May 29)

was:

1d33.7m N, 149d29.7m W

24 hr noon to noon:  215 nm

Day 13

With the variable conditions in the ITCZ we have been practicing sail changes and even reefing. Interlude has three headsails on furlers ready to deploy (code zero,  genoa and staysail) and three reefs rigged in the mainsail. To get some rest and top off the batteries, we motored all last night when it was mostly calm with just a reefed main for stability. The sail changing continued today amidst dodging a fishing operation with at least a couple boats with long lines or nets (no response on VHF radio) and catching a small tuna ourselves.

Conditions should stabilize tonight as we leave the ITCZ behind us to the north. We look forward to the forecasted steady gentle 10 – 15 kn trade winds south of the equator and eating some tuna sashimi and sushi. Thanks to Judy & Matt for the last-minute supply of wasabi and pickled ginger.

On May 27, 2024, our position at

1200 Interlude Time

1200 PDT

0700 NZST (May 28)

was:

4d14.8m N, 147d7.8m W

24 hr noon to noon:  180 nm

Day 12

As we approach the ITCZ and leave the Pacific High our wind is subsiding and becoming more unstable. This morning we cleared the deck of numerous dead flying fish and squid, furled the genoa, stowed the whisker pole and deployed the code zero. We are now beam reaching with 7 – 10 kn of breeze. The seas are also calming down and additionally, this sail plan gives us a smoother, less rolly ride. Here is today’s GRIB file with the wind arrows showing speed and direction:

 

The more colorful graphic from Windy.com shows the Pacific High, ITCZ and our destination at Penrhyn:

 

At 145d longitude, we have entered a new time zone should be changing our clocks today. Penrhyn, belonging to the Cook Islands, is three hours behind PDT. To keep our space-time continuum jump manageable we have decided to make the time change when we arrive at Penrhyn.

On May 26, 2024, our position at

1200 Interlude Time

1200 PDT

0700 NZST (May 27)

was:

6d34.9m N, 145d13.6m W

24 hr noon to noon:  165 nm

Day 11

Although our watch schedule has been quite loose this passage, we do keep a log with entries at least every hour. The log is a bound book with numbered pages that can be used in a court of law (ie collision with another vessel).

It also records our last known position in the event of loss of navigation instruments (GPS system goes down, power failure, etc.) We would be transported back to before 1980 and resort to using dead reckoning, celestial navigation and paper charts. When Kurt and Harry sailed to Mexico, Marquesas, Hawaii and back to San Francisco in 1982, GPS was not available to the public. Positions were determined using a sextant, sight reduction tables and a chronometer. A noon sight is the easiest but sometimes (as in the first few days of this trip) the sun is obscured by clouds and its angle to the horizon cannot be determined. There are methods to get fixes at other times and using other celestial bodies (moon, stars, planets).

 

Entries include:

CTS      Magnetic Course To Steer to reach our next waypoint

COG    Magnetic Course Over Ground (the direction the vessel is actually traveling accounting for leeway             and current as read on the GPS)

BSP      Boat Speed (using two underwater sensors on the hull and keel measuring the Doppler effect)

SOG     Speed Over Ground

TWD     Magnetic actual wind direction

WSP     Wind Speed (a calculated value based on BSP and apparent wind speed)

BAR      Barometric pressure in mb

SEA T.  Sea Temperature (Interlude has a thru hull thermometer)

LOG     Miles recorded using BSP

AWA     Apparent Wind Angle (useful for setting sails or steering while sailing)

OIL       Main engine oil pressure (it is a good idea to look at the gages to check for anomalies at least                     every hour when the engine is running)

HRS      Main engine hours

Te          Main engine coolant temperature (to make sure raw water is flowing and other cooling                             components are working properly)

Tx          Main engine exhaust temperature (to make sure the engine is not lugging)

On May 25, 2024, our position at

1200 local

1200 PDT

0700 NZST (May 26)

was:

9d20.1m N, 143d12.7m W

24 hr noon to noon:  218 nm

It is now 95 F in the pilothouse and sea temperature is 85 F. The tropics “makes her clothes fall off”

Day 10

Today we passed the halfway point to our planned stop at Penryn atoll. The GPS/chartplotter gives us a constant readout on miles and time to go. When surfing down a wave at 13kn we have five days to go and when the wind dies a bit it reads twelve.

 Interlude’s sailplan is back to wing and wing with some adjustments made to prevent sheet chafe from the pole. The seas are down a bit but still quite confused and keeping us from leaving things on the counter. At least the Mixmaster is not leaping from the galley to the nav station like it tried to when Katie made banana bread.

On May 24, 2024, our position at

1200 local

1200 PDT

0700 NZST (May 25)

was:

12d27.8m N, 141d20.6m W

24 hr noon to noon:  221 nm

Day 9

This morning we found a dozen dead flying fish on deck. (There was even a small squid a few days ago.) This is a common phenomenon and these little guys can be quite a nuisance. Last night, with a beautiful full moon finally breaking thru the clouds, we heard one hit the pilothouse window right next to Kurt’s head with blood and scales left on the window as evidence to what had just occurred. All noises must be accounted for while at sea as they could indicate possible structural, mechanical or other maintenance issues. The French name for these guys is exocet (latin fish family Exocoetidae) and is why the European missile is named after them. We always try to wear sunglasses on deck when they are on the wing and any impact would be painful.

On one passage we were below remarking how bad the other smelled. We were standing right beneath one of the ventilators where we finally determined where the smell was coming from. Reaching into the vent from on deck, sure enough, there was a rotting flying fish.

All this talk of fish and the water temperature now up to 78 F makes us want to get out the gear and catch some! But we also have to make some space in the fridge and freezer as whatever we catch out here – tuna, mahimahi, wahoo, etc. could be quite big. Maybe tomorrow.

On May 23, 2024, our position at

1200 local

1200 PDT

0700 NZST (May 24)

was:

15d33.8m N, 139d17.7m W

24 hr noon to noon:   213 nm

Day 8

We are now at about the same latitude as Hawaii and are feeling the tropics. The daytime temperature is over 85 F (29 C) with a sea temp of almost 75 F (24 C). We are down to shorts and tee shirt. If the sky clears and it gets any hotter we will have on even less on and break out the wet washcloths for evaporative cooling. We can now see the bruises from all the ‘turbulence’. In the last report we said the motion got as bad as the worst airliner turbulence. It was not as bad as Tuesday’s Singapore Airlines flight from Heathrow however.

We mentioned downloading podcasts to our phones while Starlink is on for entertainment later on watch. With our subscription to Spotify we are getting the latest from Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly and Joe Rogan.

Some good episodes so far:

Tucker interviews Dave Smith

Tucker interviews Aaron Rodgers

Tucker interviews Tulsi Gabbard

MK with Dan Bongino

Rizwan Virk on JRE

Gad Saad on JRE

Mike Baker on JRE

On May 22, 2024, our position at

1200 local

1200 PDT

0700 NZST (May 21)

was:

18d46.3m N, 137d43.1m W

24 hr noon to noon:   205 nm