Hawaii to San Francisco Summer 2006 7-23-06 Sunday This morning I flew for the first time to Hawaii. I flew into Oahu Sunday, met Cliff again and Dave for the first time. We went food shopping. They thought I was nuts when I picked up 30 microwavable cans of ravioli and just as many pudding packs. Amusingly, they were all gone before we would reach San Francisco. We had dinner at a nice restaurant, Dave wanted steak because it would be the last time he would have steak for three weeks. I had fish and beer. There’s no drinking allowed aboard Rainbow. Sunday night I slept on deck but it started raining. Eventually, went below and slept in the forward cabin. 7-24-06 Monday We finished getting food. Cliff wanted some frozen t.v. dinners. We topped off the water tanks and left the dock at 10:00 am. We had to navigate the sandbars out of Kenoehe Bay. It took most of the day to put Oahu out of sight. I slept in the forward bunk. Didn’t sleep much because the boat is going into the wind and the bow is thrown about. I’m going to keep California time to make it easier to keep track. It’s funny, in my logbook I write, “It’s should be an uneventful trip back to Cali.” I would soon find out how eventful it would be. GPS says 21 deg 25.057 min 157 deg 45.984 min Wind is 15-20 knotsBoat speed 7 knots 7-25-06 Tuesday Our second day out and we hear over the SSB that another boat was hit by a whale and sank. Last night I tried sleeping in the forward cabin again. Too much motion, it’s tough to stay in the bunk without getting thrown around. I eventually end up sleeping on the dining seats, that didn't work either. I eventually ended up rotating bunks with Dave and Cliff. It took a week or so before I realized we had an alarm clock. Today was high seas and Gale winds, just the beginning. Wind 15-20 Clear Skies Boat speed 7 knots 24:00 24 deg 50 min 157 deg 45 min 7-26-06 Wednesday The days are going along; I’m just trying to catch up on sleep. I didn’t sleep for the first two days because of the forward berth motion and then trying to sleep on the dining seats. I’d like to sleep for 10 hours straight. I’m not eating, I think I’m losing weight. All I’ve eaten was a horrible t.v. dinner and some oranges. The microwave oven works great though. My water bottle spills all over me when I try to drink from it. Somehow, I rationalize that getting a few sips is fine even though I’m getting most of it all over my foul weather gear. I’ve got some Gatorade type mix with electrolytes and vitamins which I mix every morning. So, I’m drinking about a liter of water day. Actually, I’m trying to drink a liter a day, most of it spills on me. I’m so exhausted I don’t care. Wind 15-25 with 1 reef in the main.Rough seas Boat speed 6 knots 7-27-06 Thursday We spend some time catching a yellow Japanese fishing net ball, it took some doing but we got it. We’ve decided to park the boat while eating, it’s much more pleasant that way. I enjoy the nice little break in the seas. The bottom of the boat gets pounded by waves, sort of an oilcanning effect. The dining table is attached to the floor and food is thrown all over the ceiling, there’s cheerios, ravioli, soup, hot chocolate, anything is fair game it’s tossed about. I’ve got knots on my head from bumping the ceiling and when I'm sleeping the bottom of the bunk is pounded by waves, like someone punching the bottom of the mattress every few seconds really hard. Wind 25 +2 reefs in the main.Boat speed 6 knots 7-28-06 Friday It’s very strange coming up at midnight to take the wheel, I feel like I’ve got vertigo sometimes. It feels like the boat is going in circles, soon I realize the jib is pulled in real tight and the main is loose which makes the boat head up, simply pulling up the main sail and letting out the jib takes care of that problem. The waves are breaking over the boat and I can’t see much of anything except for the compass and instruments right in front of me. I’ve developed sun blindness from not wearing sunglasses and I can’t read very well. My eyes are really in bad shape. Eventually, after a day or so it all goes away when I start wearing sunglasses. I am very exhausted. Wind 25 + sometimes regularly 35 knot sustained. 3 reefs in the main.Boat speed 5 knots 7-29-06 Saturday Cliff, the boats owner and captain, is fearless. He’s outside in the wind and rain working on the rigging. The horizontal rain hurts, I’m bundled up in my foul weather gear. Now, I understand why the hood has a big wrap around cover and the sleeves have watertight Velcro straps with inner waterproof straps too. We have a rule onboard, everyone has to wear a harness and lifejacket at all times. At night we put the door in place so water doesn't drench the inside of the boat. I make hot chocolate and instant noodles before my midnight shift. It's amazing the three of us are getting along well, no fights or arguements even with the lack of sleep and high stress of the seas. Reefing the mainsail is a pain in the ass, I have to climb up to the mast and then back to the cockpit then back up again. All the while the boat is getting thrown about and it's raining. Wind 25-30 Sometimes 35 knots sustained. Boat speed 4 knots 7-30-06 Sunday The boat does not go to weather very well with wind above 30 knots, the small storm jib is useless. At this point I’m thinking about how much of this I can take. I’m exhausted, mentally and physically. We’re doing three hours on and six hours off except for midnight to two am. So my shifts stay the say for the entire trip; 6-9 pm, 12-2 am, 6-9 am. So, I get to see the sunrise every morning. At midnight every night Cliff calls in on the SSB with our position. I brought a satellite phone which I use to call home every few days. Originally, I planned to call every day, but I am so exhausted I can’t seem to find the time. Getting sleep now, storm passed. I’m sleeping in the bunks now instead of the forward berth. The bunks are big, very roomy. The weather is warm, I haven’t worn a shirt all week under my foul weather gear. I’m glad I spent the extra money on the Dubarry boots, worth every penny. And, I’m glad I brought a wool beanie, it’s very windy at night and a little chilly when the sun goes down. Small jib 3 reefs in main Boat speed 4 knots Week 2 7-31-06 Monday We are starting to wonder just how long it will take to get back to S.F. The boat does not go to windward in the high winds and the little storm jib is essentially useless for anything but sailing way off the wind. Wind 15-20 32 deg 34 min 156 deg 59 minBoat speed 8 knots 8-1-06 Tuesday Continuing due north. Wind 15-20Boat speed 8 knots 30 deg 0 min 15 deg 0 min 8-2-06 Wednesday Caught a Mahi Mahi and threw it back. We have plenty of fish. We’re frying it in olive oil and the only two spices onboard, pepper and parsley. The brown rice is very good also. I find myself sitting on the cabin floor next to the chart table eating a bowl of ravioli or instant noodles and hot chocolate most nights. The plan is to go due North until 40 latitude or so. Then turn East above the Pacific High pressure system. The High Pressure system is elusive and is moving about. Wind 13-15 Boat speed 7-8 knots 8-3-06 Thursday I’m trying to catch up on writing, I haven’t been writing because the weather has been so bad and I haven’t been sleeping much. Yesterday I caught a Mahi Mahi . 1399 miles to S.F. We’re getting closer to the high pressure system and making 5 knots. We finally decided to motor through the high pressure system. Wind 8 knots Boat speed 5 knots 38 deg 32 min 15 deg 47 min 8-4-06 Friday Tried my hand at celestial navigation. Dave brought a sextant and is very knowledgeable about the stars and celestial navigation theory. He's also a teacher and he's doing a documentary of sorts, he's doing lesson plans using the boat navigation as math problems. The navigation is entertaining and actually quite easy when the stars are visible. But, that isn't very often. Somehow I ended up exactly 60 miles from where the gps says we are supposed to be. It took some thinking but Dave soon realized we were on daylight savings time and lost an hour, thus the 60 mile error. I caught a Southern Blue fin tuna today. And, I finished a book, Tara Road. I can't believe I read that book, it's a romance novel about 800 pages. Altogether I’ve read four or five books. 1300 miles to go. No wind, we’re motoring, the water is flat as glass; we've finally found the Pacific High. I’m tempted to jump in. But, I’m worried about getting sick, I’m healthy now and I don’t want to take any chances. Also, if we stopped to swim we'd lose a couple of hours of sail time. Now, as I think about it, it would have been worth the time. Funny how things seem so different now. 8-5-06 Saturday I saw a green flare at night about 12:30 am. I sailed over to investigate but found nothing. Later a large ship passed. It’s amazing all ships are passing just about 3-5 miles away. No close encounters which is what I feared the most. The radar reflector must really work. Every captain so far has wanted to chat it up. Usually they want to know where are we from, how’s the weather been, where are we going, etc. Wind 5-10 knots Boat speed 6 knots 8-6-06 Sunday Still going downwind, wing on wing. Painfully slow but we’re finally going east instead of North. Driving the boat is like driving a tractor. For a long time while going due North we were 2000 miles from S.F. At one point when the weather was right on the nose and real bad we actually went 150 miles west. It's nice to go East, even if it is slow. Wind 9 knots Week 3 8-7-06 Monday Wind 10-15Overcast 8-8-06 Tuesday It seems we finally got over the high pressure system and the wind is from the west instead of the North East. No big celebration, just the usual routine. 3 hours on, 6 hours off, try to sleep when possible. Cook dinner, catch fish. Wind 10-14 from the west 8-9-06 Wednesday The wind is rounding up to the north as expected, it’s switching around a bit. 800 miles to S.F. Wind 10-20 from the South 40 deg 26 min 134 deg 40 min 8-10-06 Thursday Wind 25 from the Northwest 39 deg 39 min 132 deg 27 min 8-11-06 Friday The high winds are back with a following sea, then the as we get within a few hundred miles of land the seas were on the beam. I got hit by a rogue wave again on the beam which this time covered the main sail. This time I thought for sure we were going over. The boat slid down a wave but didn’t go over. I couldn't believe the boat didn't go over. The boat is very wide for a catamaran, I believe if we were on a more narrow catamaran we would have gone over for sure, the captain agreed. Small jib only, no main sail at all! Big seas again. It seems almost fitting that the weather has gotten worse now that we're nearly to our destination. It's like the sea is throwing one last challenge our way just to show us she's the boss. The ocean has complete control of our fate. If she wants to send us to the bottom of the ocean at any time she can. It's like the ocean is saying a final farewell and warning me to never come back again. I take the warning to heart and swear I'll never sail on the open ocean again. Of course, now that I'm safely back on land I'm planning another trip through the Panama Canal up to Maine singlehanded. We'll see. Wind 20-30 from North 8-12-06 Saturday Getting close to land, we can hear the Coast Guard VHF radio from S.F. and north again. If you find yourself in trouble in the Pacific don't expect the coast guard to come pick you up. We must have heard two dozen coast guard emergencies in both Hawaii and California, they basically ask a boat in the vicinity to pick you up. They don't do it themselves apparently. Wind 30-35 3 reefs in main, then switched to small jib only and no main sail. 8-13-06 Sunday We’re motoring into S.F. At 18:30 we’re 2 hours from Golden Gate Bridge. The final arrival seemed almost anti-climatic. The high winds and seas of the last few days are gone and it's peaceful . Now, there absolutely no wind, we’re motoring, the weather has been very strange. San Francisco looks beautiful. It's nice to see S.F. after three weeks of sailing. The Golden Gate Bridge has new meaning now. We get to the dock about 9 pm. Cliff’s wife shows up along with some of his Pacific Cup Crew. She gave me a nice Rainbow hat. I want to take a shower and eat something. Eating on the boat is strange, it’s not moving. I forgot my cell phone so I don’t have anybody’s phone number. So, I spent the night aboard Rainbow alone. Of course, I take a hot shower, very nice. Monday morning I fly back to San Diego. I’m still trying to digest the trip; it’ll take several weeks before I really want to take about what I went through for the last three weeks. And, it’ll take until the following January, 2007 to finally write about it. Cliff and Dave were perfect sailing companions, Cliff was the fearless skipper and Dave was the tactician who found the high pressure system and navigated the boat north then east to San Francisco. He also worked the SSB radio with efficiency and ease. I mostly steered the boat, trimmed sails and cooked a bit. |