NOTE FROM JEANNE: My computer malfunctioned on the 10th of May and can not be fixed, so I am without direct email capability for the rest of the trip.  My friends have set up an email-to-radio relay for me with an email address of my radio call sign (KC2IOV) at mv dot com.  Please use this email address for any important messages but understand that everything gets relayed to me over the radio and so the capacity is very limited.  I will reply to email as soon as I can but there may be long delays in replying and some messages may not be replied to until I make landfall at the end of my trip.  But as of this date I am doing well!  Note:  Any Yahoo Group members' replies to my email will not have been received.

Thursday 16th May 2013

Over the day, the course has been 020T, speed has been 4-5kt. Priority at present is avoiding the tiny Baker and Howland Islands ahead just N of the equator. Their positions on my chart-plotter display were confirmed last night by Mark, N1UK - good to know exactly where they are, since I will past them in the dark - they have no light. [We remember Amelia Earhart as we pass them. There is a day beacon on Howland Island named after her. She came down somewhere near by in her little plane in 1937.]

Weather faxes are showing good weather: E winds across the equator until I reach the ITCZ which is at 4-5N. Satellite photos still show it is clear ahead, with no major convection until the ITCZ.

Other priorities are checking the weather continually and looking in detail at the sea bed in the Hawaiian Islands chain out to beyond Midway. We might want to pass through somewhere, so I have noted all the many hazzards - reefs, islands, seamounts....lots of them!

I am writing this singing along to music playing - getting into the equator crossing party mode already - expect to cross the line tonight - 2:30-3:30am(Friday 17th of May) at approximately 176W, passing  30 n.ml.  E of Baker Island.

24hr DMG to 2300GMT: 106 n.ml. Strait of Juan de Fuca: 4000 n.ml.

From KC2IOV/MM By HF radio. Copied by Jim, WB2REM Port St. Lucie, FL

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tuesday 14th May 2013

7pm   Starry night, very few clouds, crescent moon lighting up the sea, Southern Cross not so high since close to
the equator (4S).

We had a lovely sail today after an extensive early morning rain cloud killed our speed for over two hours.
We passed under two heavy showers-each time the winds first increased, giving us 5 kt speed, and then
died so we made under two kt. Our overnight course of 030T became 350T. Winds finally picked up and veered,
so then we made 5kt or more, sailing N-NNE for most of what was a very hot day.

Downloaded satellite IR photos of cloud cover-showed a mass of cloud ahead, both N and S of equator- can
expect strong squals in the active convection there-from possibly late wednesday to late sunday.

The brown noddy flew off this morning, after the rain, having sat in the cockpit just a foot away from my
winching without moving. So far tonight, she has not come back to roost as I expected.
I like thank Rick, WA1RKT for setting up an email address to be used to relay urgent messages via HF
radio.Non-urgent messages can continue come to me via my website 'Contact' page- to be read on landfall.

24hr DMG to 2300GMT: 97 n.ml. Strait of Juan de Fuca: 4219 n.ml.

From KC2IOV/MM By HF radio. Copied by Jim, WB2REM Port St. Lucie, FL

...........................................................................................................................................
For my positions and track, see:
www.svnereida.com - 'Travels' - "Where is 'Nereida'?"
and/or:
http://www.exactearth.com/media-centre/recent-ship-tracks/tracking-nereida/

Monday 13th May 2013

7am
On deck in strong winds-face to face with brown noddy on port winch.
Reduced genoa-with big grey mass of clouds ahead with grey overcast.

Midday
Clouds thinning, winds down-still NE.
Course has been only 340T since morning.
Brown noddy landed on foredeck as well as is in the cockpit- it had a long black spear like bill for fishing.
Downloading weather faxes.

1pm
Course, finally, due N,  seas 4.3kt.

8pm
Brown noddy has adopted the boat- identified as a female with help of N7RY and VK4DBJ. Just settled into short nap before evening radio sked when heavy rain fell- I saw the boat was turning N-NE – NW-SW!
Realised sails had been backed by sudden change of wind.
Up on deck to get us back on course-shared the cockpit with the brown noddy- not worried by my presence. Bird has now been named Brownie. Had meal in cockpit tonight with Brownie a couple of feet away- no problem.

24hr DMG to 2300GMT: 100 n.ml. Strait of Juan de Fuca: 4309 n.ml.

From KC2IOV/MM By HF radio. Copied by Jim, WB2REM Port St. Lucie, FL

...........................................................................................................................................
For my positions and track, see:
www.svnereida.com - 'Travels' - "Where is 'Nereida'?"
and/or:
http://www.exactearth.com/media-centre/recent-ship-tracks/tracking-nereida/

Good Morning,

I have heard through the HAM net that Jeanne's second laptop fell and the monitor broke.  This leaves her without a working computer.

Several people are now working on a relay system where Jeanne will dictate the log entries over the radio and I will post them here.  Entries may not be posted everyday.

-jak

May 11, 2013

Hello,

This is Jak Mang writing for Jeanne. I occasionally relay blog posts that do not arrive correctly and post photographs.

I received a radio-telephone patch tonight from Jeanne through a HAM operator in Riverside, California.   It was very difficult to understand Jeanne over the patch.  She has apparently had some equipment problem that will keep her from sending email or blog updates.  This is most likely an issue with her Pactor modem that digitizes text over the SSB or HAM radio frequencies.  She said that she will be attempting to forward updates through some other channels every two or three days. When I asked if there were any other problems, she said things were well, but that she had no wind.

I will pass along messages as I get them. Please rest assured that she is currently having no major difficulties.

-jak

Friday 10th May 2013

1pm Sitting with coffee getting postion/weather report ready for sending and having had a good detailed look over paper charts for passage on to Equator and N.Pacific. Found a lot of detailed charts I'd forgotten I had - always good! So pleased to have them - charts for present area covering Phoenix Group (in Kiribati), which is ahead, clearly show a Reef (Carondelet) with 'rock awash' very close to my present path not visible on electronic charts until zoomed right in to on top of it.... could be very nasty!! Nearest hazard seems to be Gardner Island / Nikumaroro (a typical S.Pacific atoll) - 392ml away at 2300GMT (Mon/Tues), but that assumes present course is maintained - not a certainty.

Was pleased to find wind had veered into SE early this morning - so we're making some Easting on a good course for the time being, although speed is varying a lot: 3-4.5kt. With no hazards close ahead, this is an ideal time to be under wind steering - making the most of the wind, despite its variation in direction. Weather forecasts seem to be showing that we'll keep some wind, albeit light at times, right up to and across the Equator, although we might be forced to sail NNW again at times - but at least we'll be able to keep heading N and SPCZ is definitely astern now.

3pm Just passing under a wide area of light grey raincloud, stretching across sky from W to E- boat speed was increased to 5.5kt with greater wind on the approach and has now dropped to under 1kt with frequent light rain - nothing too dramatic, but difficult to keep course now with such light wind. Wind has backed a lot - course now 310T instead of 030T,as before. Typical conditions for the far side of a raincloud. No distance records being broken again today...

5.30pm Nearing sunset - dramatic towering, anvil-shaped clouds in the distance, catching the rosy glow... We're ambling along again at around 3kt in fairly calm seas - it's been a very pleasant day.

Evening - took meal (Cumbrian Lamb Hotpot with peas) to cockpit to enjoy in the refreshingly cool night air - with brilliant stars above, as we coasted along at just over 4 knots - lovely!
..............................................................
Tragic Americas Cup news today - unbelievable... My deepest sympathy and condolences to family and friends.
..............................................................
D.M.G. over 24hr to Fri 10th May 2300 GMT : 56 n.ml. - reflecting time spent making just 1-2 kt yesterday afternoon/evening. Sydney: 2194 n.ml. (224T); New Zealand's North Cape: 1562 n.ml. (195T); Vanua Levu (Fiji): 404 n.ml. (187T); W. Samoa:444 n.ml. (124T).

Distance to Strait of Juan de Fuca entrance: 4500 n.ml.
...........................................................................................................................................
For my positions and track, see:
www.svnereida.com - 'Travels' - "Where is 'Nereida'?"
and/or:
http://www.exactearth.com/media-centre/recent-ship-tracks/tracking-nereida/

Thursday 9th May 2013 (repeated date!)

Just lost my original posting.... so a quick note version now...

Slept very well overnight - too well! Alarm was set on mobile/cellphone as I started a short nap early in the evening - ran out of battery power, so phone shut down - no alarm rang - missed several evening radio scheds... Woke just before first light, before 5am - but just too late to catch the Space Station - again! We were just passing Macaw Bank off to starboard, with underwater peaks rising to within 18-20m of sea-level. Very few clouds and very little swell - but a threatening dark grey band of cloud on horizon ahead.

By 9am, it had became very squally with lots of grey cloud, some towering, others very dispersed - wind up and down - boat speed over 6kt, then down to 1-2kt or less after a squall or in between clouds..... we were in unstable air of the S.Pacific Convergence Zone (SPCZ) One downpour lasted from 11:15am to 12:30pm - very extensive cloud system - strong wind initially, so genoa furled away, but then very heavy rain - visibility reduced to a couple of boat lengths and boat speed down to 2kt for a time - then down to 0.5-1kt for even longer... difficult to keep course... but boat was extremely well rinsed off! That downpour had not long ended when more lighter rain fell for quite a time.

Eventually rain stopped - had heard an odd banging from time to time I couldn't place - now saw it was the radar scanner banging on the stern arch - its welded support had totally come away. I set to, lashing it further to support its weight & prevent any movement and then released tension on the GPS cable - all took a time - and more rain fell as I was perched up on the steelwork - got totally soaked - but air and rain were warm, TG! Luckily, it was fairly calm until I was almost finished when I noticed we were sailing a bit faster and seas were more.

Before I'd started on the radar problem, I'd noticed something odd about our course - we were heading SW! Once finished, I tried to get us back on course - but the wind had changed direction completely - instead of from ESE was now from NW. Fine, I thought, we'll tack around and head E - but found we were heading SE at best... wind had changed again... Tacked around again - best we could manage was NNW-NW - but better to head N than head S, so have stayed on starboard tack.

As I was starting to sort sails out, I'd noticed a frenzy of feeding close by - thrashing in several places near the surface (dolphins?) and a lot of excited birds over a small circular area - unusual, since I've seen almost no birds recently... a possible skua this morning and nothing yesterday...

This evening, we're still only making 340T - NNW - at 2.5-4.5 kt, with wind varying a lot, mainly light. Have unfurled most of genoa to help our speed - hope I don't regret that later....

D.M.G. over 24hr to Thurs 9th May 2300 GMT : 90 n.ml. Sydney: 2151 n.ml. (224T); New Zealand's North Cape: 1507 n.ml. (195T); Vanua Levu (Fiji): 351 n.ml. (188T); W. Samoa:418 n.ml. (118T).

Distance to Strait of Juan de Fuca entrance (Thurs 9 May 2300 GMT): 4548 n.ml.
...........................................................................................................................................
For my positions and track, see:
www.svnereida.com - 'Travels' - "Where is 'Nereida'?"
and/or:
http://www.exactearth.com/media-centre/recent-ship-tracks/tracking-nereida/

Thursday 9th May 2013 Across the Date Line! Back into Wednesday.... GMT - 12hr, instead of GMT + 12hr

Mid-morning - extensive band of grey raincloud from horizon to horizon ahead - squalls a-plenty - but none too fierce. Have kept small amount of genoa unfurled - keeps us moving rather slowly in between squalls, but also means we're not way-overpowered during the squalls. Keeping nicely to a course avoiding seamounts and banks on and around our route - next one to avoid is Macaw Bank, then on to Gardner Island - part of Phoenix/Kiribati group

By afternoon, rainclouds had disappeared... until evening.... Then suddenly, as rain fell, we were speeding along, heeled over at nearly 7kt - didn't last long, before wind dropped and we were crawling at 3.5kt - but slowly things got back to normal and we were making around 5kt again. It had been a very pleasant afternoon's sail and we crossed the 180 degree Meridian at 5:06pm - into the Western hemisphere - and back a day into Wednesday! Local time is now GMT - 12hr, instead of GMT + 12hr.

I've just been testing out the weatherfax situation, having remembered that some of the Honolulu weatherfaxes were relevant to this area, now we're N of 20S. Both the dedicated weastherfax machine and the laptop are receiving rather blurred faxes - but I'll check again in the morning when propagation might be better. At least the laptop is giving sensible faxes instead of the garbage it had been giving recently - it seems to have self-corrected - maybe due to a hard switching off and re-booting, instead of it always being put into 'sleep' mode?

Without any clouds overhead, it's another beautiful dark starry night. Tomorrow there should be an annular eclipse of the sun around midday - the moon is too far away for a full eclipse - a 'ring of fire' instead... Will have to be careful not to look directly.... Will be up by dawn to look again for that Space Station... around 1654GMT - nearly 5am LT.

D.M.G. over 24hr to Thurs 9th May 1100 NZT : 115 n.ml. Sydney: 2036 n.ml. (225T); New Zealand's North Cape: 1396 n.ml. (194T); Vanua Levu (Fiji): 250 n.ml. (176T); W. Samoa:446 n.ml. (103T).

Distance to Strait of Juan de Fuca entrance (Thurs 9 May 2300Z): 4666 n.ml.
...........................................................................................................................................
For my positions and track, see:
www.svnereida.com - 'Travels' - "Where is 'Nereida'?"
and/or:
http://www.exactearth.com/media-centre/recent-ship-tracks/tracking-nereida/

Tuesday/Wednesday 7/8th May 2013

Tuesday
Rough conditions all day, especially up until changed course to head further N to avoid extensive shoals of a bank ahead which I'd been trying to keep S of. It felt a lot more comfortable once headed more off the wind.
Fairly clear sky around sunset. Had short sleep before evening radio chats - woke to find wet decks and strong wind - heeling, going fast & banging into short chop a lot -- up on deck to furl in more genoa - boat calmed down a bit & felt better...!
Looked for Space Station - had beeen told it would be very bright and visible around 6:54pm - clear sky overhead and clear also in NW where it should have appeared - but nothing seen - disappointing! Must have got timing wrong....

Wednesday
Clear sky early on, but cloud soon spread over to give 90% cover by 10am. Good SE Trades now - 20kt early on, down to 15 kt by mid-morning... making 5.5-6 kt. Heeled constantly, so moving about is rather difficult - often have to 'climb uphill' to reach windward (starboard) side of cabin... and chart table is on windward side so heeling tries to throw me out of my seat - frequently using the hinged arm restraint I had made in Simon's Town to lock myself in place.
A brown booby flew by to check us over: all dark above, dark tail, white underbody with black breast & black edges to underwings, long, pale, pointed bill.
Spent a time digging out milk supplies and stowing in fridge, which is acting as a dry locker on this trip.

12:30 pm Just had rain squall pass over - wind much increased and seas also... boat speed up to well over 6kt.. but heeling a lot as well... furled in remainder of genoa - & soon after wind dropped - so now ambling along at just over 4kt. Don't feel inclined to unfurl genoa again - can see more of the same ahead!
We're on the edge of the S.Pacific Convergence Zone - can expect clouds and squalls until we're through it - in a day or two, maybe.... Having to study chart carefully to note shallow spots and banks and try to avoid them... Lots of them - all around and ahead for quite a way....

7pm Another 'no-sighting' for the Space Sation.. Jim was quite sure it would bev unmistakeable and visible around 6pm tonight.. but nothing...
I'm having some 'chile con carne' for food tonight. getting it ready early - if I don't, I start not bothering - not good for energy levels.
Fred is back in charge again - have been on AP a lot in these squally conditions - but I'm hoping things are calmer now.

Time for a quick nap before evening radio chats - 20m is proving generally far better (clearer, with less noise) than 40m.

Midnight: Lovely starry sky - mainly clear,.... until a cloud comes by - several big squalls overnight - keeping me busy!

D.M.G. over 24hr to 11am LT: (Tues: 75 n.ml.) Wed: 130 n.ml. Sydney: 1925 n.ml. (226T); New Zealand's North Cape: 1285 n.ml. (193T); Vanua Levu (Fiji): 63 n.ml. (162T); W. Samoa:492 n.ml. (090T).

Distance to Strait of Juan de Fuca entrance (Wed 8May 2300Z): 4780 n.ml.
...........................................................................................................................................
For my positions and track, see:
www.svnereida.com - 'Travels' - "Where is 'Nereida'?"
and/or:
http://www.exactearth.com/media-centre/recent-ship-tracks/tracking-nereida/

Monday 6th May 2013

Midday - In the calmer conditions of this morning,I got my shower attachment working, finally, on the sugar scoop (stern steps) -only just managed not to lose any of the 3 tiny ball-bearings while I was working on the boat fitting to see why there was a problem. Will be useful having the deck shower in this bright, warm sunshine and certainly enjoyed it later! Had a late breakfast in the cockpit afterwards, having tried to send off my 11am (2300Z) position report - difficult connection at this time of day - mght have to leave until a few hours' time, when propagation is better.

Evening: All in all, it's been pleasant sailing over the day - not fast, but steady in ESE wind, good sunshine, with relatively calm seas. Had several boobies come by at sunset - big, neavy birds that tried very hard to roost on the solar panels but found nothing to grip on to - so finally gave up, as darkness fell.... I was glad they failed because they could have damaged the structures - quite apart from the mess they make!

Later, a squall came by - I was catching up on some sleep and woke to find the sails backed and the decks wet, with some water down below, by open ports, also. We were sailing SW at 2.5kt - so had to jump to the wheel and get us back on course - would have been nice to have had a working wind instrument at that point in the dark of a moonless night, but was able see the Windex lit up by the tricolour light at the mast top, which was useful, as we gybed around to end up heading NE again. It became quite rough at times - we're beating, close-hauled, and passing the channel between the two big islands of Fiji, so the seas are getting up between the islands, from the S.

D.M.G. over 24hr to 11am LT: 12 n.ml. - again, no surprise! Sydney: 1728 n.ml. (229T); New Zealand's North Cape: 1092 n.ml. (190T); Efate (Vanuatu): 483 n.ml. (261T); Vanua Levu (Fiji): 90 n.ml. (098T); Yasawa Islands, Viti Levu, Fiji): 33n.ml. (120T).

Distance to Strait of Juan de Fuca entrance: 4985 n.ml.
..............................................................................................................................................
For my positions and track, see:
www.svnereida.com - 'Travels' - "Where is 'Nereida'?"
and/or:
http://www.exactearth.com/media-centre/recent-ship-tracks/tracking-nereida/

This did not get posted a few days ago...

Sunday 5th May 2013

A lovely, peaceful morning - refreshing easterly breeze, a very slight S swell and a relaxing breakfast in the cockpit. I'd had a good sleep - when the boat is making 2kt at most and no hard bits are close enough to worry about, even 4-6 hrs is The good news was that overnight we'd got further from the small reef island of Viwa which was now 25ml to the S. We were making a good course and speed for a few hours - SOG actually got up to 4kt! - before wind slowly died so that, by midday, we were back to struggling to make 1-2kt..... But at least we're moving - and mostly in the right direction, instead of being becalmed, as expected, so that's a double bonus. Another day of these light conditions is forecast before SE Trades set in - hopefully. Down below, curtains are drawn against the heat of the sun, hatch is always open and portlights in the head and galley are open to let some air in acoss the main cabin - it gets very warm. I'm wearing a minimal cotton wrap and have towels to hand everywhere - both to sit on and when writing up the log - I have to rest my wrist and arm on a towel placed partly over the logbook if the page is not to be made instantly wet! Solar panels are doing well.

12:30pm Just had to jump to the wheel to get back on a sensible course - with no engine available to help tack through the wind, always have to gybe around when the mains'l gets backed due to wind dropping right down to give boat speed well under 1kt, resulting in lack of decent steerage... Presently fairly close-hauled ... Oh well, .... as I was writing that, we went off course again - just had jump up into the cockpit again to turn the boat around - clearly today is going to be busy with that happening frequently. I keep the Raymarine plotter on in this situation - the long coloured heading and COG vectors are really useful to show me, at a glance, what's going on .... oops, off course again - speed 0.9kt....... grrr! Certainly getting some good leg exercise today! I'd hoped to catch up a bit on my enormous backlog of emails - that might not get very far, at this rate.

Saw a big, heavy-looking, all-dark bird this morning - really 'flappy' wings, ... went for a fish at the surface - wondered if possibly a skua - seemed to have lighter 'flashes' on each underwing, but not on top (as seen on the Antarctic Skua, SW of Tasmania).

Evening ... a beautiful dark, silent, starry night - the Milky Way looking like a band of cloud across the sky - but it's all stars! No sound of wind in the rigginmg - or of any sound at all, in fact... The sea was so calm that its surface looked glassy and the brightest stars and Saturn were reflecting to give paths of light to the boat. The wind had eventually died away so much by late afternoon that I couldn't get us back on course even gybing, but with boat speed at zero, or nearly so, it really didn't matter, so I was able to relax a bit and get on with jobs I'd hoped to get done earlier in the day - like free a shower fitting that was jammed tight and needed thorough cleaning up once I'd got it undone, have my evening meal (having had no lunch) and clear up in the galley... All followed by a few radio chats in between trying to catch up on those overdue email replies - slow progress there...

As I was furling in the staysail in near-darkness, after sunset, I was surprised by a booby suddenly taking off from the after-deck. I'd seen it earlier, circling a couple of times, checking out the mast top for roosting possibilities, but hadn't realised it had landed there to stay overnight. They normally land higher up, either in rigging, or preferably at the mast top - where they can do a lot of damage to fittings.

D.M.G. over 24hr to 11am LT: 29 n.ml. - no surprise! Sydney: 1718 n.ml. (229T); New Zealand's North Cape: 1080 n.ml. (190T); New Caledonia: 622 n.ml. (239T); Efate (Vanuatu): 477 n.ml. (262T); Vanua Levu (Fiji): 93 n.ml. (091T); Nathula Island (Yasawa Group, Viti Levu, Fiji): 32n.ml. (108T).

By the way, if you have access to 'Yachting Monthly', May issue, there's a feature on my preparations for this nonstop RTW attempt.
..............................................................................................................................................
For my positions and track, see:
www.svnereida.com - 'Travels' - "Where is 'Nereida'?"
and/or:
http://www.exactearth.com/media-centre/recent-ship-tracks/tracking-nereida/

Saturday 4th May 2013

Midday Wind remained very light overnight and into this morning but we managed to keep to our NE course - until the wind suddenly backed to NNE from SSE at 11am - so previous course became impossible. Didn't want to head towards Fiji and outlying islands and reefs - so we're now drifting NNW under wind steering at around 1kt, occasionally speeding up to just over 2kt! Was surprised to find high outline of an island on the horizon - clearly the outer islands of Viti Levu included some mountainous ones - I'd assumed all were fairly low-lying reef islands.

Later - Wind has dropped to almost nothing so really difficult to keep heading N or NE - but making progress despite the very light and fickle wind ... Keep having to get to the wheel to get us back on track.... and have changed tack several times today.

Bright sun all day with mainly little or no cloud overhead I had meals in the cockpit - this morning's breakfast in the shade and tonight's food in the cool night air, with lovely bright stars above - but no moon - too early. One tern and two boobies seen today. In the calm conditions, was easier to sort through paper charts, finding ones for Pacific onward and stowing ones finished with.

Morning 20m sched was a bit noisy but a later one was excellent with no noise or static crashes on frequency whereas 40m was noisy again tonight. Nice chats with several contacts.

D.M.G. over 24hr to 11am LT: 72 n.ml. Sydney: 1691 n.ml. (229T); New Zealand's North Cape: 1053 n.ml. (190T); New Caledonia: 622 n.ml. (239T); Viwa Island and Reef (Fiji): 13 n.ml. (087T); Yasawa Group (Fiji): 27n.ml. (103T); Efate (Vanuatu): 462 n.ml. (265T).
..............................................................................................................................................
For my positions and track, see:
www.svnereida.com - 'Travels' - "Where is 'Nereida'?"
and/or:
http://www.exactearth.com/media-centre/recent-ship-tracks/tracking-nereida/

Friday 3rd May 2013

Generator is back in action!

10am Looked at onward route after morning radio contacts with Tony's Net (NZ/Aus) and Taupo Maritime Radio (NZ). We're due W of the S coast of the southernmost of Fiji's two big islands, Viti Levu - it's showing up clearly in the right-hand side of my AIS screen. Course has now been changed to 036T which will pass W of Viwa reef and island, 80ml away and well offshore from the outer reef islands of Viti Levu. Then, if winds permit, we'll try to head NE towards the Equator and then, on reaching the NE Trades, we'll head N, passing well W of Kauai, Hawaii on our way to the Strait of Juan de Fuca around the N. Pacific High pressure area. When I post my daily 1100GMT position and weather report, I'll download a set of grib files showing weather systems over next 4 days from here all the way N to the so-called 'Pacific NW' of N.America - will show me where the ITCZ is active & where the N. Pacific High is, to help with passage-planning. I'll be repeating that regularly over the next few weeks.

Sunny again , with a few clouds, swell still up around 3m but 8-10 sec apart and wind SSE at ~12kt - very pleasant sailing - goosewinged with genoa still poled out. Solar panels putting in over 12A at midday.

Back to generator repair after late breakfast which I enjoyed seated in shade in cockpit - will be doing that a lot more often from now on, I think. Was recollecting my stop in Fiji in 2007, as part of my first 'cruising-style, stop-everywhere', W-about circumnavigation... Customs & Immigration clearance at Lautoka, where photo of Queen Elizabeth was hanging in pride of place on the wall above the friendly officials, the anchored boat being smothered in black specks from burning off the sugar cane left after processing in the nearby plant, amazingly low costs at an Internet cafe in town, where Skype callers were provided with headphones free of charge, a group of Fijian Indians who went to a lot of trouble for me & were so very helpful in repairing my misbehaving outboard engine... and picking up a fast-breeding collection of minute ants who came on board via the dock- lines at Vuda Pt marina where I'd gone to wash down the boat before leaving Fiji for Vanuatu, en route to Queensland, Australia. Their nest took an age to track down and eliminate (found in the chain locker finally) - they were almost impossible to get rid of.

1:30pm Thought I'd unfurl stays'l, even though we're on a broad reach, in the hope it might boost our speed a little - was very pleased I went to do so - the block holding the outboard of the two stays'l sheets was disconnected - the shackle and pin that should have been holding it down were lying loose on the side deck close by... just seen in time. The cable tie I'd used to secure the pin was broken. Knowing the stresses it undergoes regularly when I tug on the sheet to bring the block inboard, instead of dangling outboard over the cleat its attached to, as it often does, I wasn't too surprised. The shackle pin has now been 'moused' with wire, so should last fine. Not sure the stays'l is adding much, if anything, to our speed, but with SOG of 3.9kt or less, I'm leaving it out, just in case... Back to the genset repair...

8pm Just tested newly-repaired generator - all working fine... no leaks or flooding of engine compartment! Was pleased to find that removing the seawater pump , involving releasing hose clamps and pulling off rubber hoses from metal pipes, was not as difficult as I'd feared - using a little PTFE grease on outside of pipes helped replacing of hoses later. Made sure belt tension was OK when bolted pump back into place - access to nuts was difficult but luckily had useful extension pieces for socket tool which helped. Was very slow and careful when opening seacock and released cover to seawater filter to allow water into pipework before running genset - pump isn't meant to be run dry. The impeller was completely gone - see photo....

3am Having a bit of a nightmare - wind has died almost completely so we're struggling at 1-2kt to maintain a course well off the Fiji NW reef area 35 ml away - and the reef and island of Viwa - just 24 ml to NE.... Have been sitting helming for quite a time after initially finding us with backed mains'l heading W instead of NNE. Now using autopilot to keep wheel turned appropriately to keep us away from danger, with plotter usefully showing our track, SOG and COG clearly. Pity - I'd been enjoying the cool, starry night from the cockpit before turning in to my bunk earlier - or that was the plan... Now I'll have to stay up to make sure we're OK - if the wind would come up a bit more, we could sail with better steerage and I wouldn't have to make continual adjustments. It's going to be a long night...
Running the genset to charge batteries and inverter for laptop - sounding sweet!

My friends on way to Tahiti from NZ are fine. Soon after I'd spoken to them yesterday, the wind died right down and they got sailing - and have had no problem since.... Excellent news!

D.M.G. over 24hr to 11am LT: 102 n.ml. - slow, as expected. Sydney: 1622 n.ml. (230T); New Zealand's North Cape: 986 n.ml. (189T); New Caledonia: 560 n.ml. (243T); Fiji (Navula reef entrance, Viti Levu): 72 n.ml. (079T);Efate (Vanuatu): 423 n.ml. (273T).
..............................................................................................................................................
For my positions and track, see:
www.svnereida.com - 'Travels' - "Where is 'Nereida'?"
and/or:
http://www.exactearth.com/media-centre/recent-ship-tracks/tracking-nereida/

Thursday 2nd May 2013

1pm Just getting to my breakfast after a long morning! Had realised I still had third reef in from strong conditions recently - so clearly time well overdue to shake reef out in lighter winds now. Doing that while going downwind always takes a time, bit by bit. Also wanted to take genoa over to to starboard and pole it out, being on a very broad reach, likely to become DDW (dead downwind) in S wind...That took a very long time to sort out both pole and lines after recent lack of use, not helped when , on hoisting pole finally, realised lines were not quite right - despite trying to be so careful when attaching them to pole end. While looking around on deck, had noticed solar panels on stern arch needed their position adjusting to avoid them being partly shaded.. difficult to loosen clamps. They've been putting in a lot of electrons in the bright sun lately. Found I was very hungry!

It's been another very pleasant day of sun, just a few clouds and a long 3m swell which only occasionally rolled us about - so calm enough to get on with jobs more easily. Wind around F3-4 all day, so speed often around 4kt, but up to 5kt by evening.

Afternoon job was to get down to genset repair, prefaced by closing the seacock - which was quite a problem, the handle being extremely stiff and difficult to turn. Had my 40m friends quite worried on hearing of the problem tonight, in case the seacock should fail and water gush into the boat.... not a happy thought! Conclusion: best to extend the handle lever arm to turn it, rather than tackle it, even gently, with a rubber mallet, as I had. Next problem was similar - had great difficulty removing the cover on the seawater filter to clean it and check water intake was clear to seawater pump. Made sure I cleaned and greased its threads thoroughly before eventually replacing it. Had already located the spare impellor and complete pump, in case it was needed, and checked it had a new impellor inside. Presently in middle of removing pump - the stupid orientation of the impellor holder and cover is such that access is virtually impossible just to open up and look at the impellor and replace it in situ - far easier to remove the entire pump in order to do that! Will finish job in the morning.

Another beautiful, starry, refreshing night... The moon has become a crescent and comes up very late now. Sea temperature: 33C - time for a swim!

My worries about friends on way to Tahiti from NZ turned out to be well-founded - they were hove-to overnight and today in 35kt with a 50kt squall having passed through with enormous seas.... They could well still be in bad conditions, maybe worse, for another day or so, but they have a series drogue ready to deploy, so I'm hoping they'll be safe. I'll be relieved when I hear things have calmed down for them and another boat nearby.

D.M.G. over 24hr to 11am LT: 124 n.ml. - will be far less tomorrow. Sydney: 1533 n.ml. (243T); New Zealand's North Cape: 887 n.ml. (188T); New Caledonia: 487 n.ml. (254T); Fiji (Viti Levu): 152 n.ml. (050T); Anatom: 306n.ml.(266T), Futuna: 287n.ml. (274T) - both part of Vanuatu.
..............................................................................................................................................
For my positions and track, see:
www.svnereida.com - 'Travels' - "Where is 'Nereida'?"
and/or:
http://www.exactearth.com/media-centre/recent-ship-tracks/tracking-nereida/

Wednesday 1st May 2013 Happy May Day!!

Very pleasant day, with a few big, light grey rainclouds around early on, one giving a small shower which moved well ahead of us, and from then on clouds have been mostly small white cumulus, with good sunshine... Solar panels were putting 14A or more for quite a time, slowly reducing well after midday.... Didn't need to run motor to charge batteries this morning - solar power has been plenty over the day, with Fred in charge and plotter often switched off. Seas still up at 4m, period 6-7sec, just occasionally flinging us around when a big one passes by... Lots of foam streaks on sea surface from collapsed sections of tumbling crests - lots of white horses... wind around 20kt or more, from SSE - we're on a broad reach.

Sunset: Wind less now - nearer 15kt - and seas less also - nearer 3m, with occasional bigger one. Still making 6kt. Feels much calmer and expecting wind to ease further over next day or so. Took my tea to companionway and watched the sea scene - beginning to do that more often, in the better conditions now. Nice to see a Sooty shearwater fly by - hardly any seabirds seen over last week or so.
Decided to relax and enjoy a May Day holiday... so haven't got to genset yet - still quite a lot of motion, anyway, so it can wait another day... Had to change into lighter cotton short-sleeved top - too warm to wear much now. Have taken engine door off hinges and removed outer genset casing, ready for tomorrow. Had to replace batteries in LED headlamp - it gets a lot of use and is definitely on my list of 'wouldn't want to be without' items on board..

A bit concerned for friends on boat heading to Tahiti from New Zealand - they look to be right in path of nasty 'Fiji Low' that I've avoided by heading north to W of Fiji over the last week. I hear it's very intense, with lots of lightning, strong winds, big seas and heavy rain. Hope they miss the worst of it - will find out tomorrow.....

Time for evening meal - lots of choice still, although no more potatoes left and remaining onions all looking rather unhappy. Will go through the remaining ones soon and sort them out - another job for calmer conditions.

Later this evening, will get on to radio for the usual regular chat sessions - always enjoyable to make the now-familiar contacts, as well as some new ones most evenings. Will need to charge batteries first - main reason for charging, apart from powering up basic instruments, is the radio use for voice, emails, gribs and weatherfaxes - although with present more settled conditions, haven't felt the need to download so many weatherfaxes .. gribs are fine.

Beautiful night sky - bright waning moon shining on the sea, lots of bright stars, very few clouds, but seas still big - up at 3-4m & expected to stay so for 1-2 days more.

D.M.G. over 24hr to 11am LT: 131 n.ml. - not too bad. Sydney: 1420 n.ml. (234T); New Zealand's North Cape: 773 n.ml. (184T); New Caledonia: 403 n.ml. (263T); Fiji (Viti Levu): 270 n.ml. (041T).
..............................................................................................................................................
For my positions and track, see:
www.svnereida.com - 'Travels' - "Where is 'Nereida'?"
and/or:
http://www.exactearth.com/media-centre/recent-ship-tracks/tracking-nereida/

Great progress made in strong conditions  yesterday and overnight to mid-morning: 148 n.ml. over the 24hrs up to 11am LT.  If we could have been sailing like this for last few months, would be almost 'home'by  now!   Nearly 7kt average speed.

Seas got bigger today - up to 4m, so impressively large and reminiscent of Southern Ocean ... but interval better, at around 6 secs, so not feeling as rough as yesterday's 3m seas with very short interval which knocked us about far more all day long.    Instead, the problem today was suden squalls which added to already strong wind of 20-25kt... Wind gusted up even more as big rainclouds came over ... We heeled madly and rounded up as Fred was overpowered and I had to get on deck hurriedly to reduce canvas - keeping very low & feeling rather vulnerable with the extreme angle of heel as I furled in quite a lot of the full genoa.    When second squall came along later, I furled it in completely and we still made over 6kt.    The third squall, later in the afternoon, passed without too much drama - sails were about right and we simply heeled a bit more when it arrived and increased speed, although, as earlier, I did put us off the wind a bit when at its strongest, to reduce heeling by reducing apparent wind speed and angle.   Good to have the searoom to do that ( - a good reason to be downwind of any nearby hard bits in squally conditions.)

With the heeled boat, wave action and regular squalls, difficult again to achieve much - generator repair put on hold again until tomorrow and main engine run in neutral to charge batteries.  Spent a time trying to figure out how to put Pactor modem in 'BIOS mode' in order to try to get weatherfax situation improved by clearing the RAM .. still not got there, due to interruptions - another job 'on hold'!

By early evening, things were definitely feeling a bit calmer ... seas are still large, at 3-4m, but more spaced out, wind has dropped a lot and sky is clearer with plenty of bright stars and waning but bright moon shining through quite big gaps in clouds and lighting up the scene.  I even felt comfortable unfurling some genoa for overnight to increase our speed which had dropped to under 5kt.

Sea temperature is way up at 32C, air feels humid and warm and fleeces are most definitely a thing of the past.   I've been seeing a lot of bits floating in the sea surface.  Some have come on board with seas washing over the decks and got caught in the scuppers along with small flying fish.    They look like the beginnings of gooseneck barnacles, waiting to attach to surfaces to grow there - we've lots under our stern growing along the waterline, in the aerated water they love just there - slowing us down!   If we're becalmed, I've in mind to tak a dip and cut them off...

Had some good radio contacts again over today and this evening - all very sociable!

D.M.G. over 24hr to 11am LT:  148 n.ml. - brilliant & a nice change!   Sydney: 1309 n.ml. (237T); New Zealand's North Cape: 650 n.ml. (181T);  New Caledonia: 360 n.ml. (280T);   Fiji (Viti Levu): 397 n.ml. (035T).  Ile Hunter:  98 n.ml.(316T)
..............................................................................................................................................
For my positions and track, see:
www.svnereida.com - 'Travels' - "Where is 'Nereida'?"
and/or:
http://www.exactearth.com/media-centre/recent-ship-tracks/tracking-nereida/