Things have been VERY NEGATIVE with very little progress over last few days on any front, except engine (starter circuit, cracked alternator bracket and engine mounts now all OK)- no parts or equipment have arrived, although I have spent a time sorting out an order for paper charts. The fridge is no longer working because of a slow leak in an aluminium pipe which is not repairable. So I spent an age contacting Sweden (Najad) & websites & an agent in San Francisco - finally finding someone who can possibly send the correct replacement pipe & evaporator on Monday. Spent hours trying to resolve a problem I thought I had with Skype (I could hear but wasn't being heard...). Biked half hour each way to Radio Shack to buy a new headset which turned out to be unnecessary. Finally got Skype working after several hrs of frustrating effort.....!
Gooseneck toggle not being being dealt until Monday also - the guy concerned had a car transmission problem so nothing happened on Friday. Feeling pretty frustrated at moment! Only positive news from Saturday is that I refilled two empty propane tanks and filled the empty water tank!!
Busy today (Sunday) with writing more for website and also with chasing wires, ready for getting help with that - also on Monday... Hopefully, things will begin to happen next week, but I need to make several phone calls to the UK over Sunday night to chase things up... Time is disappearing....

Beautifully clear sky all night and day - but COLD air! Only 6C at 0830 and no more than 15C over the day.
Joblist  Rear engine seal replaced. Aquadrive engine mounts (new Oct '05, Lynnwood Marina, N. Vancouver) found to be loose (badly installed) - to be re-done tomorrow. Gear oil replaced- discovered there is a drain plug, I hadn't known existed, to make job easier! (Still learning things about my engine!)   Faulty engine-compartment blower found to be OK - implies power supply problem.... will hopefully be resolved once new relay in place in ignition circuit.

Decided to list all jobs outstanding - goes something like this:
Mast steps - instal.  Gooseneck toggle - replace.   Wind-vane at mast-head - replace & run new wire;   SSB radio - run 3" copper strip between ATU & new ground-plate;   InmarsatC terminal - fix in proper position (has been lying loose for over a year!);   New AIS standalone receiver - fix and run wire;   New Raymarine multi/repeater unit - fix & sort out wiring;   Deal with faulty wiring to chart table area from both cockpit and autopilot course computer;   Navtex - replace display unit & check aerial for corroded fixing;   Fix, & run wire from, new radar scanner and also chart-plotter (when each received);   Fit new ST6002 (autopilot control head) once received;   Calibrate autopilot and new speed display, also check ship's compass.  Investigate faulty 12V outlet at chart-table;   Finally (although I've probably forgotten several items!), I have to sort out papers, books, CDs, magazines etc and, most importantly, the forepeak needs lots of attention (ie tidying!) ready for stowing sails, gear & provisions for forthcoming long passages

14thJan07: a resident blue heron surveys the boats at San Diego Y.C. from an adjacent roof.
Originally uploaded by svNereida.

I flew back from LHR on Thursday 11th Jan, after a month of frantic catching-up back in London & having visited the London Boat Show twice. A very productive two days as, apart from seeing several friends, I gained practical support/sponsorship from several manufacturers & the promise of some from others. Musto will be sending me out clothing (and I was delighted to find myself chatting with Mike Golding on their stand for a time), Andersen replaced a winch handle lost overboard on the way up from Hawaii to Sitka and will supply free spares for my winches in future, Selden will be giving me a major discount from now on anything I need, Raymarine have promised to send me a new radar scanner and C-series display unit, GarminUK are almost certain to supply some very welcome equipment, Nasa Marine gave a major discount on their stand-alone AIS receiver unit, Brunton's supplied several spare anodes for my Autoprop, PTFE bearings were donated by Ambassador Marine for my Ropestripper and Icom UK donated a spare hand-held mic for my SSB radio.

This weekend has been busy with trying to work on my website ... very time-consuming.

Tomorrow, my engine rear seal is being dealt with - that should stop the oil leak that has been causing the flywheel and starter-motor to be covered in oil for some time now.

I shall be dividing my time this week between getting to know the new Admiral 9.0 Nobeltec charting software, working more on my website and completing my instruments/wiring project in the chart table area - at the moment, nothing is functioning down below!!

Another major project is installing mast steps & a new wind indicator and replacing the very worn goose-neck toggle with a new one incorporating a bronze bushing. Before I left in December, I replaced the gas spring in the rod-kicker and spent several days sorting out the wiring & new instruments in the cockpit area so that they are all functioning and 'talking' to each other.

I expect to be kept very busy for the next 3 weeks, probably!

The New Year has been no less busy than the fortnight around Christmas, trying to make sure I've not forgotten any of the many items on my 'to-do' list for Nereida as well as personal, medical and financial matters - all very relevant when you're proposing to be away sailing for months at a time - especially when you're expecting to be in a variety of countries on the 'other side of the world'!
I've been very occupied with organizing content for my new website (www.svnereida.com) , which is now up & running, although still some work to be done.  Bryan & Mike ("Nightwinds") have been kept busy over the holiday period also!!  Many thanks, guys!
With the London Boat Show starting on Friday, I've also been busy organizing myself for that.  I took some instruments/parts down to Raymarine in Portsmouth and discussed my problems with Paul Lawson, meeting with International Marketing Manager, Fiona Pankhurst, about possible sponsorship while there.  I  visited Nasa Marine with my Navtex unit - to be told it is working fine, so on my return I'll need to check out the antenna connection on the pushpit arch.  I've contacted my local Volvc-Penta dealer to order another injector and get a spares kit for the fuel lift pump - I'll be seeing them at the Show. I've been talking to David Neal at Jeppesen about my Nobeltec upgrade to Admiral 9.0 and the list of charts I'll be needing. I'm also talking to Musto about clothing they have offered to supply me with.  I'm trying to get hold of a Workshop Manual for my Fischer-Panda generator. I've sorted out some computer problems on a boat laptop. And I've been very busy all the while, in between other jobs, getting my mounds of personal papers under control (and reduced somewhat - into the bin with as much as I can!)

Strong conditions right now, just as there were during last night & this morning: 30-40 kn winds & corresponding big seas knocking boat about regularly! Definitely NOT motoring weather!! It had calmed down a bit to around just 25kn over the day - lovely sunshine, although not warm, & lots of spume in the air. 
The Kiss windvane is doing well, helping to power the batteries!
Check Shiptrak in Winlink for more details!  Hoping to make Richmond Y.C., San Francisco,  on Sunday 22nd, if not sooner, for finish of final SSS race of the season .

Just goes to show how corrosion stops a radio in its tracks!!!
Had two kindly ham guys (Owen and Ed) come to try to help me with radio problems this morning in Pt Townsend, before my longish passage down to SF.
Came with meters and lots of friendly, helpful advice - got me 'squirrelling' behind the inaccessible parts of my boat woodwork (where I'd hidden the ATU).  I needed to dismantle a few bits of woodwork, but it turned out to be well worth the time & effort spent since the result, according to the Net Controller (Aaron Benson) of the Northern Boaters Net (Ludlow, WA, area), was a 1000% improvement in his reception of my transmission - wow!! I came 'booming' out when I tested the system - so, hopefully, all is now well on board 'Nereida' and Winlink (and SSB radio in general) should work fine. What a relief!! (We'll see how easily I connect in when I go to send this...!)
I leave for Neah Bay and points south, towards San Francisco, tomorrow (Sunday 15th Oct) - weather looks fairly settled but calm, so may have quite a bit of motoring - but hopefully the sails will get used also!! Main thing is that there is no obvious bad weather forecast just now.
I just hope that this passage with be free of the many problems each passage has had this year so far...!!! 

Port Angeles, WA

'Nereida' is about to sail south to San Francisco from Cape Flattery again - hopefully leaving over Sunday/Monday 15/16th Oct, once the predicted SW winds have swung into the NW.
I'm presently in Pt Townsend, about to make for Pt Angeles and then Neah Bay, to wait for the expected good weather - I'll probably have to motor a bit, since forecast is for 10-15kn NW once the front has passed through. High pressure seems settled still over NE Pacific - so I'm trying to take advantage of it!
Winlink is not happening just now, due to TX problems, although I may try to investigate it while on passage.

Pt Townsend, WA, USA

I anchored overnight yesterday (Thurs/Fri 7/8th Sept) near to the W entrance to Peril Strait, having finally 'escaped' in the early afternoon from Sitka - where I got to on 15th August with more engine problems. You'll remember I got seawater into my fuel on the way N from Hawaii and had to change filters and an injector whilst at sea before I could get the engine to start. It was just as well I did, since the wind died on my last day coming in towards Sitka, so I had to use the engine - but it died as I throttled back to come in to dock & I eventually had to get towed in to a slip by the friendly Hbr Office people...! I ended up having to replace both the fuel lift pump and injection pump (DHL & Customs problems and a frustrating fortnight's delay there!) and finally replaced all 3 remaining injectors (which were faulty). 
Then I had problems with the copper 'crush' washers (on which the injectors sit) not sealing adequately and so allowing exhaust gases to escape. A long job every time for each one because access is SO difficult and it's such a fiddly job - I've usually dropped at least one tiny copper washer to beneath the engine every time...!! I'm reasonably expert on Volvo engine injectors/alternators/ timing/belts now... I also took the starter motor apart to clean it and annealed lots of copper washers in order to re-use them - no spares of any use to me available in Sitka!!! I must have taken out & replaced my injectors at least several times each - what a fiddly, complicated business! Good learning process - but one I could have done with undergoing elsewhere at a more convenient time - I'm short of time in Alaska and also in B.C. now...
I was up to my eyes (and forearms!) in my diesel engine all hours of day and quite a few at night also.  I got myself an allergic rash from all the diesel splashing on me each time we tried the engine, having tightened everything up finally, hoping it would be OK.(In 'we' I'm including  the kindly, knowledgeable mechanic named Alan Horoschak who was helping with & supervising my 'hands-on' learning process!  "If you're going to keep on single-handing, you'd better know how to deal with your engine - this will happen again sometime..."!).

I'm now headed S as fast as I can (see Winlink Position Reporter) - initially to Vancouver Island (I hope to pull in to Victoria to see some of you at some point), but eventually to SF and on to Mexico - I hope!!!

I got up extra early Friday morning - one hour earlier than intended - & wondered why the sun took so long before it rose...!! Got to Sergius Narrows right on time for a good transit - but found a huge Alaska ferry behind me in the narrow channel ... and then another ahead coming the opposite way!!

What a beautiful day Friday was. We actually had sunshine from quite early on, making a nice change from Sitka's perpetual rain - and Dall's porpoises twice visited Nereida's bows as I passed through Peril Strait, not too far from the Chatham Strait end.

The snow and glaciers on mountain tops not that far from the water had a clear effect on the air temperature as I travelled down Chatham Strait toward Baranof Warm Springs - it got really cold, not helped by the sun being hidden part of the time.

I had a fabulous long soak in a tub of hot spring water & even managed to clean up my nails a bit from the grime & oil of the engine repair work! ...and later I had a couple of glasses of wine over a lovely meal with people from a charter fishing boat on the dock who kindly invited me to join them..

By contrast, what a horrible bumpy day today (Sat 9th) was - back to horrible, murky, grey, cold, rainy weather... with strong wind (20kn true) on the nose - I was bashing into it, with quite nasty waves as the afternoon wore on, to get to my overnight anchorage. I came through some nasty choppy water (shallows) as I rounded Pt Gardner in to Frederick Sound from Chatham Strait- only later did I see that the Pilot warns of that area to give it a good berth.... oh, well!! Only good news was sighting a group of humpbacks nearby for a time as I passed Pinta Rocks, nth of Kake, early this afternoon - they weren't at all bothered by the rainy, windy weather & disturbed seas!!

Had a nice salmon dinner tonight after getting in to the deserted Portage Bay anchorage quite late: 7pm. Was only making around 3.5kn (down to 1.5!!) for quite a time, as waves built up over the afternoon. There was also a nasty strong outflow from the narrow entrance channel to this bay causing very disturbed, swirling water - I had to be extra careful not to be taken sideways on to the shoals on either side.

Wrangell Narrows tomorrow should be fun with 'spring' tides! No point in getting to the entrance until 2pm - it's 20mls long and tides meet 12ml from N end.. Need to catch the end of the flood tide initially and then I should find it ebbing from the middle on south. 

Well I arrived on 15th August around sunrise (see photo) - with engine dying every time I slowed engine down, was unable to dock in tiny space available behind big fishing boat -  couldn't slow boat down to stop at dockside by going astern! So had to anchor & wait until Harbour office opened for kind people to tow me in to a slip.
Then my engine repair course began....A major problem since ordering in a replacement fuel injection pump has been DHL not being helpful over Customs clearance in LA when thepump first arrived in US from UK - compounded by someone in the UK not putting my name in the correct 'slot' on the address form - the parcel ended up being addressed to 'yacht spares in transit', rather than to me!
Thanks to friendly, very helpful, Customs lady (Sharon) here in Sitka, I finally got my pump this afternoon (Wed 30Aug) - I would have had more major problems without her helpfulness.
Now I'm having big problems installing the pump - I need to remove so many other bits & pieces (with difficult access) to get the old pump out and the new one put in its place - and then, of course, everything has to be put back and timing etc checked - not a quick job and, yes, I really want to be moving south.... Of course, the boat is now in chaos with the engine work ongoing..
Sitka is a nice (but very, very rainy!) place but I've mainly been trying to get boat problems dealt with in the meantime - including ones left over from passages. This has definitely not been a relaxing layover - I've been tearing my hair out a lot of the time! And the lovely views are 99% of the time invisible behind heavy rain or mist/cloud following heavy rain!!
Today, I filled the water tank, 2 empty propane tanks and 5 diesel jerricans (ready for topping up diesel tanks tomorrow) as well as biking to Customs & then out to the airport and back before getting down to the engine. I went up mast Sunday to retrieve the topping lift and also to replace a burnt-out deck light. And I've spent ages most days recently trying to sort out the pump freight problem over the phone and looking at passage-planning.... the less time I have once I've finished here, the more I'm having to look at alternative passage plans. The weather isn't getting any better.... and may force me to change my plans completely at the time I'm finally able to move on.
I'm just hoping not to have to spend too many more days here, working on the engine before it's fixed - & I'm looking forward to getting down to Vancouver Island so I can relax a bit for a very short time (I may have to make a long offshore passage to save time, IF the weather permits, missing seeing the dramatic coastline in order to avoid a lee shore!!)  I'll need to head south again fairly promptly to SF to get more outstanding work done. I'm seriously getting worried about the time of year and the weather deteriorationg and causing me problems...
I shall be keeping my fingers crossed that all goes well over next few days....

Well, I thought I'd write a 'blanket newsletter' to bring things up to date - it seemed a good idea an hour ago since the seas had calmed down a bit - but we're back into crashing & slamming about.  It's not too easy using the laptop on a lurching boat - so I hope you'll forgive me for the non-personal approach!!
I went to let a reef out a short while ago & a wave laughed at me as it crashed over the boat and came shooting over the cockpit awning, drenching me from head to toe!! My hair has so much salt in it from frequent wettings like that that it's getting curly!! We're rushing along at 6.5-7.5 knots with 2 reefs under mainly grey skies in quite big seas - being in the NE Trades means the seas are able to build up to easily 8-10 ft or more. Nereida gets picked up & dropped off a wave, slamming her side into the water with a great bang! A good test of a sturdily-built boat!! We're presently headed due N insofaras that's possible, with Hermann (Windpilot) in control - so as the wind shifts, so does our course, but generally we keep our northerly heading. At least the water is still fairly warm at 26C. 

I decided to head north sooner rather than later, since the summer was moving on, but waited for the annual outrigger canoe races held in the bay - the finish line ended at 'Nereida'! I visited the old lighthouse Reserve nearby - beautiful tropicbirds (both red- & white-tailed), boobies, frigatebirds and shearwaters, and breeding albatross, were flying around this lovely bit of coastline. As I was leaving, I sailed along the Na Pali coast for a time to see its dramatic scenery (Jurassic Park etc, etc were filmed there).

Most of the rest of the Fleet were ahead, having left in 2s and 3s over the days before. I left with Canadian 'Haulback' and another boat 'Seafire' (US) is close behind - both are headed to the Strait of Juan de Fuca whereas I'm headed to B.C. further north, if I don't manage SE Alaska (possibly Sitka) - my final destination is very weather-dependent!

The weather has been typically strong Trades - but quite different sailing from the Race because it has, so far, been upwind & so much 'bumpier' - very, very wet sailing & far more difficult to move around the boat without getting thrown around & bruised!! But there have been many sunny spells when I could lounge in the cockpit & relax, despite frequent seawater dousings! And lots of heavy rainsqualls also.... keeps me on my toes with reefing etc! 

The Pacific High is, yet again, not behaving as it normally does, but the hope is that by the time we get to above 40N we can 'turn right' in W/SW winds over a newly-formed High towards B.C/Alaska, so long as we can maintain our northerly track to avoid being headed earlier.
In the meantime, the ex-race fleet keeps in touch with each other with daily rollcalls - so we know where everyone is - see www.sfbaysss.org/transpac/transpac2006 for 'the return' details (and for my daily race logs if you missed those). My position is reported daily by me, as usual, on www.winlink.org - Position Reporter - KC2IOV if you want to keep track of me.
Best wishes from the bumpy Pacific (what a misnomer!!),

Now en route back north to Alaska/B.C. - we'll see which destination the weather permits!! 

Left Hanalei Bay, on Kauai, Monday afternoon.  Had a false start when I found the autopilot wasn't working, so had to drop the anchor again while I sorted it out - fortunately a minor problem, so easily resolved.

Then sailed along the dramatic Na Pali coast for a look, before heading off  north as the sun set.
Making good speed - but on a close reach, so no spinnaker! 

PS See the same SHTranspac site for return check-in details:  www.sfbaysss.org/transpac/transpac2006

.

SHTP06 Belt Buckle Originally uploaded by svNereida.   I never wrote about my Single-Handed TransPac Race finish around midnight 14/15th July - it was far too easy to enjoy being at anchor or on shore & no longer constantly on the radio (& shore Internet access was somewhat difficult) I came in around the NE of Kauai island, Hawaii, just before midnight, local time, hoping to stay on a run all the way to the line just NE of the entrance to Hanalei Bay. I was in VHF contact with the Race Cttee from well out - which gave a great feeling of arriving. The wind shifted more & more but I persevered, eventually sailing most of the last part by the lee - so much so that I kept backing the main. Taking down the pole for the genoa was going to take me too long (I was very conscious of how close 'Second Chance' was to me on corrected time, having done many calculations over the last few days!!), so I eventually furled in the genoa and pulled in the main just to get me over the finish line asap - 0022LT!! Not exactly as a purist would want, but it worked!! The 'welcome' party then came aboard with a Hawaiian lei to adorn my neck, Mai Tai, pineapple and lots of welcoming hugs & smiles. I eventually gladly started up the engine & gave over the helm to Jim of 'Haulback' (winner in 2002, 2nd in '04, who had just completed his 2 yr solo circumnavigation from Kauai) - who sounded reasonably competent to entrust it to, while I sorted out my anchor and pole! I have to admit it took them a time to get me to come down to earth (should I say water??), I was so happy to have finished!! (My distance sailed was over 2400ml- further than anyone else) I was helped to anchor temporarily overnight in a safe spot in Hanalei Bay - and then all minds were on 'Ergo' coming in with a broken forestay - Bill made it safely over the line. Wow! I was on such a 'high' I couldn't stop smiling!! Thank you, Lucie, Ben, Jim & Sylvia for making it such a lovely arrival!  SHTP06 Navigation Award Originally uploaded by svNereida. I had a good sleep and  then re-anchored closer inshore, near the rest of the race fleet, with the help of Jim ('Haulback') and Ben (RC) The good news was that I had made the Trophy Party, held later that  same Saturday evening - so I kept to my deadline & didn't miss the party!! I became the proud recipient of a SSS TransPac belt buckle, a plaque and a lovely framed photo of 'Nereida' just after the start, about to pass under the Golden Gate Bridge. I was also surprised, but delighted, to receive the Navigation Award - because I took a route different from everybody else, I wonder?? It seems appropriate that it will be held, with my name inscribed on it, at the Oakland Y.C. in Alameda who were so hospitable to me before the Race started. A good evening was had by all!! Hanalei Bay is a beautiful spot to anchor in & I soon became used to looking at 'Puff the Magic Dragon' every time I looked over to the hills fringing the long beach on the W side of the Bay - his head, eye, snout & body were very realistic! (Yes, it was composed here... & 'South Pacific' was filmed here.)  Over the following week, my pulpit was repaired beautifully by Tony, the excellent local welder, and is probably stronger than it was before and I acquired a good length of cable to wire in my autopilot properly (I finally got my aft cabin back into use!).  It was great to meet up every evening for 'cocktails' under the 'Tree' by the beach and watch the sunset. I really relaxed and enjoyed being in company - faces were put to the voices I had come to know so well over the previous 3 weeks! (If you've got to this page from my website, you'll need to keep hitting 'previous' page to access the other 20 days (!) of daily logs from the SHTP Race - or go to my log entries from my 'Travels' page by using the 'Web Log' link to get them 10 at a time)

Friday 14th July (Bastille Day!)

Interesting! Looking at yesterday's log, I could copy the beginning word for word for today! Heavy rain, strong winds, big seas (even confused, this morning) over the night and morning, clearing up to give a lovely sunny afternoon, still with good winds but lessening seas. The strong winds have certainly given me a boost for miles run over today. We've been regularly doing over 8knots.

Before the clouds came, there was a brilliant, clear night sky - so many stars, a couple of satellites wandering across, a meteorite shooting overhead, warm air - so lovely just to sit in the cockpit and absorb it all. I felt it was an appropriate happy ending to my voyage - I even started singing!

During the day, as so ofen recently, a pair of sooty shearwaters came by, skimming the waves, and then, delighful to see, a pair of delicate-looking white-tailed tropicbirds flew around 'Nereida' for a time while I was relaxing in the sun this afternoon. They looked as though they were thinking of landing - but that's not so easy! They make a particular kind of clicking noise which caught my attention to look up & catch sight of them.

Bill on 'Ergo' has had a tough time protecting his forestay, with the strong winds veering and backing with each rainfall together with the rough seas knocking the boat about as they do. He even put a couple of reefs in his main - winds were 25 kn, gusting 30 kn, for quite a time. I hope he keeps following winds all the way in - he's about 17 mls (2.5hrs) behind me, so should also finish early tomorrow morning. The Race Committee shore party are all prepared to help him after he crosses the line - he's not been able to furl or lower his twin foresails as a result of his broken forestay.

It's a pity, but I'll definitely be crossing the finish line off Hanalei Bay in the dark - would have been nice to have had a view of the island on my way in. I'm hoping the wind doesn't change drastically as I get closer to shore - I've been warned there could be a night-time katabatic wind, which would be quite different from the ENE Trades we've had for days now. ETA is around 3-5am PDT (midnight-2am Hawaiian time). It will seem odd not to be on a heaving boat after all this time!

I'll sign off & go and collect up the few flying fish on deck from last night - a daily routine I forgot about today, with the bad weather this morning!

At 1945 PDT: 22 22N, 158 39W ; DTF: 48.2n.ml ; 24hr distance run by ship's log (to 0845): 164 n.ml.

Jeanne
"Nereida"

P.S. Just found myself surrounded (at a good distance of 2-3 mls) by 4 US Navy warships! Surprised to see any boats after 3 wks without any! But there is a big Navy base near to Hanalei Bay so...

Thursday 13th July

It's turned into a beautiful sunny afternoon after a night and morning of frequent heavy rain - and GOOD winds!!
Boatspeed up to now (6pm PDT) has been consistently up around 7.5kn, with similar, if not higher, SOG (helpful current for a change!). The swell is still big - up to 8-10 ft on occasion and presently every 7-8 secs. That causes problems with the mainsail when the wind veers into the east more, making our rhumbline course nearly dead downwind.

I finally managed to connect in to one of the two Hawaiian Winlink PMBOs for emails & my usual daily Position Report (posted on www.winlink.org every day I'm on passage) - they've been surprisingly unavailable for much of my crossing although, in theory, they should have given me good, speedy connections most of the time. As my distance from the mainland has increased, my choice of stations to connect into there has become more & more limited in number. Timing has also become very important, with evening & night best, morning to early afternoon normally impossible! Having Winlink for communicating with friends & family, as well as downloading vital weather info, has been very important for me for the last 3 yrs, whether on passage or in some remote anchorage - it has been a great standby.

Bill on 'Ergo' reported this afternoon that all was well, with his mast still standing - his macrame skills are increasing daily and he's even getting into colour coordinating! He's feeling pretty tired though because the wind shifts in squalls overnight meant he had to handsteer fairly often to take care of his rig - he's looking forward to finishing on Saturday!

My thoughts are constantly turning to my possible ETA at the finish line. Depending on my average speed from now, it looks like Saturday from 3am onward, most likely 5-6am (PDT) (that's 2-3am local time). I'm glad I got my depth meter working, ready for a night landfall. I've been checking over my fresh food - can't take fresh meat, eggs, fruit or veg into Hawaii, so I must either have eaten or cooked it all by Saturday - or have it confiscated!!

My jury-rigged wiring is dangling all over the place in the aft cabin, which is in chaos & will have to stay that way until I get to Hanalei Bay & acquire some cable to re-wire it properly. I'm rather disappointed that I've not had a response over the last two days to my various queries by email regarding my instrument problems - which are by no means resolved on a long term basis.

So... with no wiring to be usefully done today, it's been a fairly relaxing day (too windy for the spinnaker!) - think I'll go and read a book in the sunny cockpit for an hour or so, before cooking!

At 1845 PDT, 22 48N, 155 32W ; DTF: 223 n.ml. ; 24hr distance run (to 0845 today): 159 n.ml.

Tues 11th July

At 0720 PDT (0420Hawaiian time) I was up on deck to adjust the steering. Beautiful, beautiful ... there was bright Venus, high above the slowly-lightening E. horizon in a clear sky, just a low band of clouds on the horizon itself, with the full moon lighting up the sky high above the opposite SW horizon, making a broad path of moonshine on the sea towards the boat - I just had to grab my camera to try to capture something of it as the new day slowly dawned! A little later, two birds came by, skimming the waves - skuas? Long, thin wings, dark on top, white below - like so many birds of the ocean.

Keeping still to Pacific Daylight Time is getting quite weird now - actual time, geographcally, should be 2-3 hrs behind PDT and sunrise & sunset should both be around 6 o'clock, but our 'clock' is now completely out. There'll be a 3 hour adjustment to be made once in Hanalei Bay.

I'm now less than 300 mls from Hawaii and Maui, under 400 mls to Oahu but still over 450 mls from Kauai. My course is 265T and the island chain runs roughly NW-SE.

It was another lovely sunny day with no squalls - just as well because I had to clear even more from around and under the aft bunk (including a very large, bulky mattress!) to gain good access to the autopilot course computer - this was to be a major wiring day! The only slight problem was the big swell (8-10 ft) - being half upside down lying on the bunk, trying to connect wires under the bunk, as a big wave knocked the boat around & made me slide around, got rather frantic at times!

I found, buried away, some lengths of unused 3-core cable and, once I'd joined three lengths together complete with an appropriate 'tail' for the autopilot Control Head, I had enough length to connect directly to the 'brains' via the aft cabin - once that was done (all took several hours!) - we had a working autopilot!! YES..!! I also found that with my new GPS antenna wired directly into the 'brains', all was still working OK, so that data was also on the system. The next step was to try the wireless remote control (transmitter also connected directly to 'pilot Control Head) - again, fine. So now I had a working electronic 'pilot with a handheld remote control showing COG & SOG from anywhere on the boat - brilliant!

The only downside to all this was that, in order to make the autopilot function, I'd had to disconnect ALL the other instruments...!! It was a clearcut choice - instruments or autopilot. Sorry Hermann.... go take a holiday - you deserve one! On reflection, I think I should be able to power up the instrument circuit separately fairly easily... Wednesday's job! Losing log and wind info is the main disadvantage at present, but I can manage without both - it's just nice to have that info (especially wind) at a glance. And it would be nice to see the depth when closer in to shore.

So Lou on Seabird should have finished by rollcall Wed morning....slowly the fleet is getting smaller.

At 9pm PDT: position 23 26N, 147 16W; DTF 682n.ml. Distance run (by log) over 24hrs (to 0845): 165n.ml !!

Jeanne
"Nereida"

Wed 12th July

Brief log today - I'm way behind my sleep-time!

The good news from today's wiring efforts, having had to disconnect ALL the other instruments from the autopilot 'brains' yesterday, was - success! I was able to power up the instrument circuit separately fairly easily.. although it took a time, especially trying to make sure the circuit was grounded properly. So I have log, speed, depth and wind info (but not direction, since fluxgate compass is wired into autopilot). So far tonight, radar is OK - but time will tell..

Discovered a couple of lovely pink grapefruit that had got hidden away - what a bonus!

Cleared the usual tiny- to good-sized flying fish from deck in daylight. Fairly overcast much of the day - but warm (26C). Seas still a good size - boat slewed about fairly regularly.

Got the spinnaker up after my wiring efforts - should have done so earlier, but too busy. Wind has frequently veered more into the East, making course-keeping much more difficult. Also, got very light over the afternoon, but increased, as often it seems to, after nightfall.

Bill, my rival on 'Ergo', found his forestay chainplate was broken today - he's been practising his macrame tying it down every which way in the hope it will last until Sat when he should cross the line - after me, I hasten to add...!! But he'll beat me on adjusted time - no way I can get ahead of him by more than 12hrs now.

At 9pm PDT: position 22 56N, 153 00W; DTF 364n.ml. Distance run over 24hrs (to 0845): 161n.ml

Jeanne
"Nereida"

Monday 10th July

Well, the big, confused seas of yesterday have calmed down a touch (to 6-8ft) - at least the swell is coming just from one direction now. Overnight, there were several rainshowers with strong winds - but the near-full moon shone brightly in between them. I had to handsteer for a bit around dawn to keep us on course - the wind had veered more into the East & so our course was dead downwind in big seas - but seeing the sun rising through a distant rainshower gave an interesting optical effect.
I found 1 large, 1 medium and 1 minute (just 1 inch long!) flying fish on deck - dark grey on top, white underneath, blue stripe along the side. I'd never opened up their 'flying' fin before - completely clear thin skin, with beautiful, delicate tracery of supporting structure.
Since mid-morning, it's been a lovely, sunny day with fairly consistent winds of around 18kn - a day for relaxation and enjoying being out here. I've not done anything with the instruments except to get into the calibration page of the depth display (which I managed, unlike last time I tried) in order to set the shallow alarm to 10ft and then switch it off. I actually left it connected overnight - and had no problem with the instrument lights switching off at random - they all stayed on all night long - so it can't be the depth display causing that erratic behaviour. On the other hand, I had turned off the 2 GPS displays (to stop their perpetual beeping due to no data) - so maybe one of those is causing that problem. I must experiment again tonight after dark.
(Later: Oh well... I had an email from 'my helping hand' at Raymarine UK who's trying to 'troubleshoot' from a distance - always difficult! - as a result of which I went back to the autopilot course computer to measure input and Seatalk voltages - both fine... plus a couple of answers to qu. of his... we'll see what comes back... I'm beginning to suspect the control unit)
The (reduced!) fleet has switched to 4Mhz for radio communication - we can mostly hear each other well and Lou (Seabird) can join in (his autopilot crashes when he transmits on 6Mhz!). We had a nice chat mid-afternoon & Bill on 'Ergo' told us his 'chute story from this morning (well overpowered in a squall, of course!) - sounded pretty dramatic - he's OK but minus a line. Not many of us are needing to fly a 'chute now (or are inclined to after various mishaps!) with this good wind. Then everyone signed off to take a nap or read.
I've been looking at the InmarsatC Urgent notices - we'd better not overshoot Hanalei Bay because they've an active live firing range just beyond, off Kanauai, with firing every day, 6am-6pm LT!

Well, I just went up to adjust the Windpilot in these strong winds (we're doing over 8 kn regularly!) - a beautiful moon peeking from behind occasional clouds onto a rather rough-looking sea! We should make a good distance overnight if this keeps up. The forecast is for strong winds all the way to Kauai over the next few days. So continuing, possibly building, swell...

I've been very encouraged by emails of support from friends in different places - it's been very nice to receive them and surprising how many people are looking out for me - I can't let them down!! And all I wanted when I entered was to try not to come last (which I might yet do on corrected time! ....I must find out exactly how that works...)

Present position (at 2145 PDT ): 23 25N; 147 21W (so we are definitely in the Tropics!) DTF: 677 n.ml. ETA: Daytime Sat 15th?

Miles run (by the ship's log) over 24hrs to this morning: 156 n.ml (same as yesterday)

Jeanne
"Nereida"

Sunday 9th July

Beautiful moonlit sea last night - for a short while before the strong winds got up! Made good progress overnight and winds were still up this morning around rollcall time - too much...! To keep our course, I'd had to put us almost on a dead run downwind, Hermann steering as usual, when the wind increased to around 25kn or more. I'd seen a belt of rainclouds astern of us but didn't think they would cause a problem. (In the Caribbean, a squall cloud is often isolated and really dark grey/black, so it's very noticeable that you're about to get hit!) Anyway, first we were sailing 'by the lee' and then the main got backed. Hermann is doing a fabulous job but, like all the other wind-steering systems, has trouble keeping a good course dead down-wind in such strong conditions ... especially when big waves are regularly knocking the boat sideways!! I found out that, yes, you can be 'hove-to' with poled-out genoa (although making way slowly) ..but that it didn't put me 'in irons' - I was able to get back downwind (the strength of winds possibly helped). Trouble was that I was now trapped (once more) at the wheel, while we rushed along at great speed, until things calmed down a little & I could get aft to Hermann to re-set the steering system.
Things did calm down, so much so that I felt it was time to hoist the 'chute.... trouble was that the winds started picking up again soon after - "Better get the 'chute down", I thought - but, try as I might to haul the sock down, it came down just a short distance & refused to budge any further. I tried to figure out why it should be stuck - there really wasn't anything there to jam. Qu: How do you get a 'chute down without a sock...?? Did I need to release one or both of the guys more? Let the foreguy (downhaul) go completely? Lower it on the halyard & somehow try to bundle it up as it came down.... that clearly was NOT going to work! Or what? Never having done it before, I had no idea! Somehow, I had to get it in the lee of the main to de-power it - but that meant putting us on a dead run - knowing we could back the main again with all the problem that had caused last time. I wished the electronic autopilot was working! While I was considering my options, we nearly broached, with the 'chute almost touching the water. I dived for the wheel and swung us away from the beam reach we had come on to - the winds were still up and we were doing at least 8.4 & surfing at well over 9 kn. I put us on a run - & the 'chute came across, forward of the main - de-powered! I locked the wheel, prayed, and rushed forward - & hauled the sock down as fast as I could, tying it down - easy! But we had backed the main again, of course... and I was trapped helming again until things calmed down once more. Never mind, we survived....!!

During the afternoon, the sun came out and I caught sight of a shoal of flying fish all rushing about, gliding over the wavetops - always incredible to see just how far they go, often changing course midstream. Lovely to watch. So far, I've not had any land on deck.

My depth instrument is clearly faulty - I re-connected it with idea of silencing the annoying 'shallow' alarm coming up on other instruments - but it has obviously gone down the pan completely. It won't let me do anything, no matter which buttons I press... fortunately it went into a 'deep' reading (& has now stayed at 14ft) which doesn't trigger 'shallow' alarms - so no more beeping 'shallow' alarms on system!! And to stop the other beeping (from no GPS data) I've disconnected the two GPS displays (one in the cockpit, one at the chart table) from the system also (they're redundant, since no GPS data anyway) - peace & quiet at last - sigh!! My radar is still misbehaving - last night it went into MOB mode yet again.

I just went back with the multimeter to the autopilot course computer (and linear drive fusebox) to re-check fuses and wiring - fuses all fine and both sets of Seatalk wires (from GPS antenna in to CC and from CC to rest of boat systems) seem to have data flow - so why no GPS data on system and why no autopilot response? - I'm foxed!! Maybe the new CC has gone down...?
Still intend trying to re-do connections at NMEA interface box again - but that might be dud now also. Still thinking about a NMEA cable from CC to chart-table - trouble is access is awkward so I'm not well-motivated to do it while on passage, especially since, for that to work, it assumes CC is working fine. I wonder if I could check for data from the 'NMEA out' at the CC...?

I'm having constantly to jump up into the cockpit to adjust our course as the wind swings - in fact, I'm getting a lot of exercise because, with no GPS display in the cockpit giving SOG & COG, I have to check with the COG shown by the PC at the chart table to see whether my adjustments are good enough & then go back up again. In 'cruising mode', I probably wouldn't bother so much, but in 'racing' mode, keeping a tighter course means less miles lost to my fellow-racers...!!! A lot of work though - much easier to press a button from time to time and let the autopilot keep the course regardless of the wind shifting a bit, asuming you have the battery power to do it.

It's been a day of light grey clouds, with speed dropping when we're upwind of a rainshower and then speed picking up as we near them. Boatpeed has been pretty good much of the day so no thought of putting the chute up again since midday's episode. Seas are pretty big at times - you can hear the hissing as we rise to the top of a wave and it breaks in passing us. Makes you aware of the power of the sea.

Tonight should be almost full moon .... maybe the clouds will clear enough to see it.

Time for a meal before rollcall.

Jeanne
"Nereida"
23 43.9N, 144 19.9W ; DTF: 844n.ml. at 8.10pm PDT

Sat 8th July - over halfway DFT!!

I had to wait to celebrate - it was time to change tack onto starboard - that job took from after rollcall until gone midday!! 1)Furl genoa 2)check lines, lower pole and reduce its length for access (telescopic) 3)remember to change spinnaker halyard to port side of everything BEFORE going any further!! 4) re-attach lines, trying to make sure they are all lead correctly & not tangled 5) extend & raise pole - oops, got the downhaul tangled in the genoa sheet, so repeat items 2) & 4) then back to extending/raising pole and adjusting lines to fix pole firmly in place as far aft as possible 6)unfurl genoa and centre main 7) change over main preventer 8)change course and let out main on new tack, tightening up on preventer 9) play about with wheel and Windpilot until all fine on new tack 10)tidy up lines used so far & check lines ready for spinnaker now to be on port side 11) go forward to foredeck and de-bag and disentangle spinnaker & sock lines (thoroughly tangled after last night's difficult windy drop!) & attach guys 12) hoist spinnaker in sock 13) double-check length of guys, raise sock one-third & re-check guy lengths before finishing raising sock 14) adjust guy lengths & check course. Phew!! It's no wonder I thought long and hard before going on to port tack two days ago, knowing I'd have to go through all this again when returning on to starboard tack today! Manouevring the heavy pole on a lurching foredeck (seas are quite big now) with a dodgy (ie loose!) pulpit & lifelines I no longer dare lean on gets pretty interesting at times! Especially the bit about reducing/extending its length (which requires me to stand up) when it seems to get stuck! (Usually because I haven't released a line sufficiently to give enough slack - but don't want the pole crashing about the place as the boat rolls in the seas)
I reckon I could compete quite well with Laurel and Hardy if someone were there to film the palaver! Hilarious!! My main rule is to take my time, THINK and BE SAFE!! (Not so sure about the latter when I find myself slipping sideways on deck sitting on a slippery spinnaker as the boat lurches in swell!)

So then I got to celebrate, with the sun trying to get out and the boat sailing beautifully - this was now breakfast cum lunch! I treated myself to a whole grapefruit before my usual cereal with extra nuts and cranberries and then sat enjoying fresh coffee accompanied by nicely ripe Brie and cheese biscuits - thinking how lucky I was to be out here doing all this!! I opened a couple of 'halfway' presents I'd been given at the start (thank you, Lucy & Ben, and thank you, John - very much appreciated and I look forward to reading it) and realised that so far this passage I'd not even got to starting a single book (not counting instrument manuals!!) - way too busy with other things.

I'm delighted to see that my calculations have proved right - we now have good wind and an excellent wind angle (giving a boatspeed now of 6.4kn in NE winds of ~13kn) and I'm dead on my rhumbline course to the finish line outside Hanalei Bay. Squalls apart, I should be able to relax, just needing to keep an eye on Hermann's steering. I would have liked to have been able to report that I have the option of using the autopilot for more precise steering (could have been useful from a racing - and sleep - point of view) - but it is NOT working, neither have I solved the lights problem, nor have I stopped that 'shallow alarm' beeping. I'm thinking of attaching a cable from the chart table to the course computer 'NMEA out' and putting the input from the GPS antenna to the 'NMEA in' - that might give me both GPS on the instruments and data input to my PC. I must also check the big fuses - maybe that's why the autopilot refuses to work. I think I'll also put back the depth display to see what it reads (was it saying 'shallow' when I disconnected it?) & to see if that stops the 'shallow' beeping on the other instruments. But that can all wait - time for a cockpit snooze in the sun - maybe I'll have a (weak) G&T to celebrate being here....! And later on, I'll maybe cook a chicken masala curry ....or shall I make it Chinese?... decisions...decisions...

(Later - 6.30pm) Just seeing my first sight of a rain shower on the horizon - overcast now. Might actually wash the boat down sometime soon?

Jeanne
"Nereida"
At 1600 PDT (GMT-7): 24 02N, 141 14W; DTF 1015n.ml.; actual distance covered (by ship's log) since start: 1594n.ml ETA: overnight 15/16th July ??

Last fresh (more or less!) banana finished today with b'fast cereal. Still some apples & tomatoes and some lettuce in the fridge.
Looks as though being on this (port) tack isn't working out too badly - it's keeping me closer than I expected to my rhumbline course to Kauai while keeping S of it as I wanted. Pressure is still on the high side at 1022/23, occasionally 1024 - light winds are still being forecast for north of my position over the weekend.
It turned from being grey overcast all morning to a lovely sunny afternoon. After relaxing in the warm sunshine, I felt it was time to get down to the instrument problem-solving I'd been putting off - I decided to isolate my depth display from the rest of the 'bus'to see if that solved problem of lights switching off erratically, radar misbehaving, autopilot down, etc, etc. (Mark on 'Alchera' had suggested this possibility)
I have a forward-looking sounder so I would not miss the depth display particularly and I had the feeling that this was the unit causing my problems. Sure enough, it worked!! No 'beeping' about missing GPS data, lights stayed on, autopilot looked as though it was working - hurrah!! Encouraged by my success, I thought I'd look at the NMEA Interface box which had also stopped working - meaning no data input to PC. I had another & thought I'd re-wire it to see if it worked. Unfortunately, although I thought I'd turned off the instruments before attempting the re-wiring, it became clear that I had not - I found myself with NO instruments at all - I'd obviously fused the lot! Grrr!! Now I had to get down under the aft bunk to clear a space around the course computer where the fuses were in an awkward position.... Just as well I'd bought several spares before leaving SF.
With that done, the instruments came on....YES!... but NOT the GPS input...why not? I checked for a signal from the antenna - nada! Tomorrow's job... it was rollcall time by now!
'Dogbark' had made landfall safely (although with major spinnaker track damage, we heard). Well done, Al!!
The wind seemed to be getting up, so the 'chute needed to come down - got a mite difficult in the darkness and strong wind, but I was glad I'd decided to do it when I did.
It's VERY rolly tonight (the change of wind direction to NNE for a time has made for big, confused swell, I think) - and the instruments have a new 'beep' message - 'shallow alarm' - but I've disconnected the depth - so why...? Sleep...!