Fri 12th Oct: Genset is fixed!! I feel so relieved.... But what a pain.... I thought I'd never get the final pipe connection done - until I realised I needed to release the hose clamp totally and move it out of the way in order to push the rubber hose onto the pipe from the pump. Having done that, the clamp just wouldn't tighten back up as well as it needed to. I had filled the system with water beforehand as much as I could - good to be chef as well as mechanic! - I used a gravy pipette from my galley to transfer water into the small-bore pipe, after filling the seawater strainer. I opened the seacock, checked for leaks, held my breath and started the motor to see if it would run - it did... and kept on running until I stopped it, ten minutes later! I went up on deck to enjoy the sunset while it ran - but kept listening for the motor to falter from overheating, which it didn't. Yippee!! Delighted, I began replacing the faulty hose clamp - the connection had been leaking slightly but steadily onto some paper I'd put under it and the clamp was clearly damaged - it just wouldn't tighten any more. I removed it completely and found a similar one to replace it - not an easy task since that also had to be opened apart to fit it onto the hose (no way was I going to take that hose off the pipe again!). TG for vice grips that I used to clamp it together a bit so I could get the closure started...! Genset uses one-third the diesel for the same power output - so it's far more efficient. Solar power input has been minimal for some time - panels are mainly shaded by the sails as we head SE downwind. Windgen has been doing well, but output will suffer as wind dies more. (Photos show the completed job, the damaged impellor in the old pump, along with the damaged hose clamp - and a lovey sunset!) I celebrated over my meal later with a small glass of wine friend Louise had given me before leaving - I usually run a 'dry' boat but relax occasionally - this felt like a good time to do so! Sat 13th Oct We're passing Los Angeles now - 440 miles offshore but seeing shipping on the AIS screen, heading to/from either LA or Mexico (Ensenada) or Panama. It's great to see so much detail in addition to how close (and when) they expect to approach us most closely. The fact that they see Nereida's AIS transmission is a great help in avoidance. So far, I've not had to get on the VHF radio to make sure they've seen us, as has happened in the past, if they look to be getting rather too close. It was almost clear overnight, with plenty of stars - but hazy. The crescent moon is getting bigger amd was seen low on the W horizon soon after sunset. Great Bear is also low down. Today, also, the sky is almost clear - just a few small white clouds. It's a lot calmer than it has been up to now - the wind is clearly easing so the seas are lying down slowly. I'm looking around the cabin to see what needs tidying up - and thinking about doing some of the few boat jobs left over from when I started. I've been on the HF/SSB radio some mornings - good to make contact with people I've spoken to regularly over recent years, as well as making new contacts. (I spoke to a guy in Madagascar who I'd previously chatted to several times when he was in S.Africa a year or two ago.) Some are hoping to keep in touch all the way around - it's a challenge for them to make that happen and they enjoy that, as I do. My thanks to Rick, VE7TK, for helping to organise my new Canadian callsign of VE0JS - five years on, I'm now permitted to drop the final 'J' of my previous maritime callsign. Just been studying weather files again - we're still on a SEly course. My approximate WP is 30N, 122W to make best use of winds in the region and avoid a big area of almost no wind not so far away to the W & NW. Still expecting very light N wind by later on Sunday into Monday but it should then fill in - if we can keep moving. Likely to gybe around again after reaching 30N. No need for the whisker pole for the genoa - wind angle is fine, so far, but that might change - the wind is definitely tending to back slowly. 1200 PDT - end of Day10. We made 131 n.ml. (DMG) over the 24 hr period since yesterday. Magnetic variation is down to 13E from 16E on starting. Position & weather report posted to Winlink.org and Shiptrak.org (using my US callsign of kc2iov) not long after midday PDT (=1900 GMT): TIME: 2018/10/13 19:00 LATITUDE: 33-27.24N LONGITUDE: 126-42.77W COURSE: 125T SPEED: 5.8kt WIND_SPEED: 15kt WIND_DIR: NNW SWELL_DIR: NW SWELL_HT: 1.5m CLOUDS: 15% BARO: 1015hPa TREND: 0 AIR_TEMP: 19.0C SEA_TEMP: 22.0C COMMENT: 400 ml W of Santa Catalina Island. 131 n.ml. DMG in 24hr

By mid-afternoon yesterday, we were well into a region of very large rain clouds - wind under the clouds went up to 24kt or so but in between them, it eased to 16-18kt. Very squally. Had two reefs in the main and eventually reduced the full genoa quite a bit so as not to be overpowered in the stronger winds. Made 6-7 kt generally, with higher speeds, 8kt or more, at times - we clearly surfed down one wave - I saw 9.5kt on display! In one squall after dark, at 9pm, I saw 28kt wind.

Swell was still around 2.5m/8ft and quite close at 7sec but I decided it was time to start on the genset - I'd do what I could and see how it went... Access is helped by my small hands but it's always a struggle. By 7pm, nearing sunset, I'd got the old pump out and had begun connecting up its replacement (I'd put a new impellor into it a few days ago). The first pipe connection went well but trying to fit the pump in position with a couple of bolts, not so - with the rolly conditions and difficult access, it was just too fiddly. I didn't want to lose the bolts to somewhere out of sight, so decided it was time to stop and start afresh on Friday, hoping it might be calmer then, as well.

By dawn, the sky was fairly clear but soon we were back into cloudy conditions - but no rainclouds, and somewhat less wind (~16kt) and swell. I spent ages on deck, firstly changing course to head more SE (trying to avoid ending up totally becalmed by Sunday) - variable, dying winds didn't help. I decided to release the two reefs we'd had in overnight. That would have been fine - but, somehow, the lowest fold of the sail caught badly on a 'horn' above the end of the boom and was holed slightly - fortunately, I don't think the damage will be a problem, being almost at the foot and in between well-strengthened parts of the sail but it took a time to release.

In doing that. I noticed that a ring holding one of the sail slides in place was missing - the pin was almost out...! I hate replacing those rings - another fiddly job. Fortunately, I had plenty of spares (it's a known problem) and, after a lot of cursing as the boat moved around in the swell, the new ring was eventually in place through a tiny hole. Next, I decided I should have left the first reef in - I lowered the halyard a little more and tied a line around the mast to pull the first reef cringle forward (hope you're reading this, Jeff!) before tensioning. Of course, the wind dropped more, quite soon afterwards, so - out with the reef...!

All this time, the wind has been flukey - backing and veering around N by about ten degrees. My planned SE course to keep us in fair wind for as long as possible became difficult to achieve - constant adjustments have been needed.

By 11.30am, I finally got some breakfast, with a fresh pot of coffee well after midday - and, no, I haven't got back to the genset yet!

Just been studying weather files - adjusted our course even more to SE. Should get out the whisker pole for the genoa - winds now (2.30pm) are nearly NNW and 14-16kt and the pole would help stabilise the genoa nicely over the next few days of downwind sailing...

1200 PDT - end of Day9. We made 137 n.ml. DMG over the 24 hr period.

I added a banana to my late breakfast cereal - beefed it up to become 'brunch'.

Position & weather report posted to Winlink.org and Shiptrak (using my US callsign of kc2iov) not long after midday PDT (=1900 GMT):

TIME: 2018/10/12 19:00GMT LATITUDE: 34-38.09N LONGITUDE: 128-56.36W COURSE: 138T SPEED: 5.5kt
WIND_SPEED: 12kt WIND_DIR: N SWELL_DIR: N SWELL_HT: 2.0m CLOUDS: 95%
BARO: 1015.7hPa TREND: 0 AIR_TEMP: 20.0C SEA_TEMP: 23.0C COMMENT: 410ml W of Pt Conception.. 137ml DMG in 24hr

Wed 10th Oct: Lovely slim crescent moon tonight soon after sunset. I'll look forward to increasing moonlight from now on. There was a fair amount of sun getting through scattered large clouds this afternoon, so hopefully the night skies will become clear also, with lots of stars. Hadn't realised how hungry I was until after cooking a delicious meal of minced beef with tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, potatoes and sweetcorn. I'd started cooking while sun was still up and was going to make Spaghetti Bolognese but changed my mind to use potatoes and sweetcorn instead! Easier for re-heating. As I tucked into it, I remembered I'd missed lunch completely! There's plenty enough for two more meals, I reckon - had to cook up last of fresh meat while it was OK. Eggs can wait - I'm remembering to turn them most days. Thurs 11th Oct: 6am PDT Dark night still, speed down to 4.5kt in wind just under 20kt from just E of N. Wet cockpit from rain before, hint of fine rain in the air, what few stars to be seen are hazy, through gaps in the cloud. Unfurled full genoa to increase speed - gave us another knot or more. Rolling motion of boat is less extreme - seas are finally lying down as we leave area of strong wind but still have to hang on when moving around. Downloaded fresh weather info - a constant process of cancelling old areas and asking for new ones as we move south. Winds looking good now, although diminishing to ~10kt by end of weekend - looks as though it will be best to stay close to 128-130W over next few days. By 7am, first faint strip of rosy-yellow light over E horizon - enough to show broken cloud patches in E but fewer clouds geerally with clear sky overhead. Sunrise can't be far off. Running main engine in neutral to charge batteries. If the seas stay down, I'll hope to see to the genset problem later today. While engine was charging the batteries, I used my SSB/HF Icom radio to make contact with a few people - have been minimising radio use due to charging problem, apart from regular brief contact each evening (0310GMT/8:10pmPDT) with the Pacific Seafarers' Net on 14300 kHz to report position and weather. Was nice to make several contacts and chat a little to a few radio friends. 10:30am PDT Rain has cleared away completely, but plenty of white clouds around. Air feels cool, although it's nearly 20C/68F and humidity is up at over 80%. Still a lot of rolling around - going downwind, so that's not helping. Just relaxed over a coffee to write this, after preparing to work on genset: door tied back to stop it from banging in the swell, case removed, cushions placed on floor over nonslip pad to save my knees and maybe help in not sliding around too much with motion, spanners/wrenches and screwdrivers to hand, seacock turned off (!), water-bottle to hand to top up sea-water cooling pipework (if at all possible), paper towels, in case needed ... We'll see how that goes - always a fiddly job but usually works out OK - just takes a time. (See photo of seawater pump which will replace the present one with a damaged impellor - also an airlock in the hoses needing to be dealt with. First step is to remove belt.) I just heard my last news update didn't arrive - annoying since it was sent in good time (with photos) early yesterday afternoon. I've just sent it again - both with and wihout the photos - so hopefully something will arrive before it's time to send today's update.... Later: It arrived finally - must have got lost in the ether yesterday! 1200 PDT - end of Day 8. Sunshine in between large white clouds, occasionally mostly cloudy. 7 second interval between swells means still very rolly and occasionally still being knocked about. We made 135 n.ml. DMG over the 24 hr period, despite wind easing overnight to ~20kt. Instead of wind veering more into NE, as I'd hoped, it has backed a little into N or even W of N at times. Ex-hurricane 'Sergio' further S has affected the wind pattern - but I'm hoping things will get back to 'normal' soon. Trying to keep in better wind by checking weather forecasts regularly. Time for my last avocado for lunch - with hummus - the two go well together! Position & weather report posted to Winlink.org and Shiptrak (using my US callsign of kc2iov) not long after midday PDT (=1900 GMT): TIME: 2018/10/11 19:00 LATITUDE: 36-36.84N LONGITUDE: 130-19.84W COURSE: 140T SPEED: 6.2kt WIND_SPEED: 18kt WIND_DIR: N SWELL_DIR: N SWELL_HT: 2.5m SWELL_PER: 7sec CLOUDS: 80% BARO: 1017.5 TREND: 0 AIR_TEMP: 20.0C SEA_TEMP: 21.0C COMMENT: Rolling about still....Over 400 ml W of Monterey Bay.

Tues 9th Oct: evening

Wind still up around 20-24kt - not likely to subside for a day or more.

Seas are also still well up and making it difficult to do much on board - anything done takes several times longer than on land! Genset is still waiting for changing over of the seawater pump (in order to change the impellor - what a crazyy design feature....! In doing that, I'll make sure water is filling the system - presently has an airlock, it seems - that will get interesting - "open seacock, fill pipe, close seacock, fit pipe..."!!) Can't wedge myself firmly enough in these seas to manage to work on it - frequently being thrown around, in addition to the continual rolling. I'm surprised the Hydrovane windsteering is coping - although I did head us up on less of a broad reach to help it in these big seas after the mainsail was backed a couple of times following a particularly hard hit each time - a problem common to all wind steering systems. A good reason, among others, for having the preventer on the boom.

I've finally cracked the problem of how to send photos - even managed to reduce the file size so they're not too large, hopefully. They still take quite a time to send so I probably shan't send them every day.

Enjoyed a mushroom omelette tonight - don't think the mushrooms would have lasted much longer with no refrigeration. Had to throw away some fresh milk that had separated - interestingly, it neither smelled nor tasted off. On its way to becoming yoghurt, maybe?

Ran the engine for battery charging after midnight - seas are still well up. Almost no stars visible in the totally dark sky - mostly clouded over. New moon around now so no moonlight at present.

Wed: early morning

Dull grey overcast - not quite drizzling but feeling as though it's trying to! Wind has dropped quite a bit so unfurled all the genoa. Feeling a lot smoother now but still rolly with the occasional bigger wave hitting us still.

I've been checking weather info regularly and want to keep around 130W to stay in good wind as we head S - so I think it's time to gybe around, to head back that way.

Our course up to now has kept us away from the even stronger winds and possibly even rougher seas closer in to the Capes Blanco and Mendocino - 23-25kt was quite strong enough for me, given a choice!

Midday: Coffee finally!

Gybed onto port tack just over an hour ago - furled in some genoa to help balance - still two reefs in mainsail with wind still mainly over 20kt, often 24kt. Feels as though conditions are possibly slowly easing. The sun is managing to get out quite a bit, which warms me up nicely!

Had to spend time rearranging things in the cabin around my bunk on the (new) starboard side - that now being the lee side. Should stay on this tack for quite a time, with wind slowly veering to a little more to the E of N and our course slowly bringing us to 130W or thereabouts. I bought a great organiser recently in an auto store - holds all manner of things safely and conveniently. Instead of hanging behind a car's front seats, it's hanging nicely just above my bunk and is proving to be really useful. Of course, now we're heeling over the other way, I've had to retrieve and fix in place a few other items which happily tried to move across the cabin! All good for when we get into the really rough stuff!

I'll post a photo taken two days ago - of the big seas coming onto our stern. They were steep and only 4-5 seconds apart - which is why things have been so very rough.

1200 PDT - end of Day 7 We made 138 n.ml. DMG over the 24 hr period. If we hadn't gybed, it would have been 145 n.ml....

Position & weather report posted to Winlink.org and Shiptrak (using my US callsign of kc2iov) not long after midday PDT (=1900 GMT):

TIME: 2018/10/10 19:00GMT LATITUDE: 38-35.84N LONGITUDE: 131-41.16W COURSE: 158T

SPEED: 6.8kt WIND_SPEED: 24kt WIND_DIR: N SWELL_DIR: NNW SWELL_HT: 2.5M

CLOUDS: 90% BARO: 1020hPa TREND: 0 AIR_TEMP: 17.0C SEA_TEMP: 22.0C

COMMENT: 430 ml WNW of San Francisco 138/145 ml 24hr DMG (7ml lost to gybe)

Testing sending photos from Nereida at sea....

Mon/Tues 8/9 October

Just before sunset yesterday, we were making 8kt on occasion, with one reef in the main - we were definitely going well, with one reef in winds around twenty knots.

I decided to play safe, seeing stronger winds forecast ahead, and took in another reef for overnight, as fine rain fell. The wind is slowly veering into the N, so our course is changing slightly with it so as to keep the genoa filled. It also means we keep well off Cape Mendocino and the even stronger winds and seas inshore of here.

Nereida is rockin' and rollin' again in N 23-25kt wind and steep seas only 5-6 sec apart as I write this Tues midday. Pessure seems to be rising a bit after heavy overnight rain which cleared away to give broken white cloud with occasional blue patches.

We're sailing well, still with two reefs in the main - I even managed to make some fresh coffee without spilling it everywhere!! Meant standing over the stove to keep an eye on it, held safely by my bumstrap to survive the constant strong movement, but it was worth it.

At some point soon, I'll pole out the genoa but will wait a bit - winds will finally go into the NE at some point and that will put us onto port tack if we head S, as opposed to the present starboard tack. By keeping on our present course, we're avoiding even stronger winds inshore of our path over the next few days.

Think I might have found a way of posting photos - not perfect or simple but I think it will work (means taking photos on my iPad which is then connected to my Windows PC... convoluted!) Once I've got it working, I'll be able to post them using the airtime kindly provided by Redport/GMN via Luis Soltero - a wonderful addition to the use of my faithful HF/SSB radio!

As I was writing this, I happened to glance out of a starboard portlight - and spotted a clevis pin on my emergency forward stay fitting was almost out .... Oops! I hurried on deck to investigate and managed, with difficulty, to persuade it back in place before grabbing some cable ties from down below and 'mousing' the pin and also using a couple to hold the fitting more securely in place - cable ties are so often worth their weight in gold!! I'll have to keep an eye on that now.

1200 PDT - end of Day 6. We made 154 n.ml. DMG over the 24 hr period.

Position & weather report posted to Winlink.org and Shiptrak (using my US callsign of kc2iov) not long after midday PDT (=1900 GMT):

TIME: 2018/10/09 19:00GMT LATITUDE: 40-25.90N LONGITUDE: 129-52.82W

COURSE: 210T SPEED: 6.5kt WIND_SPEED: 23kt WIND_DIR: N

SWELL_DIR: N SWELL_HT: 3.0m SWELL_PER: 5 CLOUDS: 95%

BARO: 1020hPa TREND: 1 AIR_TEMP: 18.0C SEA_TEMP: 20.0C

COMMENT: Passing Cape Mendocino, 250 ml off. Rolling around in steep, close-to seas

Test photo from Nereida using XGate

Wishing all my Canadian friends a belated Happy Thanksgiving on Sunday!

My Sunday was one of grey skies and rough seas. With the consistenly strong wind, seas remained up and, being just aft of the beam, were constantly testing my balance as we were knocked about by oncoming waves. Typically, as I write this on Monday morning, we're rocking and rolling most of the time with the wave action - but the wind and seas do both seem to be dying down slowly.

I was relieved to find that the wind generator, a German-made Superwind, was working well - the confirmation came overnight when the wind was strong and I could see a good charge coming in to the batteries. Solar charging has not been very good with the lack of sunshine so I've run the main engine in neutral occasionally. I still need to change the small genset's water-pump, with its newly-replaced impellor, before I can run that for any length of time. It's way more efficient for battery-charging than running the main engine - and, anyway, the main diesel engine doesn't like being run under no load. If the seas die down a touch more, I'll have a go at that.

I'm feeling rather frustrated at not being able to post photos. I'd not had enough time to go over all the possibilities just before leaving to realise there was a problem there, having been told that, in one case at least, there was a simple solution - but that didn't work out. I've been trying various alternatives and I'm either getting messages that I need to update or, where I have updated, there's now a problem as a result... or a computer is simply not 'seeing' another USB device and its photos.... Still a couple of possibilities to explore. I'd been lookng forward to being easily able to show scenes around Nereida as we travel on.

I must thank again GMN/Redport for their loan of an Aurora terminal giving a satellite connection for phone calls, tracking and emailing. The links to my track are given on my website Home page. I'm posting my own positions daily to Winlink because that shows my track for up to a year whereas the satellte one deletes positions after a short time - but it's automatic and hourly so very up-to-date.

We're passing Cape Blanco now - well over 150 miles off! The Oregon/California border is not far to S. Next is Cape Mendocino - another Cape, notorious for strong wind and bad seas, to be passed with a good offing.

A good way further south is Cape Arguello with Pt Conception close by - another area notorious for strong winds and rough seas. Reminds me of passing the Capes down the Atlantic coast of Portugal - a similar situation with winds invariably increasing a lot on approach - the 'Cape Effect' occurs all over the world! The effect here on the Pacific coast of California is enhanced by the geography behind the coast and the sea floor configuration.

Just after I shook out the two reefs in the mainsail earlier, getting us back to speeds of ~7kt, a group of large white-sided dolphins came rushing over, to play around Nereida - always so lovely to see them!

Sadder was finding a small bird fall on deck from the folds of sail as the reefs were released - all-dark-brown with a slightly lighter band on its wings, black eyes and beak - a storm petrel? Caught by the wind generator, I suspect.

I actually felt over-heated during the night! My hat is only worn on deck now and one warm layer has been positively put to one side...

1200 PDT - end of Day 5. We made 157 n.ml. DMG over the 24 hr period.

Position & weather report posted to Winlink.org and Shiptrak (using my US callsign of kc2iov) not long after midday PDT (=1900 GMT):

TIME: 2018/10/08 20:25GMT LATITUDE: 42-34.07N LONGITUDE: 128-26.29W

COURSE: 199T SPEED: 7.0kt WIND_SPEED: 13kt WIND_DIR: WNW SWELL_DIR: NNW SWELL_HT: 2.5m CLOUDS: 100%

BARO: 1020hPa TREND: 0 AIR_TEMP: 19.0C SEA_TEMP: 18.0C

COMMENT: 157ml in 24hrs. Passing Cape Blanco, on to Mendocino. Sky getting lighter, hint of sun

3.20pm PDT I've finally got to my morning coffee, having come down below after taking a second reef in the main - and we're still making 7knots! I'm clearly not getting all my priorities right.... should have had that coffee a lot earlier...

We were heeling a lot and winds had definitely increased to over twenty knots - and, according to the forecasts I've been looking at, might well increase more - so I thought it best to reduce sail. Funny that I was thinking about how reefing helps heel without always reducing speed as I started reefing down. Didn't really expect it to happen - but here we are, still making 7 kt....

I'm seeing a patch of blue sky now - hope it increases. Would make a nice change from the grey skies of this morning. It had been pleasantly sunny yesterday, although still rolly from the storm the day before and laterthere was a hazy sun - so not much solar power was coming in to batteries.

I spent a time yesterday afternoon, clearing up the mess of wet lines in the cockpit and, soon after dark, with NW winds eased to around 15kt, I let out the two reefs in the main - our speed had dropped to 4.5kt. Dark grey clouds - looking a bit rain-threatening, I had thought around sunset. No stars tonight. The wind backed into the W after midnight. but we kept up a good speed S.

By 3 a.m., the wind had backed more and had died to a hint of a southerly.. We drifted around in a big circle while I took a nap. Then, predictably, the wind played its tricks - I was awakened before dawn by the wind having got up - strongly enough for me to take in a reef in the rain that had come with the wind - from the S still - damn!! At that point we were heading E.

I was totally unclear as to my best course to steer - E or W - neither were good choices! I didn't want to get any closer to the coast because Cape Blanco lies not so far ahead (just under two days away) and a good offing is needed to avoid its usual strong winds and rough seas. I tacked around to head W but soon found us heading more N as the wind veered into the W- not good! I tacked back again in the increasing light.of a grey dawn.

Finally, the wind veered into the NW - and since then, we've been happily sailing south again....but in rough, quite steep, seas. I'm having to hold on tightly when I move around and every now and then we're hit sideways by a wave - and something I thought was stowed safely decides it's time to jump onto the cabin sole.... Rough seas on the beam, or nearly so, are the worse!

My ratatouille stew will finally be finished tonight - it's proved its worth as a meal prepared in advance of leaving on a long passage. You never know what weather to expect, never mind the forecasts, and it's so good to have a good instant meal that only needs heating, while settling down into sailing the boat again. I thought I was going to have a pleasant easy ride down to California - but it's proved anything but!

1200 PDT - end of Day 4. We made 106 n.ml. DMG over the 24 hr perod - not too bad considerig we were making no way for three hours in a light S wind before dawn and soon after that were headed W and then N!.

Position & weather report posted to Winlink not long before midday PDT (1900 GMT):

TIME: 2018/10/07 17:40GMT LATITUDE: 45-18.75N LONGITUDE: 127-04.53W

COURSE: 195T SPEED: 6.2kt WIND_SPEED: 20kt WIND_DIR: NW

SWELL_HT: 2.0m CLOUDS: 100% BARO: 1020hPa TREND: 0

AIR_TEMP: 17.0C SEA_TEMP: 16.0C COMMENT: Grey sky, overnight rain stopped now

Friday5th October Strong winds of around 30-40 kt gusting to over 50kt at times and big, rough seas made moving about the boat very difficult all day long. Anything slightly loose jumped onto the cabin sole if it could and the best, safest place to be was in my warm bunk

It was difficult to read the wind display from a distance but I was amazed to see over 50kt at one point, with most readings being in 30s and 40s. Heeled well over and being bumped about regularly in the big seas that had built up makes for difficult movement down below - safer to stay well-cushioned in my bunk - moved over from the starboard side to be on the lee side.of the boat.

Being hove to with rather too much canvas meant that we made rather more speed than I expected - but our course was a safe one. We'd started off drifting E in the S wind that made me heave to in the first place and as the wind backed with the oncoming Low passing over, it went more into the E - driving us more N at greater speed in the stronger wind. I wasn't expecting to be caught by such strong E winds - with hindsight, it would have been better either to have deployed the JSD (series drogue) or to have tacked around (with deeper reefed mainsail) before heaving to - that would have made us drift S rather than N! (I'd learned that lesson in 2007 when I had ten days of hand-steering towards Trinidad from Fernando de Noronha and heaved to every seven hours for five hours of rest, food etc. Pity I didn't do it this time but I didn't expect to be hove to for so long....)

Job in daylight is to tidy up the mess of wet lines on the cockpit sole - hopefully the sky will stay clear and the sun will dry them all out. Good to have hot food ready-made - I'd added a handful of rice yesterday.

Sat 6th Oct

6:30am PDT - Pleiades are almost overhead, with Orion and Taurus on either side, of course, and the Great Bear is high up to the north. A lovely waning crescent moon is fairly high and lighting up the still-rough seas - they'll take a time to die down.

We're 90miles from Ocean City in Washington State, USA, slightly north of due west - nice to be making a good speed of 6kt in the 20kt wind.

1200 PDT - end of Day 3. We've made 78 nml. DMG over the 24 hr perod - not much but actual distance was well over 108 n.ml - we continued being taken north from midday yesterday, hove to in the storm, and then we headed south (from W of Cape Flattery!!), sailing to here.

Position & weather report just posted to Winlink:

TIME: 2018/10/06 19:00 LATITUDE: 47-17.00N LONGITUDE: 126-27.00W

COURSE: 191T SPEED: 6.2kt WIND_SPEED: 20kt WIND_DIR: NW

SWELL_HT: 3.0m CLOUDS: 40% BARO: 1021hPa TREND: 2

AIR_TEMP: 15.0C SEA_TEMP: 16.0C COMMENT: Fluffy white cumulus. Seas still rolly,100ml W Westhaven Cove, nr. Ocean City

Seas are still well up and throwing us around at times but the sun is shining. I just discarded my overtousers - it's slowly getting warmer but not fast enough - I can't wait to discard the several layers I'm still wearing to stay warm, although at least I don't have to wear a hat all the time now.

The genset might have to wait another day - it's just too rolly to do that job but cockpit lines will be dealt with after my lunch of avocado - I hope the cool conditions will stop them from over-ripening too quicky.

I'm still trying to figure out how to post photos - a 'technical glitch' means it's not as quick and easy as it should be - pity! "Work in progress"

Friday 5th Oct 7pm PDT

Suddenly the wind has eased from the high 30s - 40s, gusting 50 something of earlier today. Big, rough seas were the norm but less now, although still quite rough.

I'd been watching the pressure earlier this afternoon - down to 1005.9, but beginning to edge upward - but winds were still in high 30s.

Now, at sunset, I'm working out how to get going - will probably have to gybe around to get out of 'irons' - no use of engine allowed so it's always an interesting exercise.

We've been forced well north of our original position by the strong winds.

Must get going while I've still some light left in the sky.

See my tracker and Shiptrak reports for position info (on website Home page)

Presently at 48 21N, 125 48W - lost a day or two...!

More lovely sunshine over Thursday ... a glassy calm sea ... a generator problem. Then a Low passes over on Friday..

Thursday 10pm PDT Well, that 'last sight of land for several months' was visible faintly for most of today as we drifted SSW in bright sunshine, often just in a slight current. Running the autopilot because of all the frequent shipping passing by eventually meant the batteries needed charging so I finally ran the main engine for an hour while I got down to changing the genset impellor.

A clever design feature means that in order to do that the entire seawater pump needs to be removed - clearly some guy was chuckling as that was built in to the design.... I have a second pump so that the job should involve just a relatively quick exchange - but I store it without an impellor in place, hoping that way to extend the life of my spare impellors. So my first job was to insert a new impellor into the back up pump. It was quite a struggle to get it in place and I was convinced for some time that maybe it was not the right size... but I finally made it.

Soon after 8pm (0300GMT), I contacted the Pacific Seafarers Net as usual, on 14300 kHz, to give my position and weather (no wind, no swell) - being near the bottom end of the 11-year sunspot cycle just now makes for generally poor propagation and Randy on the 'big island' of Hawaii, KH6RC, had a hard time getting my report. Two others helped out - Jane in Kauai, NH7TZ, and Peter in New Zealand, ZL1PWM. I was in the middle of struggling with the impellor insertion at that time - but my ratatouille stew was warming up nicely so I was looking forward to that.

We're back saving battery power with Fred windsteering now - the wind is forecast to increase overnight with a Low passing over and is already showing signs of increasing, having veered to the East. I'm seeing our speed at ~4kt(SOG) and wind at ~8kt - a definite improvement! I adjusted Fred to put us on a close reach. I'll get some sleep soon - I might have to reef as the wind increases My headlamp lit up tiny sea-creatures while I was on deck - lovely bright orange-yellow specks of light floated past the boat.

The pump replacement will wait for completion tomorrow sometime - not an urgent job but needs to be done soon.

For now, I'm off to my bunk - while it's still fairly calm.

Friday 8:30am PDT Well, that was the intention but I later spent a long time on deck, watching the wind slowly increase. By 2:30am I was reefing down - one reef initially and then a precautionary second reef with the genoa (big headsail) also reduced - I wanted to get to my bunk but the wind was definitely on the increase and I'd seen 33kt forecast in one part of the Low, although I hoped to stay on its lesser-wind side.

The wind was then consistently almost from the S, which meant we were being forced west, so I decided to heave to, to avoid being set into the worst of the winds on the Low. I reduced the genoa more and tacked around, keeping the genoa sheets unchanged - I didn't feel the expected conditions warranted deploying the Jordan series drogue - I just wanted to get to my bunk for some sleep knowing we'd be safe when the wind increased as forecast. Conditions became a lot more calm and I got to sleep around 3:30am.

As expected, the small Low is now passing over us so we're being buffeted by strong wind and rough seas - very different from yesterday's conditions - the wind generator is putting in plenty of power to the batteries in wind of around 26kt and it's raining.

Now (9:30am), pressure is 1007.6 - 1009 was forecast at the Low's centre yesterday - so we're in the middle of things - and it's pretty rough!

When I woke earlier, we were heeling to port and my bunk was the starboard one - I've now moved over to the port bunk - impossible to stay on the 'uphill' bunk!

Difficult to decide what to do for the best, but for present we'll stay hove to, keeping an eye on our drift, until conditions improve later today. We've plenty of sea room so it's time to get some more sleep, if I can, in my nice warm sleeping bag....

There's a tracker in the Aurora terminal which is putting out hourly positions automatically - the link to that is on my website's 'Travels' page.

Thursday 4th Oct - Lovely sunshine, calm seas ... but what COLD air!

Just turned the eggs and I'm sipping a hot coffee after finishing a late breakfast of cereal with some fresh blueberries - I'll enjoy the fresh items on board for as long as they last - a real bonus.

My last sight of land for several months is the hazy outline of the Washington coast about 25 miles off to port.

What a delightful send-off I had yesterday - absolutely wonderful! For a start, the rain and W wind of Tuesday had cleared away to give occasional sun and there was a pleasant ENE wind to add to the ebb tide which helped me out through 60 miles of the Strait of Juan de Fuca into the open Pacific to the W.

Several friends and well-wishers came by to wish me good luck (as over the last few days, while I've been busy working on board at the Causeway Dock in Victoria Inner Harbour). The Prince of Whales whale-watching boat came to tie alongside for the tow I needed to my start line off Ogden Point breakwater (my engine had been sealed off last Friday so it could not be used to help me on my way through the Harbour - or at anytime until after my return next May/June).

Three of the tiny Victoria Hbr ferries (some of the famed 'ballet dancers'!) were to be part of my escort - they formed a 'V' ahead of us as we made our way to the fuel dock to top up the main tank (diesel needed for charging the batteries using either my small generator, or the main engine in neutral, when wind and solar power aren't enough) before continuing on to the Harbour entrance.

What a delight to see them ahead of me, with a Harbour Patrol boat ahead and astern of our convoy, blue lights flashing, and some friends in three saiboats who also kept me company - all the way to Race Rocks! Despite almost no sleep the night before, and not too much the prior two nights, I felt fine - there was so much friendship in the air - smiles and waves everywhere I looked! Absolutely wonderful! I can't thank the many Victorians (and several others elsewhere in B.C.) enough for all their help - a lot have offered and many have given me much-appreciated practical support over recent weeks and days of preparation.

I crossed my 'start line' off Ogden Pt at 11.42 a.m. PDT (local time) - under full sail in bright sunshine, with friends' boats close by. There had been big last hugs all round as the tow lines were released and I took off alone under sail.

So lovely to be underway at last, after several months of intensive work on board. Waves and 'thumbs-up' all around as my escort of tiny Victoria Harbour Ferry-boats and Hbr Patrol boats left and I continued on towards Race Rocks - the distinctive horizontal black-and-white stripes of the light-house beckoning.

The sail along the Strait was generally great. Although the wind was light at times, we made over 7 kt for quite a time and generally 5-6 kt otherwise. There was very little traffic and no fog.

Sunset was beautiful over Cape Flattery, with clearing skies which later gave a beautiful starry night sky. We cleared the Strait entrance around 1 a.m., in dying wind, and eventually turned to the south once the shipping lanes were cleared.

With lots of traffic around, I'm using the autopilot now, instead of 'Fred', the windsteering Hydrovane, to keep a constant course in the still-very-light winds (2-5kt) astern - too many ships are passing close by so I don't want to wander around and confuse them as to my intentions...! That uses battery power so I started up the little generator - the red temperature light came on after a few minutes and it stopped. Trying it again a short while later, the same result - has the seawater pump impellor gone already? It was changed very recently... I'll have to investigate and use the main engine for charging in the mean time. That's the beauty of wind-steering - no battery use!

I managed quite a few good naps overnight (and will take some more over the day also), so I'm feeling good - looking forward the the air getting warmer though, as we get further south - it's feeling very cold now.

Had hoped to post some photos from yesterday but I'm having a 'technology problem' which needs sorting out - I'll post them if and when I manage it.

Really enjoying this calm, sunny start and getting used to working the boat again - lovely to be back out at sea with the prospect of a long passage. Only slight fly in the ointment is the amount of shipping around - a problem I usually avoid by being a lot further offshore - TG for AIS - at least I 'see' them and they 'see' me and an alarm sounds if they look to be passing too close by.

My position report just before noon PDT (at the end of Day 1): TIME: 2018/10/04 17:41 LATITUDE: 48-07.51N LONGITUDE: 125-18.86W COURSE: 194T SPEED: 2.5 WIND_SPEED: 6 WIND_DIR: NNE SWELL_HT: 0.3M CLOUDS: 1% BARO: 1014 TREND: 1 AIR_TEMP: 12.0C SEA_TEMP: 13.0C COMMENT: Goose-winged almost dead downwind in light air - 25ml off WA coast.

Wind now is ~2 kt... We're going to be just a bit (!) slow until it picks up - seems I'll get a chance to fly the red-and-white spinnaker soon - but just went to look at the generator problem. The intake seacock was closed, for some unknown reason, and strainer was empty of water so no cooling water was getting to seawater pump. Have opened it and filled the strainer - but now need to work on getting the water into the genset... At least it's a minor problem, not an insoluble-at-sea major one - I hope! Might need to change the impellor anyway since it's been running dry a bit.

I'll have a small nap for now and then work on it again - must get that cooling water flowing. Angled the solar panels - makes a big difference - now getting power into system despite the AP power use - that's good.

As well as posting my own noon (GMT) position and weather reports daily, there's a tracker in the Aurora terminal which is putting out hourly positions automatically - the link to that will shortly be on my website 'Travels' page if it's not there already.

A beautiful sail just outside Victoria Harbour around sunset with friends Louise, Steve and Bob tonight - to test out light-wind sails in readiness for sailing around the globe.

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Hadn’t ever used one of the sails so was a very useful exercise as well as being very enjoyable having crew on board!   All took more time than expected, especially since I wanted to calibrate my radar as well - so the Code Zero will be tested out tomorrow 

It’s been an intensive, busy few weeks of preparation recently, helped a lot by various friends who have offered their help, from meals to being driven to shops to very practical help on board Nereida.

All very much appreciated, of course.  Typical was Steve’s help tonight with making a waterproof gasket under the cockpit locker lid and the hatch over the forepeak before we went sailing.  Tricia came by earlier today with a lovely bottle of Saltspring dessert wine (putting it away for a celebration somewhere along the way!) and then found me a really useful hand pump for liquids transfer that I’d been wanting for some time.

Warren has taken all five 10lb propane tanks for filling or topping up - an essential job in view of my being at sea for so long.  Cold supper tonight!

Still fighting to get some items delivered by UPS in good time before Monday’s departure - one item has dodged between B.C. and Washington State several times and is

 

It’s very pleasant being on the Causeway Dock in the middle of Victoria  - weather has been very sunny and there’s quite a ‘buzz’ of activity, with the terminal for the little harbour taxi boats close by and Prince of Whales whale-watching boats in and out all day long.  A pity I have to keep so busy working!

 

 

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Had a good but brief visit to friends in Gibsons and sailed back over the Strait to Vancouver Island in a strong southeast wind - made making for Active Pass a non-viable option, especially against the flood tide. So made for Porlier Pass instead - just made the entrance perfectly at slack before the ebb and noticed that the rough water usually seen there was missing - perfect timing! Came past the two small lighthouses at the start of the ebb and carried the ebb nicely on all the way to Selby Cove - an excellent small anchorage, totally protected from SE winds.
As the sun was near to setting, there was yet another shower and an amazing, vivid rainbow appeared close by off to port - a beautiful sight that lasted for quite a time.

Up with the sun to make the last leg to Canoe Cove, passing Swartz Bay ferry terminal in the island ‘rush hour’ - three ferries came close by!
A busy couple of days at Canoe Cove in a Blackline slip - among other smaller jobs, Jeff checked the rig and winches, changed the wind transducer and its wire inside mast and helped get the finished winch backing plates into position. We had a useful discussion on adjustments needed to mainsail and reefing line leads with Brent before Steve took the sail Monday night to Paul at Leitch and MacBride for battens to be dealt with (need stiffer ones and to be fixed firmly in position at leech ends. (Thanks to Steve for coping with an awkward sail delivery after bringing the completed backing plates!)

Getting on with other jobs today, including connecting up the wind display to the mast wire from the transducer, before making for Saltspring tomorrow, to stay a few days, getting on with more work and giving a chat to friendly, hospitable Saltspring Island Sailing Club Saturday evening.
Nice to cross a few more jobs off my list.... but still plenty waiting to be done!

Moved on from friendly Maple Bay Y.C. on Wednesday...   Photos start with  lovely Samsun Narrows on the way there last Sunday - Regatta was underway when I arrived - had to avoid a start just ahead of me!

Leaving Maple Bay, the wind was up for a while and then totally gone...  A typical B.C. barge being towed by a small but sturdy little tug overtook us as we passed the N end of Saltspring Island in a glassy flat calm and headed on towards Trincomali Channel and rocky, rough, Porlier Pass.  Vital to get the timing right for transit with a flood tide of up to 6knots - definitely something to avoid!  We arrived perfectly on time as the flood was nearing slack water before the ebb - but, even so, the waters at the far end were very rough - a bumpy ride, for sure!  (You can see the whitecaps ahead in the photo.)

Had to organise a few things on deck before I could raise the main and start what was to be a lovely sail across the Georgia Strait in a good wind of 12-14kt off the port bow.  We were close-hauled to begin with but as the wind backed and eased a tad, it became a very pleasant beam reach.  We were well heeled by the wind ....a timely reminder to stow things securely!

A good landfall was made in Vancouver around six o’clock - perfect timing to meet up with some friends for a drink and a meal at the Royal Vancouver Y.C.  Tying up got ‘interesting ‘ with a very strong wind and current in the same direction, trying to sweep us sideways as we approached the dock - had to back away and come in a second time to allow for that strong current.  Many thanks to smiling, friendly Dockmaster Thomas who had come over to help with my lines.

A small group of OCC members sat on the RVanYC  upper balcony in Jericho Bay and watched a beautiful sunset over the entrance to English Harbour..

The next day was spent keeping very busy on board, clearing up in the main cabin - tidy, at last!  It was clear enough to open up the dining table and celebrate by entertaining Clive and Angela of ‘Cosmic Dancer’ on board that night - with a steak dinner.  Feeling good to be nearing the end of all my clearing/sorting efforts down below - just the forepeak to finish off.... and that’s almost done.  Still plenty of jobs still to do - some shown on my whiteboard above the chart table...

I got a message from Paul Bates this afternoon- he’s finished coating the aluminium winch backing plates - thanks for that, Pau!  They were finished very quickly, which is great since I’ll now be able to get on with the next step - to check the bolt lengths needed and buy some longer ones so the plates can be fitted in place - a job for early next week when we’re in Canoe Cove.

Tomorrow, I leave for a short visit to friends in Gibsons before returning to Vancouver Island across the Georgia Strait again on Sunday - it could rain this weekend, I hear... but, hopefully, I’ll have another good sail.

The last two weeks' work has included the routine changing of engine oil (along with the oil filter and sea-water pump impellor and then cleaning the seawater strainer, which was happily growing some marine life!). It was nice to have had an offer of help - last Saturday, Aubrey came by and helped with the oil filter change and several other jobs - thanks a lot for that, Aubrey! More cleaning out of several spares lockers was followed by reorganising and listing their contents and I've been working on backing plates for four winches, with help from John Booth (thanks for that kind offer, John) in the initial cutting out of the aluminium plates, ... The work continues - with a welcome break to visit Butchart gardens with a friend early one Wednesday, resplendant in its beds of summer flowers and roses (many thanks to Steve for the tickets!)

One photo shows another problem area - fitting a dive tank securely, in place of a slightly smaller one. All nicely fitting now, after quite a time spent cutting wood, but three long screws holding a block of wood in place had to be replaced - heads were too damaged to be reused, after a struggle to unscrew them. Now I need to figure out where to put a second tank - in forepeak, I’m thinking.

More jobs were stowing electric and data cables and adaptors etc in an organised way and beginning the sewing of some very over-long fleece-lined, warm trousers - it’s a problem being so short! The main cabin was actually beginning to look a bit tidier, at that point!!
(Later had a kind offer to shorten my trousers for me with a sewing machine - very many thanks for that, Lesley!)

Saturday 1st Sept
Back in Tsehum Hbr - should have been moving on today but delaying until tomorrow - just too usefully busy dealing with forepeak lockers and listing - continuing to find things I’d totally forgotten I had...!! Main cabin is back in partial chaos, along with the cockpit, due to the locker still emptied there to give access to under the winches.

Yesterday
, I had a shock as I was about to leave Cadboto Bay when all instrument displays went blank with a plotter problem - I decided to leave anyway and eventually the problem was sorted - suspect I now know how to avoid a repeat - fingers crossed...!
A good afternoon of work
was had on arrival here, grinding the sharp cut edges of the aluminium winch-base backing plates - all nicely rounded now, ready for the next stage - coating to prevent corrosion.

Thursday, I should have been on board
'Fiasco', dressed as a pirate, for the last fun session of Thursday night racing - but I was still busy at the drill press in the workshop, enlarging the bolt holes in the plates to make for a better fit. I’d been in & out of the locker many times earlier in the day, checking the fit. Several 'pirates' in the crew definitely looked the part!

The work continues ... I can now see the
all of the bunk top in the forepeak .... Definite progress !

The sun is shining, the sky is blue - time for a break and some food...

- and a walk to Canoe Cove through the trees for a relaxing birthday meal - calamari followed by Caesar salad with crab cake - Dungeness, of course.

Amusing to spot one of my type of fire extinguishers in my photo beside the doorway out to the garden...!