=-10.30pm Wed/ 0630 Thurs GM

Decided to have a look at genset despite it being dark - had to use a headlamp anyway, so what difference? It still died after trying to start so looked at starter motor terminals and disconnected the wire from the chart table switch. As expected, when I tried to start it nothing at all happened - confirmig I had the correct wire. When I tried to short across the terminals of the start motor, to get it to start, nothing happened, apart from a small spark, with or without the switch connected.

Went back to chart table switch and tried starting again - it started but as I quickly went to the genset, expecting to hear it dying, it kept going - but white smoke was billowing out from it - i hurriedly shut it down! There seemed to be a lot of water everywhere and I remembered that I'd already noticed some water in the engine sump which had seemed odd. Water still seemed to be dripping everywhere after I stopped it... I removed the back cover and started it again, getting back to it as fast as possible to see where the problem lay - quickly stopping it once I'd seen where the water seemed to be coming from - the fresh water side of things.. After being stopped, water continued to come out from the same area and I'd seen white smoke (steam?) comig from the back of the fresh water tank

This was turning into a bigger pron\blem than expected. Interestingly, the motor had fired up well on that last attempt but with the fresh water cooling not happening, I didn't want to risk further damage by running the generator any longer than I had already.

6.30 am / 1430 GMT First light, a lot of broken cloud. Gybed mainsail with wind having backed to NW. Genoa on pole to starboard. Running downwind still. Wind still very light - mostly 5-8kt - so sails slatting a lot in the slight swell - 2m from NW. Running engine to charge. AP on - uses power... Eastern sky beginning to show a streak of colour....

10.20 am Been busy in the galley while I had my breakfast - dishes and pans needed a good washing and general clearing up. Also took the time to clean the cabin sole of the oil there from the spillage a few days back. Meant I also had to clean the soles of my boots and deck shoes as well, of course.

Had sensed an increase in our motion - on checking - sure enough, the wind had come up - to around 16 kt from NW, giving SOG just under 6 kt. Expecting light wind all day - so a pleasant surprise to find the boat moving nicely - but will check up-to-date weather info - don't want to be caught out by the approaching Front, as I was last time!

11am - That was short-lived! Wind dying.... down to 12kt, SOG 4.5kt.

5-6pm Thurs LT/1-2am Fri GMT Wind slowly died further but we've been making reasonable speed - not becalmed, as I'd feared we would be.. Used calmer seas to check items on deck. Have closed up and taped the two rings on the staysail Furlex fitting. Gooseneck connection to mast is moving more than I'd like - making a loud banging noise quite often as vertical bolt moves in what must be an enlarged hole as the boom tries to move with the action of the sail. Noticed a split pin on the gooseneck/boom connection was working loose - I've had that one come out before now, with the pin nearly lost and the boom nearly swinging loose as a result, so I always keep a good eye on it.. Turned the split pin ends back some more - they were getting straightened, ready for the pin to come out in the near future!

Took the pole down - possibly might regret doing so but seemed best to get it stowed away. Meant lines had to be dealt with and genoa sheet re-run differently back to cockpit.

Work on the freshwater cooling side of the genset has mainly involved drying the area all around and looking for obvious damage - none seen so far - work will continue on that this evening. Water must be getting out from somewhere - just have to find the place, if I can...

5am/1300GMT Generator not firing up (job for tomorrow in daylight), so running engine in neutral for an hour to charge batteries - not enough wind now for wind generator to cope at moment. Lovely crescent moon and lots of stars in between some clouds - mostly clear. Seas abating but still often rolly.

Heading on a broad reach a bit E of S to try to avoid worst of calms ahead near centre of H pressure area we're heading into- being squashed by Low that is still to our N, whose associated Cold Front we came through yesterday. That Low is still affecting our weather - could even give 20kt winds on Saturday if the High builds as forecast and pushes the Low SE towards the coast.

10.30 am Just had a relaxed breakfast after another good sleep. Bright sunshine, lots of thin white cloud around. Had to remove my thick fleece top - too warm in the cabin - 19C. Sea temperature has increased noticeably over the last two days - from around 10-11C all the way S, it was 12C yesterday and reached 14C today.

Boat is going really slowly - need full canvas now - wind is NNW 12-14kt so we're running nearly dead downwind - poling out the genoa would help - doing that will get interesting in these very rolly conditions! Time to gear up and get out on deck...

3pm Unbelievable ....! Finally got genoa poled out a while ago so we're goose-winged downwind now in wind just W of N at ~12kt, making ~4 kt.

Looked forward to check the set of the sail, I saw its foot was flapping loose! On going forward to investigate - the sprung shackle pin holding the shackle onto the foot of the sail had totally disappeared! Next thing that could well have happened was the genoa bolt rope would get torn out of the bolt rope track in the foil as it flapped in the wind and the sail would fly loose... Damn!!!!

Hurriedly went down and got the first piece of thick twine I could find and spent the next twenty minutes tying the foot of the sail to any hole I could find in and around the shackle (which was still in place but with its jaw not able to close) - including a ring which is looking fairly sturdy. Lots and lots of turns... I'll need to find replacement shackle(s) since I doubt the twine will last very long but I furled in the sail several turns, hoping to ease the load.

I'd been running the engine to charge the batteries - I'd expected to look at the generator problem earlier but poling out always takes a long time, especially in these rolly seas. I still have to deal with the damaged rings at the foot of the staysail (that have been catching the lazy starboard genoa sheet)

We're under wind steering now so our path downwind is rather wiggly - don't be surprised if the tracker gives a weird course reading - it's instantaneous, not giving an average. The wind has veered to just E of N, so we're making a course S-SSW now.

4pm Noted position & weather info now - at 0000Z Thurs24Nov GMT. Have made 120 n.ml. 'distance made good' in last 24hrs. Presently, 260 n.ml due W of Pt Estero which is just S of San Simeon and Morro Bay and N of San Luis Obispo.

About to work on the generator control panel now - maybe it has a loose connection?

4.30pm No obvious sign of problem there - so now to genset itself ... power not getting to solenoid...? (Tries to turn but doesn't fire up)

6pm Well, that didn't happen - had to sail the boat! Having checked weather forecasts, seems clear we need to keep heading SE, not SW, wind now from NNE, still 11 kt, so gybed the main and changed course...

6pm Mon PST/0200 Tues GMT

Daylight amost gone. Reefed the main (two reefs now) and furled in genoa a good bit - expecting winds to increase overnight and be quite strong by morning - so being cautious!...And we could still have occasional clouds giving stronger winds.. Speed down from just over 7kt to 6kt. Far less heeling - excellent since I'm about to cook a meal. (Thanks a lot, Linda, for the mild curry - made a perfect quick'n'easy complement to the last of my ratatouille stew)

Seas built a little with the good wind this afternoon - there's a W swell of 2m underlying the wind waves from SW.

Have been too busy sailing the boat today to have done as much by way of jobs as I'd hoped and next two days could see quite strong winds of over 20kt so jobs needing calmer seas might have to wait a bit longer.

Tues 3.40am PST / 1140 GMT Wind up and down around 20-23 kt from SW-SSW. Making 5.7kt on 143T, banging into seas a bit.

7.40am PST Having to head SE with wind backed more into SSW - boat speed is killed if we get too close to the wind. Expecting wind to be more veered by around midday and continue to veer to NW so we'll be able to head more S on a broad reach by later today.

This time of morning, from sunrise on, the 40m band is pretty busy so it's a good time to catch up with ham radio friends.

By 8.50am, wind was 24kt, SOG 6.8 kt - doing fine with two reefs in mainsail.

Interestingly, no ships seen for many days now but I expect to cross paths with some headed from Asia towards L.A. when I get further S. Pesently, we're 240 ml almost due W of S.F.

1.30pm Heavy rain... wind 28kt (gusting often to over 30kt) and is veering - to NW now. Hope it stays veered so conditions feel gentler as we sail more downwind.

Well... I don't want a repeat of the next hour's events in a hurry - if ever! Wind rose in no time to well over 40kt sustained... Clearly a Front was coming through and I didn't realise it was happening in time to reduce sail further (good thing I'd reefed well down overnight!) We careered madly downwind, being tossed around by the building seas, speed reaching 8.3kt quite soon, in 43kt wind - held there for a good hour... I knew I still had some clearing up to do before, but I certainly have a lot more to do now.... A definite 'worst moment' that lasted far too long - but we survived it - well done, Nereida!!

3pm Wind down to 26kt, still from NW. Speed 6.7kt due S. No pressure change to give any warning - doesn't happen ahead of time when a Front goes through, just the isobars on an isobaric chart show 'kinks' in them to indicate where the Front is because of changed wind direction at that point. I hadn't been expecting a Front, so hadn't looked for the signs and was happily working at my computer, assuming all was going smoothly and keeping an occasional eye on the instruments from time to time when - bang!!

Have retrieved two trailing sheets that had gone overboard. Think I'll have some coffee and try to relax and soothe my nerves.... Some food (ready waiting - excellent! Thanks again, Linda.) would be nice also... Then to clearing up... Wind now (nearly 4pm - teatime!) 23kt, still from NW and getting lighter. We made 70 mls in the 12 hrs from 4am!

Just about to post this - sun setting at 5pm, wind NW 12kt , swell still well up so knocking us around as a big wave catches us.

9am So much calmer now! Let out reef and unfurled full genoa to speed us along - had dropped way down while I was asleep with less wind now - ~10kt from WSW at present. Seas down although a good 2.5m / 7-8ft still.

Lazy genoa sheet was tangled on a damaged ring (two, in fact, ...those rings again!) on staysail furler/foot of sail - released and not looking very damaged, TG. Chain locker lid was closed properly after one side had opened in the stormy seas. (A friend had closed it and I'd stupidly not checked to make sure it was locked down - it wasn't... Long Falklands 3-strand thick fishing line in bag was retrieved from having tried hard to get washed overboard at the stern in same strong seas. Staysail pole was fixed in place at one end - it had come off its support there when staysail furling line tangled with it close to furling line lead... furling line slightly damaged. (Looks like in same place as I'd found the previous line had been chafed and cut.) Iridium phone handset is no longer working - phone adapter normally has four lights showing - now it shows none... Good thing I had set up my smartphone with the software and had already been using it at times - so my backup is now my mainstay...

Just noticed wind has increased a tad and gone more into SW - means our course has changed... to SSE.

Time for breakfast - and some coffee now its calmer. Then on with more jobs - plenty to do still.

2.30pm Was just about to settle down at midday(!) with coffee and breakfast, having managed a bit of a clear up in galley area, when realised wind was building .. Up on deck... big, wide area of rainy grey cloud ahead. Over next 45 mins, wind got up to 24-28 kt (apparent) and our speed got to well over 8 kts for quite a time - even reached 9 knots - we were really speeding along!! Early on, had eased the mainsheet a lot to reduce the heeling - and then, soon after, ran off more downwind - on 120T. That helped a lot - despite amazing speed and strong wind, it felt much more comfortable heading downwind. Good news was there'd not been enough time for seas to build... Bad news, once it was over, was seeing another grey mass directly ahead, despite lovely sunshine and blue sky overhead just then...! Tried to steer upwind of cloud ahead, in hope that would help - but we're now (2.30pm) headed directly for another mass of rainy grey cloud... and wind is building again. Think we're following a band of raincloud - can see strip of blue sky on horizons on each side of us.

3.15pm Think heading to windward side of cloud mass helped - raincloud is mostly off to port of us - great! This mix of winds is certainly keeping me busy today - so glad I left the first reef in earlier.... This area of showery raincloud is clearly extensive - maybe this is what gave the SF Bay area the heavy rain last night that I heard about this morning from a radio friend?

125n.ml. roughly - seems to have been our distance made good over 24 hrs Sun midnight GMT to Mon midnight GMT.

5pm Sun close to setting. Wind 16 kt from WSW, SOG 7.3kt COG 147T 236 ml due W of Pt Arena, Caifornia.

7.15am Sun rises over fairly calm sea - swell just 2m from NW.
Position is 273 n.ml from Pt Conception, nearly 400 n.ml WNW of Los Angeles

Greetings from Jeanne and 'Nereida' - hope you have a great day and a good long weekend!

5am - Saw wind had veered a lot, so was able to change our heading more towards SW from SSE. Want to get further W to reach area of NW winds arriving soon, so we can head due south, rather than be stuck in SSE-SE winds. Still very rough conditions - but getting plenty of sleep in my warm, cosy bunk!

8am So glad I didn't untie the second reef last night! We're making around 7 kt, close-hauled, fairly well heeled, in 16kt wind with full genoa and staysail - that's just fine.

Made contact on 7155 with the ham radio group there - nice to chat briefly but couldn't spend long with boat heeling a lot and being thrown around so much - makes life difficult unless I strap myself in or use the steel restraint bar - and I dearly wanted some breakfast! Good that the repeater station in Half Moon Bay was hearing me so well - meant that people who otherwise could not copy me could hear me using their computer, although likely still to have a problem transmitting my way over the radio.

11.30am Gusty conditions with clouds around. Had been very pleasant earlier this morning, with relatively calmer conditions for a time, although seas quite big still, but then had to furl in some genoa with wind increasing to 20+ kt - so it's feeling rougher again with lots of being tossed around added to our usual heeling. Course is still good, trying to make some more westing while it's possible in WNW wind.

6pm Had a nice hot stew again, followed by a fresh mandarin - lovely! Light is fading - noticeably later than further north now!

Changed course to head due S at 3 pm - resulted in an immediate lessening of the seas' effect as we headed downwind, although, of course, there's always a rolling effect whenever sailing downwind in swell. Wind got up even stronger, giving SOG ~7kt, but wind strength not noticeable heading down the waves, instead of into them. Wind presently ~23kt from WNW, gusting to 28-30kt with rainclouds around.

Soon we'll have passed Cape Mendocino (like C.Blanco, notorious for bad weather and seas) but well off - over 200 miles. Another Low and Cold Front will arrive to the N of our position Tues/Wed but we should be well S by then so hardly affected - except possibly getting becalmed on Wed and/orThurs before getting to the Trades!

(Heard we were making 7.8 kt in the strong winds earlier - that's going some! Aurora tracker gave:3:28:00 PM (EST?); 41.44N, 128.87W; Speed: 7.8 kt; Heading: 230°T )

Badly need some really calm weather to wash the cabin sole and get rid of the oily surface - getting dangerously slippery, especially as we lurch about....

Later: Seeing lots of stars now - overcast sky of daytime has cleared away, with just a few clouds in the W. Have been working on trying to post photos - still not happening so more effort needed.

Listened on 40m HF band - busy everywhere with a contest going on - no chatting this evening!

Sunday 7pm / Mon 21st Nov 0300GMT - Had good copy on Tom, K4XV, on Kauai, who took my position report on the Pacific Seafarers' Net. Chatted also briefly (propagation was so-so) with John, VK4DBJ - a long-time PacSeaNet radio friend in E. Australia.

 

Chart table at night...

Fri 6pm LT/PST (Sat 0200 GMT) Pressure 990 hPa, grey cloud overhead with clear patch on horizon to SW - centre of Low?

Wind is S 20-25kt, swell S 4m. Making very little speed close-hauled but don't want to bear away too much if means we head N of W. Present course is WSW at 4.6kt.

Cape Blanco is 230 ml to ESE, Cape Mendocino 300 ml to SE. If we were to head due S from here, we'd pass each 240 ml off - far off enough to avoid the nasty seas and wind coming towards them soon, I hope!

8pm Wind seems to have settled down to 27kt from S, resulting in making a course due W at 5kt.  Seas not bad.. Hoping for wind to change direction to nearer W overnight, so we can begin to head S.

10pm Just gybed around (tack stalled!) onto SE course in 20kt SSW wind. Keeps us away from centre of Low we were heading into and wind should slowly allow us to head more S overnight and tomorrow.

 Saturday 3.40am LT  Much calmer now than it has been for last 2 days- no rough seas, just big swell and wind down completely... 15 kt, instead of 35kt, gusting 40kt, is definitely preferable !

10.45am LT (1845 GMT)    Didn't last.... A rough night and seas & wind still up now... 35 kt from SW means course to SE (COG 143T) possible. Difficult to move about well-heeled cabin while seas knock us around but sun is out and pressure has risen to 990 from earlier 985 as Low moves N from close by and we can turn more to the S.

Saturday midday LT (Sat 2000 GMT) Wedged myself into the chart table seat - seas are still big - TG for Baden's hinged steel side-support that stops me from falling out when heeled well over to port!

A rough night and morning -a good thing the computer is well tied down at the chart table. I was keeping an eye out for wind to veer so we could head more S, having been forced to head E most of the night. At 8am, I spotted the wind shift and adjusted our course in 35-40 kt wind - so since then we've been heading more S - around 145T. Really need the wind to veer more into the W, so we can hed more directly S or even SSW. Still well up in mid-20 kt range now.

A late combined b'fast/lunch = brunch ... It's been so very difficult to move around safely, especially since the cabin sole is slightly wet with water and a touch of (olive) oil. I landed on the floor when I tried to check on our heading and wind direction etc this morning - fortunately not badly but was a good reason to stay mainly in my leeward bunk! Seas are still well up and knocking us around quite often, even now.

6pm A lot calmer now, with wind right down to 15kt or less and seas still big, at around 5m, but not rough with a lot of wind waves on top of the underlying swell. Headed almost due S now, with wind from SW-WSW.

Been busy clearing up this afternoon - mess of items on cabin sole, including my ship's and radio logbooks without their covers..  Next, before I could let out any reefs or the genoa, the tangle of wet lines and sheets on the cockpit floor had to be dealt with - some tangled with the midships cleats and with each other,... outboard, also. Looking forward to it being calm enough soon for me to wash the cabin sole with detergent to get rid of the slippery oil!

Pressure has been climbing steadily over the day and has reached 995 hPa now - still low.

Looking forward to a hot meal again - warming up now.

Finishing the day on two unhappy notes - one is the news about Alex Thomson hitting an underwater object when in the Vendee Globe lead, the other is that the Windex at the mast top has lost its tail fin and so is useless to me - I'll miss that.

Otherwise, all is well on board the good ship "Nereida"!

(For position and tracking info see website 'Travels' pg, noting that the Aurora tracker misses its hourly position report if the phone is in use or an Iridium satellite is not high enough to give a good signal at the time. My own Winlink reports are fairly regular and also get posted to Shiptrak although the times might be a bit erratic if I forgot to check before posting - I'm havig a problem with my computer clock misbehaving. AIS reports depend on the server/company being used and whether it's a free or paid version.)

Thurs 6pm LT(PST)/Fri 0200GMT Pressure dropping slowly. Got ready on deck for strong weather coming in tonight - tied in mainsail reef2 and reduced genoa a touch. Wind 13kt from SE-SSE - pretty constant in direction now which simplifies things. Reducing sail early slowed us a little but not by much - still making 5.5kt SW with most of genoa unfurled.

Checked staysail, sheets and all lines were ready or stowed, also preventer in case needed (which it will be, if heave to under mainsail alone) - nothing like being prepared and I'll reef down again and/or reduce genoa early as the wind rises - I'm not racing in the Vendee Globe!

Having some tea while food is warming up - nice to have it ready!

Keep checking weather forecasts.

8.30pm Headlamp so very useful in the dark. Getting a little rougher - not so much size of waves, rather that they're getting rather closer. Wind ~20kt, apparent wind higher. Furled away genoa , unfurled staysail. Speed down for a short time but soon back up to over 5 kt. Waiting to tie third reef in mainsail - don't want to kill our speed too soon!

10.30pm Pressure dropped 2 hPa/mb in two hours. Wind 25 kt and rising, seas getting rougher - decided to tie in 3rd reef sooner rather than later. Try to get an hour's sleep?

Friday 4.20am LT/PST (1220GMT) Pressure down to 1006hPaa, wind up to 31kt, bumpy ride.... Wind still from SE so making SW course. Slept well.

9.30am Pressure 995 and still dropping. Centre of Low not far off (at below 990). Still seeing winds at 36-38 kt, occasionally dropping to low 30s. Seas are really throwing us around as they hit our beam and we're well heeled over most of the time, so difficult to move around. Hopefully, we'll soon be out of the worst of it, into less strong winds around 25kt, although seas will still be up for a time and another small belt of stronger winds likely to follow the slight easing.

Seas are constantly thoroughly washing the decks. Put clear hanging screen up beside the chart table to protect area from some drips of water coming in from above the companionway. Haven't needed that for quite a time.

Think it'll be a cereal bar and a banana for b'fast...

12.45pm In the event, it was prunes and almonds - kept at the chart table for times like this! Just had some hot stew for lunch and have a banana ready for later. It's not easy cutting off a banana from a bunch swinging madly as the boat lurches and you have to hang on or be thrown around......

We're in a 'lull' of a mere 25-30 kt of wind just now but rough seas are unchanged.

Sun is shining and I took advantage of daylight earlier to check the cockpit - lines & sheets were in a complete mess with several trailing overboard - a result of the boisterous conditions we've been in. I also furled the staysail slightly to get its clew away from a shroud it had been touching, making a lot of noise. Of course, I got a dousing - wet hair again!

The seas are coming mainly from forward of our port beam, some big ones we plunge into directly - that's when the whole boat gets a washing from bow to stern, over the coachroof and often into the cockpit.

I've also cleared up a bit down below - olive oil spilled from a bottle that landed on the cabin sole and lost its top. Thanks to Rose for bringing some extra butter before I left - I'll definitely need it now, if only for cooking.

More strong winds are expected soon from another Low close to this one - another bout of possibly 35-40 kts - but not long before we can head S and winds ease. I'm keeping us as far as possible from Capes Blanco and Mendocino -they'll be getting nasty seas and strong wind this weekend for quite some distance off, far worse than where I hope to be.

Wind generator has kept batteries well topped up with all this strong wind!

2.30pm Rainclouds..! Back to the 'cloud effect'... One moment, wind has died and with it our speed; a short while later, wind is up strongly, veered, and we're rushing along... but not for long.

Pressure down to 992 hPa - waiting for those strong winds, maybe tonight.

5pm Tea, as a cloud squall passes through... Wind has veered to SSW at 30kt or so... Darkness falling. Got some sleep ready for tonight -expect constant strong winds. Pressure now down at 991 hPa, so Low's centre is close. Seas died down a bit with eased wind over last few hours.

Wed 6.30pm PST/LT (0230 Thursday GMT) Ratatouille stew almost ready for me to test.. I'm hungry - looking forward to it!

Looked up to the sky and thought I must be seeing the Space Station... Waited for it to move steadily across, as it does. But it didn't move - so must be Venus, ...close to Earth? Shining amazingly brightly above the light light over the W horizon. Plenty of other stars to be seen, with very little cloud overhead.

Wind has been fairly constant for some time, at around 10 kt from WSW and we're making over 6knots - nice. But if we get too close to a cloud, things can change rapidly... Dark now, so I hope the night proves calm, with no frantic getting up on deck to deal with things as we heel in a sudden stronger wind!

Wed 7.30pm PST (Thurs 0330 GMT) Pacific Seafarers Net - checked in with Peter, ZL1PWM - propagation not too bad to NZ but impossible to N. America. I was able to hear him relaying info on the N. Island 'quake.

Wed 8pm - Wind started getting up...boat began to heel more .. and more, as wind increased ... just as I was just abut to serve up my stew! Up on deck eased mainsheet to relieve pressure - heeling lessened. very nice to be speeding along at 7.2kt but once the (big) cloud has passed over, we're back to ambling along at just under 5 kt.

Wed 9.15pm Here we go again - heeling over.. SOG 6.6kt and increasing.... up on deck we go...

Wed 10.15pm Back down below, finally - 'blow' lasted about 15-20 mins, with apparent wind over 20kt and our speed around 7kt again... Decided to take in first reef in mainsil plus same for genoa, although no big dark clouds upwind seen nearby but some high ones on the horizon... Having finished that, wind had dropped (now 8 kt) and so has our speed. Seeing 4 kt, I decided to unfurl most of the genoa again, leaving the line on the winch ready.

Will take short, timed naps, in hope not to be caught out overnight, starting now, while the sky seems clear of dark masses. (That didn't happen!)

Thursday 4.30am PST/LT One hour later, another squall came by - but not so very strong... Since then, the wind has died and we've twice gone around in a circle while getting back on course for a while ... Dificult in 4 knots of wind. Now making 2.5 kt SE in SW wind.... which soon after decided to back to S-SSE... Time to gybe around...

5.30am ....And to gybe back again with wind now SSW again - we were slowly heading NNW! Better to be making SE slowly... at least that's a better direction. Basically, the wind has turned S but very light, so it's just swinging around. But slight S-going current is being seen so best to make use of it... we're making 1.5kt... Seems to have settled for a bit - time for some more sleep - maybe.

8am No sleep yet - more drifting with fluky wind to contend with - but wind now up to 8kt, occasionally 10kt, from SE, so making SW course at 4-5 kt. Hope it stays and doesn't die again - could be another 'cloud effect', I fear...

9.45am Cloud it was ... Now wind has veered to SSW and dropped again so we're drifting along a 2kt heading W ... but as I write, it backed to S-SSE again - it keeps changing, even more so as clouds pass by, which is why I've got so little sleep...Try my bunk again...

10.30am Got b'fast but not sleep. Raining now - usual veered, increased wind with cloud - heading us WNW - lasted about five minutes and then wind died down to SSE 4 kt, so we're making just 1.3kt. Sun getting back out.

Looks as though light wind today, until later tonight, by which time Cold Front will be getting close enough for wind to have increased to 15kt, reaching 20kt by 3am Friday and 25-35+ kt over the morning, diminishing soon after midday - a 'blow' of about 12 hours, maybe

2pm Just had an egg & eating a banana as I type - an excellent quick meal! Just slept, with one break to adjust boat heading, for three hours - feeling rested. Wind is SE at 10kt and we're making 235T at around 4kt SOG. Seas are relatively light, well spaced at 2-3m . Sun is shining in between white clouds.

3pm Wind 13kt, SOG 6.5 kt ... but just a short gust! Back, just after, to 10kt SSE wind and SOG ~5kt. As wind increases, will reef mainsail and eventually furl in genoa and use small staysail.

4pm Teatime! Sailing smoothly at 5kt SW in SE wind of 10kt. Cloudy ahead of Cold Front.

Overnight - up on deck a lot with the changeable conditions. Was wary of letting out the reefs in mainsail (although full genoa felt OK, it's so easy to furl in quickly), in case another very strong gust came through while I was trying to sleep but I did so just before dawn when the sky looked reasonably clear and I was up, ready to deal with whatever came along.

Chatted to some radio friends around sunrise. Checked emails and weather. Discussed with Bill, KI4MMZ - he's worried about where I'll be over Fri/Sat when the winds could get up to over 40kt from S - not good!!

11.30am (1930GMT) Squall! - Just as I was finally hoping to get to breakfast and relax, having come down below after having sorted out a few lines and unfurling the staysail in light wind.... Clouds around with rain falling in places.

11.50am .... and another... Had to jump back on deck in slight rain to ease the mainsheet to lessen the heeling... Decided to furl in the staysail - making life too complicated for little, if any, gain...

12.45pm (2045GMT) - Finlly having food! Wind has now died to 4-5kt from SW but we're making 3kt SSE - there must be a S-flowing current hereabouts. Earlier this morning, we were making great progress: SSW at 6-7 kt in good wind for quite a time. But then came the rainclouds - with several squalls, each accompanied by a major veering of wind - some at 20-25kt - a bit too exciting...

Now the sun is shining, which is very pleasant - but we're not going fast enough or in the preferred direction... Time to finish b'fast, get my first coffee of the day - and then cook while the seas have lain down. I'd hoped to avoid some of the bad weather coming late Friday and Saturday by getting S quickly but that's just not happening... Wind has gone into SE - think I'll gybe around and see what it's like trying to get W ...

2.15pm Feeling a lot better after food and some coffee! Making good progress again - heading SSW at around 6kt, occasionally dropping to 4-5 kt when wind goes lighter - it's ~10kt from WSW again but expected to die down more and possibly back to SW-S. Really would like to be 100-150ml off Cape Blanco, or further S, when the bad weather comes in - we'll see whether the wind permits that - looks feasible now, given right conditions, but is totally dependent on wind strength and direction over next two days.

Posted a position report to Winlink (who pass it on to Shiptrak and Yotreps). Usually include a weather report when at sea - I enjoy that, knowing it's made good use of, and always find it a challenge when estimating swell height and period. The biggest 1/3 of swell is the item of interest... I use my deck-to-solar-panels distance to help - it's roughly 2m. Result? 3.5m height (top to trough) at 8sec interval, on average, from WSW (using compass, so have to remember to allow for variation - which here is 16 degrees East - by adding on 16 degrees to compass reading). I note the variation at intervals in my log - it changes as we move around the globe... (A good reason for courses always to be quoted as True, not Magnetic...) In the Southern Ocean, I've seen it get up to 40 degrees!

Wind seems to be backing to SW more ...pity!

Midnight LT Mon into Tues... Had 1 hour of sleep but then had to get on deck to release the reef I'd tied in earlier in over 20 kt of wind. Pressure has dropped 2 hPa to 1009 within the last 3 hrs - usually a sure sign of strong wind to come - we'll find out soon enough.

In meantime, with swell rolling us about and boom wanting to crash from one side of the boat to the other in wind of only 4-5 kts, I've re-attached the preventer to hold the boom in place and try to help the sail work with what little wind it can find.

Might as well get another hour of sleep after removing my wet outers ....

7.30am Should have realised why the wind had died last night.... wind shift imminent... Got some sleep but then woke up at 2am, sensing change .... we were heeling a lot with full canvas - way too much - in increased wind from WNW, shifted from E. Left things alone for a time - we were making good speed! With daylight, wind was still up so furled in most of genoa to lessen the heeling... That worked but decided still more help was needed so tied in two reefs. I noticed one batten end was adrift - not connectedd to mast track slide which looks to have lost its pin and possibly the tape used also.

Noticed my computer has been showing wrong date & time (now corrected) - so position reports are possibly wrongly timed also.

I need some breakfast and a lot more sleep...

Midday: Well - fat chance of either...!

Wind got up to 30kt in big rain squall that seemed to last forever... Stayed on deck after furling in genoa to 'handkerchief' size. Boat coping fine and speed rose dramatically. No sleep and no b'fast though...

Two hours later, wind died again - story of today - gusting up big time or nothing... Keeping me busy! Was winching in mainsheet at one point with woolly hat on - got totally doused by wave breaking over cockpit - took my hat away - found it on aft deck and retrieved it - sodden!

While winching in genoa, spotted a familiar pin lying on port side close to deck drain - from batten end slide - how lucky!! With second reef in, and a lull in the wind, I was able to get a good look at the batten end-to-mast-track-slide connection. All there (metal connector, no tape used, TG) but a ring holding pin in place had gone missing - so many times recently rings holding something in place have disappeared or turned totally rusty - clearly not strong or well-designed enough for the job... Chinese??

Wind died away and we started drifting .... I was able to get the batten end in place and replace the pin holding it and, with difficulty, insert a ring to hold it there - not the strong one I'd hoped to use - was too difficult to insert that while holding up the sail and batten out of my way, despite being tied to the mast in the swell. Used a more flimsy one and thought to add some wire - but as I started doing that the wind got up strongly again - another rain squall - hastily furled in some genoa and got down below - wet again...

Black-footed albatross keeps coming to visit - they must be quite common over this bit of ocean.

Can't see us making Cape Blanco before Friday, when strong system expected - too often wind has died away and we make very little progress. Will expect to heave-to, if needed.

4pm Daylight beginning to fade. 75 ml W of Ocean City, WA. Wind: WSW 5kt. Boat: 1kt SSW - SLOW! (4.15pm - 2.2 kt - doubled for a short time...wow!)

Monday14th November 2016

What a complete mixed bag of conditions over the first 24hrs... from becalmings to strong gusts, getting taken by strong tidal current towards Race Rocks, being headed by W wind and so having to tack a long way N-S for very little westward gain.... But just after dark tonight, we cleared Cape Flattery and started heading SW to get offshore in the Pacific Ocean.

It was a slow start around 4.30pm on Sunday over the harbour entrance start line: from Ogden Pt, where a group of enthusiastic supporters were waving and cheering from the breakwater as I started, to the green mark opposite. 'Prince of Whales' did their usual good job of towing 'Neeida', with a sealed engine, from the Causeway Dock and a second RIB kept us company until after I'd started my journey S. Even the Victoria RCC boat was there, unexpectedly, to see me off - thanks, Simon! (I'd contacted them and the Coast Guards on Saturday to warn them that I might be drifting around in no wind overnight in the Strait sometime after my 4pm start.)

It was already twilight and the strong ebb was gradually taking us towards Race Rocks. As we got closer, despite very little boat speed (due to very little wind), we were making more and more speed over the ground... reaching over 7 knots. Not wanting to risk being taken onto rocks by that strong current. I decided it would be safest in the dark, being unfamiliar with the waters, to go around the notorious area, rather than through Race Passage as I had done in daylight before - but the W-flowing current was so strong we had to head SE in order to make a course to our SW! As we passed well S of the rocky main island, the waters got incredibly rough - another effect of the strong ebb. It felt good to be out of danger, finally.

I had to stay awake all night, with just a few catnaps - busy tending the sails, looking out for shipping, making sure we didn't get too close to a shore and reacting to the many changes in wind direction and speed, always trying to keep heading W towards the exit. With a lot of rain initially, I also felt very cold, having to sit around in very wet clothes, ready to jump up on deck if needed... Suddenly, soon after making for the US side from Race Rocks in light wind, the boat heeled well over as we were hit by a 25-knot squall. I rushed up and tied two reefs in the mainsail and reduced the big headsail (genoa).... all to be released later when the wind died totally, yet again. Tne good news was that we managed to keep moving almost all the time, sometimes quite well.

I'd expected it to take a long time to get away- and so it did... Over 24 hrs from the harbour to passing Cape Flattery tonight... I'd even drifted backwards N of the Cape when caught mid-channel in the flood tide with no wind... but soon after we were making 6-8 kt downwind in an E wind often over 20kt and quite big seas. At that point, taking in a reef seemed sensible overnight, thinking conditions were not lessening but, in fact, the wind has now (9pm) eased to 16 kt and we're making 6.5kt SW. Much more and I'll be increasing canvas....

I'm posting frequent Winlink/Shiptrak position reports since I heard there might be a problem with the Aurora tracking.. I've also had a problem connecting in to the satellite email, although I had a chat with Julian Clegg on BBC Radio Solent last night and there was no problem with the voice connection. I'll use Winlink to post this to my website as an email via HF radio.

Present position: 48 15'N 125 14'W

{imageshow sl=1 sc=1 /}Live music, good food, nice old Victoriana surroundings, easy walk from waterfront and Causeway Dock in Victoria Inner Hbr.

The weather window I've been so impatiently waiting for, while I've been getting on with repairs after the recent storm, seems to be arriving on Sunday.

The ebb tide starts around 4pm so, by leaving then, the tide should help us to get through Race Passage with possibly some good but light wind before the wind dies totally and the tide turns to flood - against us.

It's likely that we'll be becalmed, or nearly so, for a day or so, but if we can exit the Strait sometime Monday morning the winds will be better by Tuesday onward - so we'll be able to get S.

Fingers tightly crossed - please pray to the wind gods for us - for a good passage S. It might be slow but at least it looks as though there'll be no storms on our path...

Randy Diamond, of RVYC, kindly spent today taking me to do various errands - collected new drogue bag (for 'overflow'), did some minor provisioning in Sidney's Save-On Foods (Store Manager Justin was very kind in donating towards the cost), topped up a propane tank, visited an excellent local bakery - and Randy even took time out to take me up to a magnificent 360 degree viewpoint at the top of Mount Douglas Park which we were passing by. It's a prominent 225 m (738 ft) high hill outside Victoria - national reserve and forested area - looking over the Juan de Fuca Strait towards Puget Sound, to San Juan Island across Haro Strait, over to Sidney and Saltspring Island, and over the entire Victoria city and harbour area.

Saw Nick of 'Prince of Whales', who will be towing "Nereida" out to Ogden Pt again, to confirm details - they do a great job! (Thanks for your help.)

Busy tonight with organising the boat and catching up on emails and phone calls to friends.

Plenty more boat organising to do but the most urgent jobs have already been done.

Thurs 3rd Nov 2016, A beautiful day in Victoria area today... blue sky and warm sunshine.   Excellent for getting deck work done.

Repaired staysail was collected  this morning and hoisted late today but I'm waiting until tomorrow morning to replace furling line - ran out of daylight! Also started organizing new series drogue - on removing starboard shackle with great difficulty, found it was damaged...  Will need to replace it.   Not too surprised to see state of it, in view of stresses it was put under without the second bridle arm to share the load and the big seas it had had to contend with.  I'd asked friend Les to come round to advise me since he works with steel all the time - "Don't risk it" was his advice on seeing the slightly opened jaw and bent pin of the  big shackle.  What amazing forces it must have been subjected to...!

I spotted a machine screw lying beside the toe rail close to the stern quarter...  Eventually, another was found further forward, close to the stanchion where a furling line lead had come adrift - yet another victim of those rough seas. ...

The fine weather is set to continue tomorrow, followed by rain over the weekend, so I hope to finish with deck items while it's dry.

With a tarpaulin for shelter over the weekend, another job I'm hoping to get done is to replace a seemingly defunct heater element in the hot water  tank under the cockpit locker floor...  Difficult to access.   It would be nice to have hot water available at times while in the cold Southern Ocean!

Lots of interest in damaged staysail and series drogue

29th Oct 2016, In safety of Victoria Inner Hbr - Causeway Dock, in front of Empress Hotel

Thurs 7.30 p.m. Dark. Wind keeps varying - mainly ~10 kt with occasional gusts to ~15kt. Full genoa and reefed mainsail are working well with help from motor to give 6kt SOG. Seas still 2-3 m from S, so they're knocking us about most of the time - have to be careful to hold on well when moving around.

SSB/HF radio propagation is getting really bad at times. Could not make any decent contact tonight with Pacific Seafarers Net at 0330 GMT. Heard Jimmy, NQ6P, for a few minutes at one point - but then signal took a dive and we lost contact completely. But contact with Winlink stns is usually OK for emailing - I can usually find a good station on 40m or 80m for email contact.

10.30 p.m. LT Looking at weather info, it seems that as we approach Cape Flattery overnight into Friday morning, the wind will pick up from 13kt now to 20 kt or more, from its present direction of SE - a narrow band of stronger SE wind lying along the Pacific coast. So it seems a good precaution to reduce the genoa now, if I'm to get a reasonable amount of sleep tonight....... Headlamp on...... "Hey ho, hey ho, it's up on deck I go ...."

Fri 4:30 a.m. Genoa furled in - being headed by wind backing to ESE. Motor rpm increased to give ~5kt SOG. Approaching Strait entrance - unfortunately just in time to catch beginning of ebb - max ebb current is 1.3 kt (foul) around 7:30 a.m. - around the time we'll probably be passing by just to N of Neah Bay - the Makah village near Cape Flattery in Washington state, USA. I can see clearly the Cape Flattery white light (actually on Tatoosh Island, whose photo features above my web pages), the yellow light in the middle of the Traffic Separation zone (almost dead ahead) and, fine on the starboard bow, the red light on Duncan Rock - to be avoided! I'll be up on deck as we get close to there, to make sure we stay well clear - it's 12 mls away now - so over two hours to go as our speed decreases, fighting the ebb.

There's a fishing boat inshore of us, heading NE around the Cape, as we are, and four ships in the shipping lanes to our N - well out of our way.

7:20 a.m. Fishing boat is heading into Neah Bay ahead. Just rounded Duncan Rock and set course to head along Strait of Juan de Fuca. Struggling to make way against maximum ebb and ~20kt of headwind from E. Line of deep orange on horizon ahead - first light increasing to give good sight of coast outline around Cape Flattery. Slight rainshower as we rounded Duncan Rock.

8 a.m. Wind down at times from 18 kt to 13 kt but still only making ~3-4 kt against the ebb as well ... Good to chat to some radio friends for last half hour. In calmer, although still a bit bumpy, waters now so looking forward to some coffee - first time in several days.

Expect a slow, relaxed trip to Victoria - distance of 55mls still, so will take all day, to get in late sometime Friday evening and then move on to the Causeway Dock in Victoria's Inner Hbr on Saturday morning.

11 a.m. The sun has got out, the heater is on, I've made some fresh coffee and I'm busy washing dishes with some of the plentiful hot water available now! Also made further use of my Aurora/Iridium phone connection to organise arrival and eventual Customs Clearance of the new drogue.

12:45 p.m. Just checked on tide through Race Passage - looks like towards end of present flood when likely to reach there, so can go inside Race Rocks. Slack before ebb is at 23:44 GMT and we'll take another 3 1/2 hrs to get there - arriving around 23:20 if present good speed is kep up (6.5 kt). Will check again when closer - boat speed could welll drop as flood tide lessens.

6.:30 p.m. What an enjoyable last leg to Victoria Hbr! The sun shone brightly on relatively calm and deserted waters all afternoon and we motor-sailed with full genoa for quite a time and made Race Passage just before the ebb started .. I enjoyed the coast scenery (very few houses) and views across the Strait to the Olympics and we made the Victoria Outer Hbr around sunset (having to avoid a lot of big logs floating in the waters nearby), to drop the mains'l and make for the Customs Dock in the last of the daylight... Perfect timing! Someone on his boat even recognised 'Nereida' as I headed for the Customs Dock - and I got a loud "Welcome, Jeanne!" - amazing! Having been in International waters, clearing Customs was a necessary formality to be gone through but the two officials who turned up couldn't have been more pleasant - pity we couldn't share a glass of wine!

Tomorrow morning, I'll make for the fuel dock and then on to the Causeway Dock where I expect to meet up with several friends. For now, I'll enjoy a lovely hot shower and a good meal - with wine!

My to-do list following landfall is as follows:

Organise drogue being sent to Victoria from Fedex office in Richmond, Surrey, B.C. (Customs Clearance needed) and install with new shackle replacing missing one on port quarter.

Stow/flake JSD line into its bag. Buy new retrieval line and fix in place..

Staysail repair - to be dealt with on Monday.

Short section of lifeline oame adrift - new clevis pin needed plus ring to hold in place - last ring clearly too flimsy since went missing in the big seas ... Lucky not to have lost the length of wire, with its end fittings, overboard...

Tidy up in head and in aft cabin and fix items there more firmly, so cannot move in big seas.

Replace all valves in toilet system- not done before leaving (works fairly well but a precautionary measure...)

Buy new sturdy bright torch (flashlight) (to replace one that went overboard...!)

Organise main cabin better - too many items moved in big seas.

Do laundry!

Check sending of photos via XGate and Aurora... (From iPad seems good but not from computer or smartphone - sent photo of damaged JSD cones to website from iPad)

Keep an eye out for a good weather window - I expect to be ready to re-start any time from Wed/Thurs onward... Totally weather-dependent.

Making good speed with the flood tide - not far to go to Race Rock

Race Rock LH

Damaged staysail - Victoria Hbr in view