Tag: cruising

  • Day 10: Pacific Crossing from Mexico to French Polynesia

    So thankful the seas are more reasonable throughout the day.  We are trying to make our way south into the ITCZ at an area with fewer squalls.  Seas are behind us and on our beam today, rolling us as we go along, and we are hitting some currents; making for a slower day. Emil, crew…

  • Day 9: Pacific Crossing from Mexico to French Polynesia

    Last night’s passage and today are the biggest seas that we’ve ever been in, Chris and I staying up all night together to keep the waves coming from behind us and the sail trimmed.  Winds reached 30 knots.  Seas were 12-15 feet high and only 5-6 seconds apart, coming at us from two different directions;…

  • Day 8: Crossing from MX to FP

    The seas and wind decreased a bit overnight, making my morning watch (5-9am) enjoyable as the sun came up.  Flying fish in all directions, trying to outfly/outswim the boobie birds who circle our boat.  Birds always seem very curious about us, sometimes landing on us (a place to rest?), other times circling around us (perhaps…

  • Day 7 of Crossing from MX to FP

    We will have another 36 hours or so of these bigger seas and continue our way SW, trying to keep the seas behind us, though they are coming from three different directions.  Seas still about 6-9 feet and steep.  I was a bit green last night, but doing better this morning.  We are paralleling the…

  • April 5: Day 6 of Crossing from MX to FP

    Woke up to light winds, motored for two more hours until I did a wind dance, resulting in the wind slowly increasing until we could sail.  Okay, so likely not my dance, but still the timing was great.  Great brunch of burritos from Emil.  Put the asym out and have been sailing happily downwind.  Captain…

  • Day 5: Crossing from MX to FP

    Woke up after a great night’s sleep of calm Code 0 sailing at only 2-4 knots overnight.  We hit our 500 miles overnight and celebrated this morning by opening our 500-mile treat bag titled “Out of the Wash Machine.”  Listened to the song “I Would Walk 500 Miles” but changed to “I Would Sail 500…

  • Day 3: Passage from MX to FP

    What a difference a few hours make.  I left my night shift with only 8 knots of wind, boat going 3.7.  I woke up at 8am with up to 20 knot gusts and the boat moving along at 6-8 knots.  Seas VERY lumpy; combo of wind waves and swells.  No seasickness yet, but we’re not…

  • Day 2: Passage from MX to FP

    Starting the day out with minimal wind (5.3 knots) with boat speed only 2.5, down to gentle ocean swell and light chop.  All of us were a bit tired due to keeping watch and the loud bridgedeck slap keeping us awake (a “special” feature of catamarans).  Breakfast was homemade granola from Christine (thanks!) and fresh…

  • Day 1 of Passage from MX to FP

    7:30am, anchor up and underway.  Happy Easter morning!  Coffee (small) and steel cut oats for breakfast.  Scopolamine patches put on last night to prevent seasickness, dry mouth already starting ,but they work great for our family.  Friends on Amizade up and waving to us as we got underway.  Starting out in Bandaras Bay, calm and…

  • Checked Out & Waiting for a Window

    We continued work on the boat, amidst fun, this week.  I experienced the local health care system when I sought out an ophthalmologist for a vision issue that I wanted evaluated prior to crossing the Pacific.  I had developed a defect in my right eye visual field and was pretty certain I knew what it…