After a great stir fry dinner made by Steve last night, I went off watch at 2000.  Talked to Tevaka, the sailing cat that left Whangarei for Papeete when we did.  She is south and west of us.  Did the standard end of watch engine room checks and I was off to bed and asleep before my head hit the pillow.  Next thing I knew, Steve was waking me for my 0400 watch – it seems like I had been asleep for just minutes.  Gentle winds and seas do wonders.

When I arrived at the helm station, Steve had prepared a latte (from sachet) for me and we went thru the usual end of watch small talk – no ships sighted – no weather – boat running well, etc.  Then talk turned to Papeete and the things we wanted to get done when we got there so our sojourn could be brief before heading off to other islands.  Steve asked me to get the 0515 and 0615 weather faxes from ZKFL (New Zealand) on 9 meg.  We haven’t been able to receive any weather faxes for 2 days due to atmospherics, which sometimes interfere with HF communications.  Email over HF has been spotty as well but we have managed to get GRIB files so we have a good idea of what the weather patterns are, but it is nice to have the weather faxes back.  Then Steve was off to bed and I was alone at the helm.

There was a soft glow from the electronics which were set up in their night mode.  My new favourite setup for passage making is to have 2 displays set up for radar – one at 24 miles for long range target detection, and one at 6 miles for avoidance, but the last ship we saw was 1000 nautical miles ago – the Pacific Ocean is a big place.  The other display is set to display Maretron data which monitors the ship’s vitals, weather and performance data.  I will try to do a post on our blog later about it.  We do not need a chart display as navigation data (heading, course, track and cross track error) are overlaid on the radar displays.  We do carefully check our route for obstacles before doing this.

Outside, there was a full moon which lit up everything wonderfully.  Just a few cotton ball cumulus clouds and some high cirrostratus about.  The door to the aft deck was open and the air was warm and tropical.  I could hear the rush of the water past the hull and the steady beat of the John Deere.

The seas and winds were gentle from the WNW aft of the beam, and the chaotic seas of the last few days are behind us. Iron Lady was doing her usual 9.6 to 10 knots but it felt like we were flying thru space and time.  The whole experience was magical.

As my watch was ending I got to watch a beautiful sunrise and Roger came up for his watch.  I fired up the stove for a couple of lattes while Roger put our Shabby for an early morning swim.  We gave the boat a quick rinse, to get off the encrusted salt of the last few days so we could see clearly out the windows and spend some time on the aft deck and fly bridge enjoying a fine day.

We were just finishing our coffee when Shabby did his thing and invited a nice Mahi to join us for dinner.  No missed fish this time.

Now how good is all that.  On days like this, you hope the passage never ends.

Sorry – no pictures until I get to Papeete and reasonable wifi, but I will put this up on our blog with pics.

Cheers

It is the season of renewal, for those afloat and others afflicted with landed status. In the South Pacific there are two FPB 64s about to depart for points north and a third already heading west, with a fourth now in the Islands. The SetSail contingent? Stuck in Arizona viewing from afar, and…thinking about how good it used to feel to have the boat loaded with stores, ready to leave, watching the weather patterns for just the right moment, while dreaming about the smell of those enveloping tropical breezes behind a reef somewhere in the South Pacific.

Are we missing it? You bet. But we do have some consolation.

Off the aft deck the desert is doing what it can to hold us with its beauty.

 Every morning there is some new development.

A night bloom may be fully open, flaunting its sexy interior.

And there are always critters of amazing variety.

Our favorites are the hummingbirds. They have become friends, posing just beyond the minimum focus distance for our 400mm telephoto (2.7m). Accustomed to our presence, they come back again and again to drink this nectar of the gods.

The photos in this post are a small part of the thousands we have taken in between Skype calls, computing, and the day to day affairs of cruisers who now realize they are not yet ready for full time ashore.

This is called an Arizona watch dog.

To those who think that land is comforting, and the life afloat one of risk, we offer this guardian of our back yard. Yes, taken adjacent to the deck where we often walk. Look at his coloring, and the surrounding terrain. You might as well be looking for bergy bits drifting down wind of an iceberg in a gale, surrounded by fog.  One love bite and your life, if you survive, is going to be a lot different. Give us a storm at sea any day!

If it weren’t for FPBs heading off on their cruises we might temporarily lose ourselves in this loveliness. And while we do adore the desert, especially at this time of year, without a boat we are stuck That ultimate form of freedom, to move when and where we want (weather permitting of course), is gone.

Something needs to be done about this state of affairs.

Stay put in one anchorage? Forever?

Even the most intriguing locations, be it St Kathryn’s dock adjacent to the Tower of London, Magdelena Bay at 79 degrees north in Svalbard, or Hanavave on Fatu Hiva in the Marquesas, grows old after a while.

 Of course the land bound individual does have the option of driving hither and yon. And there are some amazing sights to see, especially in the Southwest.

And we will give this a try.

 But right now we are missing the seagoing season of renewal, and we are seriously thinking of making a jump.

 And contemplating to what, how, when, where. Options are numerous.

The term busy as bees would be apt.

Ideas are springing forth, blossoming, being investigated.

There is no limit to the variety of concepts. We are in fact trying to decide what we want to do when we grow up, as we might actually have arrived at this stage in life.

This is a lot like the lunar cycle. A new moon brings with it the promise of unlimited options in the night sky.

Billions upon billions of  galaxies, untold potential.

Perhaps even an answer to the ultimate riddle.

Meanwhile, back in the light,

we are drinking in the beauty,

circling to gain altitude, while thinking about what lies beyond the horizon.

Photographer’s notes: All of the bird, critter, and some of the flowers were shot with a Canon 1DX and 400mm F2.8 telephoto, hand held of course. Some of the flowers were taken with a Canon 5DMk3 and 100mm F2.8 macro. The wide shots were the 5D3 body and a 24mm F1.4 lens.

Iron Lady is on her way across the South Pacific from Whangarei, New Zealand to Papeete, Tahiti, in French Polynesia. Pete Rossin and crew departed New Zealand three days ago and have been sending us periodic updates. We thought you might like to keep track of their progress on this occasionally difficult  2300NM passage.

31 04 S 177 37W

The above is our noon position as of today, May 20.  Current distance out of Whangarei is 706 nautical, yielding an average daily run just shy of 240 nautical or 10 knots an hour.  Engine revs 1650, fuel burn about 5.7 GPH with Iron Lady heavy on fuel and water.  COG is 48 degrees magnetic.

Barometer is 1017 and rising and winds are from the west at 15 to 20 knots putting the wind on our stern quarter.  Seas are running about 2 to 2.5 meters and Iron Lady is getting the occasional surf.  A building 1007 millibar low beneath us is heading southeast and a 1025 millibar high to our northeast are providing our weather and winds.  Last night’s heavy showers have given way to clear blue skies, but a stalled front remains in the area.

Last night’s prog from ZKFL showed us converging with the centre of the low on its southern side which would have put the winds in our face at 20 to 30 knots. We gave some thought to some northing today to avoid that if the low continued to track as forecast.  After reviewing today’s information, we are maintaining our voyage plan and proceeding on the great circle route between Wangharei and Papeete, as the low is clearly beneath us and a big high is above us.  ZKFL got both the speed and direction of the track wrong to our benefit.  Just as well as northing now would have put us into the present winds and seas and put the southeast trades more on our bow as we approach Tahiti.  Sometimes it is “pay me now or pay me later” but it has all worked out so far.

Dragged out the heavy fish artillery yesterday and hooked up two nice Mahi Mahi on Grandson of Shabby – our favourite lure.  Shabby did well but the crew lost them at the boat.  Hope we get another chance today.  For those of you who wish to know more about the saga of the family Shabby, you can go to myironlady.wordpress.com and do a search on Shabby.

Best from the good ship and crew of Iron Lady.

As for the Atlantic season the forecast team at Colorado State university says the following: 

We anticipate that the 2013 Atlantic basin hurricane season will have enhanced activity compared with the 1981-2010 climatology. The tropical Atlantic has anomalously warmed over the past several months, and it appears that the chances of an El Niño event this summer and fall are unlikely. We anticipate an above-average probability for major hurricanes making landfall along the United States coastline and in the Caribbean. Coastal residents are reminded that it only takes one hurricane making landfall to make it an active season for them, and they need to prepare the same for every season, regardless of how much or how little activity is predicted. (as of 10 April 2013)

You can download the report and updates by clicking here.

For a heads up on the Pacific season as it is looking right now, we asked our favorite weather guy, Rick Shema. Rick’s comments follow:

Yes, I can comment on tropical cyclones (TC’s) in north east Pacific Ocean basin. It looks as though we can expect a near average season for tropical cyclone activity in the north east Pacific Ocean basin.

There has not been as much research in the basin as has the Atlantic Ocean region. Understandably, this likely stems from the relative lack of risk to life and property in the Pacific as most storms spend their life harmlessly at sea, except for mariners.

Statistical numbers of tropical cyclones in the north east Pacific Ocean east of 140 W longitude are generally categorized. That being on average 14-15 named storms per season. Of those TC’s, about three develop into Cat 3 or greater strength hurricanes, eight to nine Cat 1 or 2 hurricanes, and about two to three tropical storms. URL: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/climo/  has more details.

Of course, any one year TC actively can swing widely from climatological norms. This variation can be mostly attributed to the correlation of global weather oscillations like ENSO (El Nino Southern Oscillation). During El Nino events (warm phase), there can be about three times the number of TC’s in the north east Pacific and any number between depending on the strength of the ENSO cycle. Alternatively, during La Nina events (cold phase) less than average TC’s can be expected in the north east Pacific Ocean basin.

For 2013 tropical cyclone season, forecasts for ENSO are neutral and should not have a major impact on TC activity this year. So, TC activity should be near normal or 14-15 named storms in the north east Pacific Ocean. ENSO cycles are my main criteria for determining TC activity.

Best Regards,

Rick Shema
Mobile: +1-808-291-9949
Toll Free: 1-866-882-9949
email: rick@weatherguy.com
website: www.weatherguy.com

At a later date we will discuss some of the strategies we have used for getting through the North Pacific hurricane belt during the season of tropical storms.

FPB 97-1 is well along now, with the main framing and plating of the hull almost complete.

We spend some of our weight budget on extra heavy topside and bottom plates because these gives higher factors of safety, and they produce very fair surfaces, as you can see here.

Of course once these are full welded there will be a bit of distortion, but compared to most metal yachts they are almost as fair as a painted hull – without the hassles of paint.

The forepeak is now decked over, giving a sense of space to this area.

Speaking of decking, the roof of the great room, which is also the deck of the Matrix deck area, is assembled and tack welded.

This photo is taken from the aft end of the Matrix deck. The notches in the coamings are for access to the docking stations.

We are looking aft here, down what will become the stairway between main deck and Matrix deck. The flanged surface, center left in the photo, is where the mast assembly will be affixed.

There are lots of other things going on with this first of the Wicked FPB 97s, and we’ll show you a few more details next time.

Two weeks ago, at the tender age of 96, my grandfather sailed off into the sunset and on to his next great adventure. One can only assume the sails were trimmed perfectly.

Daddy’s Daddy–as my sister and I, along with most of our friends and family, called him–was a consummate adventurer. He learned to sail as a young man in New York, and in the late 1940s took his family cruising in a 76-foot schooner called Constellation. Down through the St. Lawrence waterway, the Caribbean, Panama Canal, and north to California over the course of two years was a rare undertaking in those days. Press and curious locals followed the family’s travels, and the journey cemented my father’s calling at the age of 7.

 (Above: My grandfather teaching my dad about navigation on board the Constellation)

My grandfather’s love of boats guided our family in countless ways: my parents met aboard his catamaran Hu Ka Makani; they gathered the courage to take us all cruising at a young age thanks to his example; one of my dad’s first designs (and the namesake for the following line of yachts) was the original Deerfoot, built for Daddy’s Daddy in New Zealand in 1978.

Once the 72-foot Deerfoot II came along in 1985, and my grandfather brought her across the Atlantic and back into Marina Del Rey, he had his perfect yacht. Right up until his 96th last September, he sailed her into her slip at California Yacht Club on every birthday–to make sure he still had the skill. Those of you who live and sail in Southern California no doubt will have memories of seeing Deerfoot II reaching proudly along on many a weekend over the last 25 years.

So we here at SetSail wanted to take a little time to honor “Captain Stan”, and thank him for his ocean gifts. But as his granddaughter, I can tell you this: that what really inspired me and made me adore him was not the boats, nor the calloused hands that were always trimming sheets to eke out a little more speed. Rather it was his eager embrace of the unknown, not just a willingness but a longing to seek out what lay over the horizon, that sent me flying into his arms at every reunion. That is the gift I remember, the gift I miss, and the gift I hope to inherit.

Fair winds and following seas, Daddy’s Daddy.

A couple of weeks ago, we invited suggestions for an ultimate rugged cruising dinghy. We appreciate all of you who took time to shoot us your ideas, of which there were many. What you see here and following is our adaptation of some of those, plus a few of our own, into a concept dinghy.

We will start with the engine room. Amongst the Dashew Offshore team there were those that lobbied for a single engine with second trolling engine, and some who favored twins. Single engine proponents argued fuel is always a likely culprit, and that bad fuel would get twins as well as a single engine, so why not pick up a few points in efficiency.

John Henrichs, the master of FPB64-5, Tiger, and a very experienced dinghy hand, had the winning observation. The problem with outboards is rarely fuel, and that is controllable by the operator through modest diligence. Rather, reliability issues usually surface in the cooling system. An impeller goes, or a port becomes blocked. In this case (or any other which causes true loss of an engine), one of two equal sized outboards give you the ability to get home at a good clip.

A pair of  30HP Yamahas are shown, and hopefully we can find two stroke outboards, as they are lighter, less costly, with service techs around the world…

The console and T-top present numerous challenges and trade-offs. The biggest of these is coming alongside an FPB mother ship with our large topside flare angle aft. The arrangement is offset to starboard allowing more clearance to port, on the assumption that the normal docking relationship with the mother ship would be parallel docking on the starboard side of the swim platform.

The T-top and spray shield will provide sun, spray, and some rain protection. If we were operating in the high latitudes we’d wrap a window around the upper portion to reduce wind chill.

We much prefer standing while driving. It gives you a better perspective, and allows your legs to act as shock absorbers.

The T-top framework would be used for lifting the dinghy on deck. A short pennant over the CG could be easily reached from deck level, without having to drop into the dink or fiddle with a boat hook.

The console has room for a chart plotter/depth sounder combo and a bit of camera gear. There is room for three of the 20L fuel tanks under the aft deck, with seating for a couple of guests. The staple rail running across the back of the boat is to assist guests with getting into and out of the dinghy.

It will not be easy to climb out of the water with this dinghy, so we have made allowance for a boarding ladder. This will stow vertically, when ready to deploy. We are going to try to work the details so that when not diving or snorkeling from the dinghy the ladder can be removed and stored somewhere aboard.

You will no doubt have noticed the tent for crew protection if the dinghy should be used as a life raft, and to keep cargo dry.

The idea is to have the port side attached to the gunnel with a bolt rope in an awning track extrusion. When not in use, the awning/tent is rolled up and stored on the gunnel. The extrusion continues around the bow and back down the port side. Into this is a narrow section of bolt rope with fabric, a zipper, and Velcro flap.

To set the tent up should not take more than five minutes, and the flap a few seconds. That is it for NewDink 2.0. We welcome your further input.

We’ve been gradually reorganizing our offices, and in the process trying to figure out what to do with out hull models. This plating model was in hand yesterday, and we got to thinking it might be of interest for the secrets it reveals.

3D design, Rhino, Fast Yacht, etc. have been in our arsenal for a long time, yet as recently as 2003 the final plating decisions were done on a scale model.

The white bits of paper represent the fuel and water tanks on Wind Horse, with the clear areas between showing the coffer dams.

In this fashion one can visualize quite easily where the plate joint lines occur, making sure that they do not, for example, run through a fuel tank. Although this is also shown on the 3D computer models, this approach can help with the decision making process.