Hawaii towards the Mainland – Day 6

HI-Mainland Day 6

Big news! We’re well past the halfway mark with three days to go (more or less), and we are on the eastern side of the high pressure.

Image

As you can see from the .grb file displayed above, the GFS weather model shows we should be getting north winds. And that is just what we have.

Image

.

The current weather fax chart ties almost exactly to the GFS model. Our position on this chart is 33 degrees North latitude, 135 West longitude.

Image

Further confirmation comes from our digital barometer, which shows both the current pressure and pressure trend. Pressure has been dropping from a high of 1027.6 Mb to the current 1023 Mb.

Both the GFS model and the fax charts indicate that we’ll continue to have northerly winds for the next 18 hours; then, as we approach the coast, these will back into the northeast and lighten. Based on this, we should head direct for the mark, or maybe even sag off a bit. However, we’re buying some insurance just in case conditions along the coast become more boisterous. This angle will also give us a chance to finish the passage with a bit of surfing, if the weather and sea state cooperate.

Our northwesterly swell from the previous few days has dropped off – just a hint of it now. It has been replaced with a medium period swell from the north-northeast. The wind is blowing 18 to 20 knots, so we’ve got some wind chop on top of the swells. Not a mill pond by any means, but Wind Horse is keeping her crew very comfortable.

For most of the passage we’ve been losing about 10 to 15 miles a day to current, around half a knot. We’re now starting to see the influence of the predominant north winds in this part of the world with a north-to-south current of almost a knot.

Image

Unless it is really bouncy (a relative term) we follow pretty much the same routine at sea as at anchor. There are loads of clothes and bedding to be washed and dried.

Image

And we do a lot of reading.

Image

Our sleep patterns have settled in to where we take occasional naps during the day. But most of our rest comes during the evening.

Image

Night watches are nominally three hours on and three off. However, the reality is we usually give the off watch an extra half hour to an hour, if we’re feeling strong or into a good book. Closer to shore, we usually sit or stand right at the bridge. But offshore like this, we are usually seated at the aft end of the saloon, which is the most comfortable place on board. We can see engine instruments, radar, and GPS from these seats.

Image

Not sure if we’ve mentioned this emergency stop button before. Push this momentarily and both engines go to neutral without the normal pause. This way, if we see something in the water, or hear debris hit the bow, we can quickly get the props out of gear. There is one of these buttons for the flying bridge and another at the bridge, both of which are on long leads so we can sit with them on our laps.

Image

What to do with dry trash is always a problem, so on this boat we added a trash compactor. We really like it, and it is amazing how much stuff you can compress. We’ve been working on this batch since before leaving Hawaii and it will easily take us to landfall. Only dry trash goes in here. Biodegradable garbage, in small pieces, goes overboard.

Image

Periodically one of us goes shopping in the basement freezer. On this trip Linda came back with New Zealand shrimp, goat cheese, and sourdough bread. That will go with some pasta for today’s lunch.

Image

Meanwhile, yesterday’s lunch was a combination of chicken mole, a veggie style burrito, salad and delicious avocado. We’re preparing our palettes for return to the land where good Mexican food is available.


Posted by Steve Dashew  (October 15, 2005)




3 Responses to “Hawaii towards the Mainland – Day 6”

  1. Andrew Lister Says:

    Dear Steve,

    As a follower of nautical innovation I have watched your progress with great interest.

    I recall seeing sometime ago a picture in one of your post of an emergency engine stop button on a cord. With this in mind if you have not seen this yet this forward looking 3D sonar may interest you http://www.farsounder.com check out the screen shots looks very easy to interpret.

    I also spotted this fitted to a motor yacht at the Southampton boat show, compact remote thermal imaging camera from FLIR, http://www.flir.com/cvs/americas/en/maritime/products/mseries/

    Kind regards

    Andrew


  2. Steve Dashew Says:

    Howdy Andrew:
    The cord stop to which you refer is on the electronic controls on Wind Horse. It is very handy in debris filled waters. We have looked at the Far Sounder gear. It is more oriented towards mega yachts and costs about four times what the Furuno 270 goes for. Re Flir, cool night vision gear. But friends who are users say camera stabilization is a must.


  3. Andrew Lister Says:

    Hi Steve, Shame about the price, Echopilot are coming out with a new forward looking sonar next spring which is likely to be cheaper http://www.echopilot.com/

    Regards

    Andrew