Recap: Passage Home, The First Week at Sea...

Our first week of our passage home has certainly been strange, completing only 455 nm having been becalmed for a total of 46 hours.

For reference of what is to be expected for this passage, the following is a summary of this passage at this time of year from Jimmy Cornell's 'World Cruising Routes':
'... the recommendation is to sail due north on leaving Hawaii and only start turning east when steady westerly winds are met. This normally happens above latitude 40N and the point where the route takes on that easterly curve is furthest north in August and furthest south in December.'
North of Hawaii, up to about 25N, the NE trades provide consistent northeast winds. Between 25N to 35N is a zone of light and variable winds given the name of Horse Latitudes, because sailing ships that were becalmed in these areas were forced to kill livestock on board for drinking water. Above 35N is an area of prevailing westerlies.

We wrapped up our Hawaii visit with a beautiful sunset cruise of the Na Pali coast, after departing Hanalei Bay on 8 July. The coastline is much more dramatic from the water than from the Kalalau Trail, complete with rainbows and soft sunset light illuminating the fluted cliffs. A perfect farewell to Hawaii before turning north to head home.

Days 1 and 2 of sailing were close hauled with a double reefed main and about 90% jib in 15-20 kts of ENE winds. We had a squall on the first night, with cold rain and a quick increase in wind. On the morning of Day 2, Matt's sleep shift was interrupted by a military plane flying overhead hailing us on the radio to inform us that we were in an 'active range' and demanding to know our 'intentions'. After further communications, we discovered that they were doing some kind of missile testing from the westernmost private Hawaiian island of Nihue. We were asked to alter our NW course to NE, but after informing the radio operator that we could not head any further east without changing to a SE tack, they seemed satisfied and we continued on our way. Shortly after the abrupt start to the day, we experienced our first equipment failure as the head sail roller furling line chafed through. Fortunately, we were able to furl the sail with the scrap of furling line left and replace it within an hour and a half. We had a spare line long enough to act as a replacement and added an extra block in the system to help prevent further chafe.

Days 3 and 4 we were close reaching in increasingly light E/ENE winds. By 7AM of Day 5, the winds had lightened so much that we were becalmed around 28°45' N. We expected to see variable winds around this time, but it was still weird to be in such flat conditions in the middle of the ocean. All around the boat we observed these interesting sea creatures with small, clear, semi-circular sails coming out of the water. At first they just look like little pieces of plastic floating around (and sadly, there is a lot of garbage floating around this part of the ocean), but upon closer inspection, they are definitely some kind of creature, and they were even pairing up around sunset. We were becalmed all day and night of Day 5, which is a real mind trip. Part of you is trying to enjoy the break and being able to sleep through the night. The other part of you is worrying that becalmed days add to the total passage time and is computing the impact on the food and water reserves. In reality, the buffer in our supplies should certainly be able to cover several slow days, but it's hard not to worry when you're not going anywhere.

Days 6 and 7 we had very light SSW winds and so were able to sail very slowly during the day, downwind with the C-0 up and poled out. However, the winds completely died around sunset, so we took down the sails and slept through the nights becalmed. We really had to rally to keep morale up, since at night we would drift back SW about half the distance we were able to cover in the day. But we were well rested and our ship was in order for the return of the wind. The morning of Day 8, the winds began filling in again from the ESE and are expected to be consistent for a few days, so we are grateful to be moving again.

We departed Hanalei with fewer fresh provisions than when we left from Cabo. We now have a better idea of how much we consume on a passage and how long different produce keeps, and we also have almost all of our canned fruits and vegetables from Mexico still aboard. For fruit, we brought green apples, pears, pineapples, tangerines, oranges, and grapefruit and after a week have finished the pears and pineapples with plenty of the others still intact. For vegetables, we brought carrots, tomatoes, zucchinis, cucumbers, jicamas (still the same ones from Mexico!), onions, potatoes, ginger, cabbages, and bell peppers. After a week out, we are finishing the last of the tomatoes and peppers with plenty of everything else. Similar to the previous passage, there is an initial phase when some of the produce rapidly ripens and needs to be monitored and eaten. However, when that produce has been consumed, the more robust fruits and vegetables seem to reach a steady state and can remain edible for an extended amount of time. We also brought 3.5 kg of various cheeses that we are working through and seem to be doing fine without refrigeration. We still have 60 gallons of fresh water left, having used 15 gallons so far.

We have seen no ships, and no traffic other than the military plane. There have been plenty of mahi mahi swimming around and with the boat, though we have failed to bring one on deck for dinner, after several attempts with inadequate fishing gear. We have seen one pilot whale and there are regular bird sightings. There is much more trash than one would hope to see, and we pass several pieces each day, mostly Styrofoam and plastic. Temperatures have been hot, with strong sun pushing daytime temps in the cabin to the upper 80s and nights cooling off enough to sleep comfortably. Our solar output has had sufficient surplus to run the refrigerator for a few hours each day while keeping our batteries completely charged and our regular nav gear and lights powered. We have not started the engine since departing Hanalei Bay, so our fuel consumption is almost zero so far.

All in all, an interesting first week at sea trying to get through the Horse Latitudes, but we certainly hope to be making more progress with some stronger forecast winds.

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