The Wild Blue Yonder

Yesterday we travelled 177 miles, bringing our daily average to 176 per day. (Halldo, Peter wants to tell you that we did as many miles in 6 days as you two did enroute to the Galapagos in 9.5 days). Lest he becomes smug about it, the forecast is calling for an El Nino year, which means the winds are lighter than normal, the monsoons in India are a week late, and the magical islands of the Galapagos will take a beating with a severe loss of life predicted to the iguanas and bird population. As we still have almost 2,000 miles stretched out before us, it is likely that the wind will diminish and our daily average becomes greatly reduced.

In the afternoon yesterday while flying the gennaker, we had a couple of interesting incidents - three in the space of half an hour. The highlight during these strong winds and high swells, was that Shelby was a star! She didn't panic and was a much valued crew member to assist in getting the chute down. (note to Shelby's Mom and Oma - there was no danger, just lots of noise). What has been really inspiring is that she is very comfortable in the sea, no matter how much tilting (her words) it does. She now knows it is actually called heeling. She is full of life again and Doug is back to normal with them making another great dinner last night.

Throughout the watches last night we enjoyed a full moon, which didn't set until about 6:00 a.m., at which time the sun rise provided a great backdrop to Shelby and I's crossword puzzle game! We have clear skies today, the least cloud cover to date, with temperatures of 27 degrees, 20 knots of wind from the South East, with QuickStar humming along with a reefed jenny and mainsail. We haven't seen any dolphins, but see the occasional sea bird, which is amazing since we are over 1,000 miles from the nearest landmass. The depth of the water here is 2 kilometers and we sailed over section about 150 miles in diameter that was actually almost 6 kilometers deep. Certainly makes us seem like small specks in the scheme of things.

Shelby's Back!

Day Seven - Monday, July 6, 2009

Since yesterday morning we have travelled 159 miles, still trucking along nicely. We had some pretty large rollers yesterday in the range of 10 - 15 feet, but our point of sail was such that it made for a nice relaxed, comfortable voyage. Shelby was still feeling sea sick, but at 4:00p.m. when we were surrounded by a large pod of dolphins (Gray Striped Dolphins) who entertained us for over an hour, she felt better as she watched them at the bow. It was funny that she said "I wish I could touch one", when all of a sudden a flying fish smacked her in the forehead!

So we are all thinking that it just makes matters worse for Shelby to just sit like a lump in the cockpit, (as Doug says) so after Peter and I made dinner, Doug went below to do the dishes. I did my "tough love" routine and told Shelby that she would need to help her Dad and pull her weight and so she went below and Team Roehrig did an awesome job with the days' worth of dishes. The trick seems to be keeping her busy and she is doing just awesome now, with rosy cheeks, sparkling eyes and cheerful as always.

After dinner, Doug was on the first night shift, so when Peter & I went to bed she stayed in the cockpit with her Dad. It was a beautiful night with a brilliant, bright, almost full moon. They got an added bonus as a pod of Common Dolphins played around the boat for an hour. The seas were getting pretty messy at this point and we were unable to really sleep as it felt like we were in a washing machine.

When I came on for my shift we had already reefed (I get special treatment on my shifts as I don't have as much sailing experience, and we always take more precautions for sailing in the dark). The moon was still shining brightly, and I felt a glow of happiness with Peter sleeping in the cockpit beside me(way more comfortable than our forward cabin with the lumpy seas) while I listened to the wise and melodic voice of Sidney Poirter (An Immeasurable Life) and knit another square for Kylie's afghan. The moon disappeared at about 5:00a.m and around 5:30a.m. I saw a light off in the distance that looked like it might be a boat. I went forward a bit to get a better view of it, and it turned out to be an incredible moon setting. While I was mesmerized by this, a large pod of dolphins surrounded the boat and showed off for a whole hour as the sun came up. Far too magical for words!

We are having a great, sunny day and we've launched the genneker, without incident. All of us participated and Shelby also coiled all the lines and is happily on deck, chatting away in her delightful enthusiastic manner. It's great to have her back and I"m sure we'll be playing lots of games together again.

Doug is still under the weather, but it is definitely a stomach issue (and no Danny, Kylie and Ryan, it is NOT from my cooking!) He's toughing it out and pushing through it, so you'd never even know that he wasn't 100%.

We have almost reached the 1/3 way mark. Tonight is the full moon - how very lucky we are to be out here in the vast ocean to experience it. It will become more difficult each day to get the right propagation for the Ham Radio sending blog updates, so please DO NOT WORRY if you don't hear from us for a few days. Have yourself a great week.
P.S. Halldo has requested a daily "spotting update", so for yesterday, 5 flying fish on the deck, one squid, one floating plastic Seven Up bottle (it's a mystery), about 100 striped dolphins, 50 common dolphins in the evening and hundreds more this morning and a partridge in a pear tree (nix on the last one).

Spotted a Whale

Day Six - Sunday, July 5, 2009

Hola. Warm greetings from the wild blue yonder. Yesterday afternoon the winds continued to diminish with minor spurts of rain showers. Our distance for the 24 hours was a really respectable 168 miles. We expect this to be lower again today, but we are still really happy with our overall progress.

Before sunset we saw our first whale. Not entirely sure what kind it was, as we didn't get to see it close up, but the consensus seems to be a Sperm Whale, based on our whale sighting guide. The amount of squid are decreasing, while the flying fish found on the deck in the morning is increasing.

Doug seems to be getting better - he persisted and managed to make a great dinner last night. Shelby is still hanging out in the cockpit and this morning almost made another offering to King Neptune. I think at this rate, I'll simply report if and when they are both back to normal.

My night watch last night was awesome. Yes, hard to believe this is me saying this. Who would have thought? It was 100% cloud cover, without any moon or stars peeking out, so it was the darkest and most surreal I've ever seen. I treasure these peaceful hours by hooking up the IPOD and listening to non-fiction audio books. (Yes, Gillian I'm a geek and still love learning!) Quite the motivating environment to be sponging it all up in. I"m currently listening to Sidney Poirier's book that he wrote when he was 80 years old. (Dorothy - Doug's mother, not my sister - read it and Doug said she loved it. I do too and Doug will be listening to it on his watches as well!). While listening to the IPOD I'm also knitting Kylie's endless afghan. Murray and Shorry you may recall me starting it 4 years ago while you were onboard. I bought the wool and Peter said "I didn't know you knew how to knit" and then I produced the book I also bought "how to learn how to knit in one day". Anyway, the end result is that I'm knitting these squares as we travel and each square has a story. Yesterday I was in the middle of one, when Doug shouted "there's a whale". So, yes, the quilt will have my signature style which means holes, uneven, etc. but it is made with love and lots of stories. (Yes, Kylie I miss you lots xoxoxoxox).

Today is mostly cloudy, swells are about 9 feet with 11 second intervals. Winds of about 10 knots. We'll stay on this tack the entire way as we have the benefit of the South East trade Winds. We simply trim the sails based on the wind and change the foresail when the weather warrants.

This morning Peter threw out the hook, and within a half an hour we had a 30 inch, 6 pound Dorado in the fridge for dinner. Both Doug and Peter were pretty happy campers bringing it in and Shelby watched with awe, seasickness forgotten in the thrill of the moment.

Wishing you all a great Sunday. I'll check in again tomorrow.
P.S. Fatima as I'm writing this I'm listening to Pancho & Sal - another great disc thanks!

188 miles in the last 24 hours - YIPEE!

Day Five, Saturday, July 4, 2009
Happy Birthday Lesley - dear friend (Away Lime!) I'd have a drink to toast you, except I"m not drinking while underway, so will have to wait until landfall in the Marquessa's. Peter will have an extra beer!

We had another record breaking day (methinks it will be the last one for a little while since the wind has diminished). We made 188 miles with wind of 15 - 20 knots. We flew the Geneker (which is a bigger cruising sail that we use in place of the genoa). It was a bit of a gong show as we set it up for the first time, especially with an 8 foot swell, but we eventually mastered it in time to get in a few hours before we doused it at sunset (my prerequisite and not Doug or Peter's choice - but the motto on board is "Safety First").

I'm sending this a bit later in the day than normal, since we have put up the geneker again, after a rolly breakfast of French Toast and split teas/juices. Again we had some interesting moments, but we are getting better at communicating with one another and giving and understanding instructions clearly.

Yesterday was our first full day where everyone felt great - including Doug who is getting better minute by minute. Shelby has figured out if she stays above decks she is fine, but hopefully she'll be able to move around freely without feeling queasy.

During the day, we enjoyed the sunshine, doing crossword puzzles and games with Shelby, reading, relaxing and also Shelby and Doug practiced their knots in the afternoon. We took our first showers and have all added a few bruises. A special thanks to Fatima who gave me some DVD's as a goodbye present...while making a celebratory steak dinner I was rocking along with Alba, and it couldn't have been more appropriate as they belted out "I had a Dream!!!!". Then to cap off the great day the sea was kind as it flattened out for us to all enjoy dinner together sitting down and listening to Il Divo - Siempre. Just magical - thanks Fatima!

The night watches were a bit of a challenge, since the winds died down and the waves/swells increased forcing us to hand steer most of the night. We are still getting used to "Max", our self steering system, so we'll continue to tweak it and get to know the ins and outs to make it work well under all conditions. We also saw far off in the distance our first boat. We think it was a fishing boat, possibly from Japan, but never got close enough to even pick it up on radar.

So as I write this, we have just been hit with a squall - lots of rain and it looks like it will hang around for a bit. The wind has died down to about 10 knots, making the seas even lumpier. The swells are eight feet every 8 seconds. It is always more challenging having four people on a sailboat while in a downpour, especially since it is warm and humid (25 degrees - 80% humidity) which makes it too uncomfortable for sleeping or being down below (except since I've promised to do this every day - I'm hanging in here for a few minutes more). Doug and Shelby are both feeling a little queasy again, so it might be a long, long day for them.

Thanks for following us along and Happy Birthday again to Les!

Still breaking records

We had another 10/10 cruising day. Peter can't get the smile off his face - we broke our record with 185 miles covered in a nice steady sea. We went through about 3 minor squalls, all of which passed within 10 minutes. Good to get some of the squid ink wiped off the deck.
The other record broken is that three nights aboard is my longest time ever without stopping. I'm doing the 4:00 a.m. watches, and yes, I'll admit it - loving them. It is pitch black when I come on, with a sky dancing full of dazzling stars. By about 6:00 the stars start to disappear and get replaced with a fabulous sunrise. Shelby didn't make it up for it today, but that is a good sign because it means she is sleeping more soundly and longer. Doug is still not feeling perfect, but is definitely on an upswing. Shelby was great all day and just got a little queasy again this morning, but we suspect it was due to her intense concentration on her crossword puzzle (thanks again Don for bringing them - we've finished one book and are on to the second one).
Today is another partly cloudy, mostly sunny day. The seas are a bit sloppier, with swells of about 8 feet covered with a one foot wave. Still very comfortable for us as we are all getting our sea legs.
Peter says we are still on track for an 18 day crossing, but realistically any day that covers 120 miles is considered a GREAT day for cruising. We are all enjoying ourselves as we are getting in to the groove. So unbelievable not to have a huge "to-do" list or any firm plans. We even ate our first big meal yesterday at lunch - just because we felt like it and we could! So we have ahead of us, long peaceful days to fill as we choose. A real exercise in being a human being instead of a human doing!
(Charli - Shelby is doing really well - I really enjoy having her onboard. Thanks for sharing your daughter for the summer - she so reminds me of Kylie at that age).
P.S. Squid count is down today - only 3 - but a couple of flying fish. No other wildlife spotted.
Talk to you tomorrow.....

Are We There Yet?

Day Three, Thursday, July 2, 2009

We had a fabulous "record" day covering 172 nautical miles our first full 24 hours. We have been sailing the entire time, and it looks like the weather forecast is going to be very kind to us.

Everyone, with the exception of Peter, is still trying to find our sea legs. Peter is oblivious to the rolling sea and just walks around with a big smile on his face saying "isn't life great". Shelby made her offering to the sea yesterday, but is fine as a fiddle today and already busy with her Sudoko puzzles. She is planning on baking cookies later today, so she is in great spirits.

Doug may not be seasick, but rather he thinks he might have the flu, which has knocked him for a loop. I"m sure he'll be up and around soon. Fortunately, our self-steering wind vane, Max, has been doing all the work on the helm, so it has been pretty easy, breazy for us crew. We haven't really been eating much either, so we've only done one kitchen clean up this morning while heeled over at about 15 degrees. Managed to spill water all over the cabin and break our plastic salad dish when Max disengaged and the boat went rocking and rolling. Just added confirmation for not having anything glass on on the boat.

At sunset, Shelby saw her first group of about 7 dolphins, so she was pretty happy. All night long we were accompanied by a pair of night gulls. Shelby and I did deck clean up again this morning and offloaded 14 dead squid. No flying fish though. Shelby got up early to share the sunrise on my watch. Very magical out here. The day looks like it is going to be another beautiful, sunny day with the wind starting to come more from behind than abeam, so the heeling should be reduced. QuickStar continues to thrive in this weather and is rewarding us with 8 - 10 knots of speed. Halldo, Peter says you'll have to come back to enjoy this point of sail instead of the bashing over you did to get to the Galapagos.

We'll check in again tomorrow.

And we're off!

Day One, Tuesday,June 30, 2009

In the middle of a busy day in Academy Bay harbour in the Galapagos, we lifted our two anchors (bow and stern) and headed out to sea. We had said our farewells at the internet cafe, done our final provisioning and readied the boat in the morning, as well as saying farewell to all the water taxi drivers that we had come to know so well. Time of departure 2:42 p.m. Conditions were favourable - slightly cloudy, 25 degrees and about 14 knots of wind. As soon as we rounded the headland, we were able to set the sails - with a reefed main and a reefed jenny (meaning that we didn't use the full sails, as they weren't necessary). Our speed has averaged a perfect 7.5 - 8.5 knots. Shelby spied a couple of whales off in the distance - making for a great departure.

The sea was a little lumpy, and although Doug, Shelby and I all took some preventative sea sickness medication, I still managed to make my offering into the sea right around sun set.

We were unable to connect in last night, due to poor propogation, so that is why you didn't get this message then (also not sure that I could have managed to be belowdecks and writing this anyway).

Day Two, Wednesday, July 1st - HAPPY CANADA DAY

Peter took the first shift last night until we cleared the Islands and made our course change. We are now on the rhumb line (bearing 259) and have shaken out the reefs. This slight course change made for smoother seas, as we are now on a great reach doing about 8 knots. Peter has paid homage to the wind gods, as QuickStar is just humming along. It's pretty cool to see our position of 1 degree south - first time I've sailed in the Southern Hemisphere.

Shelby was up early with us this morning and she saw her first ever sunrise. She said "I've never been up early enough to see one before". Shelby and I then went on "squid" detail where we went around the boat and offloaded about 12 dead squids. Pretty gross, but I think she got a kick out of it. Everyone is feeling great and we are optimistic that on this bright, sunny day we will see some dolphins and whales.

Wishing everyone a terrific Canada Day.