Less than 300 miles to go

Jour 16, Thursday, July 16, 2009

We sailed 162 miles in the last 24 hours while flying the chute (sorry I spelt it shoot yesterday, but was very distraught over the news of Trisha). The weather continues to shine on us, with steady seas of about 10 foot swells every 10 seconds.

While we have been doing this crossing, we have created our own QuickStar world. We've moved the clocks ahead one hour at a time on three occasions. We decide when to make a time change based on the sunset and sunrise hours. Once we reach the Marquessa's we'll only have to adjust by 1/2 hour.

This morning, Doug and Peter put in 100 litres of fuel while I was at the helm. Pretty interesting to be doing a high seas fuel transfer. If Peter wasn't tethered in with Doug holding on to him for dear life, he would have gone off the swim platform. (Next time, I'll try harder!)

We have not had to use engine power once for the whole crossing. We are using fuel to feed the generator which powers our washing machine, coffee machine and charges the batteries. We usually run the generator for about an hour in the morning and the same at night. The solar panels are a huge help during the day. The wind generator remains off as it is so incredibly noisy that you feel like you are beneath a jet taking off. It's the one thing I would gladly throw overboard.

Shelby and I made up our last batch of pancakes for the crossing...no more eggs. We are averaging over 8 knots during the day with the chute, so we may even need to slow down tomorrow as we don't want to arrive in the middle of the night. Peter was able to connect this morning with the informal net in the Marquessa's. We can almost smell land now!

Got an email from Kylie yesterday and she told me that Trisha and the gals at Ambassador Travel had a reunion on Friday night - needless to say they are all devastated that she died the very next day. We are all still in shock and can't believe we have lost such a wonderful and loving person. My heart also goes out to her daughter Becky who is getting married in about a month.
Let's live large, be wild and crazy and go for it - just the way Trisha would want us all to.

Rest In Peace - Trisha Karlson

Jour 15, Wednesday, July 15, 2009

We received some tragic news this morning via email from our son Ryan. One of our valued employees at Ambassador Travel, Trisha Karlson was fatally killed in a car accident. Trisha was a wonderful person, who seized every day and made the most of life. She was considered a "Mom" to the younger team members and was well respected as a cheerful, optimistic and go-for-it woman. She was an inspiration and a great role model. Trisha recently became a Grandmother and this brought her tremendous joy. We are all heart-broken and saddened by this terrible loss. Trisha came into our lives as an excellent employee and left Peter and I as a dear friend. You will be missed Trisha.

Yesterday we travelled 165 miles and are currently less than 500 miles from our destination. We've had the first couples of wet weather days and as as I type this Peter and Doug are getting soaked, but having the time of their lives flying the shoot in the gusts of 20 - 25 knots. Shelby and I keep hearing a lot of "yahoos" down here.

After writing the blog yesterday, we caught a big dorado. It was the largest to date weighing in at about 20 pounds and three feet long . It put up a good fight, but alas became an excellent dinner made by Doug. Still enough left over for another full meal. Our email friends, Scott and Cindy aboard the multi-hull Beachhouse, made it to the Marquessa's in 17 days - which is quite an accomplishment since the average is about 23 or 24 days depending on which guide book you believe. We are on target for arriving in 18 days, but Peter wants Scott to know that we would have beat them if not for all the LARGE fish we've caught that have slowed us down, ha,ha.

Trisha's early death is a further reminder to all of us that we must plan for tomorrow but live for today. We won't ever forget you Trisha, nor will we forget the message, which you leave us all as your legacy. R.I.P.

Moonbows and Rainbows

Jour 15, Tuesday, July 14, 2009

We travelled 158 miles in the past 24 hours under sunny skies with the occasional rain shower. During the evening, we got our first serious rain - mostly on Peter's midnight shift. During this time Peter saw a moonbow. I thought he was making that up but Doug confirmed that there is such a thing. This morning after another downpour and total soaking of both Shelby and I with a random wave that poured into the cockpit, we got the gift of a magnificient rainbow. It was clear and bright and we saw the whole arc. I think the Marquessa's are the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

While we were sailing at 8 knots under the gennaker we got a large strike on the fishing pole. It took both Peter and Doug almost a half an hour of fighting it. It looked to be about three - four feet. Sad ending though as some even larger fish stole it off the hook just minutes before we could land it. So, beans and weiners for dinner instead of fresh dorado.

Our fresh stores have been completely depleted, or the veggies and fresh fruit that didn't survive was thrown overboard. We are still have enough frozen meat to last until we arrive and lots of canned, packaged food (all of which is just fine by me).

As for my second attempt at making bread, I have to tell all those skeptics out there that it wasn't as bad as my first attempt. In fact, it turned out far worse! Peter couldn't even gnaw on it, so over it went. We will now wait for fresh bread when we get to our destination. I did make a banana loaf today (except with canned manderine slices) and it was a great success. So persistence does pay off!

Looks like today we'll be in and out of wet gear.....the good thing about it though...is most surely the rainbows!

Slow and steady she goes

Jour 14, Monday, July 13, 2009

Yesterday was our slowest day with QuickStar covering only 144 miles. The good thing about it though (yes, this is for you Krys and Shorry in case you think I've lost my PollyAnna touch!)is that it was also the smoothest day. We had a swell of about 8 feet every 8 seconds, but it was consistent with only about a one foot wave on top. We almost felt like we were coastal cruising instead of being out in the wild blue yonder. Speaking of which, we can't believe how blue the water truly is.

With the diminishing winds, it did make for a lumpy sleep. Doug had a bit of excitement on his watch as he was relaxing (letting Max - our self-steering unit do the work) and listening to the IPOD. He heard a "plop" in the cockpit, and sure enough a flying fish crash landed. Doug was able to save it by throwing it back to the sea once it tired itself out from flapping its' wings.

We have been so incredibly lucky with the weather. We've been able to have Max (referred to as she - Maxine by the guys and he - Maxwell by the gals) do the steering at night, so that our four hour watches have been pretty easy. I'm getting lots of knitting done and just finished listening to "The Secret", which I will never tire of hearing again and again. During the days, we usually hand-steer while flying the chute since the wind is behind us. We have an informal watch system during daylight hours with each of the three adults taking a turn on the helm every hour or so.

This morning Shelby and I made pancakes in a very big sea. It was quite comical, especially spilling half the batter, but we had lots of fun doing it. When I lit the pan on fire she asked if I had every burned any food before....so Danny, you can stop laughing anytime!

Have yourselves a great week.

Less than 1,000 miles to destination

Jour 13, Sunday, July 12, 2009

We past a significant milestone last night, as we are now beyond the 2/3 mark. The winds have slowed down though and our 24 hour distance of 162 is the second lowest of our 13 days out at sea. The winds are showing signs of diminishing, but we are working hard flying the gennaker as a spinnaker to maximize the wind. It's pretty cool to read on the GPS that our distance remaining to go is in the 3 digits.

We are all getting excited about landfall (although it is still probably at least a week off). We're pouring through the cruising guide books and Shelby is writing down all the highlights and what we will do in each anchorage. Her enthusiasm is contagious (and again reminds me so much of Kylie). She also is a fussy eater - sound familiar again Kylie????

I forgot to report that the night before last we actually saw another boat. It was a 500 foot freighter heading for Tahiti. It was the first time in almost 2 weeks that we saw any other sign of life and even that was 7 miles away. We are living in our own little bubble here on QuickStar with this being the longest time any of us have been in bare feet, been off solid ground, been in perpetual motion and also the longest time to "not" go to stores, spend money, watch T.V/DVD's, go on the internet, talk on a phone, etc., etc. Very, very cool!

Last night on the Ham Radio Peter made contact with Jay, aboard Malachi. Jay, Marg and their two daughters left Vancouver at the same time we did. Their trip was a scheduled two year trip and they are currently on their final leg. They are about 200 miles north of Hawaii heading back to Victoria and then Vancouver. Also, travelling with them is Orca II, another family that we met through the Blue Water Cruising Association and who all left at the same time. Both boats have thoroughly enjoyed their two year cruising hiatus - especially the kids (2 on Malachi) and 3 on Orca II. They planned their dream and then they lived it, not letting any of the many obstacles that everyone faces stop them.

Today we are optimistic that we will see a whale or shark. FYI...because we are so far away, we are unable to send this update in the morning, although I still write it then with a cup of coffee and the tunes blaring. The only propagation that works is early evening and even that is weakening, so please, please do NOT worry if you don't hear from us.

Enjoy a relaxing Sunday.

Past the point of no return

Day 10 - Thursday, July 9, 2009

Bonjour! Comment-ca va? Just as the almost full moon made it's way below the horizon, with the sun rising on the opposite horizon, we sailed across the half way mark and have reached the point of no return. Here we come South Pacific! We will also leave behind our Spanish from Mexico and South America and begin using our French as we approach the South Pacific. Lucky for us, Shelby is bilingual and is helping to tutor me with my totally inadequate grade school French.

Yesterday we achieved 167 nautical miles with the chute up and hand steering until the sunset. I am learning how to be on the helm with the gennaker (and yes Joe, I'm driving like a coyote). As our good friends Bucky and Juanita told me while I was learning how to horse back ride - I just need more TITS (time in the saddle). It was really exhilarating to be on the wheel as QuickStar went for a sleigh ride at 10.3 knots. Yeehaw!

In addition to our daily routines, of setting sails, making meals, doing dishes, playing games, reading, cleaning up, updating the blog, sending emails, monitoring our course, obtaining weather reports, etc., Peter also makes contact twice a day with his Ham contacts. Don Andersen is the weather guru that we contact, however, he is on holidays this week, so if all goes according to plan we'll be in the Marquessa's before he is back. Our ever faithful Ham contact is Peter from San Francisco (and whenever the propagation allows, Ron from Vancouver). Each night Peter prepares his report and checks in. We also try each evening to hear friends from B.C. who are doing various crossings on their boats. Doug has just recently aced his Ham radio exam, so he will be making his debut on the radio tonight by giving the report...Roger that....over, over.

In addition to these awesome Ham volunteers, we also like to thank Scott and Cindy on BeachHouse, who are ahead of us in the Marquessa's. Although we have yet to meet personally, we have been in email communication for the past few months as they are three weeks ahead in this itinerary, and Scott has been very generous in his time to provide first hand tips and advice. We are looking forward to catching up with them somewhere in the Tuamotus or Society Islands.

Well I'll wrap this up as the homemade bread that Shelby and I have made this morning is just about ready to come out of the oven. (Okay kids, don't kill yourselves laughing - old dogs can learn new tricks!)

A Demain (bye till tomorrow)
Cheers...Peter, Diana, Doug and Shelby

181 nautical miles in the last 24 hours

Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Happy Birthday to my "older" sister Dorothy. Go wild and crazy!

Hola. We continue to be very lucky with the weather and continue to exceed our daily average of 177 miles per day. After a peaceful overnight sail under the full moon, another clear, sunny day dawned and we've successfully put up the genneker without incident. Peter's got us all well organized and even Joe you would have been proud of how it went up like clockwork! Doug and Peter are in their element as they are hand-steering achieving 9 - 10 knots in 20 knots of wind from the Southeast. (As I write this, Peter just cheered that he went 12.6 as QuickStar surfed over a big swell

Since Shelby is completely at ease now on the boat, she's been a welcome whirlwind of activity. She has soundly beaten both her Dad and Peter in Boogle (no surprise to you right Kylie and yes, she had to twist his arm to play). I"m still holding my own with her and she's determined to step up her game. Charli, she now loves crosswords as well, so with her 12th birthday fast approaching, it may be an idea! As I write this, we are singing along to Mama Mia and she is patiently waiting for me to finish so that we can practice the phonetic alphabet and then play Double Solitaire.

We are all now fully into a comfortable and relaxed routine, which includes Peter & I making dinner one night and Team Roehrig making it the following night, while the alternating team does dishes. We usually eat at about 5:00 p.m. so that we can get the dishes done and then we gather in the cockpit to watch the sunset and reflect on the day (okay perhaps my Caveman Peter can't be that introspective as he has a can of beer, but there is hope that with another few centuries, he just might be). Three of us then hit the hay by 8:00 p.m. with either Peter or Doug taking the first 4-hour watch. They rotate alternating nights between this earlier night shift and the midnight - 4:00 a.m., with me taking the 4:00 - 8:00 a.m. watch (yes, I pulled the Princess shift which features stars/moon and the sunrise).

We have reached another milestone, besides being almost halfway there already. We are officially out of fresh vegetables and bread/buns. We had alot of our vegetables go bad, lots of eggs had to be thrown overboard, as well as the bread (Halldo, we didn't have the option of getting Bimbo bread that lasted you guys 9 days - still can't believe you ate that styrofoam stuff!) We still have about 3 days worth of fresh fruit left, although the bananas are just being used for banana bread, etc. Tomorrow morning Shelby and I will attempt our first loaf of bread (yes, Martha Stewart watch out!).

So have a great birthday Dorothy. Miss you and thinking of you!