Day 6,Tuesday May 17th

Hi everyone-

Just for the record, we are not counting the day we set sail as day 1
because we got out so late. Therefore, even though we set sail on Wed.
May 11th, we are counting Thurs. May 12th as ‘day 1′. We didn’t write
anything that day for pretty obvious reasons (remember the ‘wild horse
ride’?).
Winds are really down again today (we’re traveling an average of 4 knots
& we’ve even put up the BIG spinnaker). Guess it’s time for a rest.

Last night my night-watch was especially magical. I had the 1AM-4AM
shift. The night was soft, yet intense; REALLY surreal. There was medium
cloud cover & it was warm. I spent most of my watch back & forth between
the cockpit & the bow. Intention cut through the soft waters casting
aside a beautiful spray filled with ‘shooting stars’ (phosphorescent
plankton). Soft snores from inside assured me I was deliciously ALONE in
this special experience for yet a while longer.

The guys have been great. We are all learning how to communicate in a
way that works best for our unique ‘recipe’. They are really good
company & I’m having a great time. I am **so** happy and thankful to be
here!

Love,
Darla

Hello
Its a slow day even with the activity managing the sail and everything
else. John and I have gotten our naps so we will be ready for our night
watches. Darla passes out little pieces of dark chocolate to keep our
strength and spirits up.
The seas are a such a very deep blue you some how don’t think it real.
The waves are gentle and are rolling Intention softly as we glide slowly
and easily through them doing about 3 to 4 knots. Every once in a while
you have those lazy days.
Jim

Mon. May 16th 2005, Day 5

Winds are still off, so we decided to put the spinnaker back up (we had
to quickly take it down yesterday when Intention ‘bolted’). We are
steering using the auto pilot. A nice, slow day; peaceful, mellow (life
is good!). The weather is a little warmer every day & we have started to
peel off layers of clothing (thank God!). If the fashion police were
here, I’d be in REAL trouble.

Aloha,
Darla

Complements of Paul Marbury we had a great Merlot and for dessert my
favorite–honey roasted cashews and Darla’s part of a great fresh salad
with crunchy bell pepper and the piece de resistance curry chicken with
rice. As you can tell dinner is an event to be celebrated out here. In
the cockpit in the evening in front of god and all that is magnificent:
good food, good company, and good meaningfull conversation. What else is
needed for an experience of ecstasy. I find life redefines itself down
to the simple pleasures to enjoy life.

Sent: Monday, May 16, 2005 12:03 PM

Commentary from Paul Elliott

As you have read, Jim is working on a problem with the alternator or
regulator on Intention. It sounds like they are unable to charge the
batteries from the engine-driven alternator, and at the moment, have to
rely on their solar panels. As luck would have it, they have had 100%
cloud cover, so the panels are only putting out a fraction of what they
are capable of. Even in full sun, their two panels (one is 100 Watts,
the other is 50 Watts) can’t keep up with the typical current-drain on
the boat.

So, what does this mean? If Jim can fix the engine-driven charger, they
will be able to recharge the batteries, and keep them charged by running
the engine for an hour or two a day. This was the plan. If the charger
remains kaput, they will have to rely on the solar panels. To keep the
boat’s power-consumption within the limits of the panels, they will shut
down all non-essential loads. This means:
* Keeping the computer off, except perhaps to send brief
position-reports and receive weather information. The computer and
radio transceiver will draw a substantial amount of power, so they will
want to run these as little as possible.
* Only occasional email from the boat, for the same reason.
* They will not use their lights very much.
* They will be using their windvane self-steering system,
instead of the hydraulic/electronic system.
* The Radar, GPS and chartplotter will be turned off most of the
time.
* Their refrigerator will be turned off. This means they will
have some feasts as they use up their fresh food.

This should allow them to have at least some “modern conveniences”,
certainly once they get further south and out of their current heavy
cloud cover.

What if their batteries go completely dead? Jim brought his sextant,
tables, and charts, and I am sure that he is keeping his clocks
calibrated. He has several magnetic compasses. He knows how to use all
of these tools. It wasn’t that long ago that these traditional
navigation methods were all that sailors had available. Also, Jim no
doubt has spare batteries for his hand-held GPS. So they shouldn’t have
any problem finding Hiva Oa.

With luck, Jim will be able to get the charger working again. If not,
we may not be hearing much from Intention until they reach the
Marquesas.

By the way, I have added two satellite images to the Weather page on the
website (http://www.sailvalis.com/intention/weather2.htm). These will
let us see the cloud cover along Intention’s route.

-Paul

Sun. May 15th, Day 4

Ho-hum….winds have fallen off. We put the spinnaker up, Intention
decided she has an intent of her own & headed off course because Jim was
working on the electrical and turned off the autopilot. In the process
of reigning her in, the steering cable broke. Not to worry, though, as
Captain Jim always has a backup plan (in this case, he has TWO). A
little of a funky day, but that’s to be expected. Some nitty-gritty
‘team processing’ proves to be beneficial & brings us closer together.

Love to all,
Darla

Thanks to Darla we used up some of our salad stuff while we’re still
able to have it before it spoils with a great chicken salad. Of course a
little piece of dark chocolate was definitly needed to top this
delicious meal.
Today I have my favorite watch schedule which is sunset and sunrise with
possible stars in between 7-10 PM and 4-7 AM. I usually am able to get a
full six hours sleep in between as there is no ship’s traffic in this
area of the ocean to be awoken about. Right now it’s 5:30 AM under 100%
cloud cover on the same course of 200T doing about 4.5 Kts under jib
alone. Currently planing to put up the asymmetrical Spinnacker after
daylight. The sky is just starting to lighten so I will stop writing to
watch the sunrise.

Day 3 of our adventure

The seas have smoothed out a lot & we have slowed some. Late yesterday
we noticed the waves were more rounded, yet we were traveling almost as
fast as the previous day’s ‘wild horse ride’. Everyone seems in good
spirits & much more at peace than we were in the height of our craziness
of preparing to launch. I had third night-watch last night (1-3 AM) & it
was absolutely magical. The stars were gorgeous against the soft indigo
sky. I am very much at peace here under the capable, experienced care of
Captain Jim. He is a gentle, sweet spirit & I feel VERY fortunate to be
experiencing my first crossing on his boat & with his excellent
teaching.

Warm, loving aloha to you all,
Darla

Greetings to all:
Clear, starry skies last night & a beautiful sunrise this AM changed to
grey, cloudy skies today. Intention & crew seem not to mind too much,
although I would prefer a little more sun on my solar panels, as I am
having difficulty with the voltage regulator in keeping the batteries
charged. We cut the drain on the battery last night to 2 amps, by
turning off most unnecessary systems. I will know in a few hours whether
or not the repairs I am attempting will be successful. Oh my, the trials
& tribulations of cruising. As they say, the definition of cruising is
fixing your boats in exotic or unusual places. All in all, I’m right
where I wanna be. It’s such a magical experience being out here on the
ocean, with nice, peaceful night-watches & good company.

Love to all,
Jim

I don’t know….so far, so good. What do you expect, eloquence from
someone stuck on a boat with 2 raunchy crew members??? Send care
packages….with Ben & Jerry’s and Nation’s!!

Love,
John C.

May 13th, day 2 of our adventure.

Greetings family & friends, from the deep blue sea:

As most of you know, this is a first-time ocean crossing for John & me
(Darla). So far, so good. It is SO wild & beautiful out here! Now I know
what Jim & Marilyn’s friends meant by Intention being a ‘lively boat’.
It’s like riding a wild horse 24/7. I think I have bruises on every part
of my body. You learn quickly (albeit, not quickly ENOUGH) to brace
yourself, as just when you think you have the ‘wave rhythm’ down, a
rogue wave slams the boat & you go flying into something (or someone). I
hafta tell you once again, Marilyn, that you SAVED the day in getting us
outta Dodge! Thank-you, THANK-YOU for all of your love, support, help &
GOOD energy! You are truly a GEM.

“Beloved team”: We are on our journey and YOU are part of it, just as we
are part of your journey. Thanks for getting us here. Love, John C.

Hello to you all:
As Darla mentioned above we are still getting acclimated to the motion
and confines of the boat. We had a crew meeting yesterday after just
passing Monterey and reached a consensus that everyone was in great
shape, except for being slightly bruised. So we stopped following the
coast and started on a heading of about 200 degrees toward the Marquesa
Islands only about 3000 miles ahead.
The wind gods were active yesterday blowing mostly in the 15 to 25 knot
range and gusting to 30. Using the jib only allowed INTENTION to surf
down following seas averaging 5.5 to 6.5 knots with spurts of speed to
over 7 knots. We are rushing south to warmer water and a warmer climate.
A fun exciting ride and the crew did great. The phosphorescence is like
stars coming of the bow trailing back a sparkling magic carpet a third
of the length of the boat.
I’ll tell you later about the stars on night watches,the sunrise on
morning watches, the constant changing clouds and the sea in its many
moods.
Love to all

Sent: Thursday, May 12, 2005 12:19 AM

Jim, Darla, John, and sailing vessel Intention are on their way! They departed Alameda around 5:00 PM, Wednesday, May 11. Paul E, Gary F, Paul G, Dave H, and Chick P, met them in s/v VALIS as they sailed under
the Bay Bridge, and escorted them out the Golden Gate, cameras clicking. It was a windy day, with moderate swells in the channel. The sky was clear, the air comfortable, and you couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day to begin this adventure.

In the channel, escorted by cormorants

Jim at the helm, looking to the far horizon

It’s blowing at least 20 knots out here!

Baptism in the channel

Sailing Vessel INTENTION and crew, preparing to depart for the South
Pacific