We are sailing slowly into weakening winds and flattening seas. Our boat speed has fallen to about 5-1/2 knots, direction mostly north. We will have another day or two of this, and then we should be able to turn northwest as we begin heading for home. We will be starting the turn further south than in our previous trips home (we will be about the latitude of Santa Barbara when we begin the turn), but the forecast winds should let us sail nicely towards a point north of San Francisco. At least that’s the plan for now!
Our current position is latitude 29deg 39min N, 156deg 34min W (about 500 nm north of Kaneohe Bay, and about 2100 nm west of Baja California). Our midnight-to-midnight run since yesterday was 171 nautical miles. Today’s run will be slower… If our speed under sail drops much below five knots we will probably start motorsailing, but for now it is much more pleasant without the noise, smoke, and heat of the Diesel engine.
The skies are a mixture of perfectly clear, puffy white cumulus clouds, and patches of overcast. When the sun hits the water the deep blue of the mid-Pacific is overwhelming, with the small seas and wind ripples sparkling brilliantly. We have been seeing flying fish since leaving Hawaii, and we are now seeing various jellyfish, including the small “By The Wind Sailor”, of which there must be billions.
We are also seeing the occasional bit of trash, mostly plastic bottles, which we are logging in a special foratm that we will deliver to a University of Hawaii researcher when we reach San Francisco. This data will be used to better understand the extent and nature of the “floating garbage dump” in the North Pacific Gyre.
I am pleased to report that all crewmembers have regained a hearty appetite. Two days at sea is pretty typical for getting accustomed to the motion, but no doubt the smaller seas have helped accelerate the recovery.
At the moment it is 4:40PM PDT, Oliver is on watch, Paul Carson is in the cockpit with him, Aaron is in the foreward berth writing in his journal, and I am typing this while I download the latest weather forecasts. Paul C. is planning to make dinner before his watch starts at 6:00PM. All is well.
-Paul