On the way to the Marquesas Islands

3/28/2007 4:23 UTC 258°(T) 7.54 Kn  07°05.8691' S 119°52.8760' W

 

"North of 40°S, winds of force 8 or greater are infrequently observed over the western half and rarely observed over the eastern half of the South Pacific."  (Pilot Charts)

 

It's been blowing with 8 Beaufort for about three nights and two days now.  Max wind-speed was 43.8 knots and our max boat-speed was 12.99 knots according to the GPS.  

 

When we fist left Galapagos, we enjoyed the doldrums for the first few days.  I mean "enjoy" quite literally, as the winds were light, the seas were calm and though progress was almost non-existent, we enjoyed ourselves tremendously.  The freshly repaired linear drive for the auto-pilot lasted less than 19 hours, so we were very glad that we had spend the cash (Mucho!!) to get a brand-new one from West Marine via FedEx. 

 

When the trade winds took over, our speed increased quite a it, although our focus is more on a comfortable & pleasant passage than a fast one.  We were able to test the Mylar-jib which we had bought in Panama.  We rigged it together with our regular jib on the roller-furling.  Together they make perfect trade-wind sails.  Because of our course and the wind-angle, it was more efficient to go back to main and jib, though. 

 

In the morning there are usually some flying fish in the cockpit and quite a few squid on the deck.  Breakfast finds us in the salon, as the sun shines directly from behind and therefore into the cockpit.  Depending on how things are going, I'll attend to chores or take a nap until just before lunchtime, when I do navigation (joke these days), write up the logs and my diary.  After lunch another nap to slowly get ready for the six-hour-long night-watch.  Still, usually I don't get enough sleep as I will have to get up for maneuvers and sail-changes when I am supposed to be sleeping.  Liping doesn't get much sleep either, because she has to adjust her sleeping time to that of Aurora Ulani.  Hence she always takes the second watch from 02:00 o'clock until daylight. 

 

Aurora Ulani really has the best of it.  She enjoys herself, no matter what the weather is like.  When the sea is really rough and DHARMA BUM III bucks like a bronco, she tries to anticipate each move just like our cats did on the last trip.  She is totally in tune with the elements in a way her parents never will be.  Also, she notices the minutest details long before we do. 

 

Just went surfing with 10.89 knots again.  Wind 8 Beaufort, two reefs in the main but the small jib is still unfurled.  I'll probably furl it a bit before I turn over the watch to Liping at 01:00 local time (09:00 UTC).  The cockpit is slightly crowded at the moment, as the big jib is there for repairs. 

 

Dinner finds us usually in the cockpit.  Table-cloth, excellent Chinese food and Chilean wine.  We used to check out the stars, but that will have to wait for a few days now.  The good news is that this boat handles these conditions like a dream, just like it did off the coast of Colombia.  Apart from the usual reefing and furling, the most I have to do is to adjust the angle a bit, so that we take the seas more from behind. I did just that and added another 10° to the course.  As soon as things ease up a bit, I'll subtract the 10° again. 

 

Still, right now I could do with regular trade-wind conditions again, to relax a bit and maybe get to read a few pages. 

 

4/5/2007 5:20 UTC 255°(T) 6.95 Kn  09°30.3125' S 135°57.8629' W 

 

Been sailing for 23 days now and are almost at Hiva Oa.  Should arrive by Good Friday and therefore just in time to celebrate Easter. 

 

Apart from some damage to the sails, it has been a very smooth ride.  The freezer is still working, but only marginally.  Amazingly, the engines have given us no trouble at all.  The bottom is full of goose-barnacles, which is probably the reason why the log has packed up.  I'll take care of this in Baie HanaMoeNoa on Tahuata.  First we have to clear in and do some shopping, though.  Should get water and diesel as well, as I don't know where the next chance will be. 

 

The big question on our minds is how much time we want to spend among the islands.  We have until the end of November when the cyclone season starts, but we should be well outside the area then.  And if we want to cross the Indian Ocean, we will have to take those tropical storms into account as well.  Either we kind of hurry through the islands and then press on or we have to hole up somewhere and return later.  Right now we are not really sure what would be the right choice for us, but we still have to make a decision fairly soon as it determines our schedule and our route from here on. 

 

Right now, I am favoring the option of going straight through the Torres Strait, to Christmas Island, Cocos Keeling Island, Mauritius and Reunion.  I want to make sure that the circumnavigation stays on track and that we actually make it all the way around.  Sooner or later DHARMA BUM III needs to spend some time on the hard - and sooner or later our cash will run out as well.  And of course, there *will* be unforeseen troubles and complications that might ruin all the best planning whether we like it or not.  To me it feels a bit like tempting fate to not focus on our main objective, which is a circumnavigation. 

 

Or is it?  Maybe our main objective should be to just relax and enjoy ourselves down here in the islands?  Seems the wise choice, but both Liping and I wouldn't easily forgive ourselves if by that choice we are forced to abandon the circumnavigation. 

 

On the other hand, it would be a major pity to spend just four months in the islands, we have come such a long way to see.  Theoretically, we could spend several years in the Pacific and worry about all else later.  And if we stay, where should we go during the cyclone season?  Tarawa, Kiribati, the North Pacific?  We are not particularly interested in New Zealand or Australia, mainly because regulations for visiting yachts and visa reasons.  We could also take the riskier - but maybe more worthwhile - option of staying in Tonga or some such place for the cyclone season.  That would really give us a much deeper inside into life in Polynesia, but it could also mean that we might lose the boat. 

 

And no matter what we decide in the end, we have to think of a place for getting our boat on the hard.  Maybe in the Philippines or somewhere else in Asia?  Or in Tarawa like the trimaran BAMBOO of our very good friend Herbert Salvenmoser?  South Africa or even Trinidad again?  Plenty of food for thought for quite a while. 

 

And so much on this depends on how things are going with the boat and with us.  This can change drastically from one day to the next and is probably the single most determining factor in our deliberations. 

 

But right now we are looking forward to the Marquesas and especially to Tahuata, where we hope to meet old friends whom we haven't seen since 1995.  I am not going to battle another octopus with arms of 122 centimeters again, that is for sure.