Another Birthday

Happy Birthday Adam!

We've continued to get emails from Alan, as EYE crew seem to have good BlackBerry and internet access while in Samoa.  

Paul and I just completed our own little sailboat cruse, 8 days on our 20 ft Core Sound sailboat named "Dawn Patrol".  Trip reports and photos will be shown on my other blog http://sandybottomkayaker.blogspot.com/.

Sounds like the EYE crew is getting some land exercise these days.  Alan reported  a few days ago that "Were in Samoa on Apia island. Not in US any more. But the bb is working here. Yesterday we went hashing with the group here. It was a little different but the basics were there (running and beer) but they don't drink the beer until AFTER they run how weird! We were all very thirsty. But in the end it was great fun."

They have sinced move to another Island, "Vava-u Group" of Tonga, where we hear there could be some humpback whales.   We sure have enjoyed being able to locate them on the SPOT these days.

Happy Birthday Will

Yesterday was Will’s birthday. We know this because we were lucky to do a video chat with Alan at 6am this morning, 11pm their time and still Will’s Birthday. A fun chat with Alan, it seems Will and Alan had spent the day celebrating, quite a bit.

Alan reported that they arrived in Pago Pago in the wee hours of the morning and ended up tying alongside a barge at the dock as it was the only space available. They cleared customs etc… in the morning with no problems and Adam and Amanda went to go get the propane tank filled and on the way see about a tour of the starkist tuna factory. Pago Pago is the hub for all the Tuna canneries. Starkist and Chicken of the Sea...well at least it was. The Chicken plant is already closed and the Starkist plant is due to close very soon. No luck on a tour.

In the meantime, Will and Alan went exploring the town of Fagatogo with a hardware store, library, news paper office, post office, and eventually to a car parts store to look for a new solenoid for the engine. Thiers stopped working again in Bora Bora, no luck on that so far though.

After that, they all met at a grocery store and Alan bought cookies and a large toothpaste (evidently much needed). Then they found a big Cost-Co/Sams Club type store and bought a bunch of food for the boat, including the propane. Adam also bought a small 12 volt cooler thing that can hold up to 9 soda cans, designed for use in a car for roadtrips but only $35, all are curious to see how it will work during their cruising.

There is a McDonald’s across from the dock, with internet available (so all should receive emails at least today). Alan says that being there seems very similar to being in Hawaii, and with English the primary language.

With necessities/chores out of the way, Will and Alan started celebrating with a day playing golf, a full course, rented clubs etc… all for $9 each, and then other lively imbibments.

Happy Birthday Will!

June 13th

It's 1:30am my time,  I'm on watch for another half hour and then I'll try to send this out.  We are about 60 miles from the island of Ofu where we plan to spend tomorrow afternoon and evening on a beach said to be one of the best in the world and then make the 50 or so mile jump to Pago Pago tomorrow night.

June 11 & 12

Day 7 - email from Alan:
Today was another hot one but with good steady wind.  We now have about 450Nm to go.

In the late afternoon, some scattered clouds started building around us and we could see numerous rain showers.   By about 10pm the rain hit in a big downpour that lasted about 20 minutes accompanied by a wind shift to the Notheast.  During the downpour I was able to fill all my water bottles and made some gatorade.  The downpour ended and so did my shift.

We have had to start the motor however to give the batteries some juice. They have not been benefiting from the wind generator at all in the light conditions and the solar panels are shaded for half the day and are not able to keep up with our power usage.

We checked in with the "Pac Sea" radio net this evening.  Loud and Clear!

Day 8  email:
This morning we sailed through a drenching rain shower accompanied by another wind shift.  I guess the rain likes me since I was again on watch just minding my own business watching the sunrise and here comes this rain shower to get me all wet.

I turned the tables though and got a great freshwater shower from it. When Will came to relive me of the watch, naturally the rain subsided and there was a rainbow.  Why do I get all the luck?

For dinner, a cold chili with beans and crackers with cheese and spinach dip!

We are motoring now due to the light wind that has settled over us in the late afternoon but hope to be under sail only soon. With just 250 miles to go, were all ready to feel dry land again.

Note:  The EYE has had good SPOT coverage the past few days providing a good picture of where they are and how fast they are moving towards American Samoa.

 

June 10th

Day 6th email from Alan (I really enjoy these emails and getting a feel for some of thier daily life aboard):

Today was a hot one. Staying cool under the shade of the bimini cover was a must. We had a little wind shift in the morning but it straightened back out after lunch and we have made good steady progress directly on course all afternoon at around 5.5 knots. Skies have been clear, sun had been hot, wind has been windy from the SE around 5-8 knots.

This evening we listened in on and joined the Pacific Seafarers Radio Net. This net covers the entire Pacific ocean and meets daily at 3:30 UTC. With the help of about a dozen relay stations from Minnesota to New Zealand to Australia, these ham radio enthusiasts (some with large and powerful antennas) volunteer their time to listen in for any emergencies out on the pacific ocean from any vessel and take position reports from cruising vessels and make sure they arrive safely in their destination. We will be checking in with them every evening until we reach American Samoa.

In other news, our supply of baguette bread was exhausted today and just in time too as the final piece was starting to look a little green. We are starting to get very creative with out meals and are looking forward to some restocking in American Samoa.
 
NOTE:  Here is the website for the Pacific Seafarers Network that Alan mentions above.  The net is in two parts, beginning with an informal 25 minute 'warm up' session to exchange news, answer questions and solve problems.  Next follows the Roll call, where boats are called in turn to give their position and weather observations.  These details are shared with other boats and forwarded to weather forecasters around the world where they are used to improve forecast accuracy. In return, they post back special forecasts for boats in their coverage area. 
 
They post the "Roll Call" on ther website.  The EYE is KJ4QYH.

June 8th & 9th

Day 4 & 5 Crossing - email from Alan:

Yesterday and today have kind of blended together. I had a late watch and we changed time zones again. We are now 7 hours behind Eastern Standard time and in the time zone of the Samoan Islands (GMT-11).

The trade winds have returned and we have been enjoying wispy scattered clouds with a beautiful blue background and some great sunsets. The wind has been relatively steady around 8-12 knots out of the SE and the seas have been calm making life onboard pleasant.

We made a soup last night in the rice cooker of peas, carrots, and canned chicken which was pretty good and today we made two pots of rice for lunch. We are running low on baguette bread but we have a surplus of cheese and onions.

Also, we may all be addicted to Nutella chocolate and I for one hope we don't run out!

600 miles to go!

Motor Sailing

Picture of the hammock Alan made (after leaving Panama) to sleep in when it's got too hot in the cabin.

Alans recent emails tell us they have started their long crossing to American Samoa with a bit of motoring while waiting for the winds.

June 6th - Day 1:

It is our first full day back at sea on our way to Samoa and we have been enjoying light wind and very calm seas which we hope will continue for the rest of our crossing.

Unfortunately, we ran out of propane in Bora Bora so we were forced to make this crossing without but we still have the electric rice cooker and have been doing pretty well and trying to be creative with meals. We have lots of fresh bread and today I made a Tuna salad for lunch. We also have coconuts gathered from Bora Bora that we have been munching on.

At our current rate of speed, we hope to arrive in about 8 or 9 days for now. Too bad for Will, that won't be soon enough to catch the World Cup match between the USA and England. We will however be looking to see if we can pick up the game on the radio.
 
Last night was cloudy and rainy. We had light and shifty wind and we were motoring on and off to keep moving. In the morning it was still mostly overcast but as the day progressed we sailed out of the clouds and the wind improved. By this evening we were sailing nicely and we haven't had to use the motor much today. With some luck we will see the trade winds fill back in for us and it will be easy sailing the rest of the way. We also had quite a few birds following us around today.

Note: In a previous email a few days ago Alan mentioned that Will had a bit of a cold.  Paul suggested they keep in mind what cold symptoms could represent in a tropical eenvironment and urged them to seek medical care if in doubt, or if Will feels worse.  Yesterday Alan reported that Will is still has a bit of congestion and now Alan has a little as well, though not nearly as bad.  Here's wishing the rest of the crew stays well.

June 7 - Day 3:
Everyone has been doing lots and lots of sleeping and reading while off watch. I think I probably slept for most of the day today. We are not sick of our baguette bread and cheese yet but we have plenty of time for that I suppose. The rice cooker has been doing a good job so far with meals and we even managed to cook eggs in it last night.

Nothing major to report really. No fish to speak of or freak waves but we'll keep our eyes peeled. All is pretty quiet really, maybe too quiet....knock on wood just in case.

Another Farewell

6/5/2010 Email from Alan:

So long French Polynesia. We have said adios to our last French Polynesian Island, Bora Bora, and are currently back at sea. With a light Easterly wind we slipped our mooring and sailed west under main and jib through the pass without even starting the motor. A very peaceful departure indeed. With light but steady winds expected for the next 5 days we hope for at least a smooth if not also quick crossing. Knock on wood of course.

I cannot really say that I will miss the aggravatingly slow internet or phone connection afforded to the French Polynesian islands or the relatively high cost of my favorite delicious treat, ice cream. But I will definitely miss yummy cheap baguette bread (which we loaded up on before leaving) and cheeses and I will of course never forget the kind and hospitable people that we met in the Marqueses, Tuamotus and Society Islands. What an incredible experience we all had.

I am also looking forward to the future. Samoa, Fiji, Vanuatu and Australia are all places I have never been and surely they will bring new and exciting experiences in the months to come as we continue to ride the trade winds across the pacific.