Jeanne,

testing the images

To sail around the World, a vessel must start from and return to the same point, must cross all meridians of longitude and must cross the Equator. It may cross some but not all meridians more than once (i.e. two roundings of Antarctica do not count). The shortest orthodromic track of the vessel must be at least 21,600 nautical miles in length calculated based on a 'perfect sphere'. In calculating this distance, it is to be assumed that the vessel will sail around Antarctica in latitude 63 degrees south. A vessel starting from any point where the direct orthodromic distance is too short shall pass one single island or other fixed point on a required side so as to lengthen his orthodromic track to the minimum distance. No starting point will be permitted more south than 45 ° south. 1 degree of longitude at 63 degrees south will be taken as 27.24NM

Happy New Year!  A belated update ...   

 It's taken a while for me to get around to writing this - so much to do, including travelling north to retrieve some boat items I need now.   I'm presently docked at the very friendly Southwestern YC in San Diego, getting generator repairs done, hoping to leave reasonably soon to head down to Mexico to get on with a few more minor jobs....  (It's rare to find a boat without a list of boat jobs, however small, waiting to be done - there's always something waiting to be fixed...!)

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30Nov Boom was removed from mast so gooseneck connecting mast to boom, along with the boom end itelf, could be taken away for repair.

 

2 December 2016 ·

Lashing did a good job, holding genoa foot down after snapshackle pin disappeared... Rusty pin or spring ...or bad SS ring..? Old shackle now removed and new 'D' shackle bought to replace it.

Gooseneck and boom end metal parts now well done by Steve but he queried state of plastic sheaves inside boom end - considering what to do about it... Think I have a set of new ones somewhere on board ....!

BTW, in answer to queries on possibility of re-starting nonstop RTW attempt from San Diego .... Apart from lateness in season to head S to Cape Horn and around Sthn Ocean (since would likely be May when rounding N.Z.), San Diego start would require an added WP for extra miles to be added: WSSR rule 26.1.a states: "To sail around the World, a vessel must start from and return to the same point, must cross all meridians of longitude and must cross the Equator. It may cross some but not all meridians more than once (i.e. two roundings of Antarctica do not count). The shortest orthodromic track of the vessel must be at least 21,600 nautical miles in length calculated based on a 'perfect sphere'. In calculating this distance, it is to be assumed that the vessel will sail around Antarctica in latitude 63 degrees south. A vessel starting from any point where the direct orthodromic distance is too short (e.g. San Diego) shall pass one single island or other fixed point on a required side so as to lengthen the orthodromic track to the minimum distance".

Saturday 3rd Dec:  Racing in Hot Rum Regatta Enjoyed racing on 'Echo' with several excellent young sailors and their parents... 

Alice helmed most of the race, others tended sheets and helped with spinnaker hoist and dousing & her brother and friend did a good job trimming the spinnaker in often gusty conditions. 

All of the crew did excellent work - their parents must be very proud of them!

 

4Dec Christmas Party time at San Diego Y.C.....  The snow doesn't last long ... but long enough for these lucky kids to get in some tobogganing fun.

6-8 Dec  I was invited to attend CCA Christmas Dinner at St Frances Y.C. in San Francisco on evening of Wednesday 7th Dec, so took Greyhound bus from San Diego there and back.  On way to L.A, bus pulled in to the Santa Ana bus and railroad terminal ...

A lovely mission-style building.  I was lucky - just made the onward bus connection in L.A. (first bus left over one hour later than scheduled).   Bob and Kristi Hanelt were my very welcoming hosts in Oakland Hills - many thanks for an enjoyable stay - and plenty of 'cruiser chat'!  

Thursday Dec 8 Back to SD to get on with boat jobs.  Interesting countryside, passing Pyramid Lake well N of L.A. - a large reservoir high up in arid mountains.

Friday 9Dec  New generator part had arrived - here are new and old exhaust parts side by side...  Notice difference in size of new design and old... And water pipe connections are different, causing a problem in replacing and connecting up the new part... Caused a long delay in fitting.... 

Thanks to Rowena Carlson who invited me for a good time spent with SSSS group at house near Y.C. overlooking the Bay at their Christmas party and Annual Awards evening...  (SSSS =  Sexy Sabots Sailing Set! - was originally only women)  ....  Naples Sabots are the 8ft S. Californian junior sail-training equivalent of the beginner Optimist dinghies - mainsail only but with a leeboard on the starboard side instead of a central daggerboard.  More difficult to sail... "A bit quirky," I was told, so people who master them become good sailors!  

14-28th Dec - flew to Vancouver to organise sending aft cabin cushions etc down to San Diego, retrieve some smaller items (clothing etc) from storage at R.V.Y.C. and spend Christmas with friends.  Had good snowfalls while there!  A White Christmas...

Sunday18Dec -  Cold trip over to Tsawwassen from Gibsons to Victoria, close to Cadboro Bay.  Car - ferry - bus - train - bus - ferry - bus - bus - walk ..... Took from 10 am to 5.30pm but all worked out fine and went according to plan - very little stress!  Almost no snow here...  Enjoyable Wassail at RVYC in the evening…  

Then over to Anacortes on Tuesday 20Dec - windy but lovely ferry trip through San Juan Islands. Great to be a  totally relaxed passenger... just enjoying the scenery!  Aft cabin cushions and cockpit table now on their way to San Diego from Anacortes - many thanks to Vince at Ullman Sails Anacortes and Chuck in SD. Suitcase with clothes and other smaller items were retrieved from Royal Victoria Y.C. on Monday and will come with me on flight back to 'Nereida' in SD later next week. Friend Jeff has loaned an inflatable kayak in place of dinghy and outboard so I can get onshore when at anchor in Mexico, if needed.

Back to Gibsons via Coastal Celebration ferry from Swartz Bay on Wednesday - was shown around bridge of same boat on way over last Sunday - rather different from 'Nereida'!  Visited friends in Sidney for lunch in between ferries - an amazing job Charles has done in constructing a steel boat in his back yard - all his own work!!

25Dec Nice to spend Christmas in beautiful B. C. with good friends...!    Happy holidays to one and all!

29Dec Back on board after flights from Vancouver and Phoenix. Nice to see radio friend Sid, K7SID, & wife Carol in Phoenix.  Felt warm here in San Diego!  (But gets cold overnight...)  

Bad news on generator while I was away - it's seized and almost certainly needs re-building.... Sounds expensive, despite only one cylinder...

Friday 30 December 2016   Many thanks to San Diego Y.C. for their generosity regarding moorage costs while here. Aft cabin cushions and cockpit table arrived today from Ullman's loft in Anacortes - thanks to Chuck for his suggestion, to Vince for packing and dispatching... and to Niall for unpacking and bringing to the boat from the loft here in San Diego.

We might have problems - but people are generally kind and helpful....  Needed to find another berth for 'Nereida' from Tuesday since, despite SDYC's much-appreciated generosity until end of December, the slip we've been on was taken from then. Walked over to Southwestern Y.C. - was immediately made welcome by Mark and berth assigned from Tuesday - so that problem was resolved (while waiting for genset problem to be finished with...) Thanks to SWYC members Susan and Richard for their kind welcome - and a great Irish coffee!! Can't achieve anything further now on genset front until Tuesday,... so will put it to one side and enjoy a quiet, relaxed New Year - maybe get some reading, writing and walking done....

2 January   Trying to sort a few jobs: genset repair, new mast-top Windex, LED light strips in two places, tidying/organising aft & main cabins...... & must move boat to new berth tomorrow. And that's just today's thinking....there are lots more items I've not listed here...! I've had whipping of line and sheet ends on my list for ages, especially after renewing several recently, so was nice to have rigger Mark expertly whip the ends of several for me - far more quickly than I could have done. That was after he'd moved the position of the rod-kicker (vang), making fresh screw holes in boom, avoiding old badly elongated ones which can't have helped the gooseneck problem.  Just have to attach reef lines now, when not rainy or windy from wrong direction. (It has been raining a lot - bucketed down on New Year's Eve!)

4th January Coffee and doughnut at Downwind Marine - a Wed morning 'tradition'.... Then Evan brought me back over and replaced the Windex at the mast top - saved me a trip up to struggle with removing old one and also it needed a couple of bends made in the metal rod so as to give it good clearance - not so easy to do. Nice to see it working.

Got estimate to rebuild the genset yesterday ..... A mere $5133 ......! That's a lot of money..... (New one is twice that) People here at South Western Y.C. are very friendly - was taken by Amagele for fresh fruit and veg shopping yesterday and Frank would have done the same if A. hadn't made her offer first! Thanks to both.... Low cloud and fine drizzle today - totally unlike the blue sky of yesterday! Parts are all available for generator rebuild but present motor has been replaced with 'low-emissions' upgrade so new one might not be useable as is - Kubota US are looking into that for me.  Doubt that a reliable 12V rebuilt version is lying around anywhere and labour to pull old out one and replace it is way more than for rebuilding in situ.  Good mechanic here - trustworthy and does excellent work - came very well recommended.  'Nereida' probably won't be ready to leave before February.  Debating how best to spend time over 2-3 weeks while waiting for parts to arrive after motor stripped down ... frustrating!

In the meantime, it's great to have regular Internet access - keeping tabs on the Vendee Globe race is a daily necessity ...  Go, Alex, GO!!!

7.40pm Sun PST/0340 Mon GMT

Just checked in to the Pacific Sefarers' Net - heard nothing at all on frequency yesterday so it was good to make contact with Jane, NH7TZ, on Kauai, who was just about able to take my report. Propagation is particularly bad on 20m at present.

I'd been hoping that the strong winds forecast for tonight wouldn't arrive - but they did - with a vengeance! .... Just to remind me, as if I hadn't already found out several times recently, what winds in the N. Pacific can be like!

We're presently getting 33-44kt of wind, frequently gusting up, and with accompanying 4-5m seas to match, with steep faces fairly close together, making for an uncomfortable ride.

With just 115 n.mls to San Diego harbour entrance, arrival is expected after sunset tomorrow (Monday evening LT).

The good news is that these conditions are supposed to ease somewhat shortly, this being the peak period - let's hope the forecast has got that right!

10.30pm Sun PST/ 0630 Mon GMT Wind only up to mid-30s now... not mid-40s... Great!

San Clemente Island 40 mls off. Seas pretty rough. Will make sure I'm awake as we near the island... a Navy Base.

5am Monday PST/1300 Mon GMT Passing 8 ml south of San Clemente Island. Just changed course slightly to round the island and make for San Diego, 60 miles off.

Beautiful, clear, starry sky... Pleiades astern, high up in West, a bright planet (?) high ahead in East

Wind died down nicely a while ago - to around NW 25kt now - unfurled most of genoa to speed us along - making 5.6 kt in 4m swell. Expecting wind to die more as we close the coast.

Spoke to radio friends on East coast - from Florida to Maine - was great to speak to a few of them that I've not made contact with for some time. All very sympathetic.

7.30 am Back to my bunk for an hour or two of sleep after some brief contacts with West coast radio friends...

12.45pm Enjoyed a late brunch of a very nice onion omelette, followed by fresh coffee and brown bread with home-made marmalade (thanks, Susan - lovely!).

Wind is up and down but slowly dying - presently WNW 15 kt, giving SOG ~5 kt. Sky getting quite cloudy but glimpses of the sun still.

Seas are also down, to 2-3m, so we're ambling gently towards SD, keeping an eye out for frequent shipping - Golden Energy (tanker) just crossed our bow a mile off half an hour ago, on its way to the Panama Canal, and the motor vessel Sally Ride is off to port. (Later: I thought she was on a pleasure jaunt of some kind, out of SD, but it seems she's a very well-equipped scientific research vessel!)

Not long now to having to break the engine seal so we can motor in to Shelter Island's Police Dock for our Clearance procedure to take place - a 24 ml actual passage from here but only 19 ml away as the crow flies - the N-S SD harbour entrance channel to the east of Pt Loma is very long.

2.20pm Time to furl in genoa, break that engine seal & turn on - making less than 3 kt in dying wind of 7 kt from astern... We're not getting very far like this! 19 n.ml.from San Diego.  Must break engine seal & motor rest of the way - very loathe to do that.

3pm Cut the seal with a bit of effort... Started motoring at 2.30pm. Point Loma has been in sight for a time. Slight drizzle now...

Fairway buoy to entrance channel is 11 miles away. Seas still rolly, with 2.5m or so swell, wind W 6 kt .

4.40pm Mon PST/0040 Tues GMT 2.5 ml off main channel entrance and 7 miles to Police Dock. Grey and murky - very restricted visibility - radar on plus AIS - all helpful to see what's ahead... ETA at Police Dock for Clearance into US still around 6pm, possibly slightly later. Must hoist yellow 'Q' flag for international clearance in...

Arrived Police Dock in San Diego Hbr well after nightfall - stressful entrance in darkness and rain, following the long, lit main channel and then turning to port to make the final entrance inside Shelter Island, avoiding a shoal area to starboard.  With plenty of open water beyond the Dock, I was able to take my time preparing for coming alongside but it was a very difficult final approach, due to a strong current pushing our stern out as we tried to come alongside gently...  More speed ahead was the only answer, in the end, but that made things a bit fraught with an unhelpful kick to starboard in astern and Police boats moored up not far ahead!  Luckily, I just managed to secure the lines ... no-one around, of course...

Took a long time for two very friendly officers to arrive to do paperwork but finally got away and motored over to San Diego Y.C. where a convenient berth, with plenty of water for manoeuvring, had been arranged by friend Rod.  Ed came down with his flashlight to help make sure I knew where to head for and then helped tie up - many thanks to both for their welcome help...   I cooked a late meal and had a very good sleep!

Many thanks for the supportive messages. I'll get repairs done & figure out my options.

7pm Sat PST/0300 Sun GMT

What a lovely downwind sail just now - seas a little down but still quite big, sunset colours just faded, wind ~20kt, SOG 6 kt, clearish sky with bright Venus hanging high in W.... Beautiful and completely therapeutic! No rainclouds in sight...

Pity the forecast is for stronger, even gale force, winds to arrive later Sunday into Monday, as we near the coast...

Getting my position and weather report ready for Pacific Seafarers Net on 14300 at 0330 GMT. (Later: Nothing heard at all on the Net - propagation poor to present position.)

9pm Wind backed into W and down to 15kt - dead downwind - not a good point of sail without poling out the genoa - and that won't happen until daylight - especially in the rather rolly seas at present. Later: veered into WNW at 20kt again - better. Pleasant sailing, most of this evening.

1130pm Sat PST/0730 Sun GMT still sailing gently along: 20kt WNW wind, 5kt SOG - too good to be true! Waiting for the stronger stuff to arrive! Sleep in the meantime...

6.30am Sun PST/1430 GMT A good, peaceful night - gentle sailing in 20-22 kt WNW wind - so had a good night's sleep, with few gaps. Sunrise around now.

Made up log, checked emails and weather and then made contact with friends on the ham radio morning Nets - mostly West coast and inland US and northern Mexico - Baja California. All very relaxed and finished around 9am, ready for late coffee and breakfast.

Midday Wind and seas are up rather - seas to 4.5m or so, quite steep and not that far apart, so feeling quite rough, and wind is WNW-NW at ~25kt. Could reach 30-35kt later today. Cleared up in galley and I'm eating fresh fruit a lot, ready for clearing in to California - they won't let you bring in any citrus fruit from elsewhere so I'm finishing up some delicious, juicy mandarins!

12.20pm Wind is slowly increasing - up to 28-30kt now and just gusted to 33+kt with grey cloud nearby, SOG 6.2kt and over. Blue sky with plenty of cloud around and sunny in between - quite pleasant although seas are well up.

I hear some parts of S. California are having a lot of rain now - good for the reservoirs, ready for summer? Hope it has stopped by time I pull in to SD!

3pm Frequent lulls of 24 kt in between the stronger winds. Blue sky, scattered clouds, lots of sunny spells. Replying to emails.

5.30pm Sun PST(1.30 a.m. Mon GMT) Sun set short while ago... Seas still 4m or so and often steep. WNW wind either ~23 kt or ~ 30 kt... keeps varying....

10.45pm Fri PST/6.45am Sat GMT Wind was up over 30kt from SSW a short while ago but now 24kt with higher gusts - so far direction is unchanged. Rough seas - short and steep, so we're being tossed around a lot and have to be careful how I move around...

Wind got up to 33 kt for quite a time afterwards and veered to W. Had to change course twenty degrees or so to keep the wind to starboard and postponed gybing until wind eased later - as it surely must! Nice to have had all reefs tied in earlier.

6am Sat PST/1400 GMT Wind down to 15-17kt - from WNW, so changed back onto course and gybed the main, changing over the preventer (essential in these rough seas to prevent boom from crashing about). Was pleased to find rain had stopped but as I set to work it came down hard - but not for long... Lovely clear starry patch among the general cloud overhead. A flash of lightning on the horizon astern - hope it stays there!

Back to my bunk for some more sleep -beginning to get lighter - dawn not too far away.... Brown booby that had decided to sleep on our port bow pulpit around sunset had taken off during the night - conditions just got too much for it, I presume. (A sign of how far S we've come - they're not seen much further N, being tropical birds.)

6.40am PST just noticed wind up again - gust of 30 kt, then down to 27kt and back up - to 33kt ... SOG 6.6kt - rain started again.... raincloud - reason for strong gust? Expecting quite strong conditions for next few days.

8 - 9 am Was nice to speak to various radio and boat friends on Chubasco Net and later, briefly, on Baja Net - when I suddenly realised that winds had got up to 45 kt under dark grey mass of cloud, SOG 7.6kt. The 40-45kt wind lasted for quite a time, slowly down to 35kt, then fnally 25 kt at around 9am... TSTMS?? Seas built up, of course, as well... A good 4m or so now

Going to be a rough ride to San Diego - 300mls off - with gale force winds forecast for Monday... which is what we already just had now in a big squall!

Why San Diego? I've had to make the painful decision to head in there for repairs needed to the boom connection and genset, among other, more minor, items. Not a comfortable thought while heading towards the Southern Ocean that the genset would probably be out of action for the next 7-8 months (an epoxy repair would almost certainly not last long, always assuming it could be done and would work at all), giving an ongoing battery power issue with not enough fuel (main engine takes more diesel and is less efficient at frequent topping up of wind and solar power inputs), and the boom connecion can only get worse with more rough use and is already badly worn.... Not something I can repair- it needs proper attention.

Feeling very disheartened and sad.... So many people have been so supportive and helpful in so many ways, for which I have been deeply appreciative... Thanks to you all!

.........................................................................

1pm Wind keeps gusting up under or near rainclouds - frequently to over 30kt, occasionally more strongly. Seas are over 4m and higher in the strongest winds.

Mostly the sky is overcast. but occasionally the sun gets out between te clouds and it feels warm - San Diego is in southern California, by the Mexican border, so has a pleasant climate.

Forecast is for more weather like today for the next few days - I just hope for not too many of the over 40kt squalls to come by!

Thurs 11.30pm LT/ Fri 0730 GMT Just ran the engine for an hour... Still trying to deal with genset cooling water problem - tomorrow should be calm, at least to start off with, so can work on it more then.

Hazy sky - stars not looking so bright as usual. Sea fairly calm. Wind W 7kt, boat SOG 3.6kt. Heading SE for a bit longer but will turn S later tomorrow before the Front arrives. Had a nice asparagus omelette with my usual 'chiplets' (diced fried potatoes) tonight.

Seeing ships on AIS screen more often now - until yesterday had seen none since near Cape Flattery. One is getting a bit close in just under an hour's time, so must stay up to make sure all OK - late to sleep tonight! Called on VHF 16 to check on their intentions. 2.10 am: 'Silver Euplecta' changed course to stay just over a mile off - that felt far more comfortable than when they were coming to within 0-1/4 ml of us! Closest approach in 2 minutes' time.

2.20am Fri LT/ 1020 Fri GMT A gust... and wind backed to SSW-SW, very light (6kt) so varying somewhat between SSW and WSW, ... it was W just before. To my bunk for some sleep while no ships are within 30 ml or more - alarm set...

8.30am Regular sightings, visually and on AIS, of shipping heading to/from LA - busy port. We're 330 ml due W of it now. Wind SSW 9kt, SOG 4-5 kt - varying lot in gusty conditions under grey, overcast sky - hint of blue sky on horizon to E.

2pm Genset problem has turned into seawater cooling circuit problem - there's a big hole in a (soldered?) connection leading from motor towards anti-siphon loop - which must be part of the seawater cooling circuit. Don't see how I can make anything other than a temporary fix with epoxy - not likely to last for long. Along with the gooseneck problem, I've a lot to think about just now...

5pm Seas are getting up as daylight fades - getting quite rough. Took in reefs and reduced genoa ready for the stronger wind expected - overnight, a Front will come through and wind will switch (veer) from SSW/SW to NW.

9pm Wind now over 30kt mostly... Glad all reefs are in and genoa well-reduced... Waiting for wind to veer more - will it be sudden or gradual? I suspect it will be rather quick... If I catch it changing just beforehand, I'll try to gybe in advance.

Sleep will be hard to come by tonight, I think.

=-10.30pm Wed/ 0630 Thurs GM

Decided to have a look at genset despite it being dark - had to use a headlamp anyway, so what difference? It still died after trying to start so looked at starter motor terminals and disconnected the wire from the chart table switch. As expected, when I tried to start it nothing at all happened - confirmig I had the correct wire. When I tried to short across the terminals of the start motor, to get it to start, nothing happened, apart from a small spark, with or without the switch connected.

Went back to chart table switch and tried starting again - it started but as I quickly went to the genset, expecting to hear it dying, it kept going - but white smoke was billowing out from it - i hurriedly shut it down! There seemed to be a lot of water everywhere and I remembered that I'd already noticed some water in the engine sump which had seemed odd. Water still seemed to be dripping everywhere after I stopped it... I removed the back cover and started it again, getting back to it as fast as possible to see where the problem lay - quickly stopping it once I'd seen where the water seemed to be coming from - the fresh water side of things.. After being stopped, water continued to come out from the same area and I'd seen white smoke (steam?) comig from the back of the fresh water tank

This was turning into a bigger pron\blem than expected. Interestingly, the motor had fired up well on that last attempt but with the fresh water cooling not happening, I didn't want to risk further damage by running the generator any longer than I had already.

6.30 am / 1430 GMT First light, a lot of broken cloud. Gybed mainsail with wind having backed to NW. Genoa on pole to starboard. Running downwind still. Wind still very light - mostly 5-8kt - so sails slatting a lot in the slight swell - 2m from NW. Running engine to charge. AP on - uses power... Eastern sky beginning to show a streak of colour....

10.20 am Been busy in the galley while I had my breakfast - dishes and pans needed a good washing and general clearing up. Also took the time to clean the cabin sole of the oil there from the spillage a few days back. Meant I also had to clean the soles of my boots and deck shoes as well, of course.

Had sensed an increase in our motion - on checking - sure enough, the wind had come up - to around 16 kt from NW, giving SOG just under 6 kt. Expecting light wind all day - so a pleasant surprise to find the boat moving nicely - but will check up-to-date weather info - don't want to be caught out by the approaching Front, as I was last time!

11am - That was short-lived! Wind dying.... down to 12kt, SOG 4.5kt.

5-6pm Thurs LT/1-2am Fri GMT Wind slowly died further but we've been making reasonable speed - not becalmed, as I'd feared we would be.. Used calmer seas to check items on deck. Have closed up and taped the two rings on the staysail Furlex fitting. Gooseneck connection to mast is moving more than I'd like - making a loud banging noise quite often as vertical bolt moves in what must be an enlarged hole as the boom tries to move with the action of the sail. Noticed a split pin on the gooseneck/boom connection was working loose - I've had that one come out before now, with the pin nearly lost and the boom nearly swinging loose as a result, so I always keep a good eye on it.. Turned the split pin ends back some more - they were getting straightened, ready for the pin to come out in the near future!

Took the pole down - possibly might regret doing so but seemed best to get it stowed away. Meant lines had to be dealt with and genoa sheet re-run differently back to cockpit.

Work on the freshwater cooling side of the genset has mainly involved drying the area all around and looking for obvious damage - none seen so far - work will continue on that this evening. Water must be getting out from somewhere - just have to find the place, if I can...

5am/1300GMT Generator not firing up (job for tomorrow in daylight), so running engine in neutral for an hour to charge batteries - not enough wind now for wind generator to cope at moment. Lovely crescent moon and lots of stars in between some clouds - mostly clear. Seas abating but still often rolly.

Heading on a broad reach a bit E of S to try to avoid worst of calms ahead near centre of H pressure area we're heading into- being squashed by Low that is still to our N, whose associated Cold Front we came through yesterday. That Low is still affecting our weather - could even give 20kt winds on Saturday if the High builds as forecast and pushes the Low SE towards the coast.

10.30 am Just had a relaxed breakfast after another good sleep. Bright sunshine, lots of thin white cloud around. Had to remove my thick fleece top - too warm in the cabin - 19C. Sea temperature has increased noticeably over the last two days - from around 10-11C all the way S, it was 12C yesterday and reached 14C today.

Boat is going really slowly - need full canvas now - wind is NNW 12-14kt so we're running nearly dead downwind - poling out the genoa would help - doing that will get interesting in these very rolly conditions! Time to gear up and get out on deck...

3pm Unbelievable ....! Finally got genoa poled out a while ago so we're goose-winged downwind now in wind just W of N at ~12kt, making ~4 kt.

Looked forward to check the set of the sail, I saw its foot was flapping loose! On going forward to investigate - the sprung shackle pin holding the shackle onto the foot of the sail had totally disappeared! Next thing that could well have happened was the genoa bolt rope would get torn out of the bolt rope track in the foil as it flapped in the wind and the sail would fly loose... Damn!!!!

Hurriedly went down and got the first piece of thick twine I could find and spent the next twenty minutes tying the foot of the sail to any hole I could find in and around the shackle (which was still in place but with its jaw not able to close) - including a ring which is looking fairly sturdy. Lots and lots of turns... I'll need to find replacement shackle(s) since I doubt the twine will last very long but I furled in the sail several turns, hoping to ease the load.

I'd been running the engine to charge the batteries - I'd expected to look at the generator problem earlier but poling out always takes a long time, especially in these rolly seas. I still have to deal with the damaged rings at the foot of the staysail (that have been catching the lazy starboard genoa sheet)

We're under wind steering now so our path downwind is rather wiggly - don't be surprised if the tracker gives a weird course reading - it's instantaneous, not giving an average. The wind has veered to just E of N, so we're making a course S-SSW now.

4pm Noted position & weather info now - at 0000Z Thurs24Nov GMT. Have made 120 n.ml. 'distance made good' in last 24hrs. Presently, 260 n.ml due W of Pt Estero which is just S of San Simeon and Morro Bay and N of San Luis Obispo.

About to work on the generator control panel now - maybe it has a loose connection?

4.30pm No obvious sign of problem there - so now to genset itself ... power not getting to solenoid...? (Tries to turn but doesn't fire up)

6pm Well, that didn't happen - had to sail the boat! Having checked weather forecasts, seems clear we need to keep heading SE, not SW, wind now from NNE, still 11 kt, so gybed the main and changed course...

6pm Mon PST/0200 Tues GMT

Daylight amost gone. Reefed the main (two reefs now) and furled in genoa a good bit - expecting winds to increase overnight and be quite strong by morning - so being cautious!...And we could still have occasional clouds giving stronger winds.. Speed down from just over 7kt to 6kt. Far less heeling - excellent since I'm about to cook a meal. (Thanks a lot, Linda, for the mild curry - made a perfect quick'n'easy complement to the last of my ratatouille stew)

Seas built a little with the good wind this afternoon - there's a W swell of 2m underlying the wind waves from SW.

Have been too busy sailing the boat today to have done as much by way of jobs as I'd hoped and next two days could see quite strong winds of over 20kt so jobs needing calmer seas might have to wait a bit longer.

Tues 3.40am PST / 1140 GMT Wind up and down around 20-23 kt from SW-SSW. Making 5.7kt on 143T, banging into seas a bit.

7.40am PST Having to head SE with wind backed more into SSW - boat speed is killed if we get too close to the wind. Expecting wind to be more veered by around midday and continue to veer to NW so we'll be able to head more S on a broad reach by later today.

This time of morning, from sunrise on, the 40m band is pretty busy so it's a good time to catch up with ham radio friends.

By 8.50am, wind was 24kt, SOG 6.8 kt - doing fine with two reefs in mainsail.

Interestingly, no ships seen for many days now but I expect to cross paths with some headed from Asia towards L.A. when I get further S. Pesently, we're 240 ml almost due W of S.F.

1.30pm Heavy rain... wind 28kt (gusting often to over 30kt) and is veering - to NW now. Hope it stays veered so conditions feel gentler as we sail more downwind.

Well... I don't want a repeat of the next hour's events in a hurry - if ever! Wind rose in no time to well over 40kt sustained... Clearly a Front was coming through and I didn't realise it was happening in time to reduce sail further (good thing I'd reefed well down overnight!) We careered madly downwind, being tossed around by the building seas, speed reaching 8.3kt quite soon, in 43kt wind - held there for a good hour... I knew I still had some clearing up to do before, but I certainly have a lot more to do now.... A definite 'worst moment' that lasted far too long - but we survived it - well done, Nereida!!

3pm Wind down to 26kt, still from NW. Speed 6.7kt due S. No pressure change to give any warning - doesn't happen ahead of time when a Front goes through, just the isobars on an isobaric chart show 'kinks' in them to indicate where the Front is because of changed wind direction at that point. I hadn't been expecting a Front, so hadn't looked for the signs and was happily working at my computer, assuming all was going smoothly and keeping an occasional eye on the instruments from time to time when - bang!!

Have retrieved two trailing sheets that had gone overboard. Think I'll have some coffee and try to relax and soothe my nerves.... Some food (ready waiting - excellent! Thanks again, Linda.) would be nice also... Then to clearing up... Wind now (nearly 4pm - teatime!) 23kt, still from NW and getting lighter. We made 70 mls in the 12 hrs from 4am!

Just about to post this - sun setting at 5pm, wind NW 12kt , swell still well up so knocking us around as a big wave catches us.

9am So much calmer now! Let out reef and unfurled full genoa to speed us along - had dropped way down while I was asleep with less wind now - ~10kt from WSW at present. Seas down although a good 2.5m / 7-8ft still.

Lazy genoa sheet was tangled on a damaged ring (two, in fact, ...those rings again!) on staysail furler/foot of sail - released and not looking very damaged, TG. Chain locker lid was closed properly after one side had opened in the stormy seas. (A friend had closed it and I'd stupidly not checked to make sure it was locked down - it wasn't... Long Falklands 3-strand thick fishing line in bag was retrieved from having tried hard to get washed overboard at the stern in same strong seas. Staysail pole was fixed in place at one end - it had come off its support there when staysail furling line tangled with it close to furling line lead... furling line slightly damaged. (Looks like in same place as I'd found the previous line had been chafed and cut.) Iridium phone handset is no longer working - phone adapter normally has four lights showing - now it shows none... Good thing I had set up my smartphone with the software and had already been using it at times - so my backup is now my mainstay...

Just noticed wind has increased a tad and gone more into SW - means our course has changed... to SSE.

Time for breakfast - and some coffee now its calmer. Then on with more jobs - plenty to do still.

2.30pm Was just about to settle down at midday(!) with coffee and breakfast, having managed a bit of a clear up in galley area, when realised wind was building .. Up on deck... big, wide area of rainy grey cloud ahead. Over next 45 mins, wind got up to 24-28 kt (apparent) and our speed got to well over 8 kts for quite a time - even reached 9 knots - we were really speeding along!! Early on, had eased the mainsheet a lot to reduce the heeling - and then, soon after, ran off more downwind - on 120T. That helped a lot - despite amazing speed and strong wind, it felt much more comfortable heading downwind. Good news was there'd not been enough time for seas to build... Bad news, once it was over, was seeing another grey mass directly ahead, despite lovely sunshine and blue sky overhead just then...! Tried to steer upwind of cloud ahead, in hope that would help - but we're now (2.30pm) headed directly for another mass of rainy grey cloud... and wind is building again. Think we're following a band of raincloud - can see strip of blue sky on horizons on each side of us.

3.15pm Think heading to windward side of cloud mass helped - raincloud is mostly off to port of us - great! This mix of winds is certainly keeping me busy today - so glad I left the first reef in earlier.... This area of showery raincloud is clearly extensive - maybe this is what gave the SF Bay area the heavy rain last night that I heard about this morning from a radio friend?

125n.ml. roughly - seems to have been our distance made good over 24 hrs Sun midnight GMT to Mon midnight GMT.

5pm Sun close to setting. Wind 16 kt from WSW, SOG 7.3kt COG 147T 236 ml due W of Pt Arena, Caifornia.

7.15am Sun rises over fairly calm sea - swell just 2m from NW.
Position is 273 n.ml from Pt Conception, nearly 400 n.ml WNW of Los Angeles

Greetings from Jeanne and 'Nereida' - hope you have a great day and a good long weekend!

5am - Saw wind had veered a lot, so was able to change our heading more towards SW from SSE. Want to get further W to reach area of NW winds arriving soon, so we can head due south, rather than be stuck in SSE-SE winds. Still very rough conditions - but getting plenty of sleep in my warm, cosy bunk!

8am So glad I didn't untie the second reef last night! We're making around 7 kt, close-hauled, fairly well heeled, in 16kt wind with full genoa and staysail - that's just fine.

Made contact on 7155 with the ham radio group there - nice to chat briefly but couldn't spend long with boat heeling a lot and being thrown around so much - makes life difficult unless I strap myself in or use the steel restraint bar - and I dearly wanted some breakfast! Good that the repeater station in Half Moon Bay was hearing me so well - meant that people who otherwise could not copy me could hear me using their computer, although likely still to have a problem transmitting my way over the radio.

11.30am Gusty conditions with clouds around. Had been very pleasant earlier this morning, with relatively calmer conditions for a time, although seas quite big still, but then had to furl in some genoa with wind increasing to 20+ kt - so it's feeling rougher again with lots of being tossed around added to our usual heeling. Course is still good, trying to make some more westing while it's possible in WNW wind.

6pm Had a nice hot stew again, followed by a fresh mandarin - lovely! Light is fading - noticeably later than further north now!

Changed course to head due S at 3 pm - resulted in an immediate lessening of the seas' effect as we headed downwind, although, of course, there's always a rolling effect whenever sailing downwind in swell. Wind got up even stronger, giving SOG ~7kt, but wind strength not noticeable heading down the waves, instead of into them. Wind presently ~23kt from WNW, gusting to 28-30kt with rainclouds around.

Soon we'll have passed Cape Mendocino (like C.Blanco, notorious for bad weather and seas) but well off - over 200 miles. Another Low and Cold Front will arrive to the N of our position Tues/Wed but we should be well S by then so hardly affected - except possibly getting becalmed on Wed and/orThurs before getting to the Trades!

(Heard we were making 7.8 kt in the strong winds earlier - that's going some! Aurora tracker gave:3:28:00 PM (EST?); 41.44N, 128.87W; Speed: 7.8 kt; Heading: 230°T )

Badly need some really calm weather to wash the cabin sole and get rid of the oily surface - getting dangerously slippery, especially as we lurch about....

Later: Seeing lots of stars now - overcast sky of daytime has cleared away, with just a few clouds in the W. Have been working on trying to post photos - still not happening so more effort needed.

Listened on 40m HF band - busy everywhere with a contest going on - no chatting this evening!

Sunday 7pm / Mon 21st Nov 0300GMT - Had good copy on Tom, K4XV, on Kauai, who took my position report on the Pacific Seafarers' Net. Chatted also briefly (propagation was so-so) with John, VK4DBJ - a long-time PacSeaNet radio friend in E. Australia.

 

Chart table at night...

Fri 6pm LT/PST (Sat 0200 GMT) Pressure 990 hPa, grey cloud overhead with clear patch on horizon to SW - centre of Low?

Wind is S 20-25kt, swell S 4m. Making very little speed close-hauled but don't want to bear away too much if means we head N of W. Present course is WSW at 4.6kt.

Cape Blanco is 230 ml to ESE, Cape Mendocino 300 ml to SE. If we were to head due S from here, we'd pass each 240 ml off - far off enough to avoid the nasty seas and wind coming towards them soon, I hope!

8pm Wind seems to have settled down to 27kt from S, resulting in making a course due W at 5kt.  Seas not bad.. Hoping for wind to change direction to nearer W overnight, so we can begin to head S.

10pm Just gybed around (tack stalled!) onto SE course in 20kt SSW wind. Keeps us away from centre of Low we were heading into and wind should slowly allow us to head more S overnight and tomorrow.

 Saturday 3.40am LT  Much calmer now than it has been for last 2 days- no rough seas, just big swell and wind down completely... 15 kt, instead of 35kt, gusting 40kt, is definitely preferable !

10.45am LT (1845 GMT)    Didn't last.... A rough night and seas & wind still up now... 35 kt from SW means course to SE (COG 143T) possible. Difficult to move about well-heeled cabin while seas knock us around but sun is out and pressure has risen to 990 from earlier 985 as Low moves N from close by and we can turn more to the S.

Saturday midday LT (Sat 2000 GMT) Wedged myself into the chart table seat - seas are still big - TG for Baden's hinged steel side-support that stops me from falling out when heeled well over to port!

A rough night and morning -a good thing the computer is well tied down at the chart table. I was keeping an eye out for wind to veer so we could head more S, having been forced to head E most of the night. At 8am, I spotted the wind shift and adjusted our course in 35-40 kt wind - so since then we've been heading more S - around 145T. Really need the wind to veer more into the W, so we can hed more directly S or even SSW. Still well up in mid-20 kt range now.

A late combined b'fast/lunch = brunch ... It's been so very difficult to move around safely, especially since the cabin sole is slightly wet with water and a touch of (olive) oil. I landed on the floor when I tried to check on our heading and wind direction etc this morning - fortunately not badly but was a good reason to stay mainly in my leeward bunk! Seas are still well up and knocking us around quite often, even now.

6pm A lot calmer now, with wind right down to 15kt or less and seas still big, at around 5m, but not rough with a lot of wind waves on top of the underlying swell. Headed almost due S now, with wind from SW-WSW.

Been busy clearing up this afternoon - mess of items on cabin sole, including my ship's and radio logbooks without their covers..  Next, before I could let out any reefs or the genoa, the tangle of wet lines and sheets on the cockpit floor had to be dealt with - some tangled with the midships cleats and with each other,... outboard, also. Looking forward to it being calm enough soon for me to wash the cabin sole with detergent to get rid of the slippery oil!

Pressure has been climbing steadily over the day and has reached 995 hPa now - still low.

Looking forward to a hot meal again - warming up now.

Finishing the day on two unhappy notes - one is the news about Alex Thomson hitting an underwater object when in the Vendee Globe lead, the other is that the Windex at the mast top has lost its tail fin and so is useless to me - I'll miss that.

Otherwise, all is well on board the good ship "Nereida"!

(For position and tracking info see website 'Travels' pg, noting that the Aurora tracker misses its hourly position report if the phone is in use or an Iridium satellite is not high enough to give a good signal at the time. My own Winlink reports are fairly regular and also get posted to Shiptrak although the times might be a bit erratic if I forgot to check before posting - I'm havig a problem with my computer clock misbehaving. AIS reports depend on the server/company being used and whether it's a free or paid version.)