Thurs 6pm LT(PST)/Fri 0200GMT Pressure dropping slowly. Got ready on deck for strong weather coming in tonight - tied in mainsail reef2 and reduced genoa a touch. Wind 13kt from SE-SSE - pretty constant in direction now which simplifies things. Reducing sail early slowed us a little but not by much - still making 5.5kt SW with most of genoa unfurled.

Checked staysail, sheets and all lines were ready or stowed, also preventer in case needed (which it will be, if heave to under mainsail alone) - nothing like being prepared and I'll reef down again and/or reduce genoa early as the wind rises - I'm not racing in the Vendee Globe!

Having some tea while food is warming up - nice to have it ready!

Keep checking weather forecasts.

8.30pm Headlamp so very useful in the dark. Getting a little rougher - not so much size of waves, rather that they're getting rather closer. Wind ~20kt, apparent wind higher. Furled away genoa , unfurled staysail. Speed down for a short time but soon back up to over 5 kt. Waiting to tie third reef in mainsail - don't want to kill our speed too soon!

10.30pm Pressure dropped 2 hPa/mb in two hours. Wind 25 kt and rising, seas getting rougher - decided to tie in 3rd reef sooner rather than later. Try to get an hour's sleep?

Friday 4.20am LT/PST (1220GMT) Pressure down to 1006hPaa, wind up to 31kt, bumpy ride.... Wind still from SE so making SW course. Slept well.

9.30am Pressure 995 and still dropping. Centre of Low not far off (at below 990). Still seeing winds at 36-38 kt, occasionally dropping to low 30s. Seas are really throwing us around as they hit our beam and we're well heeled over most of the time, so difficult to move around. Hopefully, we'll soon be out of the worst of it, into less strong winds around 25kt, although seas will still be up for a time and another small belt of stronger winds likely to follow the slight easing.

Seas are constantly thoroughly washing the decks. Put clear hanging screen up beside the chart table to protect area from some drips of water coming in from above the companionway. Haven't needed that for quite a time.

Think it'll be a cereal bar and a banana for b'fast...

12.45pm In the event, it was prunes and almonds - kept at the chart table for times like this! Just had some hot stew for lunch and have a banana ready for later. It's not easy cutting off a banana from a bunch swinging madly as the boat lurches and you have to hang on or be thrown around......

We're in a 'lull' of a mere 25-30 kt of wind just now but rough seas are unchanged.

Sun is shining and I took advantage of daylight earlier to check the cockpit - lines & sheets were in a complete mess with several trailing overboard - a result of the boisterous conditions we've been in. I also furled the staysail slightly to get its clew away from a shroud it had been touching, making a lot of noise. Of course, I got a dousing - wet hair again!

The seas are coming mainly from forward of our port beam, some big ones we plunge into directly - that's when the whole boat gets a washing from bow to stern, over the coachroof and often into the cockpit.

I've also cleared up a bit down below - olive oil spilled from a bottle that landed on the cabin sole and lost its top. Thanks to Rose for bringing some extra butter before I left - I'll definitely need it now, if only for cooking.

More strong winds are expected soon from another Low close to this one - another bout of possibly 35-40 kts - but not long before we can head S and winds ease. I'm keeping us as far as possible from Capes Blanco and Mendocino -they'll be getting nasty seas and strong wind this weekend for quite some distance off, far worse than where I hope to be.

Wind generator has kept batteries well topped up with all this strong wind!

2.30pm Rainclouds..! Back to the 'cloud effect'... One moment, wind has died and with it our speed; a short while later, wind is up strongly, veered, and we're rushing along... but not for long.

Pressure down to 992 hPa - waiting for those strong winds, maybe tonight.

5pm Tea, as a cloud squall passes through... Wind has veered to SSW at 30kt or so... Darkness falling. Got some sleep ready for tonight -expect constant strong winds. Pressure now down at 991 hPa, so Low's centre is close. Seas died down a bit with eased wind over last few hours.

Wed 6.30pm PST/LT (0230 Thursday GMT) Ratatouille stew almost ready for me to test.. I'm hungry - looking forward to it!

Looked up to the sky and thought I must be seeing the Space Station... Waited for it to move steadily across, as it does. But it didn't move - so must be Venus, ...close to Earth? Shining amazingly brightly above the light light over the W horizon. Plenty of other stars to be seen, with very little cloud overhead.

Wind has been fairly constant for some time, at around 10 kt from WSW and we're making over 6knots - nice. But if we get too close to a cloud, things can change rapidly... Dark now, so I hope the night proves calm, with no frantic getting up on deck to deal with things as we heel in a sudden stronger wind!

Wed 7.30pm PST (Thurs 0330 GMT) Pacific Seafarers Net - checked in with Peter, ZL1PWM - propagation not too bad to NZ but impossible to N. America. I was able to hear him relaying info on the N. Island 'quake.

Wed 8pm - Wind started getting up...boat began to heel more .. and more, as wind increased ... just as I was just abut to serve up my stew! Up on deck eased mainsheet to relieve pressure - heeling lessened. very nice to be speeding along at 7.2kt but once the (big) cloud has passed over, we're back to ambling along at just under 5 kt.

Wed 9.15pm Here we go again - heeling over.. SOG 6.6kt and increasing.... up on deck we go...

Wed 10.15pm Back down below, finally - 'blow' lasted about 15-20 mins, with apparent wind over 20kt and our speed around 7kt again... Decided to take in first reef in mainsil plus same for genoa, although no big dark clouds upwind seen nearby but some high ones on the horizon... Having finished that, wind had dropped (now 8 kt) and so has our speed. Seeing 4 kt, I decided to unfurl most of the genoa again, leaving the line on the winch ready.

Will take short, timed naps, in hope not to be caught out overnight, starting now, while the sky seems clear of dark masses. (That didn't happen!)

Thursday 4.30am PST/LT One hour later, another squall came by - but not so very strong... Since then, the wind has died and we've twice gone around in a circle while getting back on course for a while ... Dificult in 4 knots of wind. Now making 2.5 kt SE in SW wind.... which soon after decided to back to S-SSE... Time to gybe around...

5.30am ....And to gybe back again with wind now SSW again - we were slowly heading NNW! Better to be making SE slowly... at least that's a better direction. Basically, the wind has turned S but very light, so it's just swinging around. But slight S-going current is being seen so best to make use of it... we're making 1.5kt... Seems to have settled for a bit - time for some more sleep - maybe.

8am No sleep yet - more drifting with fluky wind to contend with - but wind now up to 8kt, occasionally 10kt, from SE, so making SW course at 4-5 kt. Hope it stays and doesn't die again - could be another 'cloud effect', I fear...

9.45am Cloud it was ... Now wind has veered to SSW and dropped again so we're drifting along a 2kt heading W ... but as I write, it backed to S-SSE again - it keeps changing, even more so as clouds pass by, which is why I've got so little sleep...Try my bunk again...

10.30am Got b'fast but not sleep. Raining now - usual veered, increased wind with cloud - heading us WNW - lasted about five minutes and then wind died down to SSE 4 kt, so we're making just 1.3kt. Sun getting back out.

Looks as though light wind today, until later tonight, by which time Cold Front will be getting close enough for wind to have increased to 15kt, reaching 20kt by 3am Friday and 25-35+ kt over the morning, diminishing soon after midday - a 'blow' of about 12 hours, maybe

2pm Just had an egg & eating a banana as I type - an excellent quick meal! Just slept, with one break to adjust boat heading, for three hours - feeling rested. Wind is SE at 10kt and we're making 235T at around 4kt SOG. Seas are relatively light, well spaced at 2-3m . Sun is shining in between white clouds.

3pm Wind 13kt, SOG 6.5 kt ... but just a short gust! Back, just after, to 10kt SSE wind and SOG ~5kt. As wind increases, will reef mainsail and eventually furl in genoa and use small staysail.

4pm Teatime! Sailing smoothly at 5kt SW in SE wind of 10kt. Cloudy ahead of Cold Front.

Overnight - up on deck a lot with the changeable conditions. Was wary of letting out the reefs in mainsail (although full genoa felt OK, it's so easy to furl in quickly), in case another very strong gust came through while I was trying to sleep but I did so just before dawn when the sky looked reasonably clear and I was up, ready to deal with whatever came along.

Chatted to some radio friends around sunrise. Checked emails and weather. Discussed with Bill, KI4MMZ - he's worried about where I'll be over Fri/Sat when the winds could get up to over 40kt from S - not good!!

11.30am (1930GMT) Squall! - Just as I was finally hoping to get to breakfast and relax, having come down below after having sorted out a few lines and unfurling the staysail in light wind.... Clouds around with rain falling in places.

11.50am .... and another... Had to jump back on deck in slight rain to ease the mainsheet to lessen the heeling... Decided to furl in the staysail - making life too complicated for little, if any, gain...

12.45pm (2045GMT) - Finlly having food! Wind has now died to 4-5kt from SW but we're making 3kt SSE - there must be a S-flowing current hereabouts. Earlier this morning, we were making great progress: SSW at 6-7 kt in good wind for quite a time. But then came the rainclouds - with several squalls, each accompanied by a major veering of wind - some at 20-25kt - a bit too exciting...

Now the sun is shining, which is very pleasant - but we're not going fast enough or in the preferred direction... Time to finish b'fast, get my first coffee of the day - and then cook while the seas have lain down. I'd hoped to avoid some of the bad weather coming late Friday and Saturday by getting S quickly but that's just not happening... Wind has gone into SE - think I'll gybe around and see what it's like trying to get W ...

2.15pm Feeling a lot better after food and some coffee! Making good progress again - heading SSW at around 6kt, occasionally dropping to 4-5 kt when wind goes lighter - it's ~10kt from WSW again but expected to die down more and possibly back to SW-S. Really would like to be 100-150ml off Cape Blanco, or further S, when the bad weather comes in - we'll see whether the wind permits that - looks feasible now, given right conditions, but is totally dependent on wind strength and direction over next two days.

Posted a position report to Winlink (who pass it on to Shiptrak and Yotreps). Usually include a weather report when at sea - I enjoy that, knowing it's made good use of, and always find it a challenge when estimating swell height and period. The biggest 1/3 of swell is the item of interest... I use my deck-to-solar-panels distance to help - it's roughly 2m. Result? 3.5m height (top to trough) at 8sec interval, on average, from WSW (using compass, so have to remember to allow for variation - which here is 16 degrees East - by adding on 16 degrees to compass reading). I note the variation at intervals in my log - it changes as we move around the globe... (A good reason for courses always to be quoted as True, not Magnetic...) In the Southern Ocean, I've seen it get up to 40 degrees!

Wind seems to be backing to SW more ...pity!

Midnight LT Mon into Tues... Had 1 hour of sleep but then had to get on deck to release the reef I'd tied in earlier in over 20 kt of wind. Pressure has dropped 2 hPa to 1009 within the last 3 hrs - usually a sure sign of strong wind to come - we'll find out soon enough.

In meantime, with swell rolling us about and boom wanting to crash from one side of the boat to the other in wind of only 4-5 kts, I've re-attached the preventer to hold the boom in place and try to help the sail work with what little wind it can find.

Might as well get another hour of sleep after removing my wet outers ....

7.30am Should have realised why the wind had died last night.... wind shift imminent... Got some sleep but then woke up at 2am, sensing change .... we were heeling a lot with full canvas - way too much - in increased wind from WNW, shifted from E. Left things alone for a time - we were making good speed! With daylight, wind was still up so furled in most of genoa to lessen the heeling... That worked but decided still more help was needed so tied in two reefs. I noticed one batten end was adrift - not connectedd to mast track slide which looks to have lost its pin and possibly the tape used also.

Noticed my computer has been showing wrong date & time (now corrected) - so position reports are possibly wrongly timed also.

I need some breakfast and a lot more sleep...

Midday: Well - fat chance of either...!

Wind got up to 30kt in big rain squall that seemed to last forever... Stayed on deck after furling in genoa to 'handkerchief' size. Boat coping fine and speed rose dramatically. No sleep and no b'fast though...

Two hours later, wind died again - story of today - gusting up big time or nothing... Keeping me busy! Was winching in mainsheet at one point with woolly hat on - got totally doused by wave breaking over cockpit - took my hat away - found it on aft deck and retrieved it - sodden!

While winching in genoa, spotted a familiar pin lying on port side close to deck drain - from batten end slide - how lucky!! With second reef in, and a lull in the wind, I was able to get a good look at the batten end-to-mast-track-slide connection. All there (metal connector, no tape used, TG) but a ring holding pin in place had gone missing - so many times recently rings holding something in place have disappeared or turned totally rusty - clearly not strong or well-designed enough for the job... Chinese??

Wind died away and we started drifting .... I was able to get the batten end in place and replace the pin holding it and, with difficulty, insert a ring to hold it there - not the strong one I'd hoped to use - was too difficult to insert that while holding up the sail and batten out of my way, despite being tied to the mast in the swell. Used a more flimsy one and thought to add some wire - but as I started doing that the wind got up strongly again - another rain squall - hastily furled in some genoa and got down below - wet again...

Black-footed albatross keeps coming to visit - they must be quite common over this bit of ocean.

Can't see us making Cape Blanco before Friday, when strong system expected - too often wind has died away and we make very little progress. Will expect to heave-to, if needed.

4pm Daylight beginning to fade. 75 ml W of Ocean City, WA. Wind: WSW 5kt. Boat: 1kt SSW - SLOW! (4.15pm - 2.2 kt - doubled for a short time...wow!)

Monday14th November 2016

What a complete mixed bag of conditions over the first 24hrs... from becalmings to strong gusts, getting taken by strong tidal current towards Race Rocks, being headed by W wind and so having to tack a long way N-S for very little westward gain.... But just after dark tonight, we cleared Cape Flattery and started heading SW to get offshore in the Pacific Ocean.

It was a slow start around 4.30pm on Sunday over the harbour entrance start line: from Ogden Pt, where a group of enthusiastic supporters were waving and cheering from the breakwater as I started, to the green mark opposite. 'Prince of Whales' did their usual good job of towing 'Neeida', with a sealed engine, from the Causeway Dock and a second RIB kept us company until after I'd started my journey S. Even the Victoria RCC boat was there, unexpectedly, to see me off - thanks, Simon! (I'd contacted them and the Coast Guards on Saturday to warn them that I might be drifting around in no wind overnight in the Strait sometime after my 4pm start.)

It was already twilight and the strong ebb was gradually taking us towards Race Rocks. As we got closer, despite very little boat speed (due to very little wind), we were making more and more speed over the ground... reaching over 7 knots. Not wanting to risk being taken onto rocks by that strong current. I decided it would be safest in the dark, being unfamiliar with the waters, to go around the notorious area, rather than through Race Passage as I had done in daylight before - but the W-flowing current was so strong we had to head SE in order to make a course to our SW! As we passed well S of the rocky main island, the waters got incredibly rough - another effect of the strong ebb. It felt good to be out of danger, finally.

I had to stay awake all night, with just a few catnaps - busy tending the sails, looking out for shipping, making sure we didn't get too close to a shore and reacting to the many changes in wind direction and speed, always trying to keep heading W towards the exit. With a lot of rain initially, I also felt very cold, having to sit around in very wet clothes, ready to jump up on deck if needed... Suddenly, soon after making for the US side from Race Rocks in light wind, the boat heeled well over as we were hit by a 25-knot squall. I rushed up and tied two reefs in the mainsail and reduced the big headsail (genoa).... all to be released later when the wind died totally, yet again. Tne good news was that we managed to keep moving almost all the time, sometimes quite well.

I'd expected it to take a long time to get away- and so it did... Over 24 hrs from the harbour to passing Cape Flattery tonight... I'd even drifted backwards N of the Cape when caught mid-channel in the flood tide with no wind... but soon after we were making 6-8 kt downwind in an E wind often over 20kt and quite big seas. At that point, taking in a reef seemed sensible overnight, thinking conditions were not lessening but, in fact, the wind has now (9pm) eased to 16 kt and we're making 6.5kt SW. Much more and I'll be increasing canvas....

I'm posting frequent Winlink/Shiptrak position reports since I heard there might be a problem with the Aurora tracking.. I've also had a problem connecting in to the satellite email, although I had a chat with Julian Clegg on BBC Radio Solent last night and there was no problem with the voice connection. I'll use Winlink to post this to my website as an email via HF radio.

Present position: 48 15'N 125 14'W

{imageshow sl=1 sc=1 /}Live music, good food, nice old Victoriana surroundings, easy walk from waterfront and Causeway Dock in Victoria Inner Hbr.

The weather window I've been so impatiently waiting for, while I've been getting on with repairs after the recent storm, seems to be arriving on Sunday.

The ebb tide starts around 4pm so, by leaving then, the tide should help us to get through Race Passage with possibly some good but light wind before the wind dies totally and the tide turns to flood - against us.

It's likely that we'll be becalmed, or nearly so, for a day or so, but if we can exit the Strait sometime Monday morning the winds will be better by Tuesday onward - so we'll be able to get S.

Fingers tightly crossed - please pray to the wind gods for us - for a good passage S. It might be slow but at least it looks as though there'll be no storms on our path...

Randy Diamond, of RVYC, kindly spent today taking me to do various errands - collected new drogue bag (for 'overflow'), did some minor provisioning in Sidney's Save-On Foods (Store Manager Justin was very kind in donating towards the cost), topped up a propane tank, visited an excellent local bakery - and Randy even took time out to take me up to a magnificent 360 degree viewpoint at the top of Mount Douglas Park which we were passing by. It's a prominent 225 m (738 ft) high hill outside Victoria - national reserve and forested area - looking over the Juan de Fuca Strait towards Puget Sound, to San Juan Island across Haro Strait, over to Sidney and Saltspring Island, and over the entire Victoria city and harbour area.

Saw Nick of 'Prince of Whales', who will be towing "Nereida" out to Ogden Pt again, to confirm details - they do a great job! (Thanks for your help.)

Busy tonight with organising the boat and catching up on emails and phone calls to friends.

Plenty more boat organising to do but the most urgent jobs have already been done.

Thurs 3rd Nov 2016, A beautiful day in Victoria area today... blue sky and warm sunshine.   Excellent for getting deck work done.

Repaired staysail was collected  this morning and hoisted late today but I'm waiting until tomorrow morning to replace furling line - ran out of daylight! Also started organizing new series drogue - on removing starboard shackle with great difficulty, found it was damaged...  Will need to replace it.   Not too surprised to see state of it, in view of stresses it was put under without the second bridle arm to share the load and the big seas it had had to contend with.  I'd asked friend Les to come round to advise me since he works with steel all the time - "Don't risk it" was his advice on seeing the slightly opened jaw and bent pin of the  big shackle.  What amazing forces it must have been subjected to...!

I spotted a machine screw lying beside the toe rail close to the stern quarter...  Eventually, another was found further forward, close to the stanchion where a furling line lead had come adrift - yet another victim of those rough seas. ...

The fine weather is set to continue tomorrow, followed by rain over the weekend, so I hope to finish with deck items while it's dry.

With a tarpaulin for shelter over the weekend, another job I'm hoping to get done is to replace a seemingly defunct heater element in the hot water  tank under the cockpit locker floor...  Difficult to access.   It would be nice to have hot water available at times while in the cold Southern Ocean!

Lots of interest in damaged staysail and series drogue

29th Oct 2016, In safety of Victoria Inner Hbr - Causeway Dock, in front of Empress Hotel

Thurs 7.30 p.m. Dark. Wind keeps varying - mainly ~10 kt with occasional gusts to ~15kt. Full genoa and reefed mainsail are working well with help from motor to give 6kt SOG. Seas still 2-3 m from S, so they're knocking us about most of the time - have to be careful to hold on well when moving around.

SSB/HF radio propagation is getting really bad at times. Could not make any decent contact tonight with Pacific Seafarers Net at 0330 GMT. Heard Jimmy, NQ6P, for a few minutes at one point - but then signal took a dive and we lost contact completely. But contact with Winlink stns is usually OK for emailing - I can usually find a good station on 40m or 80m for email contact.

10.30 p.m. LT Looking at weather info, it seems that as we approach Cape Flattery overnight into Friday morning, the wind will pick up from 13kt now to 20 kt or more, from its present direction of SE - a narrow band of stronger SE wind lying along the Pacific coast. So it seems a good precaution to reduce the genoa now, if I'm to get a reasonable amount of sleep tonight....... Headlamp on...... "Hey ho, hey ho, it's up on deck I go ...."

Fri 4:30 a.m. Genoa furled in - being headed by wind backing to ESE. Motor rpm increased to give ~5kt SOG. Approaching Strait entrance - unfortunately just in time to catch beginning of ebb - max ebb current is 1.3 kt (foul) around 7:30 a.m. - around the time we'll probably be passing by just to N of Neah Bay - the Makah village near Cape Flattery in Washington state, USA. I can see clearly the Cape Flattery white light (actually on Tatoosh Island, whose photo features above my web pages), the yellow light in the middle of the Traffic Separation zone (almost dead ahead) and, fine on the starboard bow, the red light on Duncan Rock - to be avoided! I'll be up on deck as we get close to there, to make sure we stay well clear - it's 12 mls away now - so over two hours to go as our speed decreases, fighting the ebb.

There's a fishing boat inshore of us, heading NE around the Cape, as we are, and four ships in the shipping lanes to our N - well out of our way.

7:20 a.m. Fishing boat is heading into Neah Bay ahead. Just rounded Duncan Rock and set course to head along Strait of Juan de Fuca. Struggling to make way against maximum ebb and ~20kt of headwind from E. Line of deep orange on horizon ahead - first light increasing to give good sight of coast outline around Cape Flattery. Slight rainshower as we rounded Duncan Rock.

8 a.m. Wind down at times from 18 kt to 13 kt but still only making ~3-4 kt against the ebb as well ... Good to chat to some radio friends for last half hour. In calmer, although still a bit bumpy, waters now so looking forward to some coffee - first time in several days.

Expect a slow, relaxed trip to Victoria - distance of 55mls still, so will take all day, to get in late sometime Friday evening and then move on to the Causeway Dock in Victoria's Inner Hbr on Saturday morning.

11 a.m. The sun has got out, the heater is on, I've made some fresh coffee and I'm busy washing dishes with some of the plentiful hot water available now! Also made further use of my Aurora/Iridium phone connection to organise arrival and eventual Customs Clearance of the new drogue.

12:45 p.m. Just checked on tide through Race Passage - looks like towards end of present flood when likely to reach there, so can go inside Race Rocks. Slack before ebb is at 23:44 GMT and we'll take another 3 1/2 hrs to get there - arriving around 23:20 if present good speed is kep up (6.5 kt). Will check again when closer - boat speed could welll drop as flood tide lessens.

6.:30 p.m. What an enjoyable last leg to Victoria Hbr! The sun shone brightly on relatively calm and deserted waters all afternoon and we motor-sailed with full genoa for quite a time and made Race Passage just before the ebb started .. I enjoyed the coast scenery (very few houses) and views across the Strait to the Olympics and we made the Victoria Outer Hbr around sunset (having to avoid a lot of big logs floating in the waters nearby), to drop the mains'l and make for the Customs Dock in the last of the daylight... Perfect timing! Someone on his boat even recognised 'Nereida' as I headed for the Customs Dock - and I got a loud "Welcome, Jeanne!" - amazing! Having been in International waters, clearing Customs was a necessary formality to be gone through but the two officials who turned up couldn't have been more pleasant - pity we couldn't share a glass of wine!

Tomorrow morning, I'll make for the fuel dock and then on to the Causeway Dock where I expect to meet up with several friends. For now, I'll enjoy a lovely hot shower and a good meal - with wine!

My to-do list following landfall is as follows:

Organise drogue being sent to Victoria from Fedex office in Richmond, Surrey, B.C. (Customs Clearance needed) and install with new shackle replacing missing one on port quarter.

Stow/flake JSD line into its bag. Buy new retrieval line and fix in place..

Staysail repair - to be dealt with on Monday.

Short section of lifeline oame adrift - new clevis pin needed plus ring to hold in place - last ring clearly too flimsy since went missing in the big seas ... Lucky not to have lost the length of wire, with its end fittings, overboard...

Tidy up in head and in aft cabin and fix items there more firmly, so cannot move in big seas.

Replace all valves in toilet system- not done before leaving (works fairly well but a precautionary measure...)

Buy new sturdy bright torch (flashlight) (to replace one that went overboard...!)

Organise main cabin better - too many items moved in big seas.

Do laundry!

Check sending of photos via XGate and Aurora... (From iPad seems good but not from computer or smartphone - sent photo of damaged JSD cones to website from iPad)

Keep an eye out for a good weather window - I expect to be ready to re-start any time from Wed/Thurs onward... Totally weather-dependent.

Making good speed with the flood tide - not far to go to Race Rock

Race Rock LH

Damaged staysail - Victoria Hbr in view

 

1pm Just had a call from Alameda RCC - a lovely woman at the other end said she had spoken to me when we were lying to JSD (series drogue) in rough weather the other day and she just wanted to touch base and see how I was - how very kind of her to call! I'd been called at 7am by her counterpart in Seattle so she'd presumably not been kept informed of my status since yesterday, when I spoke to Alameda while I was heading W-NW to keep away from another system.

Thanks again to Luis Soltero of GMN who has so generously loaned me the Redport Aurora terminal which has allowed such a lot of vital telephone calls and weather downloads over the last week of bad weather (and its aftermath) - all free of charge.

Thanks also to so many kind people in the Victoria area who have offered me help once I get back.

Just now, the sun is shining but the seas are still very rolly - from S at around 3m/10ft still and we're moving around a lot as they pass by I'd cut the seal on my engine and started motoring at 7.30am - we were making only 2.1kt NE under sail in light wind from almost dead astern at that point. Up to then, I'd been using my lovely Eberspacher hot air heater occasionally, to keep warm - it has been very cold and damp on board. But now I'm able to use a fan heater off the engine cooling water circuit to heat the cabin - saving on fuel, so long as the engine is running!

I caught up on some of my many emails, checked the weather, posted a position report, talked to Connecticut about my relacement drogue coming to Victoria and tidied up a few things on deck, after changing sails over onto starboard tack in the SE wind - still quite light at only 8 kt so I unfurled some more genoa to help our boatspeed. The mainsail is contributing also - it needed another sail tie to hold a loose section in place better. I then got some breakfast before hitting my bunk for more sleep - I'm feeling very tired, presumably the result of all my efforts yesterday over quite a few hours, retrieving the damaged drogue. I'm pushing a bit, to get into the Strait of Juan de Fuca - once there, the waters are quite protected and I'll be able to relax on the final leg back to Victoria.

6:30pm The sun has disappeared and light is fading fast. I'd had to furl in the genoa a few hours ago with the wind dead on the nose but the wind ha snow veered more to SE at 13 kt so the genoa can help and I can cut the engine for a time.. It's noisy!

Really enjoyed a Welsh rarebit a short time ago - I'd fancied some fried eggs all day and finally got around to toasting two slices of bread in a frypan, buttered them (with some Marmite added), then fried the eggs, melted some cheese on top of the eggs and finally turned them upside down onto the slices of buttered toast ... Another simple one pan dish - and very tasty too!

Took photos of the damaged JSD cones and a mess of lines on the cockpit floor (from the stormy weather)

and of the sunset and swell - but failed to manage sending any of them... Need to sort that out - a software settings problem, I presume.

Seeing more shipping now - ofen quite close... Getting closer to the busy Strait entrance... AIS is so very good to have - they 'see' me and I 'see' them and we both can see how close we're likely to get to each other and when.

Damaged JSD bridle

11:30am Had good sleep overnight in between sched calls at 1000Z and 1600Z from USCG RCC Alameda, with Bill, KI4MMZ, on as well. Last one included Seattle RCC since I'm in their waters. Seems we're managing fine in keeping just ahead/out of stronger conditions by sailing W. Mostly 25-30kt wind from E-ESE and we're actually having a good sail although seas are building slowly.

I'll keep on this course until the wind changes as the Low moves N - the aim is to end up on the W side of the Low where conditions are less strong... Pressure is still dropping - now down to 992, so clearly Low is getting closer - we might well pass through its low-wind cenrre...

I'm getting msgs about my position reporting and tracking... If any problem with the website links on my 'Home' and 'Travels' pages, go to www.winlink.org with callsign "kc2iov" or to www.shiptrak.org with same callsign for my manual posn reports. The GPS Redport Aurora tracker info should be showing up on my 'Travels' page link - but is being checked out as I write.

Time for brunch - I've missed breakfast!

5.30pm Redport Aurora tracking now good - see 'Travels' page on website.. And a photo added into Day 6 blog!

Waiting for USCG call.

Pressure dropped 2 hrs ago but is now up again - 993.4. Wind down to 16kt from S. We're making ~4.5 kt NW - not in a hurry!

Once Low has gone N, I can change direction and head back to Victoria where I'll have stays'l repaired on Monday and new drogue should arrive on Tuesday. As soon as that's in place, I'll be looking for a weather window to start out again...

7pm Wind and seas have suddenly increased again, coming more from SW - last few hours for us of the second 'blow' I've mostly managed to avoid by headig W. Seas expected to be nasty to SE of my position, and they're heading N, so need to keep on heading NW - N rather than make any Easting for a while. ... whatever close-hauled course we can manage in the 25-30kt we're getting just now.

Looks as though an enormous system is heading across the Pacific in a few days' time - likely to delay my re-start for several days.

Underway again

Midday Had a good sleep overnight, but had contact with USCG every 6 hrs as well as Bill, KI4MMZ, in between for instant weather updates to supplement my own downloads. We discussed my options - once storm conditions had passed, head back to Victoria to get damage fixed or keep going if I could deal with the damage myself. In the meantime, try to head W in the short lull before the following system came along. Packed my grab bag with passport etc at one point, and even thought of getting into my survival suit, just to be ready for the worst, but "Nereida" coped and rode the big seas well, despite a lot of shaking and noise.

Lovely bright sunshine now - amazing how a bit of sunshine lifts the spirits!

Every time I think I can begin to get in the series drogue, the wind gets back up to around 30 kt again... Seeing a gust to 37 kt as I'm writing this... Seas are still very big (about 15ft or more) and quite close together (8sec) so it's very rolly - easy to get thrown around as we lurch suddenly.

I'm concerned about the JSD shackle situation - it's a big one, intended to take a big strain when the series drogue is deployed, as now, and I suspect the pin must have gone missing somehow - despite being wired in place. Once I've got the drogue back inboard, I'll be able to see the problem more clearly.

Have found some sailcloth which might be enough for the staysail repair that's now badly needed after a loose section flogged in the strong wind. Also found some Sunbrella canvas I could use as well if I need more cloth. Have needles and thread. Will take a lot of time and effort by hand but first I need to lower the sail and take it down below - definitely something to be done in lesser seas!

11pm LT Well, I finally got on deck around 1pm - seas still quite big and wind around 25 Kt but my concern was to get sailing W as soon as possible - and that meant getting in the JSD first. Without the retrieval line to the end of the bridle, it was going to be difficult.. The only way forward was to use two winches and lines alternately with a series of rolling hitches on the drogue line to bring it inboard bit by bit - slow progress but it worked so long as I used the slack on the drogue line in between when it was taut. When the cones started coming close, I could see just how tattered they were - two days of big seas had taken their toll and reduced the JSD's effectiveness. Normally, the cones go around the winch without a problem but because they wee so tattered, they kept catching on each other and any line nearby, causing big problem. After struggling for some time, I changed tactic and put one turn only on each of two winches. That worked better but took a lot of strength to hold the line from going back when taut - so I ended up putting the line around a third winch and that held it fine but I had to pull on the incoming line to the first winch when slack and simultaneously pull on th last winch to take in the line... Needless to say, that didn't always work out and several times I saw the line slip back - all that effort wasted...

At sunset, I was still nowhere near finshing and saw a freighter approach very slowly and seem to stop close by for a bit before continuing on. I suspected the USCG had asked any ship in the vicinity to come and see if I was OK - I'd missed a scheduled phone call hours ago. I waved at them and gave them the 'thumbs up' to indicate all was fine and carried on. I was surprised not to get a call on VHF16 but later learned the ship was Korean and had poor English. I thought the cones on the line would never finish - it was very slow progress but finally I was clearly near the end and was able to haul the last few, and the chain weight, by hand.

It was getting dark as I tried to raise the main and unfurl the genoa. Another rolling hitch was needed when I over-rode the main halyard in the dark ... and it caught several times on clutches on the mast as I hoisted it... But we're now headed W in pleasant wind of ~20 kt on a broad reach, hoping to avoid the worst of the Low headed N to our S ...

1.30pm LT Has been good to have Iridium phone to contact USCG and Bill, KI4MMZ about the nasty conditions out here. Many thanks to Luis Soltero of Global Marine Network for providing me with the Redport Aurora and unlimited free air-time - a very generous gesture. It also enables me to get almost instant weather updates using PredictWind - handy when bad weather is around.

Winds are over 50kt now with seas from SSE to match. I just had to tie the wheel midships after noticing it has worked loose and we were being steered to starboard - the one thing I don't want just now.

The JSD has, unfortunately, lost its shackle attachment to the boat's port quarter so we are attached only by the starboard line. The result of that is the boat lying off to starboard somewhat - hence my comment about the wheel needing to be centred firmly (if not held to port perhaps).

With the increased wind, we're making way at just over 3 knots, rather than the previous 2 knots. For the moment, we've plenty of sea room. Assuming we get through this storm, a worry is the next system - if we can get further W before it reaches us, we should be able to avoid the worst of the winds.

Another concern is having big seas from two different directions when the present wind veers to SW from its present SSE, as it's supposed to quite soon.

Just now, I'm simply 'hanging in there' and hoping for the best....

5pm Wind is up again. Pressure has stayed around 990 for several hours now. By tomorrow morning, things should ease.... I can't wait!

8.45pm Just finished with Pacific Seafarers' Net - I'm lucky to have so many good friends out there but I'm sorry they have reason to be concerned about my situation out here - hopefully, by Thursday night, all will be far better! Thanks to everyone for their good wishes and thoughts.

Had to tie down steering wheel while lying to JSD (Jordan series drogue) on Monday.

Posted first part of Day 5 report by mistake!

Forgot to mention... Thursday afternoon, saw three Black-footed albatross flying around nearby! What a thrill! Their distinctive albatross wing shape and length had caught my eye from a distance. I was able to watch them for quite a time - they mainly just glide using updraughts from the waves, rarely flapping their wings - looks so easy and graceful.

By 1 a.m. today, we'd made just 66ml 'as the crow flies' (DMG) in 24hrs - but our course has most definitely NOT been a straight lline!

2.35pm LT Pressure has begun to drop - now 1006 from 1008 earlier. Making good progress: SOG 5.5kt, COG SSW in SSE wind at ~17kt.

Have prepared the boat as best I can for the 'blow'... Sealed the washboard and front windscreen opening window with duct tape and Gorilla tape respectively to try to prevent water getting in. (Washboard in case we're 'pooped' and water gets into cockpit; window because it leaked when seas washed over the windscreen.) Sailing nicely now with staysail, small genoa and third reef in mains'l. Reduced sail early and genoa will be furled away when I see the wind rising more - it's been fairly constant for several hours now. Seas are getting up and sky is overast. Checked the JSD - tied off the retrieval line ready and made sure I can easily deploy the chain (weight) at the end of the line - that gets thrown out first and the rest follows. Galley is tidy and cleared and I'll have some food shortly. Coast is over 100 ml away, giving plenty of searoom.

Had to change my socks - got soaked by seas washing the deck as I fixed the removable inner forestay to the deck more securely... the only time recently I've not worn my boots, of course!

Now we just wait, keeping an eye on the wind and pressure....

5pm Rained for a short while. Wind got up as it started so furled away genoa. Rain stopped - wind died away... Grrr!! But now it has came back up again - SE 18-20 kt. Seas not too bad as yet. Pressure has dropped further - to 1002.5 in 3 hrs... Boat speed has dropped to well under 4 kt but that's OK - just staying safe and waiting...!

9.30pm LT

Enjoyed a hot ready-made meal and slept a little before start of Pacific Seafarers' Net at 0300GMT/8pm LT(PDT). SOG 2.3kt with staysail and triple-reefed main in wind of ~15kt from E - which meant, to my mind, the Low was to S of us.... Pressure: 999hPa - a drop of 4 hPa in past 3hrs - a lot! Several people came up on Net, or emailed, worried about my position. (Thank you all) Peter, ZL1PWM, confirmed deep Low was to S of us and heading directly our way, with winds of 50-60kt. The clue would be wind veering to S and it was likely to come very soon, with rapid increase of wind strength. Advised extreme caution.

I went up on deck immediately, furled in the staysail and lowered & tied down the mainsail in slight rain and darkness (of course !!). I checked the JSD retrieval line was tied on OK to a cleat, pulled out the chain and threw it overboard, off our stern, to deploy the drogue I had ready on its harness. Wind has now increased to 25-28 kt from SE and we're making 2.6kt NW - downwind. (Fortunately, that's out to open ocean - nothing in the way!) Checked all lines are secured and came down below. So now it's a waiting game... I can hear the wind howling outside as we move to the waves - a fairly gentle motion, at present. Pressure at 0445 GMT (9.45pm) is 997 hPa.

To be continued...!

1am Beautiful clear starry night - Orion in East and my favourite Dolphin high up... Milky Way strewn across the sky.

A nice mug of tea in hand as I wait for wind to back into S-SSE - will change onto port tack then and wait for wind to rise again later on Sunday.

Plan is to change down to staysail and third reef in main initially, as we keep sailing S, then furl in staysail to heave to in strong wind and then deploy Jordan series drogue when winds strengthen further. Expect to lie to JSD for quite some time, maybe, to let bad onditions pass by in safety.

Conditions likely not to ease up until Wednesday!

5am Cooked a lot of food while seas calmer - found mince in fridge so used that plus onions, potatoes, tomatoes, sweetcorn. Enough for several meals - ready for the storm...!

Tried tacking around but wind had not backed enough -COG became N of W... I don't like going backwards if I can avoid it! ...So back onto starboard tack for time being. Slow going, heading into 10kt wind. Pressure up a bit - to 1006 from 1003 earlier.

11.30 pm (LT Thurs) Had a good meal earlier - usual omelette with potatoes and onions followed by welcome mug of tea and biscuits (Thanks for the mug, Becky!) Having to try to drink more - easy to become dehydrated simply from lack of drinking in cold weather.

Found us hove-to (yet again...), Swell catches us when close to wind and so too easy for boat to tack and back the genoa... Had to release wheel and swing us around through 180 degrees to stop us from drifting North.

Hoping wind will back to E of S soon so we can head SW - away from coast again. Don't want to get too close in and especially don't want to get anywhere near Cape Blanco.

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

10am Rough ride!! Wind is over 20 kt, there's 2.5m swell from WSW and rough 1.5m wind waves from SE. Two reefs in main & reduced genoa a bit but might have to furl in more - we keep heeling a lot, with plenty of banging and crashing ino the waves.

Wind has backed into ESE and we're heading due S close-hauled, 85ml off Willapa Bay, WA.

1pm Still rough - suspect this will go on for several days.... Wind ~25kt or so, now.

5pm Rougher now - more so than before, with bashing into 25-35 kt winds and big seas. Sunday-Monday looks grim! Could well deploy series drogue... And Tues-Wed ??

Heading due S while the wind allows it. Still have just two reefs in, should have reefed down further but hanging on with two - lesson learned yet again - reduce sail early!! Wind got up to over 30 kt for quite a time... Heavy rain at one point and seas continually washing the decks - and over the cockpit at times. Good to have sea room....

11pm (LT Sat) - wind abated and veered to SW - I'd fallen asleep and missed 8.30pm Pacific Seafarers' Net.

Hove-to... Genoa taken over to port - we're close-hauled on starboard tack now and sailing smoothly in lesser seas. Wind dying down - was 15kt, down to 10 kt by midnight. Time for a nice mug of tea.... Another even bigger blow expected later on Sunday...

Thurs 11pm - wind finally got up to 10kt from SSE-SE so we're sailing SW at 5 kt ... I'm off into 'sleep/watch mode' ...

Fri 7am Back down below after long session furling in genoa & reefing main - two reefs. Wind ~22kt, seas up ... but we're making a good course and speed at last. Just getting light - I'm off to my bunk for some more sleep!

7.40am Just got call to my Iridium phone - tracking hadn't been enabled on the Redport Aurora item replaced just before I left but now it should be there - refreshed every 60 minutes! Having to wait for my sleep..

5pm Spent a lot more time sorting out Aurora today - several phone calls needed - but at least voice is working now, as are several other options. A good back up to my faithful HF radio.

Wind has been variable but consistently from S quadrant - presently from WSW, enaabling us to head offshore more, giving more freedom of choice of course to steer safely.

Still needing more sleep - getting naps whenever possible, in between dealing with boat and Iridium problems.

7pm Light winds again and being forced SSE rather than SSW...

Feeling much better after catching up on sleep. Now for some food!

Many thanks to all those kind people who have taken time to send their best wishes - very much appreciated but too many to reply to individually - please accept this "Thank you!"

Strong conditions overnight - managed to get 2 reefs in eventually but not before shooting out of Strait entrance under full canvas at 8-9+ kt! Following winds to over 30 kt kept life rather too interesting... Found only options were heading NW along Vancouver Island or heading S-SSE off Washington - opted for lattter although had hopd to get well off coast by now - 100ml or so was my plan - not happened... Presently only 16 mls WNW of Cape Alava, having made little progress over the day - frustrating!

Slept after 4am in 3 sessions until 8am and was then busy clearing up from being thrown around all night and morning. Tried to make up sleep but we kept rounding up and backing genoa in sloppy left-over seas and had to gybe around each time to get out of 'irons'.

Sunset saw us drifting around, in almost no wind, close to a brightly lit weather/tide buoy - haven't hit it yet! Group of fulmars(?) rested in sea nearby.

Still drifting now - wind too light in 4-6ft seas to maintain a course successfully. Genoa furled in. Weather looking bad for next few days - either calms or stormy - wind mostly from S or SW- ugh! Hope to get some good sleep overnight to be ready for bad times a-coming...