Thursday15th November 2012

Job of the day was meant to be a complete re-set of the autopilot course computer in an effort to resolve the rudder bar display problem but in the meantime, it's working fine - at least in present easy conditions.

However, other more urgent jobs cropped up, to get in the way,,,,,

Went to run the generator in the morning, with the battery volts down after light wind overnight reduced input from the wind generator. The oil pressure light came on and it wouldn't start.... I knew straight away what the problem was - I hadn't checked the oil level recently and, sure enough, it was way down... I drained out what little there was and filled with fresh oil - it was very happy to start up immediately I tried it.. One success today!

In order to re-set the course computer for the instruments, I had to put ithe autopilot into 'standby' - so logically, it was a good time to try out the wind steering again - but I'd left the cover off and the pins in to stop it moving, so needed to perch out on the 'sugar scoop' again over the stern. It was also time to trim the sails, with our course needing to be much closer to the veered wind.. Bringing the traveller to windward and trimming nicely put our speed up a good knot!!

Centring the mains'l gave me a chance to look at a suspect pin on the shackle holding the mainsheet block to the boom end - It had caught my eye yesterday as seeming to be rather too proud of the shackle ... on closer inspection now, it was nearly out!! So, before working on the windsteering system, I decided the least I should do was to tie off the boom with another rope so it would be safe. I used the same pole guy line as when raising the anchor in SF Bay ...... around the boom end, through the blocks of the traveller, out to a turning block on the toe rail and thence to a winch. With the load off the block and shackle, I was later able to release the pin, re-tighten it, wire it safely and then allow it to take up the load. ......A nightmare scenario averted in the nick of time!!

I set the wind steering working again - without dropping anything into the sea, working safely again using the sturdy struts off the stern to stand between or sit on. Sailing close-hauled means that the boat pretty well steers herself, so the gear isn't really being tested very well, but all seems fine, for the moment.

As the sun was getting low in the sky, I finally got to the re-setting of the course computer.... I carefully went through the procedure, noting all previous settings, ready to re-enter them.. To be sure I'd got it right, I did it all twice... Nada! The rudder bar is still missing in Standby....grrr!!!! I'm now awaiting my next instructions... To be fair, things have to be tested in a sequence, in order to eliminate possibilities..... but....

I was famished ... nothing since breakfast ... Time for a quickly-prepared meal -a tin of tuna, half one of chick peas, mayonnaise.. works well, with no cooking or heating required ...with cheese and an apple and mandarin to follow... wonderful!!!

..... until I noticed a ship heading our way- CPA under1.5 ml in 45 mins... that's too close in my book!! As I finished eating, I got out the handheld VHF (the ship's radio doesn't often seem to work too well) and called .. and called... and called... I even switched on the deck light, which lit up the sails beautifully... Still no reply - but I could see them now in the distance! Finally, they replied, agreed to alter course to starboard and pass our stern.... I never found out what their cargo was, on its way to China from Panama, but had a long chat with the friendly Russian officer who several times asked if I had problem, after telling him I was a sailing yacht with no motor, headed for Cape Horn!!

Sky has been rather cloudy, but there's been some very hot sun when it got out... definitely getting into sticky climes - we're in the Tropics and the sea is now 32C!! We passed through a shoal of tiny flying fish (first seen so far) - they scattered every which way! Wind has veered into the east - we're probably going to be headed by light SSE winds nearer the Equator - but that might change. For now, I'm trying to make what Easting I can, partly to avoid convection regions in the ITCZ further W and partly to be ready for the SE Trades which might make it difficult to head due south.

24hr DMG: 147 n.ml.;Golden Gate Bridge 1202n.ml & Strait of Juan de Fuca 1847n.ml away at 3pm & our position was then 732 n ml WSW of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

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Position reports...

I report my weather and position daily to Winlink/Shiptrak - link is on my website's 'Travels' page - click on "Where is Nereida?"

Then there's http://www.exactearth.com/media-centre/recent-ship-tracks/tracking-nereida/ - courtesy 'exactEarth' using their polar-orbiting satellites - good everywhere, especially nearer the poles, i.e. when in the Southern Ocean
and http://oceantracker.net?event=nereida - courtesy "Oceantracker' using geo-stationary satellites with good coverage just now.

Tuesday/Wednesday 13/14th November 2012

The autopilot rudder bar display disappeared again - while in 'Standby' and under windsteering....grrr!! Happened after I'd made some checks on the resistance of the wires from the rudder reference unit to the course computer - all seemed fine. Took a time to get to under-bunk spaces by course computer and rudder to make the checks, but with fairly calm conditions, it wasn't too difficult. So it would seem that the rudder reference unit itself is possibly OK and has not been stressed /damaged ... I'm waiting for a reply as to my next step in trying to fix the problem but used the AP over Tuesday night into Wednesday and it held course fine in light conditions, with only small movements of the wheel needed to keep us on course, despite the rudder ref problem - wind was only 6-10 kt from ENE-NE... and on Wed in slightly stronger wind, it still did OK... All very frustrating!

In the meantime, the windsteering has also been giving problems - the thinking was that there's possibly a loose bolt - I had a good look today (Wed) - bolt is so tight I can't budge it! And other items I've checked seem OK.... Managed to work safely on the system without heaving to - nice to have sturdy struts to stand in between while working from the lowest step on the 'sugar-scoop"!

Earlier in the day, I looked at the stored tomatoes, after a major galley and general tidy-up. They'd been carefully packed in plastic bags and then sealed in another, partly-evacuated bag - I can definitely confirm that this is NOT a system that works!! Whereas one large 'beefeater-type' tomato, left open to the air, is still firm and edible - I'll fry it tonight with some ham and eggs, along with some potato.... The mandarins wrapped in foil are doing reasonably well and potatoes, onions and apples are all fine.

Sky has been often cloudy - nothing too grey, mostly a thin white broken layer, but we've not seen the sun too often - although it is nice and warm - comfortable, just now, with cabin temperature around 26C - and sea temperature at 29C!! Swell has been far less over yesterday and until this evening - mostly from NE at around 1.5-2m. Sailing has been very pleasant, under full canvas.

Occasional ships pass in the distance - from Panama, usually making for Asia - all well clear.

No repeat of the booby that tried to roost in the rigging - it was well offshore!

DMG to 3pmPST/2300GMT:
Tues: 138 n.ml
Wed: 116 n.ml.(lighter wind than Tuesday);Golden Gate Bridge 1072n.ml & Strait of Juan de Fuca 1714n.ml away at 3pm & our position was then 980 ml W of Ipala which is just south of Cabo Corrientes in Guadalajara, Mexico.

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Position reports...

I report weather and position daily to Winlink/Shiptrak - link is on my website's 'Travels' page - click on "Where is Nereida?"

Then there's http://www.exactearth.com/media-centre/recent-ship-tracks/tracking-nereida/ - showing my position as transmitted via my AIS signal - courtesy 'exactEarth' using their polar-orbiting satellites - good everywhere, especially nearer the poles, i.e. when in the Southern Ocean (Has a problem in Chrome, I hear - try another browser!)

and http://oceantracker.net?event=nereida - showing my position via a GPS 'tracker' unit onboard - courtesy "Oceantracker' using geo-stationary satellites with good coverage just now.

Monday 12th November 2012

Not a lot of interest to report today - the same dull grey sky and lumpy grey seas with still a fair swell running from NNE. There's been a Low to the W of us, so it's taken away the warmth & blue skies I'd been expecting here (we even had some rain mid-afternoon) - but it must dissipate soon! Winds have been NE, becoming NNE as the day progressed, mostly 18-20kt, giving good boat speed around 7kt, easing to 16kt mid-afternoon and up to a boisterous 23kt in the early evening - when the 'Sven Maersk' crossed our path, a mere 1.5 ml ahead, on passage from Balboa, Panama Canal, to Russia with a cargo of containers. (We kept a good eye on each other!) From Russia (ETA 28th Nov), they'll go south to China and then back to the Panama Canal for their next load... We exchanged good wishes for a safe passage.

On going up on deck to keep an eye out for the ship, I was kept entertained for a good half hour by a brown booby trying to land in our rigging to roost overnight - darkness was just falling... It was amazingly agile and managed to grab hold of the wires just above the first spreader several times, but had to let go because there was nowhere suitable for it to land on in the lumpy seas running at the time - strings I have rigged between the mast steps and shrouds must have also been a problem for it. That's exactly what I thought might have happened at the mast top a few days back, when the wind instrument suddenly started giving silly readings... It was making the same kind of twittering noise I'd heard then.

Still heading just E of S - partly thinking about angle to Trade winds (NETrades now & then SE Trades once S of the ITCZ) but mainly looking at avoiding possible areas of strong convection around 10N where the ITCZ band starts. Presently making for 120W which looks nicely in between the nasty stuff - for the moment!! It's always such a gamble - and the forecasts never show all the real-life detail you get once you're there!!

The autopilot is defintely behaving fine now - that's a relief... Having received a prompt email response from Raymarine UK, I have some checks on the resistance of the wires from the rudder reference unit to the course computer to make, but that will be easier to do when the swell is less - no hurry. (That will show if the system has been stressed /damaged or not)

I was hoping to see a meteorite shower near sunrise - but the cloud layer prevented that! John, VK4DBJ, in Queensland, had kindly responded to my query on the name of the bright planet I'd seen just above Taurus the other night - Jupiter, he tells me, .... with Saturn becoming clearer in the E sky near sunrise - but he also mentioned the annual Taurid meteor shower we were passing through over these two days - no chance of seeing it unfortunately, with this cloud ....

DMG to 3pmPST/2300GMT: Much better than of late, at 145 n.ml !!; Golden Gate Bridge: 830n.ml; Strait of Juan de Fuca was 1466n.ml away at 3pm & our position was 720 ml W of the coast of the Baja Peninsula in Mexico, near Todos Santos.

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Position reports are available a-plenty!

I report weather and position daily to Winlink/Shiptrak - link is on my website's 'Travels' page - click on "Where is Nereida?"

Then there's http://www.exactearth.com/media-centre/recent-ship-tracks/tracking-nereida/ - showing my position as transmitted via my AIS signal - courtesy 'exactEarth' using their polar-orbiting satellites so good everywhere, especially nearer the poles, when in the Southern Ocean (Has a problem in Chrome, I hear - try another browser!)

and http://oceantracker.net?event=nereida - showing my position via a GPS 'tracker' unit onboard - courtesy "Oceantracker' using geo-stationary satellites with good coverage just now.

Tim Sell took these photos of Jeanne and Nereida in Sausalito.  Rob Tryon, LaDonna Bubak and Sal Sanchez (salsinflatables.com) delivered the new life raft to Jeanne who installed it.

Tools at the Ready. (c) 2012 Tim Sell / www.sausalitodiving.com 

Rob, LaDonna and Sal arrive with the new raft. (c) 2012 Tim Sell / www.sausalitodiving.com 

Under there somewhere. (c) 2012 Tim Sell / www.sausalitodiving.com 

Tighten it down. (c) 2012 Tim Sell / www.sausalitodiving.com

A job well done.  (c) 2012 Tim Sell / www.sausalitodiving.com

Sunday 11th November 2012

A dull grey day with occasional spits of rain - almost total cloud cover, with wind varying from ENE to NE, mostly around 10-12 kt but and gusting at times up to 16kt under the clouds. Swell now from NNE and down to 2m from the 3m of yesterday, So a relaxing day of ambling in easy conditions... Full genoa and stays'l helping to keep us at 5.5-6.3 kt SOG, occasionally dropping to beow 5kt in lulls.

Decided to head slightly E of due S to avoid possible area of strong convection in ITCZ around 10-15N - will probably have moved onto our path as we get closer, whichever way I head, but you never know... Problem with the ITCZ is that nasty areas of strong convection can pop up so quickly and without much warning, it's so unstable... So it really is a matter of luck as to whether the big stormclouds can be avoided - usually get caught by some, but hopefully not a lot!

I decided early on to have a relaxing day, other than keeping an eye on wind, sails and course, that is...! I've not downloaded a single weatherfax, although I get a set of gribs by default daily. We're clearly in the NE Tradewinds and no storms are forecast, so until we get into squally tropical weather or nearer to the ITCZ with its possible 'convection' giving areas of thunderclouds etc, there's no need to be concerned - so I decided to enjoy the day and take it easy - it's Sunday, isn't it??!!

I caught up on the Sailing Olympics reports from Portland ... only three months' late! Team GB did very well, with five medals, although not so many golds as in Qingdao, ... and well done, Ben Ainslie! What a superb sailor - yet another Olympic Gold!! I'm looking forward to getting reports on the Vendee Globe race. It will be of interest to see where they are when I'm near Cape Horn - they could well be somewhere nearby and about to head up the Atlantic to finish... (They go just a little faster than I do!!)

Have mostly been sailing last two days or so with Fred in control, but after taking a look at the rudder reference unit in the autopilot system, we stayed on that for a time to see how it coped - and if any error messages came up... I'd found that the base on which the unit was fixed had come loose and was allowing it to swivel as the 'tiller arm' on the rudder moved from side to side. There seemed to be nothing else wrong, so I fixed it firmly in place, making sure it was centred correctly, and switched the autopilot into 'Auto' mode - it took over the steering with no complaints (a.k.a.no error messages!), having started it up with the wheel centred, and seemed to be working fine, correctly showing the rudder movement on the rudder bar display ... But then, when I put it into 'Standby' to see what would happen - there was still no rudder bar shown on the display - it disappeared.... grrr!!! When I switched back to 'Auto', the AP was seemingly working fine again... I felt perplexed... . Decided to switch off everything - instruments and AP .... and then put AP on by itself - got error messages.. powered up instruments and managed to persuade it to work in 'Auto' ...seemingly OK.... Tried 'Standby' - rudder bar was magically there...??#*^#**!!! Back into 'Auto' - all fine... Back into 'Standby' - all fine - rudder bar displaying - all OK ... Somehow, I've solved my problem - but by 'black magic', it seems to me!! Seem to have managed to reset the system, after fixing rudder ref unit firmly in place, so now all seems OK ... Let's hope so.... Phew!!!

5pm - Had to furl in quite a lot of genoa - wind got up to 19kt and we made excellent speed - but heeled rather too much, especially being rather beam onto the seas, which also increased a bit... Since then, have had frequent repeats of wind up to 20kt from 12-15kt... so speed has often varied from 5-6.5kt to well over 7.5 kt! Those rainclouds...!

It was amazingly clear when I contacted the Pacific Seafarers Net this evening on 14300 kHz (Jane, NH7TZ, on Kauai and NZ and Aus stations as well) - propagation has been so variable lately and it made contact virtually impossible two nights ago. On the Baja Net this morning, it wasn't too bad, despite the 'bleeding' music from some adjacent station that seems a perpetual noise on that 7 MHz frequency at that time.

24hr DMG to 3pmPST/2300GMT: 115 n.ml - slow overnight and wandering a bit, with wind sometimes light & varying in direction; Golden Gate Bridge: 690n.ml; Strait of Juan de Fuca was 1320n.ml away at 3pm & our position was 650 ml due W of Bahia San Juanito, on the Baja Peninsula in Mexico.

Today's 3pm report:
TIME: 2012/11/11 23:00
LAT: 26-26.76N LONG: 124-31.08W COURSE: 175T SPEED: 5.7
WIND_SPEED: 14 WIND_DIR: NE
SWELL_DIR: NNE SWELL_HT: 2.0M SWELL_PER: 8
CLOUDS: 99% BARO: 1023 TREND: -3
AIR_TEMP: 22.0C SEA_TEMP: 23.0C

Saturday 10th November 2012 (Start of Vendee Globe!)

Overnight was beautiful - clear, full of bright stars .. a crescent moon rising later.... a bright planet just above Taurus - I wonder which it is??

When running the small generator recently, it's been taking quite a time to excite and rev up- I finally had to take a spanner to it last night, to release a nut on the end of the the speed actuator arm so it could do its job. I smeared it with grease to help it.

A very settled day, mostly sunny blue skies above, although with plenty of scattered white clouds around at times, a very big (easily 3m/10ft) swell from NNW and wind that has now veered more to NE over the day from N-NNE overnight, but rather light at times - down to around 10-12 kt, except when a cloud comes by (as now!) to give increased wind of 15-17 kt or so...

The wind indicator seems to have mostly decided to give what look to be correct readings, which is nice, but I've not had a chance to look at the rudder reference unit on the autopilot - the rudder bar is still missing from the display when in 'Standby' and has been, since trying to turn us hard to port in light winds the other day ... very worrying..... So Fred, the Hydrovane windsteering, has mainly been in charge since then and coping fairly well, although we wander around quite a bit .

The other good news is that the genoa furling gear seems to be fine - that's a relief! I went to furl in the genoa, as I was thinking of gybing the pole in the veered wind, and had no problem there. But after lowering the pole to the deck, I happened to have a look at the pin which had given a problem the other day - that was fine, after my 'fix', but I then noticed that another big pin, holding the pole end to the mast car attachment, was nearly out of its hole! A circlip holding the end in place was missing and there was nothing to stop the pin from falling out - which it was clearly well on its way to doing ...!! Lucky I'd spotted it before I'd raised the pole end up the mast again to stow it, since it would then have been well out of sight ....!!

I immediately went for a hammer, to bang it back into place - but it started moving again almost immediately and clearly had to be dealt with if I was to continue being able to use the pole - but what could I do? The end was only just showing when in place and I had no spare circlip.... I thought about using wire in the groove and around the jaw end, but didn't feelt that would secure it well enough... In the end, I decided the only solution was to replace it. I searched among my spare clevis pins to see if I had one to fit the hole, of roughly the right length ... I had quite a few possibles, but the only one which fitted the hole exactly (half-inch - a metric/imperial, Europe/N.America problem!) was too short. Most of my spares are metric and this had just been fitted in Canada - with imperial fittings .... grrr!! - Murphy is alive and kicking, as usual..!

The best fit turned out to be a mainsail halyard pin - with a flat piece at its end which swivelled to hold the pin in place. Just too short to use, as made, but if I could get rid of that metal piece, the hole that it swivelled on via a metal piece holding it through the pin, was just right for a split pin ... Of course, all this action was taking place in the big swell already mentioned...!!

Out with the electric drill, to try to drill out the hole and get rid of the metal holding the flat piece in place.... NOT easy, being steel.... and not helped by theswell! A companionway step became my workbench, as usual, with a clamp to hold the pin in place.... One broken drill later, and use of a slightly smaller, but much sharper drill, and I finally managed to clean out the hole - we were in business!! I used a washer on the split pin end of the clevis pin and it was then exactly right in length.... Bang out the old pin with the new one, place the split pin through the hole ... and then try to open the 'jaws'of the split pin - it kept turning... but finally, using flat screwdriver and pliers, it was done - a good,solid 'fix' - but it had taken several hours in all - I was feeling tired and more than ready for my missed breakfast cup of coffee - it was by now 3pm...and time for my daily position & weather report .....!! With only mainsail for most of the morning, our speed was down, so making 123n.ml DMG was, I felt, not too bad.

I caught up with the rest of my day, including looking over a load of weatherfaxes I'd downloaded while busy with the pole, and made sure I had a good meal before checking in at 7pm PST (dark for quite a time by then) with Cirrus, ZL2CVJ, on the Pacific Seafarers Net. It was good to hear that friends on 'Long Shot II' had got going from Tonga towards New Zealand, having waited out the recent bad storm - tied with ten lines to shore, in addition to their anchor, they'd told me...!

I then made for my bunk early - and I'm writing this at 4am, after the second time up to trim the sails and adjust Fred! The wind has veered more to ENE and we've been tending more to SSW, rather than due S.... Back to my bunk again, for some more sleep... I'll look at the rudder reference unit later in the mornnig...

24hr DMG to 1500PST/2300GMT: 123ml ; Golden Gate Bridge: 575n.ml; Strait of Juan de Fuca was 1208n.ml away and our 3pm position was 480 ml due W of Isla Cedros, just off the Baja peninsula in Mexico.

Friday 9th November 2012

After several overnight bands of squally rainclouds, with light winds in between, we've finally settled into a nice, sunny day with some white clouds around and fairly consistent good wind from the north.

There's quite a big swell from the NNW - up to 3m - but fairly well spaced out, so not a big problem - just making life onboard very 'rolly' at times!

Having fresh coffee while I download lots of weather info - trying to decide on routing for ITCZ and on Sth... always a bit of a lottery!

24hr DMG to 1500PST/2300GMT: 124n.ml ; Golden Gate Bridge: 452n.ml; Strait of Juan de Fuca is now 1085n.ml away and our position is 435 ml due W of El Socorro & Rosario on the Baja peninsula in Mexico, S of San Diego,...!

Not much change over the day - the rolling coninues in the heavy swell and the wind gusts from time to time, but is fairly consistent at 15-20kt - the wind display occasionally seems to be giving something like the correct reading. I wondered this afternoon whether the mast top wind transducer might have tangled with the genoa furling gear nearby - I found it impossible to unfurl the last bit of genoa earlier - even with a helping hand on the lower furler, it wouldn't budge... Tomorrow, I'll see if it's any better - in daylight.

I've been busily continuing to look at available weather info - including both text and weatherfaxes. It all takes time to download in order to see what exactly each item covers. I do find it fun to get grib (weather) files covering the entire region from here across the Equator and down towards the Horn - to give an idea of the positions of the High pressure areas, ITCZ and Tradewinds.

For the time being, we're heading S still and getting close to the Trades - already the wind is fairly consistently from the NNW-N and will slowly veer to become the NE Trades, reaching down to around 6-10N where the ITCZ lies (the area of unstable air, often with very squally, towering clouds with really heavy rain and a good chance of lightning, in between totally calm areas ... Can be quite unpleasant and good to get through as fast as possible, if you can!

Tim Sell, of Sausalito, has kindly agreed to send photos he took of me fixing the new cradle and liferaft in place on 'Nereida' in San Francisco Bay while tied to a Sausalito Y.C. buoy (Many thanks to S.Y.C. for agreeing that) - so friend Jak Mang will be posting them here for me (if not today, then very soon) as soon as he gets them - Thank you, Jak and Tim!

Thursday 8th November 2012

Went to heat coffee - propane had run out! Got slightly worried that it was so soon but then remembered it had been impossible to top it up before leaving - a problem with a valve (something on a list for my return already!) - so changed tank to new one. We'll see how long this one lasts... (I have a total of 60lbs of propane left for cooking on the hob burners - I shan't use the oven)

A grey, cold morning, but later the cloud started breaking and by 2pm there was a big area of blue sky & the sun was shining, with just a few white clouds ... I took off my warm jacket. The trouble was the wind was down - taking our 6-7kt of speed with it - so we were ambling at around 5.5kt - but the break in the clouds soon moved ahead and grey, showery clouds took its place again.... along with increasing NW wind and swell - so back to a good boatspeed again. It's frustrating not to know exactly what the wind is doing...! From the erroneous, under-reading display, I can only say what it's more than!

Well before sunset, the band of raincloud had passed on well ahead, leaving a completely clear sky behind - and not much wind again... But at least what current there is seems to be favourable, helping us along .. presently (6pm) back to ambling again at around 5kt ....

24hr DMG to 1500PST/2300GMT:144n.ml (best so far, since leaving Victoria!); Golden Gate Bridge:330n.ml; Strait of Juan de Fuca is now 961n.ml away and our position is 350ml due W of San Diego and Tijuana - we just crossed over into Mexico...!

Had email from cruising friends in Tonga - big storm system had caused havoc among boats returning to NZ - one was rolled with major damage, including hatches missing. In 50kt winds and enormous seas, boats and aircraft are standing by to help when conditions ease. Doesn't sound good, but so far the two onboard are OK, although slightly injured. A sailing yacht standing by has itself suffered some damage - & still has 700 miles to go to NZ. Other news - on the US election - everyone will have heard in detail, so no need to mention here...

Another email was from Diana Doyle who was the hard-working instigator of the first-ever "SeaBC - Sea Bird Count" last December. I'm reproducing it here, in the hope that some of you reading this will be able to contribute your own sightings to the project - It's a good excuse to get out on a boat.....yours or a friend's. You can contribute more than one day's sightings and if you're not sure what the bird is - take a photo & send it in... !

Diana writes:

"I'd like to encourage fellow birders to participate in the "SeaBC Sea Bird Count" this November, December or January. Hitch a coastal or offshore ride with a sailing or fishing buddy, or count while chartering or taking a cruise.

This project, in its second year, is organized by a group of nine long-distance birding sailors from around the world, including Wendy Clarke, Diana Doyle, Brenda Free, Yvonne Katchor, Beth Leonard, Katharine Lowrie, Devi Sharp, Jeanne Socrates, and Dorothy Wadlow.

Last year's inaugural count spanned 100º of latitude, from Maine to Antarctica. The Caribbean 1500, Baja Ha-Ha, Salty Dog Rally, Atlantic Rally for Cruisers, Seven Seas Cruising Association, Island Cruising Association, Ocean Cruising Club, and many other organizations helped spread the word to their fleets.

This year we are encouraging participants to take digital photos of any seabirds. All data goes to Cornell Lab of Ornithology's eBird database (www.ebird.org).

An instruction & tally sheet (under SeaBC/Resources) and additional information are available on the community page at Facebook.com/Birding.Aboard, or by direct PDF download at: http://bit.ly/IeKe95.

Please join the count in any way you can and contribute much-needed information about pelagic birds!"

Diana Doyle
m/v Semi-Local
St. Augustine, Florida

www.birdingaboard.org

Wednesday 7th November 2012

Wind had died down again by early morning and for most of the day - around 7 kt earlier but 10kt by mid-afternoon and, by evening, up to 15kt. Took the genoa over to starboard on its pole - we're headed downwind in a mainly NNW wind under grey skies with occasional light rain and a fair WNW swell. By 9pm, wind was up around 18kt with rain & I'd tied in the 1st reef ...making good speed ...

Soon after, I noticed the wind display was giving 'silly' readings - saying the wind was light and heading us when clearly it was strong and from astern and our speed was well up.. I'd heard some squeaky 'bird noises' earlier, so I wonder if a frigate bird or booby might have tried to roost at the mast top, damaging the anemometer in their efforts?? The Windex is still working fine... but it doesn't tell me wind speed and isn't connected electrically to the instruments to give a read-out. A nuisance, for sure! I have a spare transducer so sometime when it's calm, I'll have to go up the mast to change it over, I suppose... That will get interesting...!

For the next few days, the wind should be pretty consistently from around NNW-NW so we'll keep sailing downwind, as now...

Very little shipping, now I'm further out from the coast, and the coastline has disappeared from my AIS screen - doubt I'll see land showing on that for several months...

24hr DMG to 1500PST/2300GMT:113n.ml (best yet, with the slow conditions since leaving SF!); Golden Gate Bridge:188n.ml;Strait of Juan deFuca is now 818n.ml away and our position was 153n.ml due west of Point Sal (in between San Luis Obispo and Pt Conception - we were 165 ml WNW of that infamous Pt., which is renowned for frequent strong winds)

Checked in with the friendly Baja Net at 8am - made contact there with friend Steve on 'Westerly', nearing Ensenada, who did the SHTP race from San Francisco to Kauai (Hawaii) in '06, when I did. A lot of noise on that frequency - distorted music from nearby stations makes it difficult to hear clearly. More static noise on the PacSeaNet later - propagation has often been bad for a time now - solar flares.... but had fair copy again on NZ stations.

Finished up a tuna and sweetcorn pasta and then had some creamy brie afterwards - have plenty of that and I'm determined to enjoy it, rather than later finding it's got well past its 'eat-by' date and is inedible!!

The air feels cold still - but I'm not in my fleeces any more and I'm looking forward to warmer weather soon! But in the meantime, my bunk is a nice warm cosy place to be, when not busy with other things...

Tuesday 6th November 2012

10a.m. PST - We've not moved far from San Francisco since leaving there yesterday morning! We're just 55 ml W of Santa Cruz, at the N end of Monterey Bay, in fact With my coffee, I'm enjoying one of the Gayle's 'biscotti', full of almonds,sent to me from there. Thanks again, Brian - they're lovely!

Overnight the wind was very light and, from the 8 kt from NNW of early evening (which was fine since we could make a good S-SSW course), it gradually got even lighter, to 3kt, and veered to the E-SE. When the fast 'Pacific Link' passed by, at 2am, we had zero boat speed and were making 0.3kt with current, heading SW after gybing around earlier to prevent us from getting any closer inshore - not that the sails were doing very much!!.

This morning, the decks are drying out from the very heavy dew, the sky is clear blue and the sea is oily smooth, with a big W swell very clear to see: 3m every 9 sec. Around 8am, when I spoke to the Maritime Mobile Net and then to the 'Baja Net', we had actually got up to 3-4kt, headed WSW in 8kt of SSW wind - but that didn't last long and the wind has now become 'light and variable' (2 kt and swinging around all over the place!) - meaning it's very difficult to know how to set the sails to make any progress! We're basically just drifting in the current.... but we're mainly going S!

This is likely to continue for another 1-2 days, with good wind not expected until Thursday.

There's a lot of traffic around, going up & down the coast, so it would have been better to have been further out to sea, to avoid most of it, as I'd hoped to be. Because we're transmitting on AIS, 'Nereida" is seen by the ships - and they usually steer clear.... Good news since I can't use my motor.

4pm Earlier, the tanker 'Alpine Persefone' and now 'Clipper Harmony' both altered course to starboard, heading N, to keep well away - had them worried, I think, seeing me swinging around in light wind under wind steering, after telling them I was a sailboat with no motor.....! "Please hold your course!" the guy on 'Clipper Harmony' begged of me!! Actually, we were averaging a consistent 195T and they were well off our port bow (over a mile away), so there wasn't any real problem. Thick fog at the time, so radar and AIS combined to keep an eye out for any traffic... and there's been a lot, moving up & down the coast.

By 1pm, the wind had swung to NNW and settled at NW 10-12kt - so suddenly, we were making an excellent 6 knots...! Still foggy, so feeling decidedly chilly and damp, but in the fairly calm conditions was able to open the galley seacock & wash some underwear - something that's not possible if it's rough.

Contact on 14300kHz with the Pacific Seafarers Net at 0300GMT/1900PST takes place in darkness now - spoke to Cirrus, ZL2CVJ, in Ligar, S. Island, New Zealand - good copy on her and also Gary, ZL1GLM, on the N. Island.

Good sailing continued into the night - it feels good to be making good progress at last! We averaged 2 kt over the 24hrs to my daily report at 2300Z/1500PST!

Weather/position report to Winlink/Yotreps:
TIME: 2012/11/06 23:00GMT
LAT: 36-41.26N LONG: 123-11.30W COURSE: 195T SPEED: 6.0
WIND_SPEED: 13 WIND_DIR: NW SWELL_DIR: WNW SWELL_HT: 2.5M SWELL_PER: 8
CLOUDS: 100% BARO: 1017 TREND: 0 AIR_TEMP: 21.0C SEA_TEMP: 17.0C
COMMENT: 24hr DMG:49ml; Golden Gate Bridge:76ml; 61ml W of Monterey. Foggy-feels much colder!

Sunday/Monday 4th/5th November 2012

Bright, hot sunshine again on Sunday - a busy day on the water, with lots of sailing boats around - several of which came close to wish me well - and two even offered me a bottle of wine! (Pity I'm not allowed any visitors nor to accept anything from anyone, liferaft apart......'unassisted, solo' ....!)

I busied myself with some more jobs while keeping an eye on the wind and checking yet again on timing of the ebb tides. With virtually no wind all day long, people were motoring everywhere - and I was clearly going nowhere although I'd been hoping for a possible 4pm departure on the ebb tide - but at that time there was a W wind (which would be heading us when sailing SW down the channel) of only 5kt... which died to 2 knots not long after, so it was a good thing I didn't start off.....

I thought about how I could raise 30m of anchor chain with no windlass to help... I made use of a spare pole guy- one end of the line shackled onto the chain, the other taken to a mast winch ...and another short loop of line on a bow cleat with a shackle - to keep the chain in place while I re-positioned the long line from the mast, once I'd winched some of the chain up. When I used it finally,, the system worked well, albeit with plenty of dodging about between bow and mast, with lots of time taken fixing and releasing the shackles onto and off the chain... 5m of chain were brought up at a time, once I'd got started.

After that, and in between chatting to a few boats and relaxing in the sun having my lunch, I fixed the Lexan washboard firmly in place with sticky-backed foam strip to act as a water-barrier in case we get 'pooped'. As we approach the S. Ocean, I shall add some duct tape all around the edges on the cockpit side, to ensure a water-tight fit!

I went to use the seawater pump - and found it totally unresponsive- the seal must have gone... I dug around and found the service kit with all the rubber bits and pieces...and instructions. Started dismantling the pump to see what needed replacing and then remembered I had a complete spare unit somewhere ... Found it and replaced just the top half - it's working fine! Sometime, I'll investigate further and service the old part ... but not just now.

Final job of the day, which continued well into darknessl, was to service one of the winches I was conscious of not having seen to during my preparations. It definitely needed the attention... It's always good to hear the winch purring in action after a thorough cleaning and greasing... and no bits dropped overboard!

Looking at local weather forecasts, it had seemed earlier that on Monday there might be NE 5-7 kt when the afternoon ebb was running - but later that was changed to N wind Monday morning, dying away during the day and staying very light for several more days - so I planned to wake up at sunrise to check on the wind, ready to leave if it was helpful - assuming I could raise the anchor OK - I had nagging doubts!

Another lovely, starry night - with a great view of everywhere in the Bay area, all lit up brightly, with a waning, bright moon over the dark outline of Angel Island.

A beautiful dawn sky on Monday...the tide was clearly already ebbing - and the wind was 7-10 kt from NW - perfect!!! I set to, raising first the full mainsail, whose sheet I left loose so as not to start us sailing while I raised the anchor. The lead wasn't quite right - I shifted to the other side of the mast where I could use my body to lean on the line and keep it from over-riding on the winch... As the sun came up higher over San Francisco, all was going well. We had plenty of water room, so although we started drifting as the chain came up, that didn't pose a problem... Suddenly. I saw the anchor above the water ... and ran back to the wheel to get us sailing nicely towards the point leading to the Golden Gate Bridge... What a lovely, sunny day! Clear blue sky contrasting with the red of the famous towers of the bridge - which we soon sailed under - with loud noise coming from the rush-hour Bay traffic. Not a ship in sight...excellent! I contacted Traffic Control and the CG - thanked both and they wished me 'Bon voyage". We were making over 6 kt SOG with the ebb current ...! We'd escaped - and were having a lovely, enjoyable sail in bright sunshine!!

Tonight, as forecast, we're struggling to make headway South in light wind from the North - but we're at sea and on our way - finally!

Dawn over Angel Island and San Francisco Bay, 2 November 2012

Leaving San Francisco Bay, 5 November 2012

Saturday 3rd November 2012

Bright, hot sunshine today, as I busied myself with several jobs while preparing to leave around 4.30pm on an ebb tide. The diesel leak, as I suspected, looks to have been from two jerry cans which were not firmly enough tightened up.

With the boat finally all tidied up, I was about to hoist the main, when I realised the pole was still lowered onto deck.from when I'd had to re-tie the release line to one end.. As I went to raise it, I spotted a pin about to come out of the mast jaw fitting... lucky I saw it... Hammer was needed to knock it back into place and a ring found in my spares to secure the end....

I raised full main and genoa and let go the buoy mooring line, to leave on the ebb tide - but NO GO!!! Do you ever have that feeling that Fate is conspiring against you?? The ebb was weak and the wind soon became nearly non-existent...!

A boat came up, recognised me and offered help .... Jake with 8-mth pregnant wife Petiana - a boy - already named William..!! Jake came back later to take some photos & stayed around for quite a bit, seeing I was in trouble getting anywhere in the oh-so-light conditions- kind of him! We very slowly got part of the way towards the Bridge, but after drifting around in the dark for several hours, worried I'd be taken into deep water (or over to Angel Island or shallows across the way from it) and definitely 'not under command', I had to get out my ground tackle and anchor while the depth wasn't too bad - found that the windlass isn't working, of course...grrr!!!

So, as well as having to lift the anchor out of the chain locker and over pulpit, I then had to manhandle the chain and gypsy so the chain could run freely... 30m of chain is now waiting to be raised when some wind comes with an ebb tide... Couldn't get anywhere near Sausalito YC to pick up the buoy again - but not for want of trying!

So here I am in a flat calm, with a fabulous night view of everywhere in the Bay area, under a lovely starry sky with a bright moon over Angel Island - and with the same CG boat as when I entered overnight Wed/Thurs very close by us again, tied to their buoy overnight...!!!

We'll see what tomorrow brings... Don't know if I'll get away - wind must come up at the right time to catch the ebb, of course...

Friday 2nd November 2012

Up late this morning,after a good sleep, so immediaely got started on trying to remove last two bolts holding old cradle onto deck. Had thought would need vice grips to hold nut on lower end while bolt was loosened from above, but once I found that lower end was in aft lazarette (gas locker), it didn't take long to realise that removing lid by undoing screws in hinge made access a lot easier... Still not easy, lying on deck with legs over the stern and one arm stretched to inside of locker, especially being conscious of need to avoid dropping tools overboard, but finally it was done... I had a late breakfast!

I'd noticed a problem with the KISS wind-generator - the lower plastic fitting had come unscrewed and had slid halfway down the pole, leaving a thick smear of oil on the pole and the generator loose on top. I can't afford to lose the input of the generator - it's very effiient and quiet (unlike certain others!!) So I started cleaning off the pole and then slid the fitting up and screwed it back into the body (It's great having 'steps' up the sides of the stern steelwork). Later I set to with amalgamating ('pressure') tape and wound it around the join, in the hope it would keep it all together- this has been a recurring problem.

I also used a few more cable ties on the bitter ends of the reef line knots on the luff shackles, to esure they would not come undone - something that has happened before now.

Mid-afternoon, the new liferaft and cradle arrived with Sal, being brought by LaDonna and Rob in the "Latitude 38" 'photoboat' - yes, a few were taken...!

First job was to fix the cradle in place - a fair bit of effort and time needed there, getting it positioned correctly and securely, with plenty of useful comments from Sal but with more thoughts of dropping tools, bolts & nuts overboard slowing things down due to the extra care needed!

I'd dug out my 'handy-billy' in advance and attached it to the davit on the overhead steelwork. It's a highly useful item for lifting heavy gear (like outboard motors) onboard (actually salvaged from my old 'Nereida"!) - a long line with two double pulley blocks, one with a jammer on it, which make light work of otherwise difficult lifting jobs.

Once the cradle was in place, the raft was carefully lifted and placed into the cradle and finally strapped tightly in place. Sal pointed out the 'quick release' fine string on a metal fitting on the strap - "Highly sensitive", he told me, "Don't touch it!" Before leaving, he pointed out the plugs to be removed from the base of the canister, to allow for drainage, and the shackle for attaching the raft's painter to a strong point on the cradle. Those were seen to and I also attached a horizontal strap with a 'quick-release' on it (from the old raft) - so it's strapped in both ways.... All finished just before dusk started falling...

I just had time before dark to collect up my many tools scattered around, fill the two holes in the deck, screw the gas locker hinges back in place and also manage to seal around the edge of the leaking forepeak hatch - hopefully, the forepeak will be drier - we'll see!

I wrote up my log report as a record of the liferaft replacement and then had an unexpected glass of wine, to celebrate as I prepared my meal - found some Tasmanian boxed red that I'd totally forgotten about!!

Spent a long time checking times of the ebb tide at different places nearby tomorrow - with very light wind forecast, I'll need to carry the ebb out under the Golden Gate Bridge and onward as much as possible. Leaving around 4.30pm, still in good light initially, should work well and give me time to do a few more important jobs (like finding that diesel leak) earlier in the day - while in calm waters.

Even had I been ready, I probaby couldn't have left today - light S winds are forecast through to Sat morning... then veering to W and finally NW, around 10kt or more, for later Saturday and into Sunday. So leaving later tomorrow makes good sense.

Time for a good, solid sleep.....!

Thursday 1st November 2012

Had an excellent sleep until 10am! Then a shower and relaxed breakfast with fresh coffee while I got started on jobs for today - quite a list of small-but-important jobs to do. Ran the engine (out of gear) to get oil circulating - gave warm water for shower! Need to do that regularly over the next few months.
Call from LaDonna -liferaft due in SF on Friday - Sal will bring to her and they'll come out in boat to bring to 'Nereida' in afternoon. In meantime, need to get old liferaft cradle off pushpit - two top bolts were relatively easy but the two hex head bolts through the deck not so - have to access nuts below deck - but one end needs to be held while the other end is turned to undo - difficult by myself!
Staysail sheets - bitter end of bowline cable-tied in place to prevent coming undone when not under tension - as happened on way. Tidied up lines in cockpit.
Radar support (excellent Scanstrut, self-levelling) - bolts/nuts tightened - has often been vibrating recently, so hopefully this tightening of supports will cure that.
Gooseneck - connection of boom to mast - used pliers to turn clevis pin's split pin ends back on themselves - could come loose otherwise and if lost, boom could come away from mast... was very close to happening once - don't want that ever to happen again.
Did some laundry while in calm waters - hung out in bright sun and wind... Dried out jackets and some bedding which was damp at foot - don't know why.
Climbed mast to first spreader to tie one more line between step and shroud - halyard can otherwise get caught around step - and did so recently!
Still several more jobs to do tomorrow, as well as fixing the liferaft and cradle in place. Thought I had a problem with one of the Spectra watermaker pumps not working, but when I tried it again tonight it was fine - an easy job to cross off the list!
Auto bilge pump has been coming on far too regularly - thought maybe due to condensation with moist air and cold hull - but when investigated tonight, there was a mix of diesel in with water - about half and half - way too much diesel - no leak from engine or heater tank so must be either from a jerry can in cockpit locker or possibly feed pipe from main tank... Must check tomorrow in daylight.
Took some photos of SF city across the Bay and also of Sausalito on shore nearby.
Handsome small grebes often seen swimming in water close by, the occasional seal and brown pelicans seen flying over a few times.
Sunny day today, mostly calm, but some wind for a few hours during middle of the day. Low-lying fog over SF city and a large portion of SF Bay came and went - but none here, although some close by up on hillside leading to Golden Gate Bridge.
Was nice to see some youngsters out in dinghies this evening with two safety boats - junior sail training evening at Sausalito Y.C.?
Ham and eggs with fresh tomatoes tonight... to Mexican music on the radio... Makes me feel like singing & dancing!!

Wednesday 31st October 2012 ... and into Thursday 1st November - Safely tied to a buoy off Sausalito Y.C... phew!!

Wind has been mainly from the south, went very light during the night and from SSE by 9am, so had to tack around to avoid being set inshore too soon..

Tried to keep speed down to around 4.5 kt to avoid ebb when nearing SFHarbour - but with having to tack around, we got further away, so when rain came, with a windshift to SSW-S, we were able then to get back on course nicely - and at a good speed of around 6kt in wind of 17kt , with ETA at. SF Hbr entrance around midnight - perfect to catch the flood tide through the Golden Gate just after its maximum of 3.3 kt.

Spoke to Sal in themorning - replacement liferaft should now be on its way to SF from LA, along with an adjustable cradle, which avoids the problems of fixing to the pushpit that kept me awake a lot last night....

LaDonna B and Stan H have been very supportive and helpful, both in supplying info and liaising with Sal and with Sausalito Y.C. - much appreciated!

Entry into SF was busy - plenty of shipping and tugs, one with a tow, to look out for. I gaveTraffic Control the message that I had no motor andwas coming in to Sausalito under sail alone - SF Coast Guard promptly jumped on the radio to ask if I needed assistance -kind of them but they got a definite 'No, but thanks!!" Decided it was simpler not to explain why...

Had good wind to sail to and even better speed with the flood tide helping us along - around 6 knots in 17kt of wind - but by the time we were in the main channel leading to the Golden Gate Bridge, it was beginning to die right down. I thought it was maybe due to the high cliffs on either side - but as I passed under the bridge, it was as though a switch had been pulled - flat calm and virtually no wind as we passed out the other side but still the flood tide, although much less.

With difficulty, I managed to steer us towards Sausalito on the N side of the bridge - I was worried we might be taken over to Alcatraz and its vivid white strobelight, the tide was so much stronger than our speed in little wind.. But we managed to make1-2 knots in the right direction and crawled along close to shore, as I searched for the buoys I knew were somewhere - but I'd forgotten exactly where! I noticed a boat which camw towards me & then kept pace with me, a distance off - I'm sure it was the Coast Guard keeping an eye on me... Fortunately, the sky was lit up by the city lights all around (and I suppose the near-full moon was also up there, lighting up the low cloud!) and when I finally found the mooring field, the buoy I went for had a nice easy pick-up pole. The problem then was having very little speed and manoeuvrability - it was 'first time or not at all', since I reckoned I'd never get back to it if I missed it! So I had to get it on the move, to avoid our nose falling off when I left the wheel... When you're holding onto a pick-up buoy for dear life, with the line gone under the bow of the boat, it's a good thing there's almost no wind or it would be dragged out of your hands!! "All's well that ends well..."

I'm off to my bunk for a good sleep... It's 4am ....

Tuesday 30th October 2012

10am Sun trying to peek through breaks in cloud - nice to feel some sunshine after the dripping foggy conditions of last few days. Fog disappeared with good wind overnight and into this morning - we're making excellent speed, having tacked around after midnight.. Presently making 7.5-8 kt SOG towards San Francisco, with boatspeed of 7kt!

Winds are forecast to stay around SSW 15-20 kt but then die to almost nothing on Thursday - so I'm trying hard to make SF during the daytime on Wednesday - hoping we can catch the flood through the Golden Gate.

Early afternoon: So much for that hope - the wind has slowly eased - so we're lucky to be making 5 kt... ...And we were all set to make the flood nicely on Wed afternoon through the Bay entrance ... but no longer. That poses a big problem - what to do to avoid ebb in Entrance - heave to for a few hours maybe?

Still spending a lot of time trying to sort out new liferaft and cradle - and fittings for mounting it on pushpit. - not standard!!

5pm Dolphins! With boat speed right down, went up on deck to shake out 1st reef.. and there they were - playing about the bow and leaping in twos and threes alongside - lovely to see as dusk drew in!

Midnight .. Have decided against heaving to ovenight here - occasional traffic around... Instead have decided to reduce sail and go slowly. If speed is kept down to 4-4.5 kt, we'll make the Bay entrance before midnight Wed evening, after the ebb has died down. Means I'll probably have to anchor overnight since picking up a buoy in the dark could prove impossible, but there's good anchoring nearby so that shouldn't pose a problem, especialy since wind is set to die away almost completely over Thursday so I shouln't risk dragging if anchor not set properly...

Must get some sleep!

Monday 29th October 2012

Some brief notes on today....

Foggy overnight, early morning and again tonight as dusk fell... dripping wet eveywhere on deck now.

Very light wind most of day - forcing us towards land so eventually tacked around in S-SSE wind to head more offshore - expecting stronger S-SSW winds soon, so don't want to get too close in yet. Under full sail now.

DMG today: 107 n.ml. We've passed Cape Mendocino now and would be making a direct line for the Bay entrance if winds weren't so unhelpful and forecast to be more of same...

Busy with emails and phone calls, sorting out liferaft replacement...logistics and timing were clearly a problem, reducing choices... Discussed options with Sal who recommended Viking liferaft. Spoke to their Sales person (at Ft Lauderdale Boat Show) who said a 4-man raft was available at Long Beach, L.A., and could be delivered Wednesday if ordered Tuesday (she'd cover the freight, as a goodwill gesture). Her best price was the Boatshow price on offer - still a lot!! Sal has doubts about my present cradle - still under discussion... He's sending me more info on their cradle but basically it'll be the Viking, with extra food, water etc to be put in a Grab Bag in view of my ocean passagemaking.

Weather not being helpful ... Expecting heavy rain with Front over Wednesday & into Thursday with strong winds, maybe, ahead of Front and in the rain... Had several emails suggesting alternatives to busy SF Bay for stopping to get liferaft- but all involve anchoring in places exposed to S-SW wind and I feel more comfortable picking up a buoy rather than finding I can't easily set my anchor under sail and then being on a lee shore in strong winds....

Daylight flood tide through Golden Gate is 9am - 2.30pm on Wed and half-an-hour later on Thursday ... Strong ebb must be avoided - up to 4 knots or more ... a lot of water escaping through a small gap! Amazing that Drake sailed past here several times and never once suspected the enormous Bay that was hidden from view!!

A misty full moon tonight- fog is patchy... Now heading SW, making 3-4 kt, looking at Thursday for more realistic landfall.

Changed the autopilot's rudder reference unit over in the calmer seas of today- had to make sure it was centred properly, when screwed into place, to avoid the wheel appearing to be way off to one side when actually centred ... All done and working, so now the AP should behave fine - I wanted it particularly for the Golden Gate entry - but, for the last week, the windsteering (Fred) has coped perfectly well, even in today's light conditions

Enjoyed a thick bean, chick pea and lentil soup with chunks of ham added - ideal for this cold, dripping, foggy weather! Must get some rest now .... Goodnight!

Sunday 28th October 2012

Wind at around a pleasant 15kt all today and no fog from early morning until nightfall, when it came down again for a time. Seas have been calmer and we're sailing along nicely - with a bit of current help this afternoon, I think. Tonight, the near-full moon is lighting up the boat through thin hazy cloud,so letting out reefs just now didn't require my headlamp. The wind is slowly easing - down to 12 kt now (near midnight), so despite more sail we're only making just over 4 knots SOG - I think the current is also against us at the moment...

The occasional ship comes near - but nothing to worry about unduly... I feel sure that transmitting on AIS helps avoidance and the need to talk on VHF to them.

We're now off the California coast, running about 160 ml off, in between Capes Blanco to the NE and Mendocino to SE. The area closer in has a bad reputation for stormy weather and disturbed seas, with the wind being accelerated and funnelled by the two high ridges at the ends of which lie the two Capes.

Have been looking at San Francisco tides and also options for mooring, preferably to a buoy, while my liferaft is fixed. Some friends have offered help, if needed, and LaDonna Buback, of 'Latitude 38', has offered the use of their 'photoboat' to bring the replacement raft to me, which is great news since that overcomes a major problem. I still need to organize the raft itself - early Monday, I'll try to do that, with an email to 'Sal's Inflatables' of Alameda, in the meantime.

DMG to 2300GMT(1600PDT): 127 n.ml. Strait of Juan de Fuca: 437 n.ml; San Francisco: 324 n.ml

ETA Wed if light wind doesn't last for too long - stronger wind is not likely to arrive until late tomorrow ... otherwise ETAwill be Thursday. The strong flood in through the Golden Gate entrance to San Francisco Bay lasts over six hours, with maximum around noon and midnight just now. With the ebb running at over 4 knots, it's vital to get the timing right for entry. If necessary, I might have to anchor nearby to wait for the flood to start before attempting to sail in - I don't fancy a night entry followed by trying to pick up a buoy at night... Possibly OK if clear and a full moon but not if raining and sky overcast...

Saturday 27th October 2012

The wind picked up later in the night.. from 6-8 kt near midnight to 20kt on the nose by 4.30am, as rain came in, along with a drop in pressure from 1020 to1017 hPa. Two reefs were tied in ....but with wind direction still from WSW we were able to keep heading pretty well due S for most of what was quite a foggy day - not dense but definitely making for very reduced visibility. Conditions stayed like that all day, the wind easing a little to ~16kt by nightfall - so we continued heading into weather, with seas from SW up at 2m or more every 4sec - another bumpy, uncomfortable day!

DMG to 2300GMT(1600PDT): 107 n.ml. Strait of Juan de Fuca: 334 n.ml; San Francisco: 438n.ml; Coos River (Oregon) due East, 180n.ml.

I commented in passing that I had a problem early on Friday. In fact, what had happened, very unfortunately, was that the liferaft decided to jump ship from its position in a cradle on the pulpit (above the stern). Clearly the strapping holding it in place had not been secured well enough, for which I blame myself for not thinking carefully enough about how the heavy canister could move within the cradle when under sail, heeled over....

We had tacked around onto port tack in bumpy conditions, heeled over as usual, being very close-hauled in a short, southerly swell. I went below to contact the Gt Northern Boaters Net around 8am and, soon after, noticed our speed had dropped dramatically from around 6kt to 3 kt or less! On going up on deck, I couldn't believe my eyes - there was the liferaft, trailing along behind us, nicely inflated, with its light winking away on top of it, acting as a drogue. It eventually caused us to head downwind ... I had no choice but to cut it away.... Now what to do?

The immediate problem was to alert the US Coast Guard of the empty liferaft, drifting towards the Columbia river over 150 miles to the East, but with no missing persons overboard to worry about... I radioed the US Maritime Mobile Net on 14300kHz - I knew there's always someone listening out 24/7 on that frequency - and passed on my message for them to relay to the CG. Propagation wasn't very good, so later I emailed a friend to confirm my message had been passed on - it had. (They kindly offered to retrieve it and return it, if at all possible!)

After thinking hard about my options in the situation, not feeling it to be sensible to continue RTW without a liferaft, I later emailed John Reed, Secretary to the WSSRC (who are validating my RTW attempt) to arrange a phone call discussion on Saturday - TG for satellite telephones!

My eventual thoughts were that if I could pull into San Francisco Bay, with a replacement liferaft organised in advance, then it could be fitted to the pulpit (securely!) and I could then sail on again. Clearly, Ithis was a safety issue, not one of repairs to the boat, so my 'unassisted, solo' status should be intact, so long as no-one helped me in any other way, other than to fix the liferaft in place..... Also, I would have to anchor off or pick up a buoy in the Bay, not come into a marina - all under sail, since no engine is available to me... (That could get interesting!!) On speaking to John Reed later, he confirmed that my plan would be acceptable so long as no-one else boarded or assisted me - this would be an allowable emergency stop within the rules. Relief!!

I'll have to be careful approaching SF, with the shallows just outside, and also on passing through the Golden Gate with its strong tidal currents. I spoke to a friend in SF who will try to help me on Monday, when people are in their offices.... Amazing how often recently things have occurred just as a weekend was imminent, to prevent immediate contact! But since I can't possibly reach SF before Thursday 31st Oct (Hallowe'en!), there's time in hand.

Radio propagation just now is mostly very bad and it was difficult making my usual contact in the late afternoon with the Pacific Seafarers Net. It was good to hear Randy, KH6RC, back on air (I finally met him when in Kona, Hawaii, in July) - he always has such a good signal - but he struggled to copy my report, although Gary, ZL2GLM (in New Zealand!) was just able to do so.

Amazingly, with being on the same tack all day long and no sail trimming needed, I suddenly realized I could relax and read - most unusual! From the next few days' weather forecast, it seems we'll be on this same port tack in WSW-SSW winds, sometimes light, until close to SF. So I might yet get in some more reading which will make for a nice change from the norm. And I cooked a nice, creamy pasta dish, which will last for another day easily.

Friday 26th October 2012

What a beautiful, gentle sail we're having just now!

Just before I checked in with the Pacific Seafarers Net at 8.30pm PDT, having let out all reefs and canvas, the wind almost died away and we were drifting NE at 1-2 kt, but then I steered us back on course, close-hauled as most of today, while a SW wind slowly picked up and Fred took over again, holding us on 160T COG, at 4-5kt, in 9-10 kt of wind... If I fell off more,we'd be making even better speed.

Somewhere up there is a near-full moon, making the lightly overcast sky bright enough to see by for sail-trimming. The rough seas of earlier have become far gentler - not short & steep any more, although still about 1.5m/4-5ft, and we're sailing with minimal heel... 'creaming along', albeit not very fast!

It was calm enough to cook a good meal - omelette with gently-fried potatoes, onion and some fresh yellow bell pepper - almost a pepperoni omelette - tasty!

We had a bit of a problem early today which I won't go into as yet, just after tacking around in a WNW wind of 22kt and making contact with the Gt Northern Boaters' Net on 3870 kHz at 8:20am. For the first time, we could make a decent southerly course, but the good wind direction only lasted until dusk, before backing to the SW as it is now. I have to admit that we lost ground this morning because the windshift from SSE to WNW that came with the expected Front occurred before dawn while I was fast asleep.... so we didn't tack around as soon as we should have done and I woke to find us heading NNW!! Always annoying to see hard-won ground lost in that way...

I'm trying to keep heading W of S if at all possible since the forecast is for SW-SSW wind for the next several days, which will force us consistently SE, in the direction of the coast. Not having an engine available makes me highly cautious of getting too close to land!

The wind is forecast to pick up overnight, so no doubt I'll have to reef down again at some point soon... I'll soon know when the boat starts heeling...

DMG: 75n.ml. (down due to that lost ground having to be made good...! I should have set an alarm to wake me up ...) 250n.ml. from Strait of Juan de Fuca enrance.