Thursday 25th October 2012 - rough weather- beating into short steep seas and strong winds, trying to head S

By 5am, the strong, gusting WSW overnight wind had calmed to SSW 9-10kt, although seas were still rough, and by 7:30am, the wind had backed to SSE and remained S-SSE for the rest of the day.

We were initially ambling due E and I didn't particularly want to head towards shore any faster so I left 2nd reef in. The 'Alison F' had been fishing not far away all night & was still close by under grey, overcast skies. But after the wind had backed, we were able to tack around & head SW on a very close reach.

Overnight, the sail had collected water - I'd not tried to tie in the 2nd reef points early enough before the heavy rain, so hoisting the sail in the light wind solved that problem.. Later in the day, as the wind slowly built, I made sure to tie in the 2nd reef points in case of further rain - not easy to do, balanced over the awning/dodger ... & they turned out to be just too short & needing adding to!

Going has been rough with very short, steep seas - and got rougher as the wind increased over the afternoon to ~20-22 kt - we were beating into the weather, often seeing close on 30kt of apparent wind and waves were regularly washing the well-heeled decks.

I noticed that the painter line to the raft was wrongly tied - to a strong point on deck, rather than to a weak link on the hydrostatic release which itself was tied off to a strong point. (The idea is to release the inflated raft if the boat should go down, not have the raft still tied to the submerged boat.) I re-tied the line correctly and tightened the tape holding the raft in place on the pushpit.

The weather over the next few days is not looking too helpful - mainly S-SW winds, sometimes strong, after a short time of NW wind following a Front, expected soon - sometime overnight/early tomorrow.

The autopilot rudder reference unit is giving either no rudder bar display or an incorrect one - but it's too rough just now to investigate - I may have to change the unit over.. In the meantime, we're sailing along just fine under windsteering, with Fred in control.

DMG (at 2300GMT/1600PDT) was a mere 53 n.ml. due to tacking against the wind and we were only 175 n.ml. from the entrance to the Juan de Fuca Strait!
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Tracking 'Nereida'

Apart from my own daily position/weather report to Winlink/Shiptrak/Yotreps, accessed via my website's 'Travels' page link ("Where is 'Nereida'? etc), there are two sources of automatic tracking:

Using my AIS signal: http://www.exactearth.com/media-centre/recent-ship-tracks/tracking-nereida/

Using a GPS transmitter: http://oceantracker.net?event=nereida

Wednesday 24th October (Day 3)

A lovely sunny start to the day with light cloud forming later, a pleasant SE wind and a slight Pacific swell. We had one squall from a black raincloud ovenight, but pleasant conditions otherwise.

I chatted to Barbara(VE7KLU) and Bill (VA7WSM) at 7.40am - just before the Gt Northern Boaters Net started up at 8am - and Bill sorted out a problem with my mike: over-driving it, he diagnosed - so I finally held it 6 inches (15cm) away from my mouth and the 'clipping' of my words vanished - excellent!

I went back to my bunk to catch up on lost sleep - and woke up later feeling very refreshed after a deep sleep... Fred, the Hydrovane, had been well in control in the meantime, but the wind had slowly veered to the SSW so it was time to tack around - heading WNW was not a good idea!

Since tacking, we've been heading roughly SE, but being 150 ml W of Crescent City (WA) initially we were well off the coast. I'm happy to amble along though, since I don't want to get too close inshore.

Pacific Seafarers Net was my next appointment , as I was enjoying the last of my hot stew at 8.30pm PDT (0330 GMT). It's on14300kHz & will be a daily check-in for several months. It was good to hear famliar voices & get a '73' from ham friend John, VK4DBJ, in Australia, who I could just copy well enough.

Near evening, occasional squally grey clouds arrived with long gusts building to 28 knots, then very heavy rain, followed by wind dropping to just 6-8 knots ... We heeled somewhat but survived OK!

Tonight, we're making only around 3.5 knots in wind of 8 knots from SSW. No problem to my mind going so slowly since we're now being forced nearly East and we're 120ml off the coast. Tomorrow night, a front is expected and with it a change of wind giving us the chance eventually to head S again.

I've had a lot of emails to keep me busy over the day after checking on deck - several things there needed dealing with, including tensioning the stays'l halyard and trying to tension the stays'l leech line - in strong wind, the leech keeps fluttering like mad - a highly annoying noise and not good for the sail...

DMG was 80 n.ml over 24hr to 2300GMT (150 ml to J. de Fuca entrance) - tacking doesn't help make for a good DMG!
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Tracking 'Nereida'

Apart from my own daily position/weather report to Winlink/Shiptrak/Yotreps, accessed via my website's 'Travels' page link ("Where is 'Nereida'? etc), there are two sources of automatic tracking:

Using my AIS signal: http://www.exactearth.com/media-centre/recent-ship-tracks/tracking-nereida/

Using a GPS transmitter: http://oceantracker.net?event=nereida

Monday 22nd October 2012 - 'Nereida' crossed the 'start line' off Pt Ogden at Victoria Harbour entrance around 11:30a.m.

Not much sleep overnight beforehand..too much to do to be ready...

Having to cross over to Roche Hbr (San Juan Island, USA) on Saturday to enable tax exemption on work done in Canada was useful in that it gave me a chance to check boat systems out - and discover an overcharging and engine problem and a possible rudder reference 'glitch' also.. Before leaving Oak Bay, Shawn (of Vela Yacht Sales) and Warren K. helped fix the hydrostatic release on my newly-serviced liferaft.

I had a lovely meal at McMillin's after completing clearing in formailities in Roche Hbr - treated myself, with 8 months at sea in mind - and then found my bill was being waived by the manager - a very pleasant surprise - many thanks! Chatted to Victor, the excellent chef, afterwards and then we both enjoyed some unexpected choral singing by a group of wedding guests at the resort - adding an unusual 'flavour' to a very enjoyable evening!

The overcharging problem was a great worry - Robert & Rose came by to look at it after I'd cleared back in to Canada in Victoria Hbr & found the one & only empty berth on the Causeway (Empress) Dock. Thanks to Robert, I now know where the secondary alternator field wire is - to disconnect if the problem arises again (there was no such problem on my return journey - an intermittent regulator fault?) and we also located the engine fuel cut-off switch (hidden away!) to stop the engine in future if, as happened on my way over to Roche, the engine won't stop using the cockpit 'off' switch... The rudder ref unit 'glitch' I decided was nothing to worry about (wrongly, as it now turns out!) ...

Michael and Windy ('Del Viento') determinedly brought me over some lovely lentil soup on seeing me too busy to eat anything Sunday evening and several friends came by to offer help, wish me luck or to arrange to see me off in the morning. All the fresh food items I'd had to remove from the boat before making for Roche Hbr had to be re-stowed firmly in place again... Warren K helped with several last minute things - like topping up on diesel used on my way back from Roche. Both he and Michael have given me lots of welcome help over the last few days - very much appreciated!

Tony G came by to fix my propshaft in place so I can't use the engine for motive power and I fixed the 'black box' (WSSRC 'official' GPS position recorder) in place and made sure it was flashing OK. He was back soon after 8am to check all was ready for starting, wish me luck and then make his way to Ogden Pt so he could time me crossing my 'start line'.

Monday morning, a 'Prince of Whales' boat came to tow us to near Ogden Pt. Several helpers came on board - there were a few more last-minute items in need of attention on deck - and Corine & Jak, from Port Townsend, were in the tow-boat, We finally got under way, after mainsail was hoisted & tow lines let free... The wind was a little tricky, but with genoa unfurled and after getting some speed up, I managed to tack around from the nearby shore and head for the line around 11:15am... to lots of cheering, waving and shouts of encouragement from the towboat and breakwater!

I had a good East wind and an ebb tide -so I had a great aftenoon sail under full canvas towards the Strait of Juan de Fuca W entrance, seeing lots of penguin guillemots diving out of the way or skittering across the surface as I came close to them in the almost deserted waters.. With frequent SOG of up to 8 knots or more, I made the entrance by nightfall - an excellent start!

Not much sleep ovenight, with plenty to keep a careful eye on - lots of ships coming and going in the shipping lanes approaching the Strait entrance and flashing lights marking theTSS junction to avoid in the strengthening, gusty winds...Heeling in up to 24 knots, we ended up with two reefs and well-furled genoa in a good Pacific swell. Later, I had lots of piping hot ratatouille - I needed to warm up - the air is very cold!!

Tuesday 23rd October (Day 2)

Winds are mostly from the SE but have been highly variable with very cloudy, squally conditions giving frequent strong winds and light intervals in between. I 'm sailing very 'conservatively' now... Having seen a beautiful clear starry sky at 4.30am and thinking I could safely take to my bunk for some much-needed sleep, I was woken a short time later, caught out with far too much canvas up -close-hauled with full genoa and staysail - which I found really difficut to deal with in the strong wind .... but deal with them we had to, so eventually things were back under control, with our track wandering all over the place in the meantime..!! Back to my lovely warm bunk around dawn ... and a late breakfast near to lunch-time!

I've changed into my thermal underwear with fleece layers over- It's COLD! The menu over the next few days is definitely going to include lots of hot, thick stews.... I've ratatouille to finish tonight - including some potato has made it thick - and I'll make a fresh thick soup with beans and lentils tomorrow - they're soaking overnight ready...

It's been an excellent day for birds! I've now seen my first Black-footed albatross - couldn't believe my eyes on finding an albatross by the boat on my first day out!! (The other albatross up here in the N. Pacific is the Laysan - looking quite different...) Also a Sooty shearwater came by & there were other birds I couldn't see too clearly....

DMG yesterday was 42n.ml. from the start (at ~1830GMT) to 0100GMT - averaging just under7 kt with the ebb tide helping...
Today, over 22hr from 0100-2300GMT, DMG was 88 n.ml.(72ml to J. de Fuca entrance)
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Tracking 'Nereida'

Apart from my own daily position/weather report to Winlink/Shiptrak/Yotreps, accessed via my website's 'Travels' page link ("Where is 'Nereida'? etc), there are two sources of automatic tracking:

Using my AIS signal: http://www.exactearth.com/media-centre/recent-ship-tracks/tracking-nereida/

Using a GPS transmitter: http://oceantracker.net?event=nereida

Jeanne left Victoria midday on Monday 10/22 to begin her non-stop, solo circumnavigation.

Thursday 18th October 2012    Departure on Monday 22nd October looking very likely....

Just been looking over the marine weather forecasts, now that the boat is beginning to look more shipshape and nearer to being ready to sail away....

Looks was though there's a nice weather window opening up from early Monday onwards - easterly winds and an ebb tide will allow me to get out of the Strait of Juan de Fuca by midnight and head well offshore at the start of my journey S towards Cape Horn - well over two months away!

Rain has often been heavy here of late, but with further much-appreciated help from Jim T, Robert & Rose, Michael R and Warren (M & W have spent the last two days with me), a variety of necessary jobs have been completed & food has now been vacuum-packed and/or foil-wrapped and/or stowed safely, as appropriate - some time being spent today organising hanging netting  for apples and mandarins. I've even found a few more items to hand over to Michael C to store while I'm away.

Paul of Leitch McBride came by to sew up the mainsail batten pocket ends and took the two cockpit halyard bags for repair, having previously added some velcro tapes to the vinyl seat cover at the chart table - "consider it a contribution to the cause" he said kindly, smiling....  Thanks, Paul!

A parcel arrived from Santa Cruz - some special 'biscotti' sent by Brian Beers of Gayles Bakery - I've already sampled them and they're really 'yummy'...!!  I'll keep some for Christmas!

Still outstanding is fixing the liferaft properly in place and bolting on the KISS wind generator blades after a small repair became necessary. Ben is coming by early Friday to fix my chart-table screen rigidly and the aft cabin stowage will be completed once some clothing has been vacuum-packed.  Diesel and propane both need topping up and everything on deck and below double-checked and made tidy...   It's been very useful to have had free wi-fi available while here in Oak Bay.

On Saturday, I'll go for a short sail and check eveything is working OK - hopefully, I'll not find anything amiss!

Sunday 14th October 2012 - Lots to do & being done - busy here!!

Well, for the last few days, it's been overcast & raining, often heavily - and there's mainly no breath of wind ...  So I have no problem with needing to delay my departure for a few more days while I continue to make essential final preparations.

But with increasing numbers of queries on my timing, I thought I'd best spare some moments to post an update on progress towards departure...

"Chaos reigns" - and we're definitely getting very wet (!!)...  It's good to have heating onboard!

Final provisioning, stowing & boat organising is in full swing but there have been several important bits of boatwork needed and more items waiting to be seen to when the boat is shipshape - all combining to increase stress levels.  At least my newly-serviced liferaft finally arrived on Friday, the watermaker is now fully functioning, with no leaks (thanks to Lance V for his ongoing, cheerful help with that and other things), and the rudder-to-autopilot connection is now replaced with a far sturdier tiller arm than before, thanks to very generous help from Rose & Robert.   My thanks also go to Katy R, David W, Charles & Joann, Ann P (baked me a lovely Christmas cake!), John T, Brent J and Michael C - all have given me help which has been very welcome.

I was delighted and surprised to discover that Shawn of Vela Yacht Sales was kindly giving me free moorage here in Oak Bay Marina on his slip...  Many thanks, Shawn!

By mid-week, Sunday's proposed departure was looking to be totally unrealistic and I'm now hoping that, with concentrated effort in the meantime, the boat will be ready by later this week - at which point I'll look at the weather to see how soon we can leave... whether immediately or not, time will tell...  So departure is now likely to be as soon as conditions permit next weekend.  The small 'black box' has arrived from the WSSRC to be put onboard - it records my position every 300m and will be used to validate my RTW course.

I'm still busy stowing food and discarding unnecessary packaging.  Also tools and spares have to be carefully put away, with cleaning of each area as I go along.  At least now I can stow things properly in the aft cabin, now the watermaker and  AP tiller arm on the rudder have been dealt with.

One thing's certain - I'll not be leaving before I feel comfortable we're totally ready for our 'solo, nonstop, unassisted' circumnavigation (Victoria to Victoria, under sail alone, with no help by use of motor being permitted) .... 7-8 months at sea, over half of it in the Southern Ocean, is not to be treated lightly!

Must get back to work...!!

UK Report - 1st October 2012

I'm presently on my way back to the boat in Oak Bay marina, at the S end of Vancouver Island, B.C., after nearly three busy weeks in the U.K. - with frequent visits to Southampton over the 10-day Boat Show there, trying to deal with a long list of people & companies to see, some regarding replacements/repairs/new items needed for 'Nereida'.  I think I've done almost everything I'd hoped to, although there's bound to be something I've overlooked - hopefully minor!   I've lots of bits and pieces in my heavy luggage now, as I my return to Victoria via Seattle and the fast 'Clipper' ferry from one waterfront to the other, through Puget Sound and the Juan de Fuca Strait at 30 knots - faster over the water than I'm used to!

I had an enjoyable interview with Sir Robin Knox-Johnston live on BBC Radio Solent's 'The H2O Show' one  Friday evening - in lieu of the interview that we tried to have soon after my landfall on completion of my solo RTW in Victoria on 1st August - which was abandoned after a 'technical hitch'(!).  I was also taken by taxi into central London for a live studio interview one Tuesday evening on ITV's 'London Tonight' news programme - always fascinating to see how these things are produced!  And nice to be reading a book, rather than driving myself through the slow-moving, congested, London rush-hour traffic on my way there and back!

With my forthcoming nonstop circumnavigation in mind - expected to take 8 months from mid-October until June next year - I had plenty of paperwork to deal with, as well as catching up with family and friends...

Weather has been excellent, apart from a very rainy last Sunday at the Boat Show - but that was forecast days ahead, so I shouldn't complain...!

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Oak Bay, B.C. - 6th October 2012    Thanksgiving Day on Sunday 7th October in Canada

This is a long holiday weekend here -and the weather couldn't be better - glorious sunny days ever since I got back!!

The boat is in chaos after all the work done inside, as well as work done on deck which also needed access from down below...

Glenn worked hard in my absence dealing with several problem areas (loose windlass bolts, altered position of battery box to take new batteries which were higher tha the old ones, re-caulking of chain-plates, renewing corroded electrical fittings in forepeak where seawater had leaked in via fittings in the chain locker, etc etc) but now I'm trying to clear up and fix other things - in between chatting to people who come by occasionally.   The aft cabin is slowly being sorted out - new filters in the serviced watermaker system, new battery cables organised and fitted today for the extra Surette AGM battery, rudder post key banged back down into its proper place... and with it, after loosening a couple of nuts, the clamp that holds the lever arm which takes the rudder reference unit and autopilot ram that pushes and pulls the rudder to steer...   The AIS display has been playing up - I'm hoping to find simply a loose wire when I check that out tomorrow, or soon after, along with the Pactor modem connections to the radio - that hasn't been tuned automatically, as it should be, for quite a time, so needs investigating... anotherloose (or undone) connection, hopefully!   I've taken apart and cleaned off the salt deposit on the sheaves of the mainsheet traveller system - but one set has defeated me so farand needs further effort to release - aluminium & steel metal parts in contact always cause a problem sooner or later!!

Last Thursday, Carol Hasse kindly brought over my newly-repaired/serviced sails, thus saving me a trip over to Pt Townsend, so those are now waiting to be hoisted - but first I need to deal with the mainsail battens.  The shorepower connection has been regularly tripping out on board - word has it that the supply here is not too reliable - certainly, I had no such problem in Canoe Cove...  My thoughts are that it won't be of importance once I'm at sea...   Local boater David King, who came by for a chat with his wife Kerry the other day, kindly took me into Victoria to Trotac where owner Campbell and Lance have been very helpful over my time here.   I'd hoped to sail over to Roche Hbr on Thanksgiving Monday, but my finally-serviced liferaft is not due to be ready until Tuesday so I must wait for that to arrive before leaving Canada and checking into the States - it's all about my tax exempt status for boat work done for me while here in Canada...!  But the short trip will also give me a chance to check everything out before I leave Victoria once the boat is all ready - I'd been hoping for next Sunday 14th October but I have serious doubts as to whether I'll be ready by then - I'll just keep working and see how the time goes.  I'm certainly not leaving until I'm ready, with the boat shipshape and tidy for passagemaking and all vital systems working! Just now, there's no wind anyway & it's forecast to remain so for the next week, so I've not lost any weather window so far.

I'd best get back to work.....  Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian friends!!

  Sunday 2nd September 2012 - report from Gibsons over Labour Day weekend...

Photos of the seal mother and pup on rocks near to 'Nereida' at the dock in Canoe Cove..

 and also a photo showing why the genoa tracks had to be lifted and re-bedded - leaks galore showing on inside of coachroof....!

Went walking and blackberry picking around friends' place here on Sunday - beautiful sunny weather continues - lovely!

Thinking work would be more advanced than it's turned out to be, I'd decided to take a couple of days off from boatwork to see friends on the mainland - ferry from Schwartz Bay (close to Canoe Cove) across Strait of Georgia to Tsawwassen, then bus into Vancouver, with changeover at old Hotel Vancouver (impressive foyer and restaurant/lounge areas)  to get final bus over to N. Vancouver across the high First Narrows bridge towards the second ferry of the day over to Gibsons from Horseshoe Bay - lovely views over the water with lots of islands nearby and mountains in the distance.

On the way through N. Vancouver, caught up with John Curry of Hydrovane, to discuss installation on 'Nereida', and had coffee with friends both there and, later, at Horseshoe Bay - good to catch up with people I've not seen for 3-4 years!

Before leaving Canoe Cove, Lance (of Trotac) came by with a plankton filter and holder and a newly-serviced watermaker motor - now working fine, although the pump that had been with it was badly corroded by seawater .... so I've a new one now in my spares, to go with the motor.  The watermaker has two pumps, optionally with one or both working in line, so with one new motor and pump, new hoses in place and fresh filters, it should be good.  Lance gave me a lift to the ferry terminal and picked up sails to take to 'Carlotta' - a boat taking part in the Victoria Classic Boat Festival this weekend and headed to Pt Townsend on Tuesday, so delivering the sails to the Hasse loft for repair.

The liferaft was taken in to Victoria by Glenn and delivered to the freight office for transport to a service centre in Richmond, Surrey (in B.C., not England!)

Work on deck is virtually complete - the poles are both better and working well - hoisting the large one, in particular, will be a great deal easier than it has been up to now.  The gas locker's propane tank stowage is waiting to be finished but that has been looked at in detail so shouldn't take much longer to do and then the lids need a water-tight seal around their underside.

Down below, there's still a lot more to be done than I'd expected by this point in time - watermaker, new batteries & battery box positioning are all waiting to be finished with, along with leaking chain plates and windlass to be re-caulked.

Once all that work is completed there are plenty of other, smaller jobs needing to be done - including tidying up so I can decide where/how to stow certain items.  Provisioning needs quite a bit of thought still and other jobs are sure to turn up.

I'm giving a talk at the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival on Friday and Saturday (7/8th Sept) and then flying to the UK the following week to see family and for the Southampton Boat Show - hoping also to get some items repaired while there and other items bought to bring back out to 'Nereida' that can't be sourced here.

Friday 17th August 2012  (Do look back if you'd like to see photos of my arrival that I added recently to my last log entry)

I'm sitting here in sunny, warm Canoe Cove, having had a late, full breakfast, listening to people complaining about the heat overnight...   I'm not complaining at all...  it's lovely!

Used up the last of a 3-part anti-rust system paint canister on a full 9kg (20lb) propane tank this morning - had it refilled in Tahiti but it was looking rather rusty on the outside- the usual 'seawater effect' from being stowed on deck.

Glenn W has been great since I arrived here, helping me to deal with preventing leaks in various places (particularly the genoa tracks, which are both being lifted and re-bedded... with GREATEST of difficulty accessing nuts on the ends of the through-deck bolts from below :-(     Not much sealant was used originally.

....and Brent and Seamus of Blackline rigging are having to replace nearly ALL sheaves on mast and boom - the plastic used was far too soft for the job and aluminium pins have worn a large oval in what should be a round hole -- in the case of those taking the 2nd & 3rd reef lines at the aft end of the boom, this is after just over 7 months total sailing time from Ushuaia to here.    Genoa sheave in use now is already showing signs of wear after just six weeks in relatively easy conditions to here from Tahiti where I swapped the old halyard (nearly chafed through) for a back-up halyard which was lead over an unused sheave in the double genoa sheave box.

           

 The photo shows how the original large genoa sheave,  and also a mast fitting taking the main halyard sheave, had very badly worn holes where the sheave rotates on a pin.    The practical side of poling out the headsails is also being improved by Blackline - nice to make use of Brent's expertise & knowledge of what bits and pieces are available to help make small but useful changes.

Another major leak is into the forepeak via the windlass area - yet to be looked at, but in exploring that last week, several wiring connections in that area clearly also need to be cleaned up and possibly remade...

The gas locker is being reorganised to take a third propane tank and two more will be stowed in the nearby lazarette on the stbd side - basically, that will give me 5 x 10lb, plus the 20lb, in tanks - hopefully plenty for seeing me around in 7-8 months of sailing.  I also have an emergency back up of a little camping stove using small disposable cartridges - while still in Simon's Town, S. Africa, Baden had made a clamp to hold the kettle firmly in place on that, with dehydrated food in mind.

In accessing the port side genoa track bolts and nuts, above the galley area, I had to remove items from some lockers there - so I'm presently into cleaning out all the galley lockers completely and making an inventory of all food items stowed there and elsewhere - something I've been intending to do anyway, so I know what I need to add, in readiness for my next venture...   Having sailed in the Southern Ocean as much as I have recently, I now know how I react and what I actually need food-wise in those cold, rough conditions...

I was pleased to discover, once I had onshore Internet access to see the exact dimensions of what was available, that I could fit 5 AGM 128Ah Surrette batteries in place of the present four 130Ah (with a 'slight adjustment' of one side of the larger of the two battery boxes!) so capacity will be well up.  Surrette have kindly helped on contributing to the cost and I hope to be receiving those next week - they have to travel across Canada to get here from Nova Scotia and they're not exactly light items...!  Once in place, the easy part is connecting them up!   I hear from almost everyone here, just how good the Surrette batteries are, compared with other batteries.   A friend down in Florida refuses to fit anything but theirs.

The watermaker needs attention and I'll be dealing with that over the next few days, in between sorting out those food lists - hopefully, using Excel on my laptop.

Friends are collecting me early this evening to drive into Victoria for a small celebration at the 'Sticky Wicket' (!!) pub near Empress Dock and with wi-fi Internet & Skype access here, I've received birthday greetings from friends all over the world - literally!  Last night, I spoke by text msg to friend Judy near Cape Town (Good luck with Lipton Cup races, Judy!) and straight afterwards to David, in Gosport, near Portsmouth... Great to have such easy access!

So after posting this, I'll bike down (lovely to have the use of my fold-up bike once more!) to the dock, with a lovely view from 'Nereida' over rocky, wooded islets and shoreline nearby (and to the passage out in the direction of Active Pass), where I'll do a little more, fairly relaxed work in the bright sunshine up to teatime...  I'm taking it easy today!!  (Tomorrow will be another work day)
         

Entering Victoria Harbour 1st August, after fast sail along Strait of Juan de Fuca:

        
(Photos Ken Pfister)

Saturday-Thursday 4-9th August 2012

Over the weekend, sailed on to a baking hot Friday Hbr to clear US Customs (charged $19, to my surprise! I'm sure now that was wrong, in view of my Cruising Permit...) & met Sue and Jim Corenman (who run Sailmail for cruisers) who sailed out to accompany me in - a lovely gesture!

After an enjoyable dinner with them, I met up with a friendly group of boaters from Canoe Cove (nr Sidney) and Cypress Mt (nr Vancouver), celebrating the imminent wedding of one of their number, Mike (on a lovely old wooden boat 'Moonbeam' that he'd renovated).

On Sunday, I was collected by Brad to be driven around for a short tour of San Juan Island & then over to his house in a forested area for lunch with his wife, who then took me on to Roche Hbr to meet friends Laurie and Warren for an evening meal and chat... lots to catch up on!

Finally arrived in Port Townsend on Monday 6th August to 'complete the circle' RTW to/from there - had a warm welcome from several people who came to greet me on arrival in Pt Hudson:

- nice to meet up with old friends again and had a meal with some later.  (Flags got slightly tangled on being hoisted, so had to climb mast to sort them out.)   Met Penelope who's organizing the renovation of the 'Felicity Ann' which was the boat sailed solo by Ann Davidson across the Atlantic from Britain quite a time ago. She's using it as a 'vehicle' for helping young at-risk teenage girls and teaching interested women basic boatbuilding skills. (She kindly invited me to use her landline for two 'Breakfast Show' telephone inteviews the next morning - had to get up at 5.30am to keep to the CBC radio presenters' schedule!)

Was pleased not to have sailed over on Tuesday - thick fog in Puget Sound area for most of the day!

Saw Carol Hasse about mainsail repair & servicing and Brian Toss wandered over, keen to check my rig tension and mast shape - generously gave me an early 'Christmas present' of a nice Harken block for the furling line lead - felt it would ease my effort a lot when furling if I had a decent block close to the drum. Friend Dianna helped clean up around my Lexan washboard edges and nearby woodwork after removing the duct tape that I'd used to prevent water getting below should we be pooped on passage from Tasmania. (Getting over that fixed, high washboard has been a definite hurdle for several of the people visiting me down below!) Had interviews with local reporters for publication in Wednesday's papers and met up with Rob who's kindly been storing boat items not needed for a nonstop RTW attempt - left most of them with him until my return next year but thinking about possibly taking dinghy & outboard with me in October.

Headed back over to B.C. on Wednesday morning in weak sunshine, initially making good use of a helpful ebb tide, across a near-deserted Strait of Juan de Fuca towards Haro Strait and then Sidney, arriving well before sunset. An enjoyable, relaxing passage past San Juan Island and a variety of smaller islands with lots of seals and seabirds around - little black and white murres, in particular, are everywhere - there's lovely, gentle cruising to be had in the San Juans and Gulf Islands around here.

No wind until near to the marina, when it really got up and made berthing difficult - good to have friendly boaters nearby (twice over) to help... Had to stop at the Customs Dock to clear Customs into Canada by phone (!) and then on to my allocated berth where I finally made good use of my bowthruster a couple of times - I normally refuse to use it on principle (or even totally forget I have it!!), feeling I should be able to manoeuvre my boat without such things... Hoisted my celebratory courtesy flags again, as well as 'dressing' 'Nereida' overall - she deserves it! She looks great - especially in the bright sunshine of Thursday morning. On Friday I'll be sailing a short distance around to nearby Canoe Cove to see Brent of Blackline - another excellent rigger who'll be checking over the rig in detail. He already came up with several thoughts on upgrading below-par/worn blocks and sheaves & other items on deck when visiting the boat in Victoria very soon after my arrival. (Several sheaves are totally worn and need replacing - not up to Southern Ocean use!) I'll also be trying to sort out my battery replacement and getting on with a whole host of other jobs on board. It'll be a busy time!

Wednesday-Friday 1st-3rd August 2012

 (Photo: MaryLou Wakefield)

We crossed our outbound path under full canvas to complete this circumnavigation at about 0915GMT(0215PDT) at 48 21'N, 125 19.5'W, on Wednesday 1st August (Day 20 from Hawaii), while sailing at 6 kt towards Tatoosh Island at the W entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca between Canada and the USA..

Lots of shipping around but we were well clear of it, although Tofino Radio informing me they couldn't see our AIS signal, nor a radar signal, was not welcome - so very little sleep was had overnight.. We struggled to make way with strong, swirling, ebb tidal current, while passing Tatoosh Island and on to Neah Bay, under overcast skies.

However, on reaching Pillar Pt, skies cleared completely and wind increased to well over 20 knots, so by 2pm we were enjoying a lovely, fast sail towards Victoria in bright sunshine, under a clear blue sky, with no shipping in sight, carrying a strong flood tide!! Fabulous!

I had to phone Ken , who was planning to take photos from the breakwater as I sailed through Victoria Harbour entrance, to ask him to let others know also that my ETA was being brought well forward ...We were making 9.6-10.4 kt SOG, with two reefs in, and just 20 mls to go! What a glorious finish!

After entering the breakwater, I downed the sails and made my way carefully alongside the float-plane take-off path to arrive at Ship Point, not far from the Empress Hotel and in sight of the Parliament building, just before 5pm PDT, to be greeted by friends, happy to see me back safely.... Lovely to see them also, but I first had to wait for officials to arrive so as to clear Customs before we could properly celebrate my landfall! Chek News TV camera was there, along with 'Times Colonist' reporter - so I made the evening news and next day's papers...! Everyone around has been very kind and I've had lots of good wishes and congratulations, so the last few days have been very pleasant - helped by continuing bright sunshine. I dressed 'Nereida' overall in gaily-coloured code flags and also hoisted lots of courtesy flags - a 'traditional' way to celebrate the completion of a circumnavigation!

Unfortunately, due to a 'technical hitch', the telephone interview by Sir Robin Kox-Johnson on BBC Radio Solent Friday evening didn't take place - disappointing, but it's expected to be re-scheduled for later this month.

There's a festive air i n Victoria - Monday is B.C. Day, making for a long holiday weekend, which includes a Symphony Concert in the Harbour on Sunday - so the Victoria Harbour area is full of boats and people enjoying the warm days and entertainers on the waterfront.

Tuesday 31st July 2012 (Day 19)

11am
Sunshine .... although weak - but better than rainclouds! Land in sight on my AIS screen! .... Nootka Sound to Barkley Sound, on the west coast of Vancouver Island... great scenery.... quiet, anchorages.... I've sailed in both, on way S from Alaska in 2006.

Just over 120 miles to Tatoosh Island and Cape Flattery LH (that's the photo at the head of my website Home page!), 180 miles to Victoria and landfall...
I'm definitely feeling quite excited - need to string together those code flags and courtesy flags if I'm to hoist them in celebration tomorrow!

6pm
60 ml from Vancouver Island (Ucluelet Inlet), 77 ml from Tatoosh Island and Cape Flattery LH - they should be quite close by dawn tomorrow!

About to top up fuel tank a little , not that I think there's a problem - but I'd hate to be proved wrong!

Gentle motor-sailing all day with W-WNW wind mostly 9-11kt. Apparent wind usually from abaft the beam, occasionally slightly forward of the beam when the wind dropped or veered slightly. If I didn't want to avoid a night time transit of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, I could have sailed slowly without the motor but using motor just a touch ensures a daylight arrival at Tatoosh Island and on through the Strait to Victoria. Big deadheads in the water are not easy to see in the daytime - and impossible at night!

ETA at Victoria Hbr tomorrow is looking like 5pm onward - I hope the weather stays fine! (Daylight lasts until near 10pm, just now) Ken Pfister has very kindly agreed to take some photos of 'Nereida' arriving at the harbour entrance - hopefully sailing until well inside the harbour breakwater..! That will be a nice memento.

I've adjusted my clock to local time: PDT = GMT-7hrs = Pacific Daylight Time which, during the summer months of 'daylight saving', is one hour ahead of PST = Pacific Standard Time = GMT - 8hrs (confusing use of 'S' for Brits, who are presently in BST = British Summer Time, one hour ahead of GMT!!)

I heard today that friends had hoped to accompany me in their boat through the Harbour entrance tomorrow - but then found their engine overheating so they couldn't make it down in time - a lovely thought, though. And another friend, who would have done the same, has his boat on the hard just now, with mast unstepped ..... He had accompanied me out through the entrance in the pouring rain at the start of my RTW, in October 2010 , which was also a very kind gesture!!

Had an email from the BBC today. They want to interview me 'live' on their sailing programme this Friday evening. Sir Robin Knox-Johnson, who I met in January when he presented me with an award from the Cruising Association, will interview me at 2030 BST on Solent Radio - 'streamed' on the BBC website, I believe.... That should be fun!

10pm
Lovely!! We're finally sailing nicely under full canvas at 6.5 kt in WNW4-5 (14-18 kt) on a beam reach... peaceful and gentle! I'll be having a very broken sleep tonight - with fishing boats near and land ahead, I must be very careful - but tomorrow night, I'll sleep well!

1am
Seems our AIS signal is not being transmitted - according to Tofino Traffic, we're not 'visible' - neither on radar nor on AIS - and there are lots of big tnkers and other ships around - worrying!! Not much sleep tonight, I think!!

Sunday/Monday 29/30th July 2012 (Days 17/18)

Managing with difficulty to keep on target for early evening Wed 1st August arrival at Ship Point in Victoria Hbr, close to Empress Dock Causeway - but with mostly light , fickle W winds, use of 'iron sail' has been essential to keep up our speed, with frequent motorsailing to avoid both night landfall and also night passage through the Strait of Juan de Fuca - never a very good idea in view of the possible hazard of big logs or tree trunks in the water (a general hazard throughout B.C. waters) added into possible tugs with long log tows, big ships headed to Seattle or Vancouver and fishing vessels passing through on their way to the coast.

Have kept the pole up - mostly with the genoa poled out on it, goosewinged with the mains'l, but at times the genoa has been taken off the pole and over to starboard, as the wind has veered slightly under a raincloud- and then usually increased for a short while so often I was able to cut the engine for some peace and quiet under sail alone.

With the light winds, swell has become minimal so moving about the boat has been a lot easier. Sea temperature has actually increased slightly - clearly we've moved out of the colder S-flowing Alaska current and into slightly warmer inshore waters.

Tonight, occasionally, the rainclouds have cleared to give a lovely view of the near-full moon shining on the relatively calm sea... but no starry skies... Last night, I was out on deck frequently, dealing with the sails but had no need of a torch or headlamp with the bright moonlight being diffused through the thin cloud layer.

Lots of emails to answer or compose again - both congratulatory ones, being so close to finishing now, and ones dealing with boat problems or arrangements to deal with problems. It doesn't help that radio communication is often poor just now - so getting a connection to send/receive emails has often been time-consuming.

Had another go at contacting Tofino Radio - being only just over 200 ml away, I thought it might be easier... I knew what to do this time, after calling on 2182 and 4125 kHz to no avail ... Called up COMSTA Kodiak on 6215 and they relayed my message to Tofino (by phone?). Eventually heard Tofino calling on 4MHz but they couldn't hear me. There was nothing heard on 2MHz. So we still haven't communicated. Close to the Strait, I should be able to use VHF to talk to them - maybe!!

'Charisma' has been on passage for several days from Honolulu now, headed to Seattle, so we've had a regular 'sched' and it's been good to chat for a time most evenings - just as when we both sailed from Tahiti to Hawaii. They've had a problem with water collecting in the bilges - something the pump is coping with just now but clearly a job for when they get in! Chris and Alexis' son Seth has been busy with schoolwork whilst on passage - it still has to be done, ready for September! It was the same for Doug and Susan's three children on 'Long Shot II' - presently on passage from Fanning Island to Penrhyn - schoolwork has to take place most days if they're not to be behind when they return to Canada next year.

DMG: Sunday: 141 n.ml. ; Monday: 138 n.ml. - would be nice if we'd been able consistently to keep up the 7kt or more we had under a cloud for a time over last night!!

Distance to Tatoosh Island/Cape Flattery (Mon 1700PDT/Tues 0000 GMT) : 232 n.ml.

Friday/Saturday 27/28th July 2012 (Days 15/16)

Very mixed sailing - excellent yesterday afternoon and overnight as a passing Low and Cold Front gave good wind - we were consistently making around 7.4kt. Eventually, around midnight, in fine rain, I took in the first reef, being clearly over-canvassed in winds of 18 kt ...and we still made the same speed! Early this morning, the wind suddenly dropped and veered, increasing again, not long afterward - I gybed the mains'l.. in drizzle. Later found we were heading DDW, in slightly backed wind, so I poled out the genoa - took the usual long time...! It's stayed poled-out all day and into tonight.

Thought I should try to contact Tofino Radio last night to let them know I'm single-handing and soon to get close to the shippping lanes of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and also expecting to make landfall in Victoria, Canada , from Hawaii, USA, so needing to inform Immigration and Customs. Should have been simple enough - just call on the Distrass and Calling HF channels, which they should be keeping watch on, and then move to their working channel once contact made.... Simple...? No way!

I called on each of the dedicated channels several times, but got no response from Tofino. Made excellent contact with New Zealand on 12 and 9 MHz though - Taupo Coast Radio heard my boat name and came up to find out who I was trying to contact... They knew me, of course, from my twice-daily reporting-in from NZ waters all the way to Tahiti and he commented - "Not far to go now!"... Then Kodiak (Alaska) joined the party - COMSTA Kodiak (don't know that that stands for!) came up to ask whether I had a problem and eventually relayed lots of info about the boat to Tofino who had a problem copying me - from 650 mls away...!!

I couldn't figure out why we couldn't talk on another, better frequency, rather than 'COMSTA Kodiak' having continually to relay my information... If I could speak to Alaska and New Zealand, surely I should have been able to speak directly to Tofino? Anyway, I ended up with a Transit number - U150, I was told. Presumably for their paperwork and to quote at officials when I land. Tofino will now keep an eye out for any shipping in my vicinity that might cause me a problem (or vice versa) - and hopefully warn us of each other's presence. AIS isn't infallible - especiallly when fishing vessels and barges with long log tows are around.

I found a packet of ANZAC bicuits when I looked for some fresh ones to have with my tea - from Australia, of course. I was in Tasmania on Anzac Day and all the shops were selling stacks of 'Anzac biscuits'... Turns out that 40% of the selling price goes to RSL (Returning Services League) to help support Veterans, their families and the wider community - seemed a good way to raise funds!. The RSL was started in 1916 for support after the bloodshed at Gallipoli - which Anzac Day originally commemorated, with so many Aus and NZ soldiers in action (and killed) there.

I heard the London Olympics opening ceremony was last night - I'm missing the Games totally.... Will have lots of catching up to do on landfall! Hope our sailors do as well this time in Portland as 4 yrs ago in Qingdao - they did supremely well there!

DMG Friday: 128 n.ml.; Saturday: 147 n.ml. Distance toTatoosh Island : 511 n.ml.

Thursday 26th July 2012 (Day 14)

Not long after writing yesterday's report - fog came down and stayed for quite a time... not too surprising, in view of the far cooler sea temperatures seen lately... then suddenly, before sunset, it lifted, but grey cloud persisted, along with occasional light rain - continuing over today...

The wind, as expected, had veered into the WNW later yesterday, so the genoa pole had to be taken down and the mains'l gybed - took a time, as usual, and before going up to do all that, I'd donned foul weather gear, ready for the dripping wet foggy conditions on deck - first time foulies have been needed since sitting out helming in torrential rain overnight passing through the Southern Cooks, at 20.5S, nearly 8 weeks ago. (Fog wasn't too dense, in fact, although visibility was very restricted.)

Overnight, we kept on making good speed., as the wind slowly veered into NW, but by this morning, it had dropped, and continued slowly to drop more over the day, so we've been motor-sailing ..... presently, in 4-5 kts from well abaft the beam. With the good sailing overnight, and motor-sailing from later this morning to keep a better speed, DMG looks pretty reasonable, at 144 n.ml.

It's noticeably colder - I finally gave in and donned socks and warm fleece top! Sea temp has dropped further - now 15C.

Still spending a lot of time getting ready for 'boat projects' after landfall - lots to think about and organize from a distance by email, trying to prepare the boat for October.

Tonight I finished the last of the Tasmanian never-chilled, free-range eggs - the ones that have lasted best were small but very thick-shelled. Onion omelette with potato - and I added in some asparagus - decadent... but very nice!

These light winds are set to continue for several days, it seems - bad news for my hoped-for ETA of 1st August... It wouldn't make any difference were we further north, either. Don't have enough fuel to motor fast, only at low revs, hoping to motorsail gently in the increased apparent wind it causes - but not much help just now, with the wind looking as though it's starting to back - we'll have to gybe back onto starboard tack, that means... I'd hoped to avoid a final overnight of sailing up the Strait of Juan de Fuca, with the need for almost no sleep, being so close to shipping lanes and shore.... We'll see how the timing works out, this time next week!

Monday/Tuesday 23rd/24th July 2012 (Days 11/12)

Amazing how just a little bit of 'tweaking' can increase boat speed by over half a knot... Wind is from SSW --> SW slowly, but varies at times, and with the true wind being very light and from well abaft the beam, the 'iron sail' is gently providing apparent wind from more forward than otherwise, so it's worth keeping a good eye on the sails and wind direction to make the best speed possible.... i want to get in a.s.a.p. but I'm keeping a careful eye on fuel, to make sure consumption is minimal, as expected!!

My 'smiley' chart plotter keeps tellling me my ETA is 1st August - but only if I can keep up an average speed of 6 kt or more... We're very close to the centre of the High - but that's moving off slightly to the SW and a small Low is forecast to come by to our N soon - giving increased wind for a day but, in general, winds are expected to be light for several days, so we'll be motor-sailing for a bit yet. That's not someting I'll have the luxury of being able to do next time I come this way (hopefully!) since then it'll be a case of 'Sails alone all the way' with no use of motor except out of gear for charging, if needed. If that were the case this time around, I'd either have gone further N, hoping to keep stronger wind, or I'd have just accepted that I'd be sailing a lot more slowly but keeping position in relation to the High's centre, to avoid the wind from heading us ....

I can't get used to this gentle sailing in bright sunshine under full canvas in minimal swell .... very pleasant! I'm so used to being reefed down in big swell - having difficulty moving about down below due to being heeled over and lurching around a lot... Life is very easy just now!

Tsunami debris - very little seen, although I did rush up on deck early yesterday evening after hearing a big 'clonk' on the hull - saw something floating away astern but couldn't see what it was... could well have been a log, ... but who knows?

Cresent moon is waxing nicely now - weird effect early last night when it suddenly appeared, partly hidden, from behind broken clouds low in the W...

Spending a lot of time thinking ahead to work needed and making arrangements in general for after landfall (emails galore!) - thinking in particular about rigging, batteries and a lot of other small but important jobs I want to get done. My whiteboard above the chart table is so full of notes to myself, I've run out of space!

it's nice to have a couple of friends helping me from onshore - I have no Internet or telephone directories here, so I appreciate that a lot. I've even started organizing fresh, free-range, unchilled eggs for October, already! A Winlink sysop got into contact with me via my website (Jean Claude, VE7AXY) and it turned out that he and his wife have laying hens on their small farm between Comox and Campbell River - not enough to supply all my needs but they have a friend....!! (I fried two of my Tasmanian eggs last night - still OK from last week of April - go figure!)

I'm also delighted that Thora Brooks, of the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority, has managed to find me a berth on Ship Pt for 1-3 August, despite the busy weekend - thanks for that, Thora! It's nice to know I'll have somewhere to tie up to on arrival... I'm thinking of getting out all my code flags, burgees and courtesy flags from all over the world - so I can 'dress overall' on arrival - might not be the right flags in the proper order (yes - there's a 'proper', traditional way of ordering just the code flags!) - but it would be a fun way to celebrate my completion on arrival!! I hope I don't arrive in the dark of night....

DMG Monday: 141 n.ml. Tuesday: 133 n.ml. - helped by calm seas and 'iron sail'.

Distance to Tatoosh Island Tues 2pm LT: 1065 n.ml.

Sunday 22nd July 2012 (Day 10)

A day of mixed sunshine and cloud - but no rain.. Quite a lot of sunny skies, interspersed with extensive overcast - which this morning led to the wind almost disappearing, only to come back again nicely once the cloud cover had moved away.

Pair of storm petrels have been seen regularly - they seem to have adopted us! There was a twittering noise after sunset , as dusk fell, as they fluttered around on fast-beating wings...

I caught sight of something leaping out of the water this afternoon - a dolphin! I rushed up on deck to see lots of them headed this way, many leaping up into the air - several played around our bow for a time, before they all made off..... Always such a pleasure to see them...

11pm Just downloading some more weatherfaxes and a satpic - showing just light cloud cover over Vancouver Island and the Pacific NW of the US..... so hopefully, they're getting some summer weather there at last!

I've just been up on deck in the dark to trim the sails - makes all the difference to our speed, of course, when they're trimmed correctly. The wind is slowly veering as I sail around the N.Pacific High, so I need to trim quite often .

We've made good progress - DMG today was 156 n.ml.- but we're definitely slowing down now and expect light winds for quite a time - possibly all the way to the coast. I'd been following the Great Circle route to Cape Flattery since yesterday, when the wind veered to SE, but decided this evening to do a 'jiggle' more to the NE for a bit to avoid getting too close to the High's centre over the next couple of days or so, in the hope of keeping some wind, rather than very little!

Saturday 21st July 2012 (Day 9)

8:30am A light, misty, broken overcast -with light drizzle at times. Edge of the cloud clearly seen on W-NW horizon. Wind had veered after heavy raincloud earlier, but then backed slightly in the drizzle.. Then more drizzle and sky completely overcast. Wind was very light and rather variable yesterday, overnight & this morning - mainly NNE-NE, so we were struggling to maintain even a Northerly course.

Downloading weatherfaxes - present & forecast plus satpic - all very useful. Getting more complicated, now we're out of the NE Trades and close to the High pressure centre - which keeps moving around...

2pm - Sunny sky - clouds gone away - lovely sailing in SE wind and 1m seas. Looks as though we might have 'turned the corner' at last!! Fingers crossed....! Full canvas since late yesterday. A nice change after last night's and this morning's rainy/cloudy conditions ...

4pm When you see 7.2kt on the display (and that's SOG, with boat speed shown as more) and we're bouncing along under a blue sky so smoothly - you know things are going well!!!

A lot more plastic debris seen this afternoon- from tiny bits of polystyrene (I guess, from the way it floats so high in the water) to bottles and slightly larger pieces around 15cm square - but nothing very large so far, except for a bright yellow buoy seen from 1-2 miles away, a much smaller black buoy this evening with lots of growth below the water surface but shiny clean on top (I guess that's been floating around here for quite a time!) and, yesterday, the bottom part of a tree trunk - 4-5ft long.
I'm noting lat/long and time of sighting for the University of Hawaii who posted forms in Honolulu for that purpose to cruisers like myself making passage north through the area of the N.Pacific High.

Got a bit cloudy before sunset but it all cleared away again, leaving a slender, crescent moon shining brightly above the salmon-pink sky in the W. Still making 7.0kt SOG under full canvas in the relatively calm sea - waves and swell 1-1.5m maximum.

Seeing occasional ships on AIS - all well off - we're crossing major shipping routes to and from West Coast US ports to ports in Asia. One is crossing our path ahead now - but his closest approach will be over 8 ml in 45 minutes' time, my screen tells me... We 'passed' San Francisco yesterday and will shortly be 'passing' Cape Mendocino (at 40d 26'N) - both 1500 ml, or more, to our East!!

Time for food... and then a 'blitz' on emails - too many waiting to be written.... 'holiday' over....

DMG today: 124 n.ml - result of the variable wind under clouds, veering and backing, often dropping ..... and a very 'wobbly' path as a result, despite some good speeds at times!
Distance to Strait of Juan de Fuca: 1491 n.ml.___________________________________________________________________
Link to NEREIDA's recent track: http://www.exactearth.com/media-centre/recent-ship-tracks/tracking-nereida/ See 'Travels' page on website, also.

Friday 20th July 2012 (Day 8)

What a lovely, relaxed day it's been, with relatively calm seas for a change!

A few clouds overnight and this morning gave wind gusts and lulls, so highly varying boat speeds (2.5-6.5kt!)... but most of today it's been sunny, with broken light cloud and good sailing.

Now (just after sunset, at 2020 LT), we're creaming along at 5.5-6 kt in 10 kt of E-ESE wind, with very little swell, making 020-040T - our course varying with wind direction, but it's good to be heading roughly NNE and excellent if we head NE! We just came under an extensive layer of low, grey cloud, so no star-gazing expected for the time being.

The centre of the High is just to our NE - not so far way - and expected to move off ENE to give SE winds tomorrow, veering to S soon after, .... so I'm hoping we can keep this heading, or better.

I decided to have a 'day off' emails today and relaxed with my book instead, in between sitting in the cockpit after sail trimming to 'enjoy the moment'. For lunch, I made some ham sandwiches using sliced bread bought in Tahiti - 'de longue duration'...!! Not the kind of bread I'd normally buy, being very soft, white bread - but it's made a welcome change and I was interested to try it. (I was interested to hear from the Czech single-hander Petr, on 'Singa', when we chatted on HF radio at the end of March near Tasmania, that he had provisioned with bread specially baked for him and then vacuum-packed in nitrogen, for his nonstop RTW attempt. That would certainly prevent mould growth!)

A few bits of small plastic debris have been spotted, including one blue rectangular bowl with plenty of growth on its edges - possibly, but not necessarily, from Japan, as a result of the tsunami. Unless I see Japanese writing on it, there's no way of telling! I'm hoping not to come into contact with any of the larger pieces of debris that are supposed to lie on my present path north - could be nasty.... A bit of a worry, to be honest!

At 1400LT - DMG: 121 n.ml. To Strait of Juan de Fuca entrance (N of Tatoosh Island): 1589 n.ml.

Tuesday -Thursday 17-19th July 2012 (Days 5-7)

Busy trying to orgainize things for landfall and after - all meaning lots of emails dealing with possible berthing & work on board - rigging, computer system, sails, batteries, leaks, watermaker, instruments ...and lots more... all taking up a lot of time - so log reports have got slightly behind!

All that in between trying to keep up a decent speed and course - keeping an eye on weather and the position of the Pacific High via weatherfaxes and gribs to help decide which way to head. Actually fairly easy just now since wind is sending us a bit to W of our N-NNE course so it's simply a matter of making the best close-hauled course possible to make the best of the situation until we get to just W of the High's centre at which point we can start heading for the Strait of J de F more directly... The only 'minor' complication in all that being that the High's centre is never stationary - it keeps moving so it becomes a bit of a guessing game in trying to sail around it!

Tuesday started out cloudy but by midday we were sailing in pleasant sunny conditions and making very good speed at times - and over Wednesday also. Lovely sailing under mainly blue skies... so pleasant in fact that I decided at one point to relax and picked up Barbara McDougall's "The Rum 'uns" to read some more Tasmanian light-hearted tales . The occasional large cloud mass caused the increasing wind to veer, with accompanying heeling and acceleration ...and then often the wind finally died right away..... NO! Don't unfurl more or shake out a reef !... Patience... ! The wind always came back up again!! Today has been grey and gusty with frequent wind shifts - not a fast day, being slightly more close-hauled this afternoon so as not to be pushed too far off course by the NE wind.

Dawn - a bright Venus, still in company with Jupiter (and Aldebaran still close by as well, I think).

I finally tied in the 2nd reef on Wednesday night..... we were heeling way too much and life was getting decidedly uncomfortable... but then I just had to stop in the cockpit to enjoy the amazingly bright stars and Milky Way ... Leo was prancing away low in the W...a low-orbiting satellite (communications?) passed N to S overhead... and then a flash and streak of light as a meteorite ended its days by burning up.

A Sooty Shearwater has come by over the last two days - a large dark bird. They migrate north for the summer here but breed on the islands of the southern hemisphere - where I last saw one.

I found a good-sized flying fish in the cockpit this morning - such a sacrifice was not to be ignored, so I had a nice lunch -fried in green olive oil after de-scaling, cleaning and rinsing it in seawater - lots of fine bones to be careful of, but very tasty!

DMG: Tues: 136 n.ml. ; Wed: 148 n.ml. ; Thurs: 138 n.ml. Distance to Strait of Juan de Fuca entrance (N of Tatoosh Island) on Thursday: 1655 n.ml.

Sea Temp is down to 28C from the 30's of recent times and air is around 25C. With the overcast skies, I finally covered my arms and legs today ... it's feeling cooler!