Etappe 85, Kryssing av Stillehavet, Panama City til Hiva Oa

Vi startet far Panama City 10 mars og ankret opp ved Hiva Oa 11 april. Totalt 4 043 nautiske mil med gjennomsnittsfart 5.1 knop. Vi hadde en fin tur, opplevde mye på godt og vondt. Utstyr sviktet, vinden ble bort, seilte oss fast i fiskeutstyr, mye vind, flatt hav og store bølger, regn og sol. Og det var godt å få fast land under føttene etter nesten 33 dager.

Og, båten grodde ned på turen, mistet nok 1-2 knop fart på grunn av groen.

Under er kommentarene fra trackingen lastet ned.

Day 1

We sailed from Marina La Playita yesterday at 15:10. We had sailing wind. 4 to 12 m/s until midnight. Then the wind disappeared and we had to motoring until seven in the morning. The we cut the engine and started to sail. But the wind was low 2-3 m/s and from behind so the speed was very low, around 2 knots. During the night waves became flat. The wind increased by noon to 5-10 m/s. Life aboard is lazy, and we use the time preparing for 40 days at sea. Since yesterday we have sailes 115 nautical miles and that gives mean speed 4.8knots.

Day 2

Since report yesterday we have had sailing wind. Through the night waves a wind was building up. And around 6 am we had a squall. For a minute or two is was a little chaotic, but sail was reduced and everything was back to normal. After noon the wind and waves were calmed down and so was the speed. At 2 pm the wind totally disappeared and we had to start the engine.

We use predictwind every day to find the route for best sailing. The area between here and Galapagos is known for changing winds and no winds.

Yesterday grab bags was made and survival suits where placed in an easy place for use. Today life raft is placed in an easy lace to reach. So far the menu has been simply with burgers and hotdogs. Today hopefully something else will be on the menu. But we drink a lot of water in the heat.

Last day we have sailed 130 nautical miles an had a mean speed of 5.4 knots

Day 3

Since last report we have had little wind. During the night we had to motoring. For the last hour the wind has picked up, just for to disappear again. We have visit of several birds. Nice but they are cover our solar panels with shit and that is not so good. The watch schedule seems to be good established, so sleep is no good. Yesterday we had chicken wings and vegetables for dinner. Lunch was "mørpølse, agurk and fenalår». So no complaints.

During the night we had two rain showers and one for an hour ago.

Since last report we have sailed 101 nautical miles with mean speed 4.2 knots

Day. 4

Yesterday we hunted wind all the way to midnight. From midnight to early morning we catches good sailing winds. It was fabulous to turn of the engine. During today we have sailed all day. The conditions has been a little variable. Waves has been small all the way.

Steinar-E got a pack of dolphins on his watch this morning. They played around the boat for a while.

Dinner yesterday was pasta bolognese.

For the first time since we left land Panama we saw a catamaran passing us far away on port side. We used binoculars and spotted the boat. She sailed with a big spinnaker and had a speed near 8 knots.

Now we are going to find some fishing gear and try the fishing luck

We have since last report sailed 111 nautical miles and the mean speed has been 4.6 knots.

We are using predictwind to create the best sailing route. We update the route once a day.

Day 5

Yesterday after reporting the wind almost died. We continued sailing but the speed was low. We also had several rain showers. One lasted for an hour and dropped a lot of water. We worked all the time with the sails to get most of the wind. We had to motoring through the night. This morning the wind picked up again and we could sail for several hours.

We had homemade meatballs for dinner.

No fishing yesterday but we are going to try today, if we can locate where I have stalled them away. Found them and fishing line is now in the sea.

We have sailed 86 nautical miles since last report, mean speed 3.6knots.

Day 6

days are used for hunting wind. We are a little disappointed that the forecast is way off several times. We got some hours yesterday with nice sailing wind, but it disappeared during the night and we had to run engine again. Before noon we turned the engine off and has been sailing with wind between 2 and below 4 m/s. It's going forward but not fast.

During the night we had a small bird visiting us. He sat just a half meter from the mate. The bird kept us company until the light arrived this morning. Then it bip' twice and flew away. We also had some dolphins visiting this morning. Beautiful animals.

We still fish with no luck. Twice we have had something on the lure, but lost it before entering the boat. (Doesn't everyone)

Egg and bacon for breakfast today.

It seems like we are crossing the equator before Galapagos. Exciting.

We have sailed 101 nautical miles since last report with 4.2 knots mean

Day 7

The wind pick up a little after last report and increased even more towards the evening. Around 7 PM the boat went from 6 knots to zero with no change in the wind. It was dark and we didn't understand what was happening. We started to look around the boat with a flashlight and saw some ropes along both sides of the boat. We was caught in some fishing gear. We took in all sails and took down the bathing platform and with a boat hook we manage to catch the ropes. We cut them and a buoy showed up. We released it from the boat and the boat started to move forward again. We hoisted sail and got the speed up again. after a while Stein-Erik checked behind the boat, and saw another rope dragging after the boat. We managed to catch it, but one end was stocked under the boat. We secured the line and decided to check next morning in daylight. This morning I dressed up with my snorkel and flippers and dived under the boat. It was easy to untie the fishing line. So no we are back in order.

Today the iridium tracker stopped to function. We haven't been able to fix it yet, but are working on it.

We had sailing wind through the night, but it disappeared early this morning. So no wind so fare today.

Since last report we have sailed 113 nautical miles, with 4.7 knots in mean.

Day 8

Since last report there has been no wind. We have been motoring all the way. The iridium tracker won't work. So no we are waiting for the supportsenter. It's fascinating how much time we can use on a little box.

While we are waiting for the iridium I am testing out another tracking device.

https://www.noforeignland.com/boat/festinalente/journey

The update is not so regular, but will try to figure something out.

Yesterday we crossed equator around 15:45. We shared some champagne with king Neptune.

We are now crossing south of Galapagos.

Since last report we have sailed 109 nautical miles with mean speed 4.5 knots.

Day 9

Last day has been a hunt for wind. We have motoring most of the time. there was a couple of hours this night we got some sailing wind. We have passed the Galapagos on the south side. Now we have set course to way the trade winds. We hope to reach them tomorrow morning. We have since this morning had some heavy swell.

In front us we have 3 other boat heading in the same direction as us.

Iridium is still working so that is good. Starlink has function very well the whole way.

Since last report we have sailed 116 nautical miles, with a mean speed 4.8 knots

Day 10

Yesterday was another day without wind. Frustrating. But some time after midnight we caught some wind and has been sailing since. Around 7 am this morning we had a squall with a heavy rain shower. It heavenly rained for an hour. Everything in the cockpit was wet in seconds.

We haven't seen the sun so far today, but the air temperature is 25 degrees Celsius.

We have sailed 128 nautical miles since yesterday with a mean speed 5.3 knots.

Day 11

Yesterday weather was cloudy and rainy. But we had sail wind all the way. The wind was a little up and down but had good speed. Today the sky is blue and the sun is shining. The wind give us good speed and the waves are small. So pretty much ideal conditions.

So we celebrated with pancakes and syrup for breakfast.

Since last report we have sailed 138 nautical miles with a mean speed 5.7 knots. Both records for this crossing.

Day 12

After last report yesterday the weather became cloudy and some rain showers. Good sailing wind.

During the night we were hooked up in fishing gear three times with hours between. It's a strange feeling when the boat suddenly stops with good wind and sails with perfect shape. But we have learned and have no good routines for releasing us from the fishing gear.

This morning started with weak wind. It lasted 4 hours before the wind picked up. Now we sailing with ok wind.

The weather is a little cloudy.

Since last report we have sailed 137 nautical miles with a mean speed 5.7 knots

Day 13

The wind calm down yesterday afternoon and picked up again this morning. Are now sailing with good speed. Some waves, but ok comfort. No fishing gear this night, so night watches went smoothly except for one squall last night. But that was just training in taking sail in and out in heavy wind. Otherwise days goes by and we are closer to target.

Last day we had beef with vegetables for dinner. The sauce was made from fantasy and became very good.

Just now we got an issue with the Honda 22i that we use for producing electricity. We are working on it.

We have sailed 139 since last report with mean speed 5.8 knots.

We have now sailed more than 1500 nautical miles since we left Panama City and so far we have had a mean speed of 4.9 knots.

Day 14

It has been rough night. Plenty of gusts, heavy rain and wind changing direction all the time. Waves has been big and messy. To guys are tired since it was difficult to sleep last night. During the day it has been cloudy, some rain showers and wind up and down with shifting directions. Waves has been messy but smaller than this night.

Since last report we have sailed 144 nautical miles with a mean speed 6.0 knots.

Day 15

We are missing the sun. It has been cloudy (one big cloud covering the whole sky) for several days with rain showers now and then. Wind is a little up and down shifting direction often. Wave at not big, 1.5-2 meters but are very messy which gives lesser comfort. This night we got some sleep, not because of weather but because we were so tired. During the day the weather has been like the last days.

Forecast for tomorrow is some sunshine.

We have since last report sailed 148 nautical miles with a mean speed 6.1 knots.

Day 16

Yesterday we was caught in rain weather. It rain for 4 hours and the wind was rapidly up and down and shifted direction several times. We got really wet steering and working with sails. The messy waves made it a challenge to cook dinner. When we finally left the rain area the win stabilised on port side again. We had a good sailing wind most of the night. But early this morning we had more rain and shifting winds. At midday we are back in clouds with some blue spots here and there.

Since last report we have sailed 140 nautical miles with a mean speed 5.8 knots.

We will during the night be halfway to Hiva Ou.

Day 17

Jippy, yesterday we were crossed the halfway point.

The wind and waves calmed down yesterday and have been so since. So no smooth sailing. Speed a little low, but the comfort is high. The weather was pretty good last evening to this morning. Then the clouds arrived and the sun disappeared. Now the clouds are splitting up and the sun is on its way.

Since last report we have sailed 35 nautical miles with a mean speed 5.6 knots

We are more than halfway. We have sailed 2091 nautical miles and have 1920 miles to target. Mean speed so far has been 5.1 knots.

Day 18

A lazy day. Small adjustment on sails and a lot of sun and no rain showers.

Yesterday we used rest of the tenderloin in a Mexican pot. The tenderloin we bought at Rey was so tender that it melted on the tongue. Can recommend.

Yesterday evening we caught a fish. When we manage to pull it onboard some other fish had taken a bite of it. The fish looked like a barracuda, but we believe it some other sort.

We are going to use it as bate today. It seems to be a Wahoo.

Since last report we have sailed 138 nautical miles with a mean speed 5.7 knots.y

Day 19

It has been a tough night, heavy waves and heavy wind with changing directions. Everything loose is secured and we hold on to the nearest grip. The forecast tells us it will last until noon tomorrow. So it's just to find a good book to read. The weather is partly clouded.

Since last report we have sailed 152 nautical miles with a mean speed 6.3 knots.

Day 20

During yesterday the waves and wind calmed so we could restore comfort again. Loose some speed but that's ok. No rain and a lot of sun, moon and stars. 20 days is long to be on sea, so we notice that days are looking alike. Same routines 24/7. The wind is now coming directly from behind so spribom is sat for the foresail.

Since last report we have sailed 131 nautical miles with a mean speed 5.4 knots

We have now sailed more than 2500 nautical miles.

Day 21

Yesterday turn out to be really frustrating. The wind started to be unstable. The wind started to shift from port to starboard and back in seconds. It was impossible to get the sail to stand. The sail was banging and we took them in and out all the time. And it lasted to this morning. Crazy frustrating.

Now we are cruising with the wind from behind. We are considering to change course and start tackling. Decide after next weather forecast.

Since last report we have sailed 107 nautical miles with a mean speed 4.5knots

Day 22

The last days it has been like sailing in syrup. Whatever we have done with sail and course we couldn't get the speed up. It was so frustrating that I stood up 7:30 this morning feeling that something was wrong. First we took down all sails, started the engine and reversed for many minutes. We wherever convinced that we dragged something after us. We took the sails out again and tried to get some speed. Still not as wanted. We searched in storeroom for the underwater camera. Rigged it on the boat hook And stopped the boat. The cam

era gave us good pictures from below. All we were dragging was barnacles on the bottom, a lot of them. Nothing to do with them now, but now we know why speed is less then expected. The bottom of the boat was cleaned a week before we left Panama City.

So we carry on and do the best we can.

Since last report we have sailed 100 nautical miles with a mean speed 4.2 knots

Day 23

Yesterday we managed to set sail wing on wing. And used the function hold wind direction on the autopilot. This has worked well, with little banging/flickering in the sail. But there is some periods where the wind is changing direction rapidly with 40 degrees especially during the night. This is a challenge for all sail configuration.

We have kept the wing on wing configuration up to now.

Yesterday we made pizza for dinner, tasted surprisingly good.

We have sailed 127 nautical miles since last report. We have had a mean speed 5.3 knots.

Day 24

We are still surprised over how the wind is variable, up and down and direction. Suddenly you Jan have periods where the wind direction is changing from side to side with 60 degrees within seconds. We really was not prepared for that. But we have learned and manage it better now.

Yesterday we used to test out different configurations on the autopilot. Since I had reinstalled it I have used fabric configuration. This time we took the parameters for rudder enforcement down a bit. The result was going from an overactive autopilot to one that was much more similar to manual steering and the comfort increased. And it seems to keep the course better. In the old configuration the parameters was increased and made the autopilot even more overactive. The new configuration has been tested for almost 24 hours and we are still surprised over the positive effect.

Since last report we have sailed 132 nautical miles with a mean speed 5.5 knots.

Day 25

It has been light wind since last report. Besides working with sails now and then, the time had been used for reading , sunbathing and eating.

Since last report we have sailed 113 nautical miles with a mean speed 4.7 knots.

We have now less than 900 nautical miles left. Sounds little, but it is a distance longer than Bergen to Tromsø.

Day 26

When the sun went down and the dark arrived the fun started. This has been the worst nightmare. Squall, raine, messy big waves and heavy gusts combined with wind changing directions all the time from starboard to port, a change of 180 degrees in seconds. It lasted for 12 hours before the wind stabilised a little. Even now it swings with 90 degrees.

Wonder where the stable trade wind are? During the night the fix on the spribom broke. So this morning has been used to repair it. It is now in use again.

So no we can calm down ant eat a late breakfast.

Since last report we have sailed 127 nautical miles with a mean speed 5.3 knots.

Day 27

Nothing special to report today. Wind has been pretty ok. We now handling the instability a little better and have learned to live with it.

We have sailed 122 nautical miles since last report with a mean speed 5.1 knots.

Day 28

We have no been 4 weeks at sea. And of course we are now looking forward to have land under our feet's. We now dreaming of a could beer and for some a glass of redwine on a restaurant outdoors.

Yesterday the wind disappeared and didn't pick up again until sunset. Since then it has been nice sailing without problems.

Since last report we have sailed 114 nautical miles with a mean speed 4.8 knots

Day 29

Yesterday we struggled with getting speed through wind was good. We were so desperate that we used a rope to try to get of some of the barnacles. Perhaps we did. Afterwards we worked with adjusting sails and manage to gain some speed. We ended with: you don't have more fun then you create yourselves.

This morning had to fix the toilet. Luckily it was just the seawater intake that was plugged with barnacles. It took some hours but works now.

At the moment we have smooth sailing.

We have sailed 129 nautical miles since last report with a mean speed 5.4 knots.

Day 30

Yesterday I decided to take out the spinning wheel for the knots meter. It's mounted through the bottom of the boat. It hasn't been working for a while. See photo and you understand that barnacles really can grow under the boat. If the biotin looks like the spinning wheel, I can understand why it feels like sailing in syrup.

Yesterday after sunset we got some bad weather that still is. Several squalls with a lot of rain and wind up to 40 knots. In this period the wind was up and down between 11 to 40 knots. So we was busy with adjusting sail the whole time.

This morning the wind stabilised between 20 and 30 knots. And it is raining, has been raining for 8 hours.

My brother call this night:" night from hell".

No sleeping just working.

We still have control though, and we are now drinking coffee. Not filter coffee as usually but instant coffee. In this situation is tastes very good.

We have sailed 136 nautical miles sine last report with a mean speed 5.6 knots.

Day 31

Yesterday after report the weather continued with rain until 4 pm. The wind stayed in the area 18 to 28 knots. The waves were messy and 3 to 4 meters high. After 4 pm the rain stopped and the wind calmed. Weather forecast predicted good sailing winds for the evening and night. But the wind never picked up, so we are sailing with a speed of 4-5 knots. This morning the sun paid us a visit again, lovely. We are now sailing with around 5 knots in sunshine.

Yesterday the spribom broke again. And this time we can't fix it. Our experience is that a spribom with possibility for extension have some very weak points. Not to recommend.

Since last report we have sailed 115 nautical miles with a mean speed 4.8 knots.

Day 32

Yesterday we had smooth sailing until the afternoon. Sun and good sailing wind. Just before dark we had a squall. We saw it come, so we was well prepared. Afterwords we had smooth sailing until 5 am. Then we had a powerful squall. And after that we had 3 smaller ones. It has been good sailing since then.

Since last report we have sailed 130 nautical miles with mean speed 5.4 knots.

We have now less than 75 nautical miles left to Hiva Oa, so we have to slow down to night so we will arrive at dawn

Day 33

Jippi, Pacific crossed and we are at anchor in Atuona, Hiva Oa. At 6:30 am we sailed into the harbour. A journey of 4043 nautical miles is behind us. What an experience, we learned something new every day. So , no we are going to have some lazy days and do some maintenance now and then. The last stage was just cruising and for the first time it was to keep the speed down so we could reach Hiva Oa at dawn. And we did.

Since last report we have sailed 77 nautical miles with a men speed 3.9 knots.

Totally 4 043 nautical miles with mean speed 5.1 knots

And yes, the bottom of the boat was covered with barnacles 2-3 cm long