Gentle Wind arrived in Hilo yesterday (Thursday, 7/21)
at 0600 local time (1600 GMT). Sorry for not being
able to provide reports under way, but the only contact
we have is via text messaging on the Iridium phone. We
just never got the SSB working, and I had not planned
on this so diddn't get full Internet access on the phone
either.
We left Monterey CA on 7/11, and had a beautiful first
afternoon with flat seas and calm winds. That quickly
changed as we developed a 5-7 foot NW swell and 15-20
knot winds on Sunday night and continuing through Monday
and Monday night.
Luckily, by Tuesday morning, things had quieted down a
bit, and by Tuesday night we had 3-5 foot northerly
swell and 5-10 knot winds! We cooked a real meal under
way (baked chicken) for the first time, and for the
first time the whole crew was awake at one time.
Getting into the watch schedule was probably the hardest
part of the first few days. Training your body to be
awake and alert at specific times is not easy. Add to
that the need to find a place on the boat where you can
actually get some sleep (the V-berth is not one of those
places!) and it feels like you are always 100% alone -
noone else ever seems to be awake when you are.
Once we got our schedules in place, everything was fine.
Weather held out for the entire crossing (course of
240 degrees true) as we plowed along at 190 nm each day
(about 7.8 kts). The worst conditions we encountered
were when the winds shifted a bit and we had multiple
swells (ie, NE and SE swells at the same time). But
Gentle Wind took it all in stride, and at times we were
surfing down the front side of a swell at over 10 knots!
We're staying here in Hilo just another day to do some
shopping. Then we're island hopping our way up to the
main island and Honolulu where we'll stay for a few days
(I need to arrange a stress-test follow up for my heart
attack). Then it's on to Christmas Island and then the
Marquesas.
I'll try to drop some Email updates along the way, but
no promises!
Received from Gentile Wind last evening:
GENTLE WIND 300 MILES FROM HILO ETA THUR 1500 GMT. ALL SYS GO!
Gentle Wind arrived in Hilo yesterday (Thursday, 7/21)
at 0600 local time (1600 GMT). Sorry for not being
able to provide reports under way, but the only contact
we have is via text messaging on the Iridium phone. We
just never got the SSB working, and I had not planned
on this so diddn't get full Internet access on the phone
either.
We left Monterey CA on 7/11, and had a beautiful first
afternoon with flat seas and calm winds. That quickly
changed as we developed a 5-7 foot NW swell and 15-20
knot winds on Sunday night and continuing through Monday
and Monday night.
Luckily, by Tuesday morning, things had quieted down a
bit, and by Tuesday night we had 3-5 foot northerly
swell and 5-10 knot winds! We cooked a real meal under
way (baked chicken) for the first time, and for the
first time the whole crew was awake at one time.
Getting into the watch schedule was probably the hardest
part of the first few days. Training your body to be
awake and alert at specific times is not easy. Add to
that the need to find a place on the boat where you can
actually get some sleep (the V-berth is not one of those
places!) and it feels like you are always 100% alone -
noone else ever seems to be awake when you are.
Once we got our schedules in place, everything was fine.
Weather held out for the entire crossing (course of
240 degrees true) as we plowed along at 190 nm each day
(about 7.8 kts). The worst conditions we encountered
were when the winds shifted a bit and we had multiple
swells (ie, NE and SE swells at the same time). But
Gentle Wind took it all in stride, and at times we were
surfing down the front side of a swell at over 10 knots!
We're staying here in Hilo just another day to do some
shopping. Then we're island hopping our way up to the
main island and Honolulu where we'll stay for a few days
(I need to arrange a stress-test follow up for my heart
attack). Then it's on to Christmas Island and then the
Marquesas.
I'll try to drop some Email updates along the way, but
no promises!
> Received from Gentile Wind last evening:
>
> GENTLE WIND 300 MILES FROM HILO ETA THUR 1500 GMT. ALL SYS GO!
