S/V Encanto
Passage to the South Pacific Log Blogs

Tomorrow, we will leave on the longest sailing passage of our journey. How will we feel during the passage? Gaby has volunteered to daily remind us to record our daily feelings and thoughts while underway.

May 22, 2007-Week One
Day before Departure
Isla San Cristobal, Galapagos Islands,
Ecuador, S.A.

Captain:
I'm very excited. This is like coming upon a Rite of Passage, a dream I've waited to do for over thirty years; sailing across an ocean in my own boat and even better, with a great crew. I'm like a kid at Christmas, I can't wait to start; new adventures, cultures and places, many "firsts" lie ahead. Let the adventure BEGIN!

First Mate:
Here it is, the day before and I'm feeling sad, anxious, with a dash of growing curiosity.
Sad? Yes, tonight is my last night in Latin America and I will miss all of the people we have met, places we have gone, the culture, the food, and mostly, the ability to comfortably converse in Spanish. My Spanish grew in the last four years, so I could gossip and tease with the locals-now I will know go where I know no, French.

Anxiety? Not about the sailing or the boat or even the vastness of the ocean, just never done this and the unfamiliarity of being out for up to 30 days will be new and that alone makes me, want to check and recheck everything-supplies, provisions, lines, temperaments, knowledge checks. Sometimes being a responsible adult triggers me to be anxious like this.

Then, the kid in me comes out….and I wonder? What will the passage be like? Star filled nights? Perhaps, encountering a spiritual time of "ah ha's"? Is this an Odyssey? Should I read the Odyssey while underway? I look forward to listening to the language of the people (I love the sound of French.), learning from them of the Polynesian culture, and seeing amazing terrain and inlets. Will I learn to cook with Taro root and saver new flavors? I love to learn by being tossed into new possibilities that need, THE OPTION Queen. I'm ready. Let's go. Sally Forth on to a new adventure.

Crew Gaby:
I am very excited and ready since we have been trying to do the jump for nearly three years now. Although not seeing land for thirty days won't be much fun.

Crew Sami:
It's going to be different. Really different, but it's going to be fun.

Crew Anya:
I am a little sad about leaving Isla Isabella, I really loved it here!

May 23, 2007
Day 1 - Pacific Ocean
Isla Isabella is behind us

Crew Anya:
I feel anywhere between really good and not so good. I feel a little nauseous (sick) but when I lie down I seem to be okay. I like that the captain is so positive! And I really enjoyed the animals bidding us farewell as we left: the warbler that joined us for a brief moment, the seal that waved goodbye and the turtles floating around the boat. We're heading for the Marquesas!

Crew Sami:
I'm a little bit nauseous, but after a nap, I'm fine. All is well, and the sails aren't making much noise.

Crew Gaby:
I feel ready to play more "I Spy" even if it is in Dutch. I am a little disappointed that we didn't get to see a whale shark like R Dreamz saw but I did see some turtles.  

First Mate:
I'm very happy the motor is off and that we are sailing at 3 knots. And, the little bright yellow warbler bidding us farewell was a touch of magic. By sunset, we are still in view of the great volcanoes on Isla Isabella. Progress is slow, might as well get use to it, only 2488 more miles to go. Mild nausea so I napped off and on all afternoon. Started a new novel, the protagonist is on a journey to Easter Island; how fitting a beginning. Thank heavens for drugs and music; great combination. Like
Judy Garland sings, "Somewhere over the rainbow" is where we be going.

Captain:
Very mixed emotions on the first day. I have a love hate relationship with our engine, I half expect to hear a loud crunch, and then nothing. So, once again, after the excitement of last minute preparations, we were underway, and I expected the motor to die its violent death. Once again it survived; we only had to endure its noise. Then there were the wap-waps. Tried the reacher with no success. Not even enough wind to keep it full. Finally dropped it, rolled out the jib again and spent much of the day at 3-3.5 knots. I hate the wap-waps. I'd rather have too much wind and be reefed down. Ahhhhh, a sailor life is never happy with the conditions. We'll be lucky to make 60 miles on day 1.

May 24, 2007
Day 2 - Pacific Ocean

First Mate:
A gnawing uncertainty surrounds me. Rarely do I have problem expressing how I feel, but I do today. Off and on, the nausea reminds me of my transition, a work in progress. Still, only mild discomfort that a bit of rice with an umi plum or a pan con sal with a Spanish olive won't ease. It sounds like the diet of a pregnant woman. Ah, pregnant with the uncertainty of life at sea. Only annoyance seems to be the two dozen house flies that have hitched hiked with us from Isla Isabela. They are not timid,
flying between my glasses and my lids when I succumb to a doze, book on my chest and blanket upon my legs, batting them away from me. Overall, the seas are behaving well as are the winds and I'm pleased we are moving forward in the right direction and everyone is doing well. It is just so surprisingly cold at the equator! Long pants, socks and even a sweater are on me during the afternoon. That Humbolt current is sure showing its stuff!

Crew Gaby:
Well…what do I feel today, happy and jumpy I guess. The boat is averaging five knots, so that it is much better than yesterday when we were only going two knots. The captain is asleep so Sami and having fun on our watch listening to our kind of music without seeing him cringe with dislike.  Yippee!!

Crew Sami:
Actually, I slept most of the day, except for meals and our watch. Like Gaby said, I'm having fun listening to our kind of music. A bit nauseous, but that comes with sailing for me, so no problem. We haven't caught anything, much to Anya's delight (not Dad's though), haven't seen much, just some small birds. All is well in my point of view.

Crew Anya:
I feel so much better today! No sign of motion sickness so I am a happy camper. We even saw dolphins today so I would say it couldn't get any better. Or can it? Yes: I wish the flies would fly AWAY! I like the fact that we are doing this passage with s/v RDreamz and even another boat that we heard on the radio this morning. It feels good to do this together. Can't really say why but it does. If all days are like this, I have no complaints.

Captain:
Good day of sailing. Making our way south hopefully into the trades, I hate the light stuff, the swell is too large and the boat rolls and the sails slam. Not fun. I'd rather deal with the anxiety of the heavy stuff, reef down and get used to that. At least we move, and move well. Still need to rebuild the raw water pump and start making ratlines for the shrouds.

May 25, 2007
Day 3- Pacific Ocean

Crew Gaby:
Today is very lumpy and bouncy not much fun because there is hardly any wind. Earlier we had a plane circle us three times before heading off into the clouds. Anya and I made guacamole and banana bread today so we are all happy eating away.

Crew Sami:
Well, as I write this it is raining slightly, not a big downpour yet, not enough to take a shower. I'm feeling a bit nauseous, had to take many quick breaks in school so I didn't … I didn't need a bucket, if you know what I mean.

Captain:
Another day of frustratingly light wind. It comes and goes, when it's on, the sailing is great and I love being here. When it's light, it's bouncy and not fun at all. Boats in front of us have wind, so I'm hopeful. Playing with the heading helps too. Tonight is great, almost enough wind, a little more than a half moon, and no clouds. I love having Uras Major to stbd, and the Southern Cross to port.

First Mate:
Best part of my day is my watch when I can stare at the starry, starry nights; wow, with the milky way, over a dozen shooting stars, and constellations clearly set above. Worst part of the day, frustration just more nausea, up and down times, hot and cold flashes, can't do anything but let it pass. Not doing anything but sitting and lying on the sette; that's hard for me, can't read, write, draw or cook. How many hours can I sleep and still wake feeling fatigue?

Crew Anya:
I felt pretty good today up until around 3:30 pm. That's when I got a little sick again so I laid down most of the time in my bed reading. I am breaking a record reading, I am sure! I still feel as if I should be doing something but for some reason I don't know what it is or how to get myself to doing it. We were being watched by Big Brother… a plane circled us about three times. It had big radar on its back. Very 24…."Hi Jack!"

May 26, 2007
Day 4- Pacific Ocean

Crew Gaby:
Slow is the word of the day. There is hardly any wind but the sun is out which is wonderful.  I am nearly finishing a book so I am on a mad dash to finish it.

Crew Anya:
Today is a perfect day: not too hot, not too cold, there is (some) wind, we are doing 5 knots and we are not as bouncy as we were. I feel both happy and a little sad, don't know why. Like I can cry over nothing. It comes and goes. I have figured this much out: this whole passage for me is about learning not to worry about tomorrow or the next day. Not to worry IF I will get sick or IF I will go crazy before we get to the Marquesas. There is no use doing that because I simply don't know IF anything will happen. It is so clear to me that I should just let things be. Mmmm…. That's all fine to know, but now phase 2: actually doing that.

First Mate:
Better today. I have regulated my drugs and I'm being more assertive with what makes me feel less like a damp lazy noodle. I've cooked an excellent breakfast. Now to take away my afternoon chills, I am making a pot of vegetable soup. The papayas are ripening quickly so I am experimenting with drying them on deck. And I did some laundry and hung it out in the morning sun. Trying to stay above the rot of life while not letting my mind rot in between times;  I need a good intellectual conversation for
that part of me to be satisfied….ah, who can I nab?

Crew Sami:
Some wind here and there, not much but we are going faster than 3.0 knots so I'm happy. No fish, no birds, just the Encantoids out here. Not much to see, so no need to wake the skipper.  

Captain:
It's getting to be a broken record: another frustratingly slow day. For the most part we're not alone, almost everyone ahead and behind us are going slow as well. The difference with others is they have cruising chutes or other good light air sails. We have a weird shaped reacher which I'll use tomorrow. Anything has to help. Insult to injury: haven't caught any fish. We've seen a few chasing flying fish, but they don't like our lure.

May 27, 2007
Day 5- Pacific Ocean

Crew Sami:
Today we caught our first fish! It's a wahoo, about 2 ½ feet long. They can grow up to 7 feet long, but if we did catch one that size we a) lose the lure, b) the captain, or c) Dad would have to wrestle with it. Luckily none of that happened. We are sailing quite nicely; we reached 7.0 knots twice, a good feeling.

Crew Gaby:
Today has been spent reading and watching movies. Not too exciting but fun, fun, fun. The most exciting is when we caught a fish. A baby wahoo we think which was cool. It was small but we couldn't throw it back to Neptune because it had already died so Dad filleted it and now we are having fish for dinner.  

First Mate:
Generally, a good day. Today, I've felt like I need hugging and connecting with others. No one writes me emails and I wonder what is going on in the outside world? Anybody out there? Cooked a big breakfast for everybody-hard to flip omelets while underway (opps, one for Neptune), popped popcorn for the Sunday Cinema Day and finished a book. Tonight, lots of cumuli clouds and warm breezes make me think we might be close to reaching the Trade Winds. Going 6 and 7 knots. Yipee!  Luna glows bright. I never see sunrise. Occasionally, up for sunset, but I never miss Luna's show. She's quite the entertainer. Never lonely under all these stars and luna's glow.

Crew Anya:
I had a good watch and a surprise: I got off an hour early to watch movies with the girls. Great surprise! Spent watching The Holiday, Friends and Robots. This day flew by, leaving no time for real pondering, reading or drawing. The latter I have tried but with the boat moving like it is, I don't seem to be as 'artistic' as I was… No problem, there will be other days. Thank you First Mate for (re)introducing me to the joy of drawing.

Captain:
A very killer day. Awesome day of sailing. Even had to put a reef in the main. This is what I thought it was suppose to be like. We did a 159nm day. Yea!!!!

May 28, 2007
Day 6- Pacific Ocean

Crew Anya:
Another great watch: we are sailing over 6 knots and the sun is out but not too hot. I have listened to music most of the time. I keep getting reconfirmed that I love music and could never ever do without it. It makes me happy, sad and everything in between.
I had another great lesson with Gaby: she is a superb student and I have no doubt that she will be able to say a couple of things before the end of my stay with the Amberchans.

Crew Gaby:
The sun is out! It is actually getting warm (that is of course if you stay in the sun). School is going along great. Although learning about President Harding had a few too many interruptions by giggles of the teacher. All in all I am having great fun.

Crew Sam:
Well, today was another day. It felt weird doing school after watching movies yesterday instead of doing school. We watched The Holiday, Robots, and some episodes of Friends. We have been doing 6.5 to 7.4 knots. We're cookin'! It's fun going fast. Nothing's around us, just sky, clouds, the sun, and water. Lots of water.  

First Mate:
All is well, except the sloppy seas. Wow yesterday, we did a 159 mile day! Falling into a routine of caring for the boat, Captain and crew, taking care of myself and doing my midnight watches and morning snoozes. I am sooooo happy I received four emails. There is life elsewhere and we are not alone.

Captain:
Interesting day. We had left over wind from yesterday, still doing 6.5 over the ground with a reefed main. By nightfall we turned west and are running wing-on-wing. Not enough wind to keep the sails full again, we're rolling a bit, doing the wap-waps - what a difference a day makes……Today it hit me just where we are. A very long way from anywhere. I started thinking, if the wind holds we only have 18 more days. I can't do that, it sets up false expectations. Then I just want to be there, and not enjoy the experience of the passage. It really is quite beautiful out here: puffy clouds, the color of the water, the big sky, the ever changing surface of the ocean. When we're moving, the sails are pulling, I feel like I could go on forever.

May 29, 2007
Day 7- Pacific Ocean

Crew Gaby:
We caught a DORADO! It was cool. Although did it have to come at 7:30 AM. I wanted to sleep in a little bit longer. Now we are going to have sushi mmm… Flying fish have been bombarding us so much that one landing on the captain's lap. It was sooooo funny when Anya played city girl. The only problem on this gorgeous day it that we are only going two knots. A big disappointment when yesterday we were in the high sixes. Oh well.  

Crew Anya:
What a day… this was definitely a first for me: waking up with a splashing Dorado fighting for its life. Goedemorgen! :)
I have to admit that all the bouncing made me sleep poorly. I think I was awake every hour and right now - as I am trying to write this - I am all over the place, bumping into walls and chairs. I am afraid one of these days I am going to scream about it. But I am also sure that that will pass. I enjoy my watches: I try to do some Spanish and I love listening to my music. I feel pretty good most of the time. I get a little light headed in the afternoon from the bouncing but nothing a little lying down won't fix.
I wonder what Dorado tastes like………

Crew Sami:
WE CAUGHT A DORADO!!!! Finally after, who knows how long, we caught one!! Mom woke us up (actually, mom woke Anya up, but I heard her) and there it was, flopping for dear life in our cockpit. Gaby caught the tail while dad poured some vodka into its gills (I wonder if it was older than 21, if not, then it drank under age :). Then around 3:00pm, a flying fish landed in dad's lap. Anya yelped, and Gaby and I said, "Cool!" Mom came up to see what the commotion was, and she said the same thing as Gaby
and I. We (Gaby and I) touched its wings. Dad threw the fish back into the water. We are going around 2.8 to 3.3 knots, which suck, but hey, none of us want to hear the engine. We aren't doing our best, but we are hanging in there. The jib had a rip in it so dad has to hand sew it, because mom's sewing machine can't do that sort of thing.   

Captain:
This day started out great with the fish, but ended up pulling down the genoa to have the foot seam restitched. It was about 20 hours before we could rehoist. Nothing quite like sitting on deck at midnight with a headlamp sewing a sail by hand.

First Mate:
An "ok" start to the day, then lousy, then hot, then cold, then lousier moments, then feeling dehydrated, no appetite, then all day, went through fluctuations of feeling ok and awful. Still cooked meals and tried to keep busy and then at other times just collapsed from exhaustion. Even at 54, I still hear the little girl in me saying, "I want my mommy". (Note: So, you don't worry between this and the next week's installment. I have fully recovered and I'm fine.) I hate it, when all I could do was
indulge in your own suffering, especially when I could not help the Captain.  The Captain was out there at the bow, sewing the jib. He looked a lot like an old woman doing needlepoint in a rocking chair (but with a pliers in one hand, large needle in the other, and headlamp atop that bald head, as the boat rocked). Memorable sight!

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