Pacific Dawn
Executive summary for our kids (resembles the American TV series, Numbers) as this is a lengthy blog;
Panama to Canada - 6,000 nm 55 days at sea
Becalmed at the start
North Pacific Ocean with it’s weather systems, currents and falling temperatures — out with the thermal clothes
Wildlife and birds sitting on the mast
Mid-ocean fuel delivery
Fixing boat issues
Celebrations, food, wine, cigars, coffee
This new adventure was for both of us an exciting challenge. We had never done this distance in one leg before and it was going to be the longest spell we had spent at sea. Stephen had sailed solo for thirty and a half days in the OSTAR and Debbie had sailed for 23 days from Cape Town to Salvador, Brazil in the Oyster World Rally with Stephen. We were itching to leave, everything was prepared on board for a long distance sail and we were ready for the off!
We left the Las Perlas Islands on the morning of the 29th of February in light north-westerly winds, following several nights partying with Bubbles, Babe, Wildberry and being reunited with our good friend, Clive who was sailing on Bubbles. After exchanges of HP sauce and Mango Chutney, we were off. Bubbles soon disappeared over the horizon leaving Amelie gently sailing towards her first waypoint.
The Pacific Ocean has always amazed us by the quantity and variety of wildlife. We were not to be disappointed with frequent visits by Dolphins, Turtles, Boobies and Terns. During his night watch, Stephen had a close encounter with an inquisitive, juvenile Grey Whale. It was half the size of Amelie and simply glided past. Just after supper, a few days later, we sighted two huge Sperm Whales, blowing loudly at a low angle and gracefully swimming on the surface, showing their distinctive identifications of huge box-shaped dark heads and small fin-like triangular humps, two-thirds along their back. Our Whale/Dolphin bible explained that we were travelling close to the whale migration routes.
The dolphin displays were constant — breaching, high acrobatics, massive splashes and riding our bow wave. We noticed a prolific plankton bloom and with the El Niño weather phenomenon, the fishing was obviously successful for these playful creatures.
An unforgettable highlight of the early passage was one daybreak Amelie had Dolphins on one side, and on the other side, a pod of Pilot Whales.
/>Debbie was kept entertained by the sight of Stephen in his sarong wearing a cap, rushing around the boat, whipping halyards, throwing buckets of seawater, prodding with a boat hook and shouting his war cry to scare him off. Apart from holding on tight and ignoring the Skip, the bird happily maintained his position and pooped all over the deck.
Booby
We commenced our SSB communication to include Babe as they were sailing alone. Unfortunately this was unsuccessful as either we couldn't hear Babe or they couldn't hear us. At one stage Bob from Crazy Daisy sitting in an anchorage in Panama was hosting the call! The first evening call with Bubbles was one full of excitement but the following morning Bubbles announced that they had an issue with the main sail furler. Later in the day they made a decision to motor sail to a marina in Costa Rica to have the failed part welded. Amelie was alone and apart from emails to Leo giving our position and telling him we were fine, we had no further contact with Babe (or Crazy Daisy) until after the first week at sea. Within a few days Bubbles was back on the high seas and communications restarted. It was so good to hear Leo’s voice in the morning and to chat with Clive in the evening. The boys on Bubbles were keen to catch us up and what a surprise when they did. We had spent the previous five days in very light airs and we were using the engine more than we had hoped for, consequently Stephen was monitoring the diesel consumption. Bubbles turned up with a bag of fruit and a bar of chocolate and then in true sea dog style, Clive and Zubair hoisted two jerry cans of diesel, totalling 120 litres on a halyard across the sea between two moving boats. Karin who is presently in Holland suggested this kind gesture once she heard about the unusual weather systems for this area and how they were affecting us. Karin is obviously with us in spirit. We felt a warm glow that friends would help us out like this.
Life aboard Amelie continued in comfort with us traditionally eating extremely well and we successful stored fresh goods, enabling us to eat fresh fruit and vegetables way beyond the normal 7-10 days. Individual pieces are wrapped in brown paper and stored in large net laundry bags in the coolest part of the boat, turning daily. Treats in the form of snacks and chocolate (while they lasted) each day with the plan of a special meal every 1,000nm. Stephen continues to have his G&T plus a couple of beers each day, whilst Debbie is sticking to Green tea, iced tea and water. She intends to have a glass of red wine every 1,000 nm.
We play several games of “Rummikub" most days and apart from communications, wind planning, boat maintenance, cleaning, cooking and navigating our day is filled with reading, watching films and catching up on our TV series plus the odd siesta.
Reflections on the first week are positive despite the snail pace, well rested and thoroughly enjoying this once in a lifetime adventure.
The second week at sea saw a slight increase in the strength of the wind and the engine was barely turned on, except to avoid a fishing vessel or to change a sail plan.
The wildlife started to dwindle but we had the fortune to see a Marlin pirouetting across the water.
The Boobies continued their “sit in” at the top of the mast with Amelie’s crew cleaning the decks daily.
During the last day of this week we hit our first 1,000nm and celebrated with a roast lamb supper and a glass of stupendous red Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon.
The third week at sea saw the twin headsails aloft and Amelie enjoyed her normal downwind sailing. The current was generally in our favour but at times the oceanic swell knocked what little wind there was out of the sails. We persevered with Bubbles storming out in front and now over 1,000nm from us.
The lighter headsail developed a rectangular tear so in a lumpy sea the headsails were dropped, the tear temporarily repaired with spinnaker tape and hoisted up the foil. Within one hour we were sailing again…….what teamwork!
Finally towards the end of the third week we had rain clouds with plenty of NE wind and together with a strong current, Amelie sailed the right course with “Wally” (hydrogenerator) working well. The trade winds came in on the 20th day at sea and we started to gobble up the miles.
During this week we saw for the first time an Arctic Tern and a Fraser’s Dolphin. The dolphin has a short beak with a stocky body and distinctive coloration. The Tern was magnificent with a long tail streamer. What makes these seabirds unusual is that they are circumpolar. They breed in the Arctic and migrate to the Antarctic pack ice in the winter months. It is a surface feeder and does not plunge dive like many others. We also had a small bird which decided to hitch a free ride for a couple ofdays.
Freerider
Unfortunately we heard that Bubbles had problems again as their autopilot had gone down and they were hand steering, initially to San Francisco but the boat and crew were being beaten up by strong head winds and rough seas. After a tiring few days they made a decision to abandon this idea and head direct to Victoria, British Columbia. Bubbles arrived safely in Victoria after five weeks at sea. They were elated and gave their daily position to us from the bar! Congratulations to Bubbles, Leo, Clive and Zubair.
During the fourth week Amelie reached 2,000nm and we celebrated with Confit de Canard and red wine.
Our provisioning skills have been honed over the years but still we find ourselves short of certain things. This time, coffee. This is one of Stephen’s staple daily requirements but he was philosophical about it. With this in mind, Debbie hid three Cuban cigars and a can of tonic water for the last day on the passage. Debbie was determined that he was going to celebrate with a cigar and a G & T, when entering Canadian waters.
During this week we enjoyed the vast number of seabirds that fished around Amelie. One bird that we thought was a Gannet turned out to be a Masked Booby. They are the largest and heaviest of the Boobies, mainly snowy white with black edged and tipped wings, spanning 1.5 metres. They execute near vertical dives when fishing and glide under the water surface to catch their prey. They generally stay at sea apart from breeding on islands in the middle of the ocean.
Life on board wouldn’t be the same without the generator giving us some stress. Luckily Stephen found the wiring issue and made amends.
We celebrated Easter by eating our last bar of Grenadian Nibilicious chocolate, kindly given to us by Wendy and Peter. We had a chilled weekend and entered our fifth week at sea with an overcast sky and noticeably cooler nights.
Spinner Dolphins visited Amelie in a huge group on Easter Monday. These dolphins are smaller than most and highly acrobatic, spinning in mid air, sometimes up to seven times in a single leap.
We are seeing an increase in dead flying fish on deck with the odd squid. The surface of the ocean comes alive with these fish. They still astound us how far they glide out of the water and unceremoniously plop back in the water. Debbie had a fright one night-watch when a flying fish dumped itself at her feet, flapping around causing her to scream. Stephen slept through the drama and the fish was thrown back into the ocean to live another day.
Early in the fifth week at sea we reached the 3,000nm mark, almost halfway to Victoria. Once again a celebratory meal, this time Beef Bourguignon with another glass of red wine.
Over our travels we have seen many beautiful sunrises but surprisingly fewer fabulous sunsets, until now. We made a westerly course to avoid bad coastal weather conditions and a high system that sits over this region. We were chasing the sun and the evenings became brighter for longer. On such an evening, Debbie experienced a beautiful sunset with the sun looking like a flaming orb gently dropping below the horizon. As it disappeared she witnessed the best green flash that she has ever seen with the sea turning red from the dying rays.
Sunset
Injuries can happen aboard and we have been fortunate. Stephen is always telling Debbie to slow down, hold on with one hand and the boat is tougher than us. So we started the voyage with Debbie having a suspected broken toe, from “kicking” a shroud, nothing you can do except strap it to the other toe. Stephen was launched across our heads (bathroom) and sustained a gouge out of his cheek by hitting his head against the wooden rail. Slight concussion afterwards but it didn’t stop him from having his 5 o’clock beer and cigar! The normal cut fingers when we do a generator service and bruised shins from the steps goes with the territory. Rest and sleep are important on a voyage such as this, not only for physical safety, but also for making healthy decisions on food, sail plan, course, maintenance etc. We managed to get our quota of sleep during the night plus we kept the Spanish tradition on board by each having a siesta whilst the other half was on look out.
This one morning Debbie awoke a bit tired as we had an eventful night. At the midnight handover rather than Debbie tucking up in her warm bunk, Stephen had to go up the mast. Luckily he has got some head protection since this was not going to be an easy exercise. We'd had a number of days of beautiful moonlit nights but typically this time it was pitch black and with the cloud cover, no starlight. Also the wind blowing 19 knots gusting up to 24 with the sea state getting agitated. Stephen is kitted up and attached to the spinnaker halyard in the Bosun's chair, Debbie starts winding on the winch and nothing happens. The genoa halyard was still on the winch, not the spinnaker halyard. Tiredness was ruling the brain, not a good start. Eventually Debbie got Stephen airborne and miraculously he gets to the top of the mast reasonably unscathed. Anyway when Debbie gets him back down on deck, relieved that he is safe, he tells her he did a pretty thorough job with his bucket and sponge, cleaning the bird poop from the top of the mast. It's just the sort of thing that happens on April the 1st!
Apart from Stephen’s love/hate relationship with the generator, we repaired the electrical connection to one of the navigation lights, not an easy feat whilst in a lumpy sea and your head stuck in the anchor locker. Unfortunately both navigation lights failed to work during the sixth week. Yet another trip down into the anchor locker. The furler for our yankee continually sticks counter clockwise which is not helpful when you need to reef down quickly. Naturally the time it gave the most problem was in strong winds and a mountainous sea. Stephen with his tiny winch handle, meandered up the deck and turned the motor while Debbie kept the sheet taut. The top swivel on the head sail has a D ring which sheared off allowing the Yankee to gracefully descend to the deck , spilling some into the sea. The halyard obviously stayed at the top of the mast. Stephen assessed the problem and attached the spinnaker halyard through a soft shackle to the top of the sail and we hoisted it back up the mast. Unfortunately rigged like this we were unable to furl the Yankee and if necessary the sail would be dropped to the deck and the staysail flown. This issue was an ongoing problem solving exercise to attempt to attach the halyard to the top swivel so that we could fly the furling yankee as part of our sail plan. Eventually when the wind abated, we motored, dropped the yankee and attached a temporary bracket with a dyneema loop attached, this allowed us to furl the yankee but we still need to manually unfurl the sail. A wet occupation! This will need specialist attention when we arrive. The stainless steel pin on the Vang shackle sheared off with a huge bang and Stephen in the pitch dark, bouncing in big waves attached a soft shackle to the block and it’s actually stronger than before. The galley tap was leaking almost as much as was coming out of the faucet, so out came the tools from the “man drawer” and it was dismantled, cleaned and reassembled. A small leakage is still an issue, obviously it needs more work. The anchor windlass decided to chuck out a few metres of chain onto the foredeck so the breaker switch was turned off. The fault was the windlass switch which we replaced as we were sailing along the Strait of Juan de Fucas. During strong squalls our bimini decided to unzip, flapping and threatening to rip off the stainless steel supports. We tethered it down and all is well now. The spray-hood developed a tear in the window and the zip is broken. Time for the sailmaker to make repair and modifications to it, with an opening window. The steering was making a grinding noise and when investigated, one of the steering cables had jumped into the other groove on the quadrant grinding against the second cable. Stephen dislodged this with brute force and potential disaster was avoided. The ‘fridge degassed itself possibly due to the impact of some of the monster waves. As we are in colder climes and very little fresh produce to keep cool, this is a job for shore-time. Stephen had to remember to put his beer in the freezer thirty minutes before Happy Hour! The high pressure valve on the watermaker developed a leak with seawater leaking over the racor filters and setting off the alarm. These valves are fragile and it is imperative not to over tighten them, so we cautiously tweaked it. We also noticed that air was entering the system and discovered that it originated back to the watermaker strainer system. Despite dismantling the strainer and cleaning the basket, there remains a leak. We will rectify this in port but continue to make fresh water.
On the thirty-third day at sea, we turned north to hopefully skirt around the high pressure system that exists in this part of the ocean. The summer gear was gradually shed and exchanged for our thermals and sea boots. Thick socks and beanie hats were the order of the day. The last time this clothing had seen the light of day was six or seven years ago.
The sixth week at sea started with a robust North-north-east wind and moderate seas. Amelie’s decks were now getting a salty wash and the odd wave crashed against the hull, spewing spray over the spray-hood and aft deck. The waterproofing that Debbie had done to the spray-hood and bimini had paid off and we were dry in the cockpit. This wind eventually gave way to squalls and then a system gusting up to 35 knots with mountainous seas. Amelie continues to thrill us as she is so strong and safe. She charges through these seas at a rate of knots and below decks all is quiet and peaceful. Oyster craftsmanship at its best together with the dynamic Amelie team, ofcourse.
Once again we clocked another 1,000nm, early this week so 4,000nm in total. We celebrated with Confit de Canard (again as we love it so much) and that longed for glass of red wine which resembles the taste of an aged Port.
Another first sighting for us is a Black-Footed Albatross, swooping along the tops of the waves. The wing span is the first thing you notice, up to 2 metres. It is a dusky brown stout bird with a large hooked bill. This bird is inquisitive and is renowned for following ships, boats and trawlers. It feeds off garbage in the sea! It is the only Albatross that is seen regularly off the Pacific coast of North America. They breed and nest on oceanic atolls and from where we sighted this bird, it is likely the Hawaiian Islands would be it’s breeding ground.
Towards the end of the sixth week we had a close sighting of an endangered and the rarest of all Albatrosses, a Short-tailed Albatross. It is larger than the Black-footed Albatross but with a similar sized wingspan. Primarily white (and the only white Albatross in the North Pacific) with a huge bill and pinkish feet. These birds were brought to the verge of extinction by Japanese plume-hunters in the late 19th and 20th centuries. They are slowly increasing in numbers with their breeding ground on a small island off Japan. The trade winds are thought to bring the odd straggler to these parts, their old fishing grounds. The highlight of this week was seeing a pair of these rare, endangered birds.
The seventh week at sea started off with a new waypoint as determined by the three day GRIB weather files. We assess our course according to this information. Navtex decided to come to life, delivering weather information for the local sea area. We discovered that this information hailedfrom San Francisco and Honolulu. Extremely useful to have this accurate and appropriate data to make safer sailing decisions. We also have an old fashioned clockwork barograph which traces changes in the air pressure. For our last week at sea we got a great tracing as a low pressure system came through.
Barograph
Towards the latter part of the week we reached 5,000nm and once again a celebratory meal with wine. We knew we were on the home stretch to Victoria, excitement was building but also a little sad that soon this epic voyage would be over and unlikely to ever be repeated. Encouraging emails were coming in fast and furious, it was a delight that so many people had, and were continuing to, correspond with us. Some of the emails were hysterical, describing life in their neck of the woods and the antics of their pets.
During this time we noticed an increase of rubbish in the water, presumably being taken by the current to join the plastic island in the Pacific. Stephen was astounded by a mattress passing by and even more so that it floated. Plastic disposal is a problem on a long passage but we’ve overcome this by using empty water, fabric conditioner, washing solution and litre juice bottles to store washed plastic and packaging. The screw top lids keep the smells and leakages contained with to be later recycled in Victoria. It is a system that we would like to continue whilst living on the boat.
Entering the eighth week at sea was in a gentle manner with a slight sea and constant wind. The sailing was some of the best of the trip. The boat motion was comfortable and for the first time, an ETA was estimated for the following weekend or soon after. The last tonic water is being saved for our arrival to go with the gin. The cointreau, rum, vermouth and beer was running dry but there was still sherry, cooking port, half a carton of Sangria and then Debbie remembered that she had bought some gift bottles of Stephen’s favourite tipple in Bonaire…… Spices of Saba Liqueur. Stephen is impossible to buy for but just the look on his face when Debbie produced this surprise, was priceless.
Way back when we were on the Oyster World Rally in Vanuatu, Stephen had cobwebs and weevils in his muesli, this time it was Debbie’s turn….ants in her Granola. She only found out after eating (luckily) a small quantity as a snack in the middle of the night. Extra protein is always beneficial!
On the fifty-second day at sea, the last cup of espresso coffee and can of Panamanian Atlas beer was consumed by the skipper. The Romeo and Juliettas lasted until landfall when Stephen received another supply from Karin, courtesy of her visit to Duty Free on her flight to Canada.
The watermaker is making half the normal quantity of water so we believe that after eight years we need to replace the membranes. Hopefully we can nurse the watermaker a few more days until we can rely on dock water and fix the issues.
There was jubilation on board Amelie when the Skipper announced the setting of the penultimate waypoint to the entrance of the “lively” Juan de Fuca Strait, just 400nm away which leads you along the South coast of Vancouver Island to Victoria. We discovered that the Victoria marinas were full as Victoria was hosting its boat show. Disappointment turned into excitement as Leo had found us a berth in Sidney, twenty miles from Victoria. We were carrying a ‘phantom crew’ in the form of Clive and Ju, who daily emailed us with funny anecdotes, giving us information from the internet and Clive’s recent experience but most of all, keeping our spirits up. Ju is still reeling from the shock of us adorned in thermals, as she has only known us in warm weather clothes. The wind gods decided they hadn’t had enough of us yet, the wind died on us and we resorted to our pet hate….motor sailing. The wind and the rain came and went, goose winging towards our destination. We knew that we had one if not two disturbed night’s sleep ahead of us but we were on an adrenaline rush regarding our arrival in Canada.
The Pacific Ocean gave us a few more surprises. The sea became flooded with blue iridescent globes with small sails….we gathered this was an influx of jellyfish but no idea what species as we now have a gap in our sea creature and fish guide books, being in this region. Soon afterwards, a couple of black objects appeared on the surface which we identified as either Northern Fur Seals or Northern Sea Lions (Steller’s Sea Lion). The latter is declining in numbers as a result of long-term environmental changes in the North Pacific, increased commercial fishing in it’s migration range and high levels of contaminants in the sea. It is generally known that these seals are difficult to identify from one another at sea, because when wet they are virtually identical. Both breed on islands in the North Pacific around March/April, otherwise they migrate to central and eastern Pacific. We were privileged to have sighted these two.
As we travelled along the Strait, Stephen sighted a Tufted Puffin, one of the most abundant and conspicuous seabirds in Alaska with a parrot type bill and a tufted head. This bird forages huge distances away from it’s April/May colonies, following boats and trawlers, which is unlike other Puffins.
Thinking about marina berths, ropes, fenders and getting ready for port seemed surreal. It became real when the Canadian courtesy and yellow customs flag was hoisted up the flagstaff, once we were in Canadian waters.
The upcoming Customs declaration is going to be pretty easy:
firearms — none; wine — none; beer — none; cigars — 1. Keeps the paperwork down!
As the dawn broke with the full moon illuminating the sky, we had our first glimpse of the breathtaking scenery of Vancouver Island and the mainland. The mountain peaks and tree tops poking their heads above the misty morning sky, the huge following sea reducing to a comfortable motion and the sun eventually breaking through the clouds as if it was welcoming us to Canada.
The amazing welcome we received from Bubbles when we entered Port Sidney Marina with music, balloons, chalk messages on the pontoon and an exploding glitter candle, was the icing on the cake. Glasses of Champagne were raised until the early hours of the morning amid much laughter and excitement.
We had arrived after fifty-five days at sea, most of that sailing and at the mercy of weather patterns, differing temperatures and challenges that Amelie always throws at us.
We both said we couldn’t have done it without each other and we wouldn’t have done it with anyone else!
Vancouver Island
AN AMELIE DITTY - written during the last few hours at sea.
Today’s a misty day at sea
Keeping warm with lots of tea
Getting closer to the Juan de Fucas Strait
The skipper of Amelie and his favourite mate
Thoughts of sipping flutes of Champagne
Keeps the tired crew particularly sane
Bikinis and shorts all stowed away
They’ll come out another day
Thermals, hats, scarves and coats
Is now the fashion on our boat
Another journey nears it’s end
As usual Amelie has things to mend
Spirits high and smiles are wide
Ready to tackle the Fucas tide
We’ve sailed 6,000nm or more
It really didn’t seem a chore
With 55 days away from land
We’re seeking fruit that isn’t canned
New adventures and people to meet
This epic voyage was quite a feat