Trade winds are characterized by blowing in constant direction at constant velocity. Velocity varies a bit more than direction.

(If you are interested, open your browser and try “www.windy.com” and look for the Pacific Ocean area of equator to about 40 deg S, and from South America’s west coast until the Cook Islands. There you get a good picture of the SE trade wind.)

This means once a sailboat enters a trade wind zone, like MaRe did after leaving the Gambier Islands and headed N for few hours, the crew sets course and adjusts the sail once and then it goes on for days.

We dressed MaRe in her night gown for the first night and keep it. The reduces the necessary attention to the TWS for reefing when the wind gets stronger. On the other hand we lose speed. This time we use for doing routine work, talking, watching the endless blue of the Pacific Ocean.

Like this morning when we had breakfast and talked again for a long time while also watching the sea, which became smoother. The swell is now down to 2 m or a bit below. Wind waves are still more or less the same. Around 1 m.

Looking at the endless blue Pacific Ocean, the running broken waves caught my attention again this morning. I like to look at the back of breaking wave and the white foam, which then stays suddenly behind the wave. Lost. Never able to catch up with the wave in down wind direction, and the wave then got swallowed by another, bigger wave. An endless game.

Yesterday, we got stronger winds during the day having MaRe running in her night gown also during the day, and we did not need to make a sail reduction or increase the sail size again when the wind weakens for while.

BTW, the noon day distance is 154 NM not bad for running constantly with reef 2 in the main, and for a while even with reduced genoa.

Yesterday morning we sailed on the same latitude as the French nuclear test side at Mururoa atoll, with a distance of almost 200 NM.

I would have liked to have my Geiger counter with me and go a bit closer to see what’s left on gamma and beta radiation. Alpha radiation can only be detected in a centimeter range

Around 1986 USA, Soviet Union, China, and France stopped their underground nuclear test. This not because they became concerned about the environmental impact, they only did it because, via seismographic data, the others could understand how big the tested devices were.

After a row of calibration explosions they continued with lab based experiments using how power laser systems. Thus, they appeared to be environmental friendly but in reality they never cared about the environment.

After the rain in the morning there was nothing special anymore.

Working on plans where to drop the anchor when we reach Fatu-Hiva.

Then we had to deal with a transfer of PDF files from an Android tablet to and iPad. The solution was the usage of a Linux PC because Linux can deal with all data formats.

Dinner and after dinner time was again discussion time.

I looked out at the wide dark ocean I felt I can look it without an end in time. We have wind waves of bid more than a meter and a swell rolling at about 80 deg from STB towards MaRe. The swell has a height of 2 – 3 m and wavelength of around 50 m .

At 1800 I calculate the day distance (= last 24 h distance) and got exactly 150 NM. Not top but quite good.

Now, MaRe runs in average with around 7 KN through the dark night. The wind comes E with gusts of 20 KN TWS, and MaRe is steered in wind-vane-mode with an AWA of 90 deg STB.

After a very fast night with top STW of 9+ KN. The wind went down a bit. So far we still made good speed

But then a front carrying rain came towards us. Wind increased and shifted first to NE. I changed to wind vane mode to still get the wind from 90 deg STB and have MaRe going back to her needed course when with turns towards E again.

This worked well but the Kartoffelacker remains.
(As for the meaning of “Kartoffelacker” please read the posting of 230502.) Currently we are still in the Kartoffelacker with only 7 – 8 KN AWS. STW is down below 4 KN.

Is the monkey with the tin tool again playing his unpleasant games with us? Where is Mr Wind-ow, the nice guy Ralf of SY Katinka met in a lonesome night on the sail from Panama to the Gambiers? Hopefully Mr Wind-ow comes back because he shovels the wind to the sailboats.

AWS increased to around 19 KN, thus MaRe runs with her night gown at speeds of 7 – 9 KN through the nightly sea. See seems to be happy because she sails again and not being tied up with chain like a farm dog.

In about 25 NM we will pass
I Marutea, the most SE atoll of the Tuamotus.

With this wind, our SuperWind 350 produces electrical power for what we need. This is a lot because the autopilot is extremely active with keeping MaRe on her track to the next WPT west of the atoll Puke Aru. I should have 2 of them on board they would nicely charge the batteries.

The night preparations are done, MaRe wears again her night gown. She likes it, because she runs!

AWS is right now around 17 KN from about 70 – 80 deg STB. STW is around 7 KN. As the current is almost 90 deg to our course, SOG is pretty much the same.

We had our dinner already. Shigeo cooked rice and made something delicious of eggplants, piman (a small green bell pepper), and America’s “best” Spam.

With the swell coming from about 45 deg STB the ride is a bit bumpy. As there is no change to be expected, it will be a bumpy night.

Watches are 4 h and we start at 1800 board time.

As for abbreviations and special terms I’m using, please scroll back in the blog for the glossary I once created. Date: 230429

If you have questions, please send a mail without an attachment to skipper-cat-mare@myiridium.net

質問があればどうぞskipper-cat-mare@myiridium.netにメールを出して下さい。日本語でも結構です。

We left the nice anchorage Of Rikitea on the eastern side of Mangareva and are passing soon the other reef. Then we take course to the Marquesas. On the way we cross the SE corner of the Tuamotus and will adjust the course a bit to stay clear of the very flat atolls.

Lifting the anchor was a bit of a work because we had to scrub the first about 30 m. Then we got it up and left.

The passage through the inner coral reef was normal although I’m feeling in such a situation stress. No mistake is allowed. After about 15 min we had it behind us.

The wind so far looks good and once the rice is cooked we will be out, stop the engines and will only use the sails and wind.

As the wind conditions are getting worse we want to use the last chance of sailing fast to the Marquesas. Thus, departure preparations are running to lift the hook on Sunday. However, we still watch the weather development twice a day to see if our plan is still feasible. We don’t want to get caught by a calm and drift a day, two, three… Then we rather would wait for the next weather window. Let’s see what plans the monkey with the tin tool had hidden.

I felt that departure is emotionally getting a bit difficult. I came to know people and they recognize me. That’s also a sign to leave. Such is sailor’s fate.

Yesterday Shigeo and I started together to hike the middle part of the mountain ridge of Mangareva.

The starting point of the trail was a bit hidden, but when I asked, we got the entrance shown. It looks like private property for the first 50 m.

Then the first about 30 m were a bit steep. Shigeo was afraid it’s all the way like this. But it’s all a hike and not a climbing tour.

When we reached the ridge, we meet a group of local people. They confirmed we are on the right way.

It was again and up down path on the narrow ridge of the caldera. Like last hike on the ridge, there were magnificent views down on the lagoon.

The descent was easy. A well prepared trail brought us to the street along the western shore.

As a little truck came, I confirmed that we are on the right way back to Rikitea on the other mountain side.

As always, it was interesting to see the houses and properties on both sides of the gravel road.

Whenever there were people sitting outside their houses, a friendly “bon jour” was exchanged.

At one place we met a group of children, the oldest girl 11 the 2 others and the boy younger.

They asked carefully if we speak English. And then, “Do you know an English prayer?” I was a bit surprised. We had some very simple conversations in French and English. Also names where exchanged. All of them have long Polynesian names, but at home other names are used. The older girls had about 3 – 4 shorter names used by the family. As one of the names sounded like “hana”, we explained that this means in Japanese “flower”, which the girl liked a lot. Then the older girl made a heart symbol with her hands and asked what “le coeur” is in Japanese. When we used the Japanese equivalent “kokoro”, all of them bursted out laughing. They pointed to the boy and we understood what it means in their language. After a selfie we continued our walk.

Then the little truck, we asked for confirmation of our way, came from behind, stopped and offered us ride in the loading area. It was a nice ride. Comfortable for our legs but bumpy for our bums.

When they needed to take another road, we kept walking for a bit more until the next car came. A lady in an SUV, the standard car on Mangareva beside trucks, gave us a ride to the other side and dropped us at the tiny port where our tender was docked

A nice day!

As Shigeo brought the needed PCB for washing machine with him, I could replace it and the washing machine runs again. Now it’s time to do all the laundry which piled up.

Here I want to express my thanks to 2 persons of the manufacturer of my SOBA Babynova 1150 Rapid washing machine, the Czech company “R-FIN”: it was first the Managing Director, David Krystek, who helped me to diagnose the machine and then the Sales Manager, Jana Falharová, who arranged timely shipment to Japan so Shigeo could handcarry the part to me. I’m really grateful to their support while being here around the corner of the end of the world.

As for the root cause of the problem, I think it was a voltage spike from the generator when it was switched on and the main switch of the washing machine was on. Something, which doesn’t happen back home on land.

The replacement of the PCB was easy also the closing of the machine. However, putting it back into the old place and put the bracket back around it to secure that it doesn’t move when MaRe rocks during a bumpy ride took quite a while. Additionally I had to re-assemble the cabinet next to the washing machine. This took almost a day. Today I have to re-assemble shelfs etc in the cabinet on the other side of the washing machine. This should be done in an hour or two.

I don’t want to forget to also thank Shigeo, who not only brought the PCB, but also a bunch of other things with him.