After our arrival yesterday, everything slowed down on MaRe.

When were looking for a spot to drop the anchor, the French sailor, Jean-Marc, of the cat “Obelix”, now our neighbor boat to the south gave us hints for anchoring. They were good. A bit later, it happened he drove by with his dinghy and we invited him to come on board. Then we recognized he is the first human we talked to face to face since 49 days. He gave us helpful hints about what is available and where.

After he left we were just sitting in the cockpit and talked over all things, which came to our mind. Dennis made a dinner, good as always, using the last before the last onion we bought in Panama. Beside the last onion we only have garlic left. And canned food.

Today we will see what we can get at land.

After dinner we celebrated our 4593 NM – 49 d – sail with a bottle of champagne, one of my smart crew members put in the fridge.
Again long talks until the bottle was empty and we were tired and ready to go to bed.

For me, it was the first night that I slept in my own bed since departure in Panama. I only slept on the salon sofa to be called easily and immediate ready to go into action.

Now back to sailing.

After we left the last low-no-wind zone, we first used the genoa and about an hour or two later we set the main to reef 2 and the genoa fully out. The wind was good and MaRe started flying. For about 12 h we had an average speed above 7 KN. It would have been a day distance above 180 NM. But we needed to slow down that we did not arrive to early. At the 8. May, a weaker (only 15 – 20 KN) wind was forecasted for the Gambiers and I wanted to make the into this window.

So we slowed down MaRe. First by only furling the genoa about 50 % but she kept on running. To further slow her down we needed to furle the genoa so much that she became unbalanced. The main on reef 2 was too big for the remaining handkerchief of genoa. Thus, we reduced the main to reef 3 and got a balanced sail size.

However due to the low speed and the confused sea with a 2 – 4 m swell from S and about the same from E, the autopilot could not stear MaRe well. We needed to hand steer her. First Dennis and I rotated in 30 min intervals at the helm. Tjaša did an excellent job by providing us warm drinks, a soup, sandwiches, and later spaghetti. Not an easy job on a rocking boat.

Then she also started hand steering MaRe, and she did it well! We could prolong the steering intervals to 45 min each. This gave everyone 90 min sleeping time.

We reached in time our first WPT “Atoll W” pretty much in the planned time.

Then we needed to make further speed adjustments along the route around the island from NE via S and to W. It worked out. 30 min later, then days before planned, we were ready to go into the entry channel into the lagoon. The wind was down to around 15 KN.

Although I expected a jet effect caused wind increase between the first two islands, we got much more. We got up to 27 KN of wind on the nose until the entry channel made a 90 deg turn to N. With wind directly on the nose, MaRe was pitching heavily. Several times we got spray from the bows until cockpit. It felt like a never ending story, but MaRe’s engines pushed her forward against the wind and the growing waves.

In the entrance channel, when I wanted to hoist the courtesy flag (the French national flag) together with the yellow Q-flag (all on board are healthy) I was one moment not careful enough and both flags, tied already to each other, where blown in the wind and in the sea. Gone. Gone forever.

The entry channel is sufficiently marked and the marker are in good conditions. That gave me hope the final part of the channel, through a huge coral bank was also marked well.

I could see the markers of the final channel from sufficient distance. The only point was to find the turning point. There are supposed to be two land based markers in a line to identify the turning point. I did not see them easily, thus relied on GPS and the markers I saw in the water for making the last about 100 deg turn.

The final channel was not very wide, just enough for the supply boat. Although the supply boat is much bigger than MaRe, I regard the channel through the coral bank as tricky. Dennis sat at the chart plotter, and moved the position of MaRe on the screen always in a position that I had the best view forward on the the monitor screen at the helm. After about 5 min my adrenalin level sank rapidly. We were through the final channel.

There were about 7 boats in the anchorage area. We found a good spot beside the French catamaran “Obelix”. The hook is down at 20 m.

At 14:40 we dropped the hook in the bay at the east side of Mangareva island.

One-adjective description about what we see: NICE!!!

Details about the last days follow. Now we’re simply want to rest.

Catching up on yesterday.

Tjaša just refused to followed the same procedure as every day, which is, to have her excellent tiramisu also for lunch desert.

She made again another excellent minestrone a la MaRella, but no tiramisu. She was on strike but didn’t want to tell us the reason. She was afraid we fullfil her request and she has to make tiramisu.

Thus, Dennis and I were forced to finish our lunch with cheese and olives.

… is a bloody tricky one!
Catching up on yesterday.

Yesterday, I wanted to set the gennaker as soon as I was bright enough. This was before 0600 because sunrise is here at 0614 (UTC 1514).

When I made an sky check to see what kind of clouds are hanging hanging around, I saw in the distance the first “black beast”; a huge fully develop cumulus-nimbus. With such a cloud on a possible path to you, you don’t think even about hosting a gennaker. So plan thrown over board. (Plans can always be thrown over board, they area biodegradable.)

A while later at another corner another “black beast”. During breakfast 1 or 2 more showed up.

A while later non of these “black breasts” came closer.

Then suddenly i understood. With putting a few black beasts at the horizon, he could simply pin us down.

Once we understood this truck of the monkey with the tin tool, we set sail and moved on.

… until our WPT “Atoll W”. It’s a WPT west of a small atoll west of the big Gambier reef. This WPT we are using since almost the start of this long sail. From there we have 53 NM to the beginning of the entrance channel into the lagoon. In the lagoon, the channel through all shallow areas, rocks, and mainly coral colonies to the anchorage area is then again 15 NM.

Yesterday we had 3 periods with sails down and just drifting. With in the last period we started in the night, which means 1900, the time the first night watch starts.

It was Tjasa watch duty. At about 2100 she woke me up because we had about 15 KN of wind from S. It was raining and together we pulled out the genoa. Even with an AWA of close to 60 deg, MaRe started running. Did we get our chance to be in time (8. May 1100) outside of the entry channel?

I made some calculations with route possibilities i prepared already earlier. Result: we can make it, if we maintain an average speed of 5 KN. Thus appeared to be possible if the wind stays around 15 – 16 KN; the forecasted wind is 20 KN. Perfect!

As soon as Dennis came out for his watch duty at 2300 we set the main at reef 2. AWA around 90 deg. Wind sufficiently stable to use the autopilot in “track mode” which brings us directly to the WPT “Atoll W”

Now almost 5 h later we are on track to be in time at the entrance channel. Average speed for the first 4 h is 6.5 KN and for the last, almost 2 h even 7.3 KN. MaRe flies to Gambiers. It seems she wants to arrive in time. She is a good lady!

Already past 0400 board time (UTC 1300). This watch goes from 0300 until 0700.

At the change of the watch we took the main down. The wind turned too much to E and NE to maintain a reasonable course.

With only the genoa we are on broad reaching and running courses better-off in respect to wind angle flexibility needed to maintain our course. Thus instead of 120 deg AWA we can now use 170 deg. The speed is more or less the same but we are by roughly 40 – 50 deg closer on our needed course.

The sky is a 3/4 one (3/4 are covered by clouds). Still it’s pretty bright outside because the full moon light makes a great illumination even through the clouds. At about 0200 of MaRe, in a distance of maybe 5 NM there is nice bright moonlight spot on the sea surface. The moon, not to be seen, shines his light through a hole in the clouds.

The sea calmed down a lot. Due to low winds, the wind waves are down to about 0.5 m. The swell from east and the one from south are down to a meter but there distance is less than 100 m. Longer wavelength are more comfortable for life on board.

Friends who left Vista Mar Marina a few days before us, sailed first to the Islas Perlas and then took course to Hiva-Oa, an island of the Marquesas group of islands. There, unfortunately, they ran into the plaque, the ARC. A fully organized sail around the world in 18 month. All boats run from one famous tourist spot to the next. But they don’t really see the islands and countries along their fixed route. In a place just hit by the ARC plague, no other boats count in terms of anchorage space, services, provisioning, etc .

I’m very glad the we, MaRe and the SY Katinka with Gaby & Ralf, are going to the Gambiers far off of the beaten tracks. Thanks Gaby and Ralf for introducing these groups of islands to me several months ago. (SY Katinka is just about 100 NM behind us, and in a few days both boats are at anchor in the vicinity of each other at the east side of the Mangareva island, the main island of the Gambiers.)

So far some thoughts while being on night watch, written beside a number of activities, which are needed to be done.

It is not possible on a sailboat to sail fast in all directions but to an certain extend it is.

The wind became weak past midnight. For quite a while I never saw a 15 KN or more wind indicated on the display. Thus I decided to use the gennaker to gain speed.

Together with Tjasa I set up the gennaker and MaRe picked up speed. We sailed about 5 – 7 KN, compared to 3 – 4 KN before. Perfect!

I kept sitting at the helm station to see all parameters, especially the TWS. This should stay below 15 KN.

MaRe rushed through the sea. I could feel that she enjoys the speed.

As it is the rule of sailing. When you put up a bigger sail, the wind will increase! And the wind increased slowly with ups and downs, the magic “15 KN” showed up more often and always a bit longer at the wind speed display. At the end it stayed to long at “16 KN”. I called Tjaša and Dennis to get the sail down. It was a bit of work to get it down.

After it was stored away, we set the main sail at reef 1. This was the only alternative to the gennaker. With this sail and an AWA of 130 deg we still made a reasonable speed all day long.

We will keep it up until shortly after dinner. We have no clouds, and full moon so we can get MaRe into her night gown as late as possible from the point of view of sleep requirements.

Just past midnight we will enter the low-no-wind zone. We will find a way to cope with this.

This early morning I changed sails – main reef 2 to reef 1 with Tjasa. It worked very well and we enjoyed more speed from the larger sail area.

Then I formed the normal 8 breads and started baking them.
Outside in the cockpit was a sunny and warm morning time. In the early morning no clouds at all. Later a few at the horizon and here and there an alto cumulus cloud. Just great.

When the first 4 breads were almost ready, there was dark strato cumulus cloud rolling towards MaRe from ESE. If the squall brings winds of 30 and more knots, the sail we had up was too big. Thus we must reef immediately. Bread is finished in the next 2 – 3 min and the sail must be reefed NOW, simply squalls are impolite and don’t wait until my bread is out of the oven.

I called Dennis, who was still in his cabin, and told him an Tjasa they have to reef the main without me because otherwise we don’t have bread but charcoals.

Both of them know what they need to do, and they did it! In a short time the main was reefed, and genoa again on place and trimmed.

Well done crew, you can swim!

Surprised?

We too were surprised!

Tjaša on tiramisu strike?

No!

So why no tiramisu tonight?

Honestly, I don’t understand it myself and can’t believe that we had a first dinner without a tiramisu desert.

I will explain.

Tjaša – it’s all her fault! – made pizza. Very delicious! So we ate a BIG piece of pizza, another BIG piece of pizza, and even a third BIG piece of pizza. It tasted so good that we could not stop eating until all was gone.

After we needed to hold our overfilled bellies with both of our hands, to not too let them fall down, Tjasa said she has – like every evening – made tiramisu for desert.

Then Dennis and I refused to eat Tjasa’s excellent tiramisu, being afraid to explode. Thus, no tiramisu tonight.

… changes of wind?

The latter one is valid.

The wind changed in direction and velocity.

Since the early morning hours the wind changed a south of E. But not yet really to ESE or even SE.

As we need to be as fast as possible I had the mainsail set at reef 1 and the genoa fully. With this we are, at lower wind speeds, about almost as fast as before but still slower.

Our objective is to be at the entrance of the channel into the lagoon on low-no wind day at 1100. With the high standing sun and hopefully low enough wavelets we will have a good visibility down to the sea bedq to recognize uncharted coral colonies.

My problem is that in the next days, including our entry into the lagoon, the 2 best weather models, ECMWF and SPIRE differ in wind velocity and direction. This raises the question which model predicts the wind better.

All I can say right now is let’s sail as fast as possible, because slowing down at the end of possible but not speeding up.