This morning I got up at around 0530 because I couldn’t sleep anymore. It was Dennis’ watch.
We talked and suddenly “smelt” the increasing wind. We checked wind direction and the course we need to sail plus we expected a weaker wind. Decision was made quickly. Gennaker up.

With the gennaker we are running a course of around 210 deg. This was the result of my discussion with Dennis on the wind forecast. Today and tomorrow it looks good. Thereafter we don’t see “wind corridors”. It looks more like a “wind islands”. A little bit difficult. As there was no clear conclusion to be done for the time after the day after tomorrow, we decided to take it easier and make only a decision for today and keeping and eye on tomorrow. Looking too far ahead is glass sphere reading, which we don’t want to do.

So we are running now a course being east of our BTW. Keep fingers crossed that we get wind in the next days

We had again overnight guests at the PRT bow pulpit. Blue-foot Bonnie boobies. To say thanks for having us on board overnight they left tokens of appreciation. Tjasa and Dennis removed them with a few buckets of water and a brush.
Tjasa continued with the brush, water and detergent in the cockpit. It looks really cleaner!

Sitting now in the cockpit and looking at the sea behind us, it looks boring but it’s not. The wind waves are very low. Something like 25 – 50 cm. But the long Pacific swell looks interestingly. From a distance of several hundred meters, the on rolling swell can be seen. Most of these swell waves are about 1 – 1.5 m high, some are reaching 2 m. They built up the full height just before reaching MaRe. And MaRe takes them so easily. She lifts her bums and let also the bigger ones just glide through under her hulls.

Beside this we all took a nap, one way or the other while MaRe continues slow sailing.

As some friends asked how they can reach us for comments, questions etc. Please feel free to use: skipper-cat-mare@myiridium.net However please no attachments.

Around 0300 Dennis woke me up because there was no wind anymore to move MaRe forward. We furled the genoa and MaRe drifts again. Fortunately a weak current moves us in the right direction.

Laying in the boat i feel it’s movement caused by the swell rolling on to her. I also can hear the sound of the water flushing the lowest part of the stern. Then there is quietness, no movement to be felt, no sound to be heard only to be interrupted again and again.

… sunset is preparing itself for putting the sun behind the horizon.

I’m sitting in the cockpit, a bit exhausted from the work of the day and the attention for the boat and it’s crew. I do feel this always when I’m not alone on the boat.

But during the day I took quite some moments to just look on to the sea and it’s various shades of blue going on the bright side into a blaring white when the sunlight reflects on the zillions is waves with wavelets on top.

The swell rolled onto MaRe fire most of the day pretty much from astern. But there was always a second swell system rolling on from about 45 deg to the sterns. This system became the dominant one. Not so nice because MaRe rocks gently.

In about half an hour, we will put the the gennaker down and just pull the genoa out. In this weak wind, it doesn’t make sense to hoist the main sail. When the wind will go down further, the main sail will only flap around. That’s not good for the sail, not for my nerves, thus we’ll keep it down.

Today the oven will get some things to be done. First it has to back 8 breads and then 3 pizzas. Tjasa will make pizza tonight for dinner.

BTW Lunch – or what we call lunch – was yesterday and today a delicious fruit salad. We will run out of fresh fruits one day. The question is when this will be?

Since we set the gennaker just at around 0730, we are sailing pretty constantly towards our WPT, being 417 NM ahead of us.

Tjasa made a kind of palatschinke, a bit thicker and very delicious. First it was Tjasa and I who had “breakfast for two” (not “dinner for two). While we had marmalade and a hazelnut creme for our palatschinke we discussed combining palatschinke with canned vegetables and maybe cheese.

Dennis got his palatschinke when he came out of bed for the 2nd good morning.

Then I had to write plenty of emails to be written, dough für bread needed to be prepared which requires also grinding of spelt. Later today we will know the result.

Diaries are written and books are read. Knots where practiced, log book was written with non position in the sea chart entered, etc.

Beside she requires our attention to wind shifts, MaRe runs and runs and runs to the destination WPT.

Especially for those living in the East of us.

At around 0200, Tjasa who was on watch duty, disturbed my sweet dreams of a tiramisu, just to tell me that the wind is stable at around 7 KN and above. With such an information I even give up a tiramisu.

Tjasa got a crash course in steering into the wind. She learned quickly and I was able to get the main up to reef 2, our safety setting for the night.

The rest was done quickly and now we are sailing with almost 2 KN STW at an AWA of 85 deg. That’s fine for a main with reef 2.

Watch shift, Tjasa goes to bed, Dennis is on duty, and I will go back to my salon sofa for another nap.

Dennis in the meantime does not need to wake me up that often. He has gained a lot of experience and teaches already sometimes Tjasa.

For us it’s now the question about the point where we will change to the direct course to our WPT east of Isla Española.

I’ll have a look now for the wind forecast.

I wonder if I can call is”summary of the day” when it’s still 5 h to go.
Many things can happen.

Squalls can pop up – that could be nice because we get at least wind for a little while.

The wind goes further down and stays below 3 KN – then I definitely take the main down and furle the genoa.

The wind increased to 10 KN or maybe to 15 KN – then MaRe would enjoy pushing down south to the WPT located a bit more than 12 NM east of the coast line of Isla Española.

But what is known, it’s that we had a good sail this afternoon. Gennaker pulled very much to the side of MaRe to let her run at 80 – 75 deg AWA. This sail was so easy going that many things were done. Shower at the stern, books were read in the bow net, list of provisions updated, things stored away, etc, etc, etc…

Now a bit later all sails are down and MaRe drifts again through the bright night, illuminated by half of the moon.

Tomorrow I’ll write another narration.

Obviously by sailing. Otherwise very many ships would still be drifting in the oceans since centuries.

So we are good sailors and started sailing at 1000. We did not achieve a speed record, but move on with around 3 KN in a wind of 4 – 6 KN AWS.

Unfortunately, a squall at PRT and one on STB forced us to get the gennaker down. A squall can bring winds of above 30 KN along. The gennaker’s limit is 15 KN. Thus, it’s better to get the huge gennaker down in time.

At the end we simply used the genoa and used the strong wind of the squall from PRT to move on.

But after the squall, the wind dies pretty quickly. So we drifted for a while with all sails down waiting eagerly for the wind to come back.

And then the air was filled with the scent of fresh wind. Gosh, this smells so good. The sea changed from a glassy surface to one with ripples, and they increases in height and became wavelets. And we hoisted the gennaker again.

Now we are heading a bit E of S to get a better position in the wind corridor.

Where will we be tonight?

Since yesterday evening we are drifting at this wonderful spot of the Pacific Ocean with lots of water around us and clouds above us.

These clouds brought us, just an hour ago, another squall with warm rain.

Now the sun comes out and the almost glassy sea changes the color continuously.

Dennis makes hot water, most likely for the next pot of tea. He and I are drinking tea since we got a bit wet from the last squall. We were a bit late with the cockpit enclosure.

Wind forecast is down loaded. Thus, now we can select the best weather model and set sails accordingly.

If I recall it right it was about 0200 when Dennis woke me up and said ” shower is ready”. I jumped up went into the cockpit and got my shower straight forward at the helm station.

We were fully hit by a nice squall!

Wind vane steering was not possible anymore. Thus, I had to take over by manual steering. As MaRe stalled already I had no speed to steer her. With engines I brought her into a direction where she could pick-up wind, accelerate, and get some speed. She enjoyed her run.

After about 1/2 hour, the squall was gone. Dennis went to bed, because it was the end of his watch, I changed to dry clothes and enjoyed this feeling a lot.

As there was no wind to sail, I secured the boom that it doesn’t swing and furled the genoa almost completely. Not fully, just for the chance that the wind comes back.

Log book writing, tea trinking, eating a small snack, writing emails, etc, time passed by quickly. Regular checks at the radar screen showed nothing for a long time. But then I saw at the edge of the radar screen a huge red spot. Red means it comes towards MaRe. As fast as possible I prepared MaRe for a fast ride. Hydrogenerator out of the water. Main sail ready for sailing up wind and the genoa unfurled. And then the squall hit MaRe.

It was fun seeing her accelerating and ploughing through the nightly see. On the radar I saw were the next one will come from. However with the speed MaRe ran, I could steer away from the next one.

As soon as the squall came, as soon it dissolved itself. It’s just a squall.

The morning sun came out and it was just a beautiful scene. “Unfortunately” the wind increased very slowly and gently. Because with wind we need to sail. So I called Dennis for hoisting the gennaker. As Tjasa was also up I asked him to his work with Tjasa and explain her all what’s needed; I did the other preparations. For her gennaker hoisting was the first time. It went well.

Dennis went back to bed. Tjasa prepared breakfast for two, MaRe sailed nicely alone steered by the autopilot’s wind vane mode. I wrote emails etc. Everyone did the own activities.

Then the monkey with the tin tool came and stole the wind again. As the wind could not escape from the monkey, I had mercy with the sadly hanging down gennaker. If a gennaker can’t fly, it simply is sad and prefers to get doused and stored away. There it regains all is power for the next flight.

When I went to douse it, I saw at the horizon something coming up. A huge dark grey front was building up. Thus, we wanted to get the gennaker down as fast as possible. But, there’s always a but, the sock could not be pulled down. Something stuck up there and I could not get it moving down again. So we took the gennaker down without putting it in it’s sock. When the top was down, we saw that it had to do with the lines inside. Just touching it solved the problem too quickly to have a chance to analyze it. Then Dennis pulled the gennaker up again while I hold the sock. This way the gennaker moved back into his sock and we could store it away.

Setting quickly the main only at reef 3 for a test and unfurled the genoa partially, and then the squall hit us week prepared.

For sure MaRe leaped forward on course. But we watch the incredible scenario where big raindrops hit the sea surface and smaller droplets escape from the surface, creating a grey but sparkling cover over the sea. I love this and have it seen already often. However, I am always fascinated newly.

This squall went by as well. We tried to sail a bit more but at 1 Bft and less, the gennaker will hang down sadly. So we packed all sails away and enjoyed the time at a glassy sea.

The captain announced rum & biscuit for all, but it turned out as coffee and cookies. Why don’t the chefs of the pantry never listen to the captain’s orders?

After drifting all night, the morning became better.

At around 0700 I smelled the wind coming back again. And it came back pretty fast.

As agreed I woke up Dennis and we set the gennaker in a very short time. We got used to work together with the sail. No questions, no explanations are needed anymore.

While we trimmed MaRe on the right course and trimmed also the gennaker, we got a visitor in the air. A US marked helicopter came flying and circled around us. What for?

Thereafter MaRe started moving and then started running. The wind is good also it changes directions pretty often.

It seems we are in the wind corridor. Hope we stay in and get another “windbridge”.

Run, MaRe run!