Author: sailawaysarantium

I have not seen a number, other than 0.0, for boat speed all day! The speed of current however, is showering numbers up to 6knots. Our Speed over ground is typically the same as current or slightly more😳… I guess my speedometer (wheel) is spinning with the current??? I’ve restarted my system and no change. Please, enlighten me!

Since our coordinates are N10*53/W124*52 we are approaching squally area! Fellow sailors are reporting squalls around 7 degrees north, but also that they are fairly low wind of 25 knots. I’ve played around with my radar and set it up to pick up squalls at night. One cannot see squalls at night with just the eye, as they are dark! I do believe that one will have some warning though. From zero/low wind, winds will suddenly pick up, kind of zero to ten! I also think temps will drop quickly ahead of a squall. I’ve experienced squalls before however this was in BC and fairly tame. I’ve taken down a couple of panels on my Bimini to prevent it getting ripped out in the event of a squall. As a habit I run a very small main sail at night, as it’s easier to deal with at night! My Genoa is typically furled in 30-40 percent!

Overall a quiet day; cribbage, reading, opened a watermelon, washed my hair on deck and hung out on the bowsprit with my pet bird! I really should be working on my French!

Stars are out and few clouds are present. It’s a sleigh ride and a bob sled experience! Goodnight world!

On Noforeignland, Sarantium is the most northern boat in the pod, aka the slowest! Most of them are catamarans and monohulls with long waterlines and fin keels so fast. I’m the slow, steady comfortable one!

I believe that the three-four most southern boats are already in the ITCZone and one is approaching the equator.

It got a bit gusty last night, so I added a reef to the Genoa, vertically running it as a large staysail.

My mind is just fixed on the sound of the waves, the wind, the splashing and sails luffing as we surf down the wave!

Out! And Goodnight World!

Straight for Isla Marquesses. it’s a good morning! Two reefs in main and full Genoa with pole extended 2 feet!

N11*49.55 W124*23.967

Cog 211* SOG:5.8kn

Boobie is back!

Current!!! I did not know that tide and current out here were this strong! I’m just happy that current is always going with us, or we’d be standing still! I’ll pretend I’m in a river!

3.2 kn boat speed and 4.0 kn tide…4.0 is a lot! Between waves and current, are we even sailing?

Gybing was a good idea as we are surfing waves and wind is setting us up for speed and good direction! And this time I’m not going back to Canada! We are pointing inbetween Christmas Island and Marquesses. I believe we can stay on this tack for 3 days and then tack to go south. But small shifts in the wind always keeps it interesting!

Goodmorning Day Eleven!

My night watch, 01.00-06.30, went by relatively quickly. I slept three hours. I need more! Sun is trying to come out through the cumulus clouds! It’s a brighter day! We’ve had some items fall from the sky; a bolt, washer and some stainless steel kind of a guard/ guide. Someone is throwing me spare parts! I guess I should investigate!

I’ve been thinking about my year plan! The cyclone season in French Polynesia begins September/October so I’ll be looking for a boat yard I can haul out the boat for some tender love and care. But that’s after I fly on a vacation for three months. I’ll divide up my time between England, Sweden and Norway to see family and “old” friends!! Rumour has it, there is a 40 year “class reunion” brewing in early fall. I’ve missed all of the ones in the past and am hellbent on making this one! It’s time to actually have conversations face to face instead of messaging all these years! After my mini vacation I’ll fly back and tend to Sarantium and make connections in Tahiti! Cyclone season is over at the end April and I’d like to be back in the water to explore the beautiful island I’ve only ever seen in magazines!

Coffee is percolating. Tea water is hot. I need to feed the Scoby! I started growing it from a store bought Kombucha in San Diego and now it looks like I could open a brewery!

At 10.00: N12.*16.832 W122*19.424 COG: 241* SOG: 5.5kn

Out!

Not much to report after a regular uneventful night. We just gybed to get more west in order to set up for getting across the ITCZ.

At 09.25: N12*50 W120*105

COG: 250* SOG: 5.0 kn looks like we should shake out the Genoa with that slow speed. Out!

Today…

…. I’m tired. The wave action is a lot and it’s difficult to be below deck. Yesterday I made a big pot of coconut lentil soup with cumin and new baked bread. Afterwords I was exhausted from trying not to fall while tending to simple kitchen duties. It’s also getting warm and muggy here as we are getting closer to the southern hemisphere. So when running the stove and oven, the sweat is dripping. I feel like I’m in a Bikrim yoga class.

Most of the time this undertaking feels like an easy task. I’m so grateful that I made the decision to buy this boat and sail around the globe, but at times, it’s hard and mood is low. I miss not getting adequate sleep. I miss alone time. I miss a feeling sand between my toes. I miss watching a movie, while sipping a glass of red wine. Then I snap out of it, knowing this all is less than 2 weeks away. Sailaway Sarantuim 👩🏼‍✈️

As I sit and try to visualize what the next few years might look like, the environment keeps bringing me back to what’s around me. Being present while living and working in western culture is difficult and many, including myself, have to set aside time to meditate and to work on being present. It’s an activity, what we do, but sadly not part of who we are. Turning off the constant buzz of social media’s doomscrolling, and the news that has increasingly become, down right messed up, is now a task. Out here, I stare at the sea, the waves, the clouds and dead fish in the cockpit. It is hard to not be present. It is hard to not pay attention to detail. It is hard to not love my surroundings just the way it is. It’s hard to not love life!

Speaking of surroundings. We have been lucky. Our sailing friends around us have all had some high winds and “been holding on for dear life” as one person wrote in a message to me earlier today. A few hours later I noticed while sitting gazing out on the water, dark clouds west of me. I had been complaining about not being more west just earlier today. As the clouds were moving towards us I decided to get the boat ready for some high winds. I reefed both sails, removed portable solar and closed up port holes and simplified the cockpit. I’m ready! Bring it on! Wind picked up slightly and then clouds moved east just south of Sarantium! Storm never happened!

What a night! Stars, waves, nice strong breeze on beam/broad reach! Goodnight World!

…. trying to come out!

We switched things up a bit. I “slept” from midnight to 03.00 and will now be on watch. I’m now rocking back and forth slowly and moving fire ward at 4 kn. I wait to see if wind will pick up or shake out the Genoa a bit! I wait as my journey includes slowing things down and finding space to just be. No timeframe, coconuts will not go bad and Sarantium is built for stability and needs to be loved, not pushed.

It’s dark tonight, as I move away from shore, substantial clouds fill in. Early last night, while sleeping in the cockpit, I felt rain. This is the first rain I’ve had since June! Come to think of it, it’s the first real cloud I’ve seen since June.

I’m in-between books. I’ve checked radar. I’ve stood up and looked around. I’ve looked around the cockpit for fish. Two. Dead and now part of the food cycle. I find myself scrolling through old photos of family around the fireplace, in the woods and close friends on mountain bikes, on skis and kayaks! I miss parts of that life, and remind myself that life for me is about continuous growth. The wind picks up and I must go with it. There is so much out there and I want more.

Some say, a house and home creates stability. I agree that we all need a space to go to for stability. However, the more I move through this journey, I realize that stability is within me and it always was, I just never realized. I would feel grounded when I would return home after a long day at work or return home from a trip. But reflecting now, stability was always within me. It was all the running around chasing activity and engagements that made me feel grounded only at home. Now, I feel grounded and stability is always present. Seems strange, don’t you think, considering I’m floating around in the middle of Pacific Ocean, in some fiberglass!

These long nights lends itself to rambling on …

Thanks for reading and thanks for writing. I read and reread your emails, comments and messages in whatever shape or form.

It’s time stand up look around and then close my eyes for a bit.

I slept well! We had very little wind early morning so I jumped in for a swim! Lovely! Two cups of coffee and wind picked up! We are sailing south again!

At 09.00: N14*54.627 W119*56.54

COG: 174 SOG: 5.5 kn, NE winds

Mostly sunny, 4-5 ft waves (4-5 sec apart)

Out!

(Night of day 7)…. Flying into the cockpit! This time it hit my face, while I was sleeping, with full force! I managed to get it back to the water, wings intact! They actually have wings! Long night ahead of me… 00.00 to 06.00 and hopefully without too much excitement, just good wind and moderate waves, I asked for. I made it to 04.00 of dozing off and waking up every 25 min. We had noticed that we were within 20 nm of a traffic lanes as lights started to appear. Our AIS must not be receiving other ships signals as nothing showed up on plotter, which I had relied on for the past hour. I hailed CBC Norfolk to say they appeared on our starboard and I could see their starboard lights. Is this correct? “Yes correct, we will pass stbd to stbd with 1 nm inbetween”. Yikes 1 nm is not a lot, I thought! I thanked them and they they said “good watch. Out” good watch… hardly I should have been on radar an hour ago… after that I counted 4 more tankers pass through and that was it. There was no need to hail any others as they all would have heard me talking to Norfolk. Another hour went by and then I asked for shift change early as 6 hours was too long tonight! I slept in the cockpit until 8.30☺️

Goodmorning!

At 09.00 we gybed and pointing straight for the Marquesses. This made my morning!!! Now, a hard boiled egg, coffee with milk and a toothbrush!

09.27: N16*37.870 W119*14.818

COG: 200* SOG: 6.5kn

Radar is clear with no targets, no flying fish in my face, self steering is happy, peeking a hard boiled and waiting for coffee to appear in my hand ☺️ . out 👩‍✈️

Hanging out is easy! Today is a big day for making some good headway! Reefed main, reefed Genoa and my daily plotting on paper-chart is done!

I keep in touch with fellow sailors who are within 300 nmiles of me and also fellow sailors on land who are advising from afar. It’s been good to compare notes and cross check with my own calculations! Some of them seem really knowledgeable in regard to weather routing but doing this crossing is everyone’s first time! It’s so nice to have company out here. This passage is bringing me to another level of learning and living life. Words can not describe of how I feel! ❤️Truly mind-blowing❤️

At 10:14 N16*46 W117*31

COG: 244* SOG: 5.7

Lots of clouds, no sun to charge solar, going west and not as much south as I’d like!

This morning feels like a lull on many levels. Boat needs cleaning, I need a swim. I would like to sleep like a baby. It’s quiet on the boat. I might put on some tunes and dance! Out!

I should have gybed… could have, should have …

When I looked at the chart and watching the wind shift and we were all of a sudden heading more west than south west, I should have gybed! But I thought “we are still going west and that’s not bad”. The next few hours were frustrating to say the least! Wind became super light, it swirled around and us with it. We started pointing to Hawaii then further north. At one point it looked like we were going to back to Canada! I said No!no!no! 🎶🎵🎶 so I swirled and swirled with Sarantium for a couple of hours. For those who may be tracking … you might think I opened the Rum early! The wind eventually filled in and pointed us to Hawaii again! But not for long as wind continued to be up and down. At one point a flying fish flew into the cockpit, bounced off me, and back into the water! Another couple of hours, of trying point the boat in the general direction of where we were going, went on. But unfortunately we just didn’t have enough wind. I backwinded the sail and offset the rudder (heave-to) and fell asleep. Sometimes you just got to cut your loses. Tomorrow is a new day❤️

So the whisker pole has been up all day. The wind increased and I thought we better take down the Genoa and replace it with the staysail especially since evening is approaching. We went through the order of how to take it down and it seemed we knew what we were doing. Start furling the sail in and then unhook the pole from Genoa sheet, reattach it to the mast chalk. Well, all of a sudden I can’t furl in the sail. It’s not budging. Sails are slapping, as well the topping lift is also not working. Hmm, has to be related! I follow the topping lift halyard up with my eyes and notice that the topping lift halyard is furled in with the Genoa sail. Ok, easy! Just unfurl it and redo but this time I need to make sure topping lift halyard is tight and not making its way into a furling sail…. Overall a good day! Big waves but nice wind! Good night world! Check out Sarantium’s progress on “Noforeignland”