Author: sailawaysarantium

After flying down the North Pacific Ocean, we discovered that my new inverter stopped working… so we decided to come into Crescent City to figure out the problem! We gybed and sailed South East towards the coast for about 18hrs and ended up in the fog and minimal wind speed again and motored into Crescent City where we where welcomed by some fellow Canadians (van isle) and fellow Island Packeters 😊! Turns out that the propane locker, directly above the locker where inverter is stored, leaked sea water in. While healing the boat water seeped in through the copper gas pipe opening and fried the mother board. By the looks of things this is not a new leak, as old water stains are present. I sikkaflexed the heck out of the possible leak spots and with help from fellow IP owners (Kevin and Julie) 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼 and retired (but putting his skills to use while sailing south) marine electrician! I’m also rethinking my inverter choice, while only charging phones once every two days or so, and occasionally using starlink, which is not a daily nessecity. Today, I will look for a spare portable and foldable solar and stowaway power box! What a treat to sleep in a still and quiet boat behind the giant breakwater!

One moment, you’re sailing a hundred miles off the coast towards the Sea of Cortez and the next you’re walking around foggy docks amongs sleeping seals! Things change quickly and being patient is the name of the game!

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After troubleshooting and trusting that the Hydro Vane will stay course, I spent the night sleeping in the cockpit, under the stars! It was so nice to be out in the open listening to the waves and hearing the rudder gurgle instead of trying to sleep below in the bowling alley!

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This is what I’ve been waiting for. Being less at the wheel starring at the gps screen and more present in my surroundings, looking out on the horizon, petting the dolphins while they play beside the boat, looking for whales or just being…. It’s all starting to fall into shape❣️

I’ve been playing around with the wind vane and having trouble trusting it enough to leave the helm. What I figured out is that it wanders up and down 10-20 degrees but overall stays the course. This took awhile for me to be ok with this, and for future solo passages this will be key! This voyage from Van Isle is in a way my shakedown for what’s coming!

..that I’m through the initial state of feeling overwhelmed. I’m thrilled that the motor is not our power anymore, wind is stable and on broad! Fog is staying close to land and electronics are working better without engine running… not sure what that’s about! Feelings of being overwhelmed is leaving me and bursts of feeling settled and “wow life is good” is often present! I’m still going through my “checking list” in my head all the time! Checking the bilge, maceration of waste, wind prediction, hurricane status in Alaska, batteries, lines, sails, radio checks, tightening of tubing holding the solar in place, electric connections for AIS and radar, food in the bottom of fridge going bad, water supply, etc. These are all “things” to be grateful for and a priveledge to have in my life!

As the sun rose and the self steering kept steady I was able to take some time to enjoy the sunrise. For the first time I felt truly relaxed and in a reflective mode 140nmiles off the Northern California coast…. “I dreamt, I sold, I retired and a sailed away”…

And then these appeared…

I am just waking up after a few hours of sleep! We’ve divided up the helm shifts three ways. 12-4, 4-8 and 8-11! I’m on 4-8, and so far it’s going well! I’m tired, haven’t had much food and always checking the boat! So I haven’t had a lot of time to check in with myself. It’s busy! My crew are a wealth of knowledge and everyone are chipping in doing their parts! I can completely trust their skills! This would be a challenge on my own!

It’s hard to sleep and hard to cook! But we’re eating enough! I’m living in foul gear and wearing pj underneath! Last night on my shift I detected a sailboat heading from west to east! We were on collision course. After hailing numerous times to discuss a plan we altered our course to pass them on their stern. They never answered and stayed their course. I noticed them about 30 nmiles ahead of time and had time to plan our plan! When we finally saw their lights we slowly passed them within 500 m and they probably had no idea as most likely on self steering and sound asleep! Two ships passing in the night!

We motored off the coast from Neah Bay! Long day and night listening to the engine and sails banging! We finally reached our wind corridor and now flying down on a beautiful beam reach! We’re averaging 8.5 nm per hour and our fourth crew member is keeping us on a 190degree course! Almost straight south!