Sailaway Sarantium

We left crescent city a few days ago and motored out for twoish hours… light wind was forecasted for shore and then building as we ventured out towards the big blues! In the next 24 hours we had good wind, some rain and sunny periods. Every morning at sun-up schools of dolphins joined me on my morning shifts (04.00-08.00). Dolphins, sunrise and waves against the hull. My new chapter in life is settling into something very special.

A couple of days ago we had our first light storm! The wind built through the night and we knew we had 30-35nmiles coming our way, so we got organized with a good meal, sleeping arrangements and discussions about reefing early and having least amount of sails up in the event of a bigger wind then forecasted. I tried to sleep however difficult as winds were building and waves were reaching 15 feet. By the time 04.00 came around winds were gusting 35nmiles and waves were tossing us around. We were all happy when wind decreased and we could catch some sleep. At one point I was sleeping on the floor below my bed on the sailbag and in my floatation suit. My pfd never came off.

This morning, the engine decides to be difficult again. For those who has been reading my blogs, know that I’ve had a couple of “no starts” at first try. Key turns and makes an ”alarm sound” however does not turn the engine. This time, the engine didn’t start at all. So I start measuring volt on all the batteries and connections leading from starter battery to solenoid to starter. I had good voltage from battery to solonoid and leaving Solonoid. I realized that wires leaving solonoid to another connection and according to my Nigel Calder’s textbook (brilliant btw) it’s an auxiliary solonoid for the starter and while checking on those, I realized they were loose and dangly. While talking to some folks in crescent city I learned that these needs wiggling if engine doesn’t start. These wires are in an awkward place and cleaning them up and reconnecting them looks difficult and not a job while underway. I wiggled and my crew turned the key! And the engine started! Thank you Nigel and Kevin (who shared his knowledge about wiggling).

Today, as I’m writing we have been offshore for four days and tonight will be our fifth night at sea for our third leg since (Me) leaving Nanaimo. We have light wind and fog for the next two days! We are off to Catalina island for some R&R!

I saw my first closeup humpback today. It was swimming alongside the boat, no more then 10 feet away, for 15 seconds before it left…

The winds have died down out on the big blue sea and tomorrow looks promising! The forecasted wind speed is 20-25 nm/hour! We have routed our destination according to the app Predict Wind on our plotter and the week looks good. Some stronger winds for are forecasted for tomorrow, however, nothing crazy! If anything changes we will adapt our plan but for now it’s a go!

Crescent City has been great, as I’ve made some fantastic connections with sailors who have shared their wealth of knowledge and past experiences!

See you in Mexico!

Ps. I’ll write again once on land as starlink will be packed away and only used to check weather!

….. looks windy! We are contemplating heading out today, however after looking at the wind prediction map our window for friendly winds is shrinking! Forecast shows good wind for Tuesday and Wednesday however shows high (30-40 n m/hour) winds inside the 165 n mile line after Wednesday.

Often, nights are gusty and hard to see the waves. Friends of mine are sailing aprox 200 n miles off the coast (directly west of us) presently and chatting with them on garmin inreach they mentioned the increase in gusts at night. We experience this as well 150nmiles out, and we always reefed the main substantially, dropped our big head sail and kept small staysail up. We still sailed at 6nm/hour.

In addition, if your boat changes angles, and it does, the waves will move from pushing you from behind to hitting your beam. In high winds and high wave action this can get dangerous. Another problem is you cannot see in the dark, and solely rely on degree/angle reading on your electronics. It’s unnerving at times.

We could sail out (motor out for 10 n miles) and then return to shore to seek refuge from high winds. Problem is that there are few places between here and San Francisco. It’s a tricky coast with lots of rock and sandbars, which is why sailors don’t stay close to land. In some places, they recommend hiring a pilot to enter harbours because of sandbars and currents.

So our choices are to head past the 165 n miles line in the next 2 days (80 n miles per 24 hours) and stay far out (200 n miles), until Saturday and then start heading south east towards San Diego or Ensenada, or stay put here in Crescent City until high winds has subsided on Saturday morning.

Side note: Crescent City has the highest crime rate in all of the USA, including the Mexican mafia! Crescent City has an interesting history in regards to their local maximum security jail, which connects back to the closing of Alcatraz! Check it out!

This brings some thought… what is this journey about? Is it about just to “get there”? Do I need to experience 30-35 plus winds on this trip? If so, why? Most likely it will be hairy at times and most likely it will be ok, however is this the experience I want to have?

I’m here to thoroughly enjoy this amazing journey I’ve embarked on!

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!

🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

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!

🐳🐳🐳🐳🐳🐳🐳🐳🐳🐳🐳🐳🐳🐳

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…