May 4

Written by:
5/4/2010 12:14 PM 

May 2nd, 2010 What started as a day of reflection quickly turned to a day where I sat Ill at ease no matter how I tried to distract myself. Part of that may come from the realization that I am closer to my home town of Springfield, MO right now than I am to my destination of Fatu Hiva still over 2,300 nautical miles away.

The wind has picked up out of the East and Jargo is running at 7 – 8 knots in 15 – 20 knots of wind, that’s fast for this old girl. Part of the concern is that my batteries are slowly, but surly giving up the ghost. To compound matters the Sailomat windvane cannot hold course in the increased wind and seas. It appears the servo rudder that provides power to the wheel steering is too short. When a wave lifts the boat the rudder comes out of the water falling to center only to get dropped back in again violently turning the wheel to port or starboard, not ok. So I am back to the autopilot unless I can come up with another solution, but with the batteries dying I am gearing up to take control and continue on by balancing the sails and steering with the sheets alone, old school style. The combination of autopilot and single bulb tricolor navigation light are proving too much for my decrepit batteries. $#%$

The seas have built to 8 feet plus which still is not huge by any means, but they are on my stern quarter and we are getting tossed around pretty good. It is uncomfortable, but this may be the way it goes for awhile now. Still not a single chatter on the VHF radio, sail, or light on the horizon. This is about as alone as one can get.

Later. Almost 9:00 p.m. when I went for another check above deck. Lost the wind gauge so no longer know how hard it is blowing other than best guess. Updated my position manually and found I’ve run off almost 600 miles in 96 hours. That’s better than a six knot average. Not bad.

May 3rd, 2010 As harder winds blow over the sea smaller waves begin to come together forming larger, giant walls of water. The wind gauge is back and we’ve had a steady 14 – 17 knot wind since last night. The seas have built to an easy 12 feet, but seven seconds, an eternity, go by from the crest of one wave to another. Jargo pays them little mind and simply allows herself to rise and fall on the waves carrying on towards her destination in this perfect sailing breeze.

We are on a broad run at 7 – 8 knots with all sail set. I am still settling in and only today found the motivation to fight the galley for its dirty dishes and scrubbed them all clean. I think my frustration yesterday came for setting too lofty a goals for what I wanted to accomplish on this passage. The truth is that simply climbing from the cockpit into the cabin and the safety of my birth can be a chore. Eventually I’ll get to the French lessons, but if not, so be it. My resting heart rate has always run around 65 bmp, but laying in my bunk yesterday I found it to be 85. It gets easier every day, even as the seas get larger, but it is still work just to move about, cook, and tend to the needs of the boat. There is a majestic and terrifying beauty in all that surrounds me.

Tuesday May 4th, 2010 Fortified against the cool night with a steaming cup of hot coco I make my way up on deck at 2:30 a.m. to look things over. Winds have eased to 14 knots and the seas are following suit. Trade wind sailing is like sex in that even when it is bad….it is still pretty damn good. I love this.

Just as the sun set last night the wind picked up and clouds on the horizon indicated things might get even more unstable. For the first time since I left Galapagos I tucked a single reef into the main sail. Now, with the winds abating, Jargo is still charging on through the swell at 6.5 knots. With the winds laying down I could shake the reef out again, but as always at night, I am hesitant to leave the security of the cockpit. Each evening the waters of the Pacific still turn black and play on the fears of the sailors who trespass here. The reef can wait until morning.

As long as the winds will allow me, I’ll be laying a course that holds close to 5 South Latitude. To the North of 5 S winds are lighter, but the current is stronger. To the South, winds get stronger, but you lose much of the favorable current. If I hold 5 South until almost 110 or even 120 West longitude I’ll maximize my daily runs and should set myself up well for a great beam reach down to the Marquesas once I do turn more southerly.

3:30 FISH ON!!! Finally. Wahoo with their razor sharp teeth have been stealing my lures since I left Panama. I haven’t boated a fish yet in the Pacific as I continually find my 100 lb monofilament leaders severed close to where the lures should have been. I even rerigged one lure with 30 lb wire, but even that got cut. This last lure has three of the 30 lb wire leaders on it and so far has withstood one hit, but didn’t hook the wahoo. Today I landed a small dolphin fish a.k.a. mahi mahi. The two boneless filets could make a lunch and dinner, but I am craving fresh fish so will cook them both tonight for a big dinner.

Start with one hot skillet with a little olive oil and sautee garlic and onions. Throw in a bell pepper for about a minute then add one can coconut milk, salt, pepper, and half tablespoon of red curry paste. Bring to a simmer and add fish filets for 10 minutes. Serve over bed of rice. Going to start cooking as soon as I hit the send on this.

From the SAT phone: Jeremy: Thanks brother. Lots of love to you, Erin, and the kids. Has Trek opened that Fuzzy’s? Any chance he could use that jet to drop me a couple of tempura fish tacos?

Ben: Yeah man, they are getting through. At least I’ve received two sms from you so far. First stop is Fatu Hiva in the Marquesas group West and North of Tahiti. Only ~500 people still live in Fatu Hiva. Not supposed to go there, but I can’t resist. Rumor has it the locals still come out to greet sailors in dug out canoes since visitors are rare.