Sailing with just the two of us “2-up” is an amazing experience, but can be quite lonely as you don’t actually spend that much time together. Whilst one of us is awake and “on watch”, the other person is typically asleep or resting.
Chatting to other yachties who have done similar, everybody develops their own routine and there is no rulebook. We have found that rather than be to strict about a fixed routine, we work to our biorhythms; Tates is a night owl and I’m a mornings person so we work it around that and supporting each other when we’re tired.
We thought it’d be fun to share what 24hrs on Nauts looks like….
Caspar on watch, and it’s time to fill in the logbook.. wasn’t quite on time (filled it in at 12:15, but who’s checking). 2588 miles covered and it’s still blowing 20 knots and a bit rolly. Tates woke up a few mins ago and I made pancakes and banana bread for breakfast… This isn’t a regular occurrence, so I won’t take too much credit. After pancakes for Tates (I had mine at 7am), its time for some banana bread and a pot of tea. We’re both chilling and reading our kindles.
Wind has picked up a bit (just over 20knts, so won’t be shaking out the reef. Also, there seems to be a bit of a reverse current at the moment, making the waves much steeper so we’re getting thrown around a bit more. It’s a lovely sunny day and the solar is charging the batteries, we’re up to about 75%. I want to see up to about 85% by the end of the day. With the large seas the autopilot is working hard and using quite a bit of power. I was also getting itchy feet, so decide to wash the salt off the windows and the solar panels…
Getting hungry and decided I wanted some lunch. Went for something simple: Cheese and fresh tomatoes from Galapagos on crackers with sliced olives. (very grown up)… Also made a pot of coffee for Tates and I, I think that’ll be my last coffee for today…. (only 3)….
I wrote to an yacht agent in French Polynesia about getting help with our “Carte de Séjour” – it’s essentially the long-stay visa that allows us to stay over the 90 days… We go down a different approach to other people who were applying in Panama as Tates has an Irish passport. It means we can sort things out here rather than ahead of time… anyway – I just got an email back saying they can help us for 16,000 XFP (£110), which is probably the best option as all the paperwork needs to be properly translated and correctly submitted.
That counter current has gone, so the seas are a bit more regular. We’re making good progress at 7.5knts, heading a bit further south than we original planned to loop around that Korean fishing fleet.
Took one of the frozen curries out for later dinner – Chicken Masala from the lady Vikos recommended in Galapagos – they’re very good and neither of us fancied cooking tonight.
A quiet afternoon – I’ve been reading my book for most of it and Tates went down for a sooze at 4pm to grab a couple of hours before the evening shift. Did a quick walk about the boat to visually check everything and adjust the lines. Nauts has been pretty loaded up over the last few days, so it’s important to check nothing is wearing. It’s also good practice just to adjust the lines , even a small amount to ensure that any pinching loads on the ropes are moved a bit.. Anyway, couldn’t see anything of concern, but the hulls are looking very grubby now with all the marine growth.
Winds have eased a bit now – the forecast is for them to drop to about 15 knots. but i’ll check later. Unless anything changes, I think we’ll stay with the one reef in tonight to play it safe. Book is pretty good, it’s about a scientist who hunts down serial killers.
Time to do a quick bit of passage planning. On Marine traffic, it look like the fishing fleet could be moving a bit further south, but difficult to tell.. I’m able to see the track for the ships and it seems they fish all over the place, so we’ll just need to plan when we get closer.
Downloaded the weather forecasts and they’re still showing the same – 15 to 20 knots, but it’ll take a while for the sea state to moderate further. Based on that, we stick to the same course and review again in the morning. I decided to add the fishing fleet into the model two as a blocked area we can’t go into and it’s suggest the same as my plan.
Been in the engine rooms just to check everything is ok – given how hard the autopilot has been working, I wanted to double check the steering – all looks as it should. Couldn’t see any obvious issues… is a lovely sunny evening – there is a boobie circling the boat trying to land, I gave it the evil eye to hopefully scare it off.
Filled in the logbook. 2628 nautical miles. Wind has dropped to 15 knots, which perversely makes it less comfortable for a while as the sea is still lively from the stronger winds and lighter winds means Nauts rolls around more. Being a civilised boat, it would be rude not to have a captains hour cocktail.. made passion fruit margaritas. Need to do some washing up in a sec, then it’ll be dinner.
Funny how you go 0-60 very quickly – we were about to shake the reef out as it was slamming badly. We went out start and then saw our first pacific squall on the horizon. Instead we left the reef in and just tightened it all down. A few mins later and it was pouring down on the boat, but bright sunshine the other. all quiet now, but we’re going to leave the reef in.
Tates on watch
The Boobie has landed, dinner been eaten and Casp has headed down for the night.. So I’m the captain now, not that there is anyone to captain, unless you count the masked boobie currently perched on the dolphin seat.
Final check of the boat were made before it got too dark… Nav lights are on (not that there is anyone to see them for 100 miles) and the radar is running. I can already see more squalls in the area.
Just before Caspar went to bed I had a quick shower, not overly exciting face value. However, when you consider that my last shower was when the sea state was much rougher, and felt a bit like being the ball in Nautilus’s private game of squash as I was flung from one side of the shower to the other, bouncing less than gracefully off the walls. Being able to stand relatively still whilst bathing felt like something worth writing about.
It’s dark, the moon hasn’t risen yet and it’s overcast so there aren’t many stars.
There’s still a fair amount of wave action, which occasionally means a wave smashing into the underside of the boat between the hulls, causing water to come shooting up from the scuppers and into the cockpit. So I’ve had to close the door to keep dry!
For the non sailors reading this:
Scupper: an opening in the deck of a vessel which allows water to drain instead of pooling. At the moment it’s acting more like a blowhole than a drain.
Cockpit: a name for the location of controls of a vessel, in modern boats it may refer to an enclosed area. It’s the cozy dry place were we have all the computers and essentially drive the boat from, mostly on night passages. It also happens to be our open plan ‘lounge/kitchen (galley)’ area. So technically I’m driving the boat while sitting on our sofa.
Time for tea.
When my brother and sister-in-law came to visit us in Galapagos we asked them to bring out some tea, one of the may small thing that are increasingly difficult to come by. I was expecting the run of the mill PG tips or equivalent, but they brought the good stuff, real loose leaf black tea from India. As I sit here snuggled on my ‘sofa’ reading my book drinking a really good mug of tea, life feels so normal. I can almost forget that we haven’t seen land or people or even other boats for 17 day and that my total step count for today is 635.
Delayed gratification.. when theres nothing but endless ocean on the horizon and you 17 days at sea have merged into one long run of groundhog day, you have to spread out the enjoyment. So instead of having a delicious slice of Caspar’s banana bread with my tea like one would normally do, I eked it out another hour, to have something to look forward to.
In other news, the moon has risen, it’s a beautiful nearly full waxing moon. My crew, the boobie, is still keeping watch on it’s bow seat and the squalls that threatened to engulf us just before Casp went to bed, have past us by with out a trace.
I’d just finished my book and was contemplating another cup of tea, when quite literally out of the sky / ceiling hatch fell a flying fish, which landed on the sofa just missing my feet. I nearly pooped my pants as my brain tried to processed what had just happened. I briefly contemplated keeping him for a snack, but decided that as he hadn’t successfully committed fish suicide I’d let him go. So I scooped him up in a bowl, covered it with a lid & threw him overboard to live another day.
The down side to being in the Pacific is that most of our friends and family are firmly on the other side of the world and as such on very different time zones. The up side of long night passages is that most of them are awake at exactly the time that I start needing a distraction and some virtual company. So I’ve spent the last hour catching up with people back in Europe. Filled in the logbook at midnight. 2671 miles travelled.
Casp has just woken up, we have a hand over on what’s been going on and then shift change. I’m off to bed.
Casp on watch
Will do a quick check up on things… Boobie is still there and I can see the outline of the flying fish where it hit the cushion. The wind is up from the 15knts when I went to bed to now 20knts, gusting 27knts. Means the seastate is a lot more lively again. A quick check of the sails from inside and all looks good. Made myself a pot of tea and had a slice of banana bread and settling in.
Just been through and checked the forecasts and the vessels around us… nothing much changed (all be it it’s blowing a bit harder than planned). Computer is saying 2 days + 20 hours until we arrive. At the moment i’m thinking if we do arrive in the dark, we’ll still sail around to the back of the island for some shelter from the waves and take a view whether to anchor out in deep water or just spend the night bobbing around. We’re about 60 miles away from the first of the fishing vessels… It’s moving quite quickly, so not sure if it’s fishing or moving to new grounds.
Last night we got the batteries up to 85% in the end as we ran the engines for a bit when we adjusted the reef and to make some hot water. right now we’re down to 56%, but that’s fine and should see us through till the morning.
very glad we kept that extra reef in!.
Made another pot of tea, playing a computer game to keep me occupied. Nothing around, the wind keeps getting up to 25-28knts and then coming back down. Given the angle we’re sailing at, our “apparent wind” is 18-19knots, and with one reef in, we don’t have to change the sails again until 28 knots. However, when the wind does blow up, it enought that you need to watch it a bit more closely as it wouldnt take much more to need a 2nd reef.
Another hour on the computer playing the game (Civilisation VII), but stopped now… The wind is much the same and the sea is “lumpy” with the occasional large wave hitting us. Have actually seen a ship (on radar)! A Panama registered tanker saying it’s going to “the fishing grounds”, so I guess it might be going out to fuel up fishing boats?? I thought there was a squall there too, but it’s more likely the GPS position for the tanker and the radar image just aren’t lining up and they’re the same thing. Made a minor course change to stay south of the fishing fleet.
Checked the weather, the routing and the positions of the vessels around us. Still all the same, so sticking with Plan A. Chatting with friends on whatsapp and drinking lukewarm tea. 2nd Mate Mr Boobie is still asleep up front… Pretty impressive he / she is able to hold on given how much we’re moving around. Reading a book on my kindle to keep me entertained.
Time to fill in the logbook. I should have said, we’re doing it every 6 hours… 2715 miles travelled so far. Dawn broke at 06:30 and it looks like it’ll be a nice day again today with sunshine and cloud… Mr Boobie decided to fly off at 06:45 and left the prerequisite poop on the boat. Been reading my kindle for the last hour.
Sunrise and time to do a morning check of the boat to see if everything is ok… sails and rigging all look fine. Sea state is still quite lively… It looks like no squid or flying fish, but no! there is one under the table – not sure how it would have got there. We’re into daytime running now – so turn off the radar and the nav lights. Also switch the computer displays back to daytime colours.
Time for breakfast – Granola and Yoghurt
Not much going on. decide to play my computer game for another hour. Sun is out and things are warming up and the batteries have started charging – they got down to 35% last night – which is roughly what I expected… We starting to surf on the occasional large wave now, but its at an awkward angle, so we’re yawing around a bit.
Did the washing up from last night and had a bit of a clean around. It’s alway much easier doing it in the morning… Sea state is picking up, may need to think about reefing later just to slow things down a bit, even though the wind isn’t high.
Time to make a pot of coffee in a minute. When it’s rough, we switch from cooking on electric to the gas hob as it’s got the grips on it what we can use to hold the kettle or pans. Otherwise there’s a real risk everything will go flying.
I’ve spent the time catching up on a bit of client work and watching the waves. I think the reason it’s gotten so lumpy is that there is a 2nd set of waves coming in at an angle to the ones being driven by the wind, so it’s causing the occasional peaks and holes. It’s when we hit one of these it gets uncomfortable.
That was fun, just got hit by a big wave that put spray over the top of the saloon – given it’s a nice day I had the hatches open, so there was a bit of a waterfall to mop up… I don’t think any electronics were damaged, but definitely lesson learned to be a bit more careful!.
And in other news there seems to be a row of buoys on AIS that aren’t on the charts – so going to need to have a look closely to see whether fishing buoys or for measuring waves.
I think they are for measuring waves – I think we will go past the left-most buoy at around 1 nautical mile. Tates woke up at 10:30 and is getting into the day.
Did a bit of manual steering to see if I could do any better than the auto pilot surfing down the larger waves. (i’m not sure it made much difference).
The main issue is that more and more of these buoys keep appearing on AIS, but they’re not on any charts… Last count there are 13 to 14 of them and more popping up all the time. We’re not going to be able to go around them, so we’ll slot through a gap… there is 3.5 miles between them, so hopefully it’ll all be good. There in an exact formation, so they must be fixed to the ocean floor. I did a quick google on how they anchor mid ocean buoys:
Anchors: TAO buoys utilize heavy anchors, sometimes fabricated from scrap railroad wheels, to secure them to the ocean floor. The anchor’s weight keeps the buoy in place.
Mooring Line: A strong mooring line, typically made of nylon, connects the buoy to the anchor. This line can be up to 3 miles long, depending on the water depth.
Subsurface Flotation: Some TAO buoys also incorporate subsurface flotation devices, such as glass spheres, along the mooring line. These devices provide buoyancy below the surface, helping to maintain the buoy’s position and potentially aiding in recovery if the buoy breaks free.
So there you go – that was 24 hours on Nautilus. In that time we covered 173 nautical miles.
