San Diego to Nuka Hiva Day 6-7

  • Position and Time: N 20-34 by W 124-24 at 2155 UTC, 818 miles from San Diego
  • Speed and Course: 6.0 knots, 210 degrees true, 1450rpm
  • Wind: 12 knots at 150 degrees relative
  • Waves: 6-8 foot swells at 10-12 seconds, 3-4 foot wind waves.

We are almost one third of the way.

The routine has pretty well set in. Doing watch, eating, sleeping, doing engine room checks, checking communications, etc. The obvious fact that we are about hundreds of miles from the nearest land (Mexico’s Guadalupe Island) occasionally comes to mind. The seas have picked up, and there is no doubt we are on the open ocean. We get a combination of a swell and wind wave about every minute or so gives us some strong roll, even with the stabilizers. We estimate these waves to be about 8 feet or so. Anything requiring moving around takes extra concentration and careful timing between rolls. Continue reading

San Diego Departure on Saturday 21st or 28th

The most common question we ever get is “When do you leave?”. For a long time it was “we have years before we leave”. Then it was “within a year”. Then it became “a few months”. And now  the answer is “we are leaving this month!” It can be tricky to precise, so we are giving two potential dates:

  • Saturday, April 21st @ Noon
  • Saturday, April 28th @ Noon

It would be fun to gather at the dock at 11am to see us off at noon. We are at the Kona Kai Marina in the G section (see diagram).

Coast Guard and HAM Classes

Quite a few people ask: Are you two taking any formal classes on boating? The answer is yes. Here are some things we have been up to.

HAM and SSB

We just took and passed our HAM (High frequency AMateur) radio class. HAM radio allows you to transmit voice and data. The special thing about HAM is in certain modes it has tremendous range. To give some perspective consider that some good walkie-talkies have a range of about 5 miles. Common marine VHF can range is about 25 miles. A technical class license HAM can is about 50 miles. A general class licensed HAM operator has a range of Continue reading

Islas Todas Santos and First Whale Sighting

Saturday, Jun 10, 2006  Isla Todos Santos. About 10 miles away from Ensenada are a small pair of islands. By the way, when we say miles we mean nautical miles, and for speeds we use nautical miles per hour, aka knots. It was a slow, smooth, and steady trip. 2-3 foot swells and about 10 knots of wind. We anchored at the Isla Norte seen here:

2006-06-10 14-14-33_0004 (Large).JPG 

On our way back a big huge rock appeared towards the front of the boat. Then it disappeared and appeared again with a spray of water. That is no moon, it’s a space station. Err, no it is Continue reading