Day 12: Jane! Get me off this crazy thing!!!

Moondance stats:
LATITUDE: 11-15.79N; LONGITUDE: 148-54.00W
COURSE: 343T; SPEED: 7.8
DISTANCE TRAVELED: 1617m
DISTANCE TO KONA, HAWAII: 682m
24 HOUR RUN: 140m

Anyone recognize this line from the Jetsons. But, the line really applies to the ITCZ - we have had enough fun, thank you very much. We survived the day of squalls all right, but last night was tougher. The winds kicked up between 20 and 30 knots, which is okay. But, the seas have been very very confused and we have been bouncing around all over the place, which meant neither one of us got much sleep. Oh well, we made good time - always the silver lining...

Today (so far) has been better. The seas are still confused, but have settled down some and we still have good wind. Hopefully, things will continue to improve and we will have a great sail tonight.

At about 11pm tonight, we will take a small left turn that should take us right to Kona, Hawaii. We are hoping that everything goes well and that we actually make landfall on Wednesday - YAHOO! Which means Thanksgiving dinner and football in the good ol' USA!

We are hoping that the Honokohau Harbor Marina in Kona will have a slip for us - they said they will to their best. I have got my fingers (and toes) crossed for sure! It will be strange to be in a marina (with all of the amenities) again - it has been a very long time.

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Day 11: Wet and wetter!

Moondance Stats:
LATITUDE: 09-02.94N; LONGITUDE: 148-19.46W
COURSE: 001T; SPEED: 5.4
DISTANCE TRAVELED: 1477m
DISTANCE TO KONA, HAWAII: 816m
24 HOUR RUN: 135m

Well, we definitely know we are in the ITCZ - it has been stormy and raining buckets. Fortunately, no thunder and lightening - sailboats don't like lightening. Moondance (and crew) have received several fresh water rinses - good thing it is warm water!

We are still running our stink pot (engine). We keep trying to turn it off and raise the sails, but then the wind dies. Plus, the current is still an issue - we aren't making as good as time as we should be.

Only 56 miles to go before we reach 10 degrees north. By then, we should be out of the ITCZ and able to start on our last leg to Hawaii - approximately 700 miles - yeah! From what we hear, it sounds like it should be a good, fast sail. Hope so!

Starting to think about mai tai's...

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Day 10: Poof!

Moondance stats:
LATITUDE: 06-51.64N; LONGITUDE: 148-17.33W
COURSE: 004T; SPEED: 6.0
DISTANCE TRAVELED: 1342m
DISTANCE TO KONA, HAWAII: 934m
24 HOUR RUN: 128m

Dropped a few sails, flipped a switch, and Poof - we are now a stink pot, but we are making much better time! Not that we like being a stink pot, but sometimes you just have to give in (see below for Excuse List). We will probably motor for 2 days, which will take us through the ITCZ. We don't carry enough fuel to get us all the way to Hawaii, so once we hit 10 degrees North, the northern trade winds should take us the rest of the way - yeah!

Excuse List: Meet our best buddies Joe and Leah from Albuquerque, Thanksgiving feast, NFL football, winds are too light, currents pushing us towards Mexico, only enough Coke Zero and Hinano beers to last 6-7 more days, excited about being on land, better to clear Customs on Wednesday so we don't have to pay overtime for the holiday, there was a mutiny afoot, and lots more.

As you can see, it was an easy decision to become a stink pot. Captain and Crew are very happy!

PS: Finished Harry Potter 1 and 2 - only 5 more to go (I think)...

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Day 9 - Problem on the foredeck!

Moondance stats:
LATITUDE: 04-48.50N; LONGITUDE: 148-40.89W
COURSE: 015T; SPEED: 5.8
DISTANCE TRAVELED: 1214m
DISTANCE TO KONA, HAWAII: 1035m
24 HOUR RUN: 134m

That was Doug hollering at me to come and help. He had noticed that the shackle had come off the tack of the head sail - not good! Doug gathered up his gear and slowly crawled to the bow of the boat and quickly made repairs. Doug is very safety conscious so made sure he was tethered to the boat at all times. But it is still spooky - especially since we are getting some pretty big rollers this afternoon. But, repairs have been made and Doug is back in the cockpit waiting for his well-deserved beer.

We have had an excellent sail for the last 20+ hours. The wind has been 18 - 25 knots and the seas fairly flat (until now). We are caught in the Equatorial currents (big currents), so we aren't making as good as time as we had hoped. That is supposed to change soon. We are expecting a big push - hope so!

Finally - we have passed the 1/2 way mark to Hawaii - yahoo! We are almost to the ITCZ, which will complete the 2nd leg of our journey. The 3rd leg is through the ITCZ, which is about 120 miles. The 4th and final leg is from the ITCZ to Kona, Hawaii - about 700 miles.

We still don't know where we are going to "park" Moondance once we make landfall, but are working on that. We have all ready been in contact with marinas and other cruisers to determine our options. It is kind of strange, Hawaii doesn't have a lot of options for cruisers - go figure!

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Day 8 - Hard to believe...

Moondance Stats:
LATITUDE: 02-38.45N; LONGITUDE: 148-59.31W
COURSE: 002T; SPEED: 4.7
DISTANCE TRAVELED: 1080m
DISTANCE TO KONA, HAWAII: 1154m
24 HOUR RUN: 120m (not good)

We have been sailing for over a week and we aren't there yet - we aren't even at the half way point. Almost though - we should be on the downhill slope tomorrow - yeah! But, we are both doing well and enjoying the adventure, plus still like each other - amazing. Our fresh food supplies are limited, but we have lots of canned goods (can you say Yum?), plus we still have Coke Zero and our daily rations of beer. Who could ask for more?

There is a big weather system that is surrounding us now - so we go between beautiful sunshine to complete cloud cover - quickly. Also, the winds are erratic - ranging from 8 - 25 knots. We prefer the 25 knots so that we can cover some ground, plus practice our sailing skills. Our storm preparedness routines are becoming finely tuned. So far, Doug has only got soaked once today. I (the smart one) know how to duck out of the rain when necessary!

We are hearing nasty rumors that there are big storms up north that will be affecting our trip. A favor? Please keep your storms to yourself for a little while longer. We don't want to make this too big of adventure. But, we are also hoping the the weather isn't too rough on you either.

Just want everyone to be happy and safe!

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Day 7 - Crossed the Equator!

Moondance stats:
LATITUDE: 00-39.03N; LONGITUDE: 148-59.82W
COURSE: 001T; SPEED: 4.6
DISTANCE TRAVELED: 960m
DISTANCE TO KONA, HAWAII: 1354m
24 HOUR RUN: 129m

Yup, we did! At 05:28 am (15:28 Zulu) this morning we crossed the Equator at longitude 149.00.55. No fireworks or bands playing, but we did celebrate with a glass of grog. We drank the very good 7-year old Cuban rum (had to - can't take it to the States); Neptune got a big shot of Tahiti rum - not very good, but expensive! It is nice to be back in the Northern Hemisphere.

Our weather has been good, but our winds are lightening up some. Hopefully, Neptune appreciated the rum and will give the wind a boost for us. We figure we need to make more than 130 miles a day so that we can be in Hawaii by Thanksgiving. Better get moving!

The next big leg of our trip is to the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), which is about 480 miles from the Equator. The ITCZ is where the southern and northern trade winds converge and can have extensive clouds and rain squalls - the doldrums. We are hoping for a quick easy trip through the ITCZ - just like on our trip south.

Today, we are having a very nice relaxing day. We have been at sea for 7 days and are both doing very well - so is Moondance.

Except... we discovered an installation feature/flaw, which surprised both of us. Doug did such an an excellent job on all of the integrations and installations on Moondance, we were shocked to find something that didn't work as expected. We cannot run our generator (which needs to run to make water and charge the batteries) on a starboard tack when the seas are big. The exhaust submerges and the generator has to work too hard and overheats. So, we are having to run the big engine to charge our batteries. Our solar panels and wind generator are doing a great job, so we haven't had to run the engine very often. To make water, we need flat seas or to head south for a couple of hours. Hopefully, that won't be necessary - we have lots of water on board. Doug says it will be an easy fix while we are in Hawaii - put it on the list.

Hope we don't find any more features or flaws along the way - hah!

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Day 6 - Caution: items may have shifted

Moondance stats:
LATITUDE: 01-26.12S; LONGITUDE: 148-56.87W
COURSE: 001T; SPEED: 5.0
DISTANCE TRAVELED: 831m
DISTANCE TO KONA, HAWAII: 1403m
24 HOUR RUN: 128m

That's an understatement for sure. With the confused seas that we have had, plus heeling on a starboard tack, opening our food lockers can be dangerous! There are things just waiting to jump out at you. We have learned to open the lockers slowly and peek in. If you are lucky, the item you are looking for is easy to grab, but that doesn't happen often. Oh well, it keeps us on our toes.

The last two days have been beautiful sailing - light to medium winds during the day with plenty of sunshine. At night, the winds are averaging 20 mph and gusting to 30+. So, we make sure we trim the sails accordingly before night falls and try to make up some time. Just like we requested, the winds changed from the ENE to ESE so that we can head due north. The seas swells have changed from confused to only slightly confused, so much more comfortable. Our complaint - it is getting cold at night. We might even have to get our blankets out tonight!

Early Sunday morning we should cross the Equator and enter the Northern Hemisphere. We have promised Neptune a grog of rum and, based on the good weather we are seeing, he seems to be happy with it. We just won't tell him he isn't getting the good stuff!

Things are definitely improving on Moondance daily. Last night Doug made chicken simmered in pasilla pepper sauce; tonight Cajun meat loaf with mashed potatoes - can't wait. Plus, today was a "shower day" and we are feeling (and smelling) so much better.

All is well on board!

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