Position: 20 degrees, 31 minutes north; 154 degrees, 48 minutes west 125 nm day

We SAW land, but haven’t stopped yet. We sighted the big island of Hawaii – the southern most in the island chain – at daybreak, but now we still have almost 200 miles to go to get to Honolulu. For Charisma that translates into a Saturday arrival, so two more nights! For now we’re staying about 40 or so miles off to stay in the trade winds. After Hawaii, we have Maui, then Molokai, then down the channel and past the iconic Diamond Head to arrive in the Honolulu area. We’re actually going about 20 miles further east to Barber’s Point and a place called Ko-Olina. With the Transpac boats due to arrive in Honolulu area any day now, staying at Ala Wai at Waikiki would be too crowded and crazy. We’ll opt for peace and serenity. 😉

Position: 18 degrees 45 minutes north; 153 degrees, 40 minutes west 125 nm day

288,342. That is roughly the number of waves that have passed beneath Charisma these past five sailing weeks since leaving New Zealand.

Not one the same.

Some have been little – like right now – maybe three or four feet high, suggesting that weather ahead is going to stay calm. We can look forward to another warm, smooth day. Others have been the size of an apartment building, looming gigantic and sometimes menacingly out of the dark night. The only way you know it’s coming is suddenly the stars behind you disappear, you hear the huge mass of water build, and Charisma tips forward (sometimes alarmingly so) just as you slide down the mountain. Above you now, sharp white teeth of the breaking wave-top glistens in the starlight.

The waves match, or perhaps make, the mood of the day. On a cloudy day the waves are a melancholy grey. Waves at sunset sometimes flash the colors of the rainbow as they challenge the twilight sky as to which can be more beautiful.

And the sound. It’s always there so sometimes you stop consciously noticing it. But it’s never far and it ranges from the storm force deafening roar of a huge black iron steam locomotive hissing and shrieking away, a cacophony of grindiing metal bearing down on you to the gentle sound of smaller waves as delicate as the trickling of a mountain stream.

My favorite wave appears on the 20 knot wind, cloudless sky day. That wave embodies the perfection of the color we might call “blue”. This wave’s blue is unmatched in beauty anywhere else in nature. It’s a blue made powerful as it channels tens of thousands of feet from the depths of the ocean, yet at the same time so fragile its crests shatter with the wind into shimmering perfection of exquisitely transparent crystal droplets.

I never get tired of watching the waves.

Position: 16 degrees, 59 minutes north; 152 degrees, 34 minutes west 132 nm day

No much to report today. Same as yesterday I suppose. Nice weather, very warm. Fewer morning squalls and we hope fewer tonight.

We’re closing on the Big Island which is the southern most of the group. We’re 200 miles off the east side of Hawaii. It’s about another 200 or so miles from there NNW up the island group past Maui and Molokai to Oahu. We’re thinking maybe Saturday if the weather holds, but there’s a reasonable chance of very light winds as we get off the islands so who knows at this point.

We’re still within 39 miles of the J-120 we’re been pacing since leaving Papeete almost three weeks ago. We have a radio sked with them every day at 1700 local, so we’re keeping tabs on each other. Also Orcinius just reported that they have left Christmas Island where they stopped for fuel, (coming from Samoa and Fiji). They have some interesting stories from Christmas Island we’re eager to hear. Turns out a Benetau-47 sailboat dragged anchor or broke loose – not sure of the story yet – and went up on the reef. It’s now a salvage project and John, Lisa and their crew went aboard and salvaged some stuff they needed for Orcinius. Can’t wait to hear, but at the same time these stories give us the willies because we all know it’s a fine line sometimes between riding out a blow and ending on the beach and it could happen to any of us.

So, that’s it for today.

Position:15 degrees, 12 minutes north; 151 degrees, 15 minutes west 133 nm day

I remember standing on the breakwater in Berkeley watching Bob and crew head toward the Golden Gate Bridge to position Charisma in San Diego where I would join them for the first Baja Ha Ha. An older gentleman was watching Charisma leave also and we started a conversation. I told him I would be joining them for the sail to Cabo San Lucas and that I was concerned about what I would do all day sitting on a boat. I am not one to sit idly around. He assured me that I would be entertained. Smart man.

So I thought I would share how my day on passage plays out.

Bob’s night watch ends around 8 AM when he wakes me up with a gentle rub on my feet. Good morning, Sunshine! I have had about 6 hours of sleep and groggily come to life. I relinquish the bunk to Bob and start water for a cup of coffee. I quickly clean up the dishes from Bob’s watch so they don’t slide around in the sink as he sleeps. This is our deal: I do all dishes and he does all sail changes. I win in this equation. I close the sink when I am done so there is no gurgling as the boat heels. I slather on copious amounts of sunblock and settle into the cockpit, tethered in on rolly/windy days like today. And now I relax and welcome the day. Hello Lord, thanks for the rest. Looks like a lovely day. What a gift, sleep and a beautiful morning. I sip my coffee and slowly waken to 360 degrees of blue. This trip has been mostly days like this. A few seabirds fishing as they glide effortlessly above the waves. Some light clouds. Lots of sun. It’s a great way to wake up.

I settle into reading my book. I keep two books going most of the time. One “real” book for daylight and one on my iPad for nighttime. We have read a lot of books since leaving New Zealand. I am going to list them at the end of this blog for those interested. Bob has read most of these also. Nice to be able to discuss books together.

The days on this leg have been very hot. The sun is intense and sweat is dripping down our backs with the slightest exertion. Shower time becomes a real treat. We time our showers to coincide with watch changes so that we can skip the sunblock for a few hours while we nap. I have been washing our clothes after every shower. Not that we don’t have more clothes on board but we have both found a few outfits that are lightweight and offer some sun protection so these I wash.

Lunchtime happens when Bob wakes up between 12 and 1. It is an hour of “together time” and nourishment, followed by my afternoon nap. We don’t always sleep for the full 3 or 4 hours allotted but at least we are stretching out and relaxing. When awake your muscles are constantly balancing you and responding to the rocking of Charisma. Great weight loss program as at the point we are both looking kind of svelt! (Karin – my diamonds are back!)

Our social hour begins at 5 PM with the check-in with “Perry and Pals” on the J120 that we are buddy boating with. We have stayed remarkably close to each other. It’s nice to swap the daily stories and see how they are doing. The next check-in is on Pacific Seafarers Net. We have been on passage so long we are number one on their list. A first for Charisma. And if we are lucky and the propagation is good we get to follow Seafarers with a chat with Orcinius who are also headed for Hawaii right now – but in their case, from Fiji! For a social animal like me this hour is golden. Followed up with Charismas at sunset and life is good! This is a favorite time of day for both of us…watching the sun drop and the colors come alive. God’s whisper. Glorious.

Bob follows this show with dinner and blog preparation. He gathers weather information while sending the blog and gets those all important “letters from our fans”! And emails from cruising friends out collecting lobsters at Beveridge Reef and others enjoying our friends in Fulaga. It is so great to keep in contact with great folks. My reward for cleaning up the galley and downsizing the garbage (I cut all plastic into 1/2″ pieces and store them in gallon-sized ziplock bags to be disposed of when we get to Hawaii) is the daily mail. WE LOVE THE DAILY MAIL!

My night watch starts about 8 PM greeted by the amphitheater of stars. The Big Dipper focuses my thoughts on my siblings and their families and brings a smile to my face. How blessed we have been to have had so many starry nights. When I am not stargazing I am reading my iPad book or playing a game of solitaire. (Tom and Marily – it always makes me think of you two!)

Flossing time is at 1 AM (rituals are so important) followed by preparations for Bob’s watch. By the time I wake him with a gentle rub on the foot at 2 AM I have prepared a feast! Okay, not quite a feast but there is hot coffee, a peeled hardboiled egg and some Ritz crackers with peanut butter slopped on them. Enough nourishment to get his mind and body ready for his watch. And now my bunk is calling my name!

Oh, and all through the day I am watching the numbers…course, latitude, distance to Hawaii. Love the numbers!

Appendix: Books read on passage between New Zealand and Hawaii The Sophia Scholl Story (or some similar name…I cleared it from my iPad) The Erik Larsen story about Hitler (again, I was unable to find the book on my iPad ) Fall of Giants and Winter of the World by Ken Follett (we are hoping to get the 3rd book when in Hawaii as we have really enjoyed these two) Larry’s Party and Stone Diaries both by Carol Shields (great books) The Heart of A Woman by Maya Angelou (good read) Ride With Me, Mariah Montana by Ivan Doig (not worth the effort) 11/22/63 by Stephen King (sure wish it had an ending… was disappointed) The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty Beloved by Toni Morrison (great book) The Infinite Plan by Isabella Allende Short stories by Mark Twain Straight Man by Richard Russo (enjoyable read)

Position: 13 degrees, 16 minutes north; 150 degrees, 05 minutes west 142 nm day

Well, almost.

It’s 0400 and I’m sitting under the dodger minding my own business when a very large WHUMP! went off right by my head. Startled me to say the least. At first I thought maybe a booby had crash landed on top of the dodger so I very cautiously peered out from underneath and over the top. No booby. Hmm, that was a big thunk and it wasn’t a wave. Must have been a flying fish. I looked around with a flashlight, but didn’t find anything. At first light though I could see a trail of fish slime on the dodger window showing the impact point near my head and subsequent flight path up the dodger window and over the top. He much have ricocheted off and landed back in the water. Somewhere in the deep there’s a very confused fish with a headache telling stories of almost being abducted by aliens.

So, in the “It’s so hot” department; It’s so hot the clear plastic dome on the binnacle compass has started cracking where the intense sun was focused on it this morning. We’re going to have to leave the cover on it during the day to protect the half that is still clear.

Today was a nice day, but still frustrating due to the north wind. Then around sunset it even got more frustrating as squalls and rain rolled through and the wind died down. Just when I thought it was going to be a truly miserable night the rain cleared and the wind filled in at around 20 knots from the NNE. We added a reef (we’re now double reefed for the night) and we’re rolling along in the right direction for a change, at about 6.5 knots. That’s more like it!

Position: 11 degrees, 32 minutes north; 148 degrees, 38 minutes west 135 nm day (current assisted)

Wow, has it been a tuna fest on board Charisma. A nice change from our pre-prepared meals. Tonight was the fourth night in a row and we had tuna sashimi on a bed of couscous and peas with wasabi soy drizzled over. Really good. That tuna just melts in your mouth it’s so nice.

Today was a beautiful trade wind kinda day. Just blue skies, blue water and puffy white clouds. About 12 knots of wind and pretty flat seas rounded out a very comfortable day. The only problem is that the wind is coming from the north. Very unusual. Probably due to some combination of the tropical storm to the north of us and some of the lows hanging around the area. At any rate, we’re pointing 50 degrees to the wind and with the north wind, that means our heading is about 310 degrees – except it’s not. We also have a 1 to 1 ½ knot current boosting us to the northwest, which means our best course right now is more like 295/300. As I look on the chart, this has us missing Hawaii to the south. I’m hoping the winds shift into the east in the next day as that’s more normal AND it lets us point up toward Hawaii. Cross fingers.

Some perspective. Showing our route versus Mexico on the right.

This whole “being pushed west” thing is why as we left Tahiti we actually angled northeast and sailed about 500 miles east of the direct route. We knew at some point on this passage we would get pushed back to the west. Now the hope is that we sailed far enough east. The next couple days will tell.

That’s story today from the North Pacific Ocean.

Position: 09 degrees, 55 minutes north; 146 degrees, 53 minutes west 153 nm (motoring)

Happy day! Despite a very heavy rainfall during Ann’s watch last night, most of the rest of the night and morning were squall-free and we’re now officially through the ITCZ and enjoying light NW tradewinds. We’re now into segment three of the passage. The North Pacific Trades to Hawaii. From here we’ll “lean” north to give ourselves room should the wind turn northerly. Mostly we should have east to northeast winds, but you never know. We will also still have to watch for squalls and such, but everything is much more predictable in the trades versus the craziness of the ITCZ. Glad to have made it through there. We must have lucked out and found a “seam”. (Ann says its angels on our sails!)

A picture of Charisma motoring through the doldrums (taken by our friend Perry on Felicita)

One more from Perry showing Charisma with a squall in the background.

An interesting thing about the equator is the cross-equatorial current. Just below the equator it goes west and above the equator it goes east. As we got north of the equator we found our compass and GPS were in wild disagreement owing to the almost 2 knot cross current. This morning somewhere after we passed 08 degrees north, the current stopped. I looked at the instruments and they had come into agreement again. Compass and GPS once again agree on which direction we’re going.

Since we’re just barely out of the ITCZ, there was still a little “drama” right around sunset/twilight. It was a beautiful sight. We were in the middle of what I can best describe as an “amphitheater”. Charisma was in a clearing and 360 degrees around us cumulus clouds were towering from less than 1000 feet from the water up to 15,000 feet or so. The sun was setting under them on one side and a number of them were exploding with dark shafts of rain out the bottom. Very dramatic. One such cloud right in front of us just sort of stopped and started dumping rain just before dinner. So, we furled the jib, slowed down and watched it go in front of us while we enjoyed dinner of fresh tuna sushi on a bed of cabbage with sesame soy vinaigrette. Tough life out here sometimes.

Right now the stars are amazing and again we see the Big Dipper right in front of us welcoming us back into the north while the Southern Cross is right behind us waving goodbye.

Wow!

Position: 07 degrees, 32 minutes north; 146 degrees, 16 minutes west 118 nm day

THIS (the ITCZ) is why we carry fuel. Normally we prefer not to use the engine. It becomes a challenge to see if we do make a passage without using it – just sailing. In fact just yesterday afternoon Ann and I were remarking over lunch how lucky we’ve been on the passage so far. Eight days or so of stunning sailing and then from the equator to almost five degrees north (300 miles) we’re had a SW wind pushing us north instead of the more usual no wind and even catching a tuna in the process!

Well, during last night all that changed. First, a squall kicked up the wind and we went down to just a double reefed main. Then, when we were expecting to really get hammered…nothing. The wind quit completely. The wind indicator on the top of the mast was spinning around in circles. “Swirling wind” would be the more exact description. Charisma rolled in the four foot waves and with no wind to counter, she rolled 20 degrees to one side, then in less than two seconds, snapped back 20 degrees to the other side. As the mast and sail arced through the air a sort of whiplash would occur. KerrrrrAPP! A wave of Dacron sail would start at the top of the mast and come whipping down as Charisma rolled to the 90-some pound boom, that makes a sound like a boom, or rifle shot. Back and forth, forward and back. Blam, blam, slap, slap. It not only makes you want to scream, it’s very hard on the rigging and sails.

So, we motor. Probably for the next two days straight. The grib reports are showing zero wind at this point, but there are squalls and thunderstorms just waiting to pounce. Our strategy? Forget about sailing, just get the hell through here. As straight north as we can manage and as fast as possible. We started last night around midnight and we’ll likely continue through tomorrow night. We’ll see. According to the forecasts we have about 120 miles to go before we leave the ITCZ and enter the northern trade winds. Cross fingers and knock on wood we get there soon.

On a different note: It’s been a bit perplexing – at a glance – to watch the compass and GPS. They are in significant disagreement by as much as 30 degrees! I think we’ve discovered the west to east equatorial current. Today as we turned due west to motor around a huge thunderstorm, our boat speed and GPS speed were different by one knot! That’s a pretty big current.

On a last note, I was surprised today when I looked at the GPS/chart plotter and found – out here in the middle of nowhere – an AIS signal. Yipes! I jumped up and looked around and lo and behold, the other boat we’ve been talking with on the radio was just three miles away. It’s a J-120. They left Bora Bora at the same time we left Papeete. We’ve had a radio call each day at 1700 local so we knew they were in the area, but it’s pretty surprising that after two weeks of sailing we crossed within ¼ mile on the way to Hawaii. Another definition of a small world.

"Felicita" suddenly showed up on the AIS...

...I looked around and there they were!

Position: 05 degrees, 05 minutes north; 146 degrees, 44 minutes west 120 nm day

Tuna!

Poisson cru day started at sunup. As soon as there was some light, like the seabirds that fish in the early dawn, I let the hand line slip out with a blue and pink squid lure on the end. I read that if you aren’t catching with one lure, sometimes it’s because you need to go with lighter tackle. Fish, tuna in particular can see really well. I was using a lure I’d made up that used wire as a leader, so I thought, “why not go lighter?”. The leader was only about 60 lb test, but I recently put a really long bungee on to absorb shock.

So, I’m sitting in the cockpit watching the clouds form, forgetting about the fishing line, when; “SLAP”, I heard the clothespin hit the deck. That’s our signal. I reached over to test the line and sure enough something heavy was out there. Now my conundrum was do I wake Ann two hours before the end of her off-watch or try and land whatever it is by myself? What the heck. So, I took my time setting up the gaff, knife and the rope I use to tie the fish so it won’t get away once landed. Then, on go the gloves and I start pulling in. At first it wasn’t too hard, but then the fish sensed what was going on and started to run out. Good thing for the gloves! Got him to the boat and…a tuna! Ann adores tuna – she’s kinda like a puppy with a new tennis ball when she sees one. Boy is she going to be excited! (And I was! – Ann)

Anyway, the hardest part was gaffing it by myself to get it aboard, but I finally did that and the rest, well, the hard work starts after landing it. Cleaning and filleting a large (about three foot, twenty pound) fish on a very rolly deck is a lot of work, but after about an hour we had a small bucket full of fish. Then down in the galley to finish cutting it into steaks and bagging them into portions and we’re almost done. Ah, the poisson cru. Cut the tuna into small ¼ inch pieces, chop whatever veggies you have – in our case we still have a few tomatoes and a cucumber – chop half a red onion then mix it all, add coconut crème just so it almost covers the fish and squeeze a little lime juice. Yum! We had a couple crackers with it at lunch and are going to have more at Charisma time tonight.

The other event of the day is we entered the ITCZ. For the first time in over a week, the sky has clouded over and we have cumulus clouds and rain building all around us. Looking around you see all these mushroom shaped clouds surrounding us like so many small atomic bomb blasts. So far just some rain and bumpy waves. Hope it stays that way.

Position: 03 degrees, 33 minutes north; 146 degrees, 54 minutes west 125 NM day

I don’t know who was more surprised late last night. Ann when she stood up in the cockpit to look around for traffic or the seabird who decided to roost for the night on top of the dodger.

As Ann stood up, she literally came face to beak – we’re talking about 6 inches here – with a very large seabird (might have been a Shearwater) who decided Charisma was just the place to rest for the night out here in the middle of no-where. Of course, I imagine the Shearwater was equally startled to see Ann suddenly appear from below its new found habitat.

If you said “both” were surprised, you’d be about right. Faced (pun intended) with the startling discovery Ann shrieked, the Shearwater shrieked and both retreated temporarily to sort things out. Clearly neither were expecting to have company on such a lovely night.

After the initial shock wore off, both Ann and the Shearwater decided Charisma was probably big enough for the two of them. By the time I came up for my watch, Ann was reading her book under the dodger and the Shearwater was relaxing on the stern pulpit about eight feet away where it stayed through my watch on to first light when it took off, no doubt to do some morning fishing.

Our other animal encounter was at sunset. Just as I was making Charismas, Ann yelled down that there was a whale 50 yards off the starboard beam. It turned out to be some Risso’s dolphins, which are quick large and were fishing. They would jump clear of the water and splash down hard presumably to startle the fish they were hunting. The big splash initially looked like a whale. Anyway, they hung nearby for almost half an hour as our evening entertainment doing high jumps and big splashes.

On the boat work side, early this morning, around 0530, for some reason I decided to have a look at Wilson, our Monitor wind vane. Good thing I did as there was a major chafe issue in the making on one of the steering lines. I waited until Ann was up for her watch at 0800 and together we furled the jib, hove-to (i.e. stopped Charisma) lifted the vane paddle and I disassembled the steering line, pulled 8 inches through so the chafe point would move and reassembled everything. I think that will hold it until we get to Hawaii and I can buy a new set of steering lines.

Just finishing up adjusting the wind vane steering lines.

All in a day at sea.