Author: richwest3

May 9, 2012

We are now in the tropics – that is we’re south of the Tropic of Cancer. That’s the line on the surface of the earth that the sun is directly over during the northern hemisphere’s summer. There is a corresponding line in the south called the Tropic of Capricorn. Between those lines is the tropics. And now that we’re in the tropics, it’s getting a little warmer. Today, sitting in the sun, putting out the fishing lines for the first time during this passage, I was actually a little hot. I love it! It’s still pretty cool at night but we don’t think we need the long underwear any longer.

The wind is light and it makes for hard sailing conditions. The seas are still a bit large with swells that are about 6 feet. They tend to dump the air out of our sails. This results in a lot of loud banging from the sails and a rolly ride. Last night was really bad and it’s been gradually getting better all day long as the swells get smaller and smaller. Right now, we’re moving along at almost 6 knots (about 6.6 miles per hour). It will be a lower mileage day but not too bad and generally, we’re making progress in the direction we want to go.

The last avocado was devoured today. I’d stop to get more but I can’t seem to get Google maps to work on my phone – can’t find a Ralphs without it. Oh well. Our supplies are holding up very well though. Cyndi did an incredible job of provisioning. We have still plenty of good food on board.

I don’t think I mentioned it before but we’re not alone out here. We’re sailing this course with another boat named Local Talent with skipper and single-hander, Dean Jones. He left Catalina about an hour after us. He’s now about 45 miles ahead of us. We talk on the radio about three times a day. It’s been nice to have Dean nearby. He’s also sailing through the South Pacific with an itinerary very similar to ours. His girlfriend will fly down to meet him at Hiva Oa for the trip through the islands to New Zealand.

We’re seeing about one large ship a day. Early this morning, one passed about two miles behind us. It was coming from the Panama Canal and heading to Hawaii. Our new electronics are great as it allows us to see these ships early, tells us who they are and exactly where they’re headed and how close they’ll pass to us. I would guess we’ll see less and less ships as we head further south. That’s fine by us.

That’s all the news for today from the crew of Legacy. -Rich

May 7, 2012

I didn’t know something could be taken from us this far away from land and people but it was. We started to notice it’s absence gradually at first but after Cyndi and I discussed it, it turns out we are both feeling the devastating effects of this affront.

Who’s Eric Loss? He’s an incredible, 26 year old young man sailing a 36 foot boat around the world, mostly non-stop, alone. We met him at Yacht Haven marina and have been keeping up with his adventure through his blog. (http://svodyssey.blogspot.com)

What did he take from us? Our ability, and natural right, to feel sorry for ourselves!

This has been a pretty good passage so far but there have been discomforts that we’d very much like to whine about. We’ve had a pretty big swell – maybe 10 feet – from a direction that pushes the boat around and makes life aboard somewhat uncomfortable. Nope, as soon as we start to feel sorry for ourselves, we think about Eric in seas too large to describe. Today, the wind is a bit light, maybe 10 knots or so, and we’d sure take pleasure in a little self pity about this, but no, thanks Eric! Every time we even start to think we have it rough, we think about you becalmed for days at a time, not moving at all. At least we’re moving along at about 5 knots.

In writing this, I guess, even without Eric’s thievery, we really have very little to complain about. I think this is about as good as sailing away from the California coast gets. The water is starting to turn that incredible cobalt blue color that it gets in the tropics. Tomorrow afternoon, we should be at about the same latitude as Cabo San Lucas and we are hoping the sun and air start to feel warmer each day. Everything on the boat is working well, most everything at least, but those things that are not working aren’t important. (Besides, how can we complain with what Eric’s been through – curses Eric!)

If it stays like this tomorrow, I think we’ll let the fishing begin. Wish us luck. With a little luck, the sushi eating will begin! Also the fish stew, grilled fish, marinated fish, broiled fish…

By the way, or friends Larry and Nelda are making landfall tomorrow in the Marquesas. They must be so excited. Hopefully, that’ll be us in another two weeks or so. They have a great blog at www.sailblogs.com/member/diamondgirl

-Rich

May 5, 2012

We’re kind of falling into our at-sea routine already. Normally, it takes about three days but I think it’s coming back to us more quickly this time. I take watch from 3PM until 9PM and I check in on the Pacific Seafarers net at about 8PM. Cyndi takes watch from 9PM until 3AM – good thing she’s a night owl. I’m on again from 3AM until 9AM. Cyndi takes 9AM until 3PM and then it starts all over again. We’re doing really well at getting some sleep when we’re off watch. So well that I’m already really missing Cyndi’s company.

It looks like we might get some sun today as the sky is clearing – it’s about sunrise now. It would be nice to have a little warmer day. The swells are supposed to be a little smaller today and that would also be nice. We’re making pretty good time but we’re deliberately going a little slower to make the ride more comfortable. We made about 136 miles in 24 hours yesterday. We’re 75 miles west of Guadalupe Island off of Mexico right now.

This is less than the most creative email I’ve ever written. Sorry. I hope they get more entertaining as we settle in more. -Rich

May 3, 2012

Cold, cold, cold! I should just leave this post at that but I’ll go on. It was a pretty nice night. The winds were steady and from a good direction. The swell is a little too large and not from such a good direction as we’re rolling quite a bit. As I tried to type that sentence, my seat, with me in it, went sliding across the chart table bench. You really can’t ask for better conditions leaving the California coast but wow, is it cold! We’re wearing long underwear, sweatshirts and parkas. If it gets any colder, I’ll have to resort to socks. Oh well. Soon we’ll be complaining about the heat. I can’t wait. -Rich

May 3, 2012

We’re finally getting underway. There are just a few last-minute things to do and we’ll sail away from Catalina Island, California, the United States, North America. Out across a big chunk of the Pacific Ocean and hopefully, end up like one of the boats in this picture. More in a few days.

(By the way, don’t worry about us if these posts stop. You know computers. There are vast complexities between us on the boat and the resulting blog post. If any one piece fails, no posts. We have an emergency signaling device on the boat called an EPIRB and if anything were truly wrong, we’d activate it.)

-Rich