8/12/14 Wandering Dolphin POS
0700 Seattle Time / 1400GMT
N 48 18.96 W 124 07.54 (The Strait of Juan de Fuca)
COG 097T
SOG 5.3 kt
Wind NW 5-8
Pressure: 29.60
Temp: 68F
Sky: overcast
Seas: 1-2 ft west swell
Sails: genoa
Good Morning from the Strait of Juan de Fuca!
Yesterday was a boisterous day of sailing with winds from the NW at 20+ all day. The water started to get shallower so the waves were pretty big and it was quite a ride. I was a little over confident about our ability to make it all the way to Blaine by tonight. Current is the big negative factor for us right now. Most of today it will be against us and with no wind our boat will only motor at 6 knots anyway so with a negative current approaching 3 knots for a while today and 2 most of the rest (5:30am-1:30pm) we'll be a slow boat for a while. We have decided to stop in Friday Harbor for the night and continue on to Blaine tomorrow.
I had some questions about my comment yesterday in which I said I was thinking about buying a faster boat. First off, that was said in jest really. WD is a wonderful boat with a great combination of performance, light weight, and it is with it's modified fin keel and aluminum construction it is a very safe, sea kindly vessel. We have joked around about getting an actual sled though, like an open 40 or something. By faster boat I meant a very high performance hull and taller rig so we could fly bigger light air sails. Our friends Evan Starzinger and Beth Leonard built their aluminum boat "Hawk" with that same idea in mind. They found from their EXTREME offshore passages, and we have found this to be true as well, that the vast majority of your time offshore you are in light air and a boat that is set up for light air sailing and is light enough itself to move in light air is the way to go. For our next long voyage in the Pacific we will at least have a new main and a cruising chute. I will say a little more about this in my report at the end of this voyage.
The family is super excited to see land and get to shore. This trip we didn't have any rainstorms to fill our water tank offshore so we have been using the fresh water for ONLY drinking so everyone is REALLY jonesing for showers. Even the boys, who usually act like fresh water and soap combined might melt their skin off, are talking about showers. The ladies are happy that we will be able to shower and clean up before they see family in Blaine. For myself... I am like Horatio Hornblower, cold seawater and joy has mostly kept me fresh... If not itchy from salt and my hair and beard are pretty wild. I could probably make some money panhandling in Seattle if I just stay as I am for a few more days.
The fuel has water in it from sitting only 1/4 full for so many days in the cold water. Since our tank is aluminum and it's in the keel it gets pretty cold. Anyway, I have already had to drain the bowl and switch out filters once this morning, I have four more... Hope we can make Friday Harbor before I'm out.
We were super sad to hear about Robin Williams. He made the world laugh but obviously wasn't laughing inside. Thanks for passing on the news.
This run up these straits is pretty crazy. It's as busy as our approach into Panama but nuts because with the fog it's a blind run. I'm not sure I would do it without AIS. My Navionics app and iPad with the Bad Elf GPS Pro (connects wirelessly via Bluetooth and is itself a stand alone handheld GPS) has been great this whole voyage and continues to be spot on here in this busy shipping area. I can switch back and forth between it and my VESPER AIS plotter with ease. It's a great way to go. For those of you who have messaged me about it I highly recommend it as a system. Not to mention I'm typing this email right now on the same iPad, while I navigate, and I'll send it off with the Iridium phone linked wirelessly to this same device in an hour or so.
I will send out another report in the morning from Friday Harbor and again once we get to Blaine. We will keep the sat phone on for messages all the way too because I am not sure where we will start to get good AT&T coverage for the cell phones.
Thanks for all of your kind messages. We sure have enjoyed your company on this voyage. Some of you feel like old friends now and we sure hope we can continue to hear from you on Facebook after the trip is over.
InReach will be on all day today too.
Have a Beautiful Day!
Captain Tofer, Rebecca, EmiyAnne, Kanyon, Kaleb, and Benny
0700 Seattle Time / 1400GMT
N 48 18.96 W 124 07.54 (The Strait of Juan de Fuca)
COG 097T
SOG 5.3 kt
Wind NW 5-8
Pressure: 29.60
Temp: 68F
Sky: overcast
Seas: 1-2 ft west swell
Sails: genoa
Good Morning from the Strait of Juan de Fuca!
Yesterday was a boisterous day of sailing with winds from the NW at 20+ all day. The water started to get shallower so the waves were pretty big and it was quite a ride. I was a little over confident about our ability to make it all the way to Blaine by tonight. Current is the big negative factor for us right now. Most of today it will be against us and with no wind our boat will only motor at 6 knots anyway so with a negative current approaching 3 knots for a while today and 2 most of the rest (5:30am-1:30pm) we'll be a slow boat for a while. We have decided to stop in Friday Harbor for the night and continue on to Blaine tomorrow.
I had some questions about my comment yesterday in which I said I was thinking about buying a faster boat. First off, that was said in jest really. WD is a wonderful boat with a great combination of performance, light weight, and it is with it's modified fin keel and aluminum construction it is a very safe, sea kindly vessel. We have joked around about getting an actual sled though, like an open 40 or something. By faster boat I meant a very high performance hull and taller rig so we could fly bigger light air sails. Our friends Evan Starzinger and Beth Leonard built their aluminum boat "Hawk" with that same idea in mind. They found from their EXTREME offshore passages, and we have found this to be true as well, that the vast majority of your time offshore you are in light air and a boat that is set up for light air sailing and is light enough itself to move in light air is the way to go. For our next long voyage in the Pacific we will at least have a new main and a cruising chute. I will say a little more about this in my report at the end of this voyage.
The family is super excited to see land and get to shore. This trip we didn't have any rainstorms to fill our water tank offshore so we have been using the fresh water for ONLY drinking so everyone is REALLY jonesing for showers. Even the boys, who usually act like fresh water and soap combined might melt their skin off, are talking about showers. The ladies are happy that we will be able to shower and clean up before they see family in Blaine. For myself... I am like Horatio Hornblower, cold seawater and joy has mostly kept me fresh... If not itchy from salt and my hair and beard are pretty wild. I could probably make some money panhandling in Seattle if I just stay as I am for a few more days.
The fuel has water in it from sitting only 1/4 full for so many days in the cold water. Since our tank is aluminum and it's in the keel it gets pretty cold. Anyway, I have already had to drain the bowl and switch out filters once this morning, I have four more... Hope we can make Friday Harbor before I'm out.
We were super sad to hear about Robin Williams. He made the world laugh but obviously wasn't laughing inside. Thanks for passing on the news.
This run up these straits is pretty crazy. It's as busy as our approach into Panama but nuts because with the fog it's a blind run. I'm not sure I would do it without AIS. My Navionics app and iPad with the Bad Elf GPS Pro (connects wirelessly via Bluetooth and is itself a stand alone handheld GPS) has been great this whole voyage and continues to be spot on here in this busy shipping area. I can switch back and forth between it and my VESPER AIS plotter with ease. It's a great way to go. For those of you who have messaged me about it I highly recommend it as a system. Not to mention I'm typing this email right now on the same iPad, while I navigate, and I'll send it off with the Iridium phone linked wirelessly to this same device in an hour or so.
I will send out another report in the morning from Friday Harbor and again once we get to Blaine. We will keep the sat phone on for messages all the way too because I am not sure where we will start to get good AT&T coverage for the cell phones.
Thanks for all of your kind messages. We sure have enjoyed your company on this voyage. Some of you feel like old friends now and we sure hope we can continue to hear from you on Facebook after the trip is over.
InReach will be on all day today too.
Have a Beautiful Day!
Captain Tofer, Rebecca, EmiyAnne, Kanyon, Kaleb, and Benny
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