About To Jump Oceans

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by VirtualVagabond

That would be Flamenco Marina? might be worth a try.

I use the charts with Open CPN and they are great.
So far I use it with the AIS on the laptop and haven't used them as a primary nav tool. The old chart plotter is fine for that.
Did you stop at Las Perlas on the way out or did you head straight for Marquesas?

Quite a few headed that way... hear they're a nice stop... but I was trying to make up time so headed straight for Nuku Hiva... passed N of the main islands in the Galapagos and made the trip in 35 days if memory serves me well.

[VirtualVagabond]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Quite a few headed that way... hear they're a nice stop... but I was trying to make up time so headed straight for Nuku Hiva... passed N of the main islands in the Galapagos and made the trip in 35 days if memory serves me well.

We will probably do the same, but I was looking at south of Galapagos at this time of the season to try to get to the SE trades quicker. We're hoping to do it in 4 weeks...

[HappyMdRSailor]

Vic....

If you're headed to Nuku Hiva.... Don't stop for lunch... Er... Be lunch...:whistlin g:

Avid Diver/Sailer Feared eaten by Cannibals in Marquesas Islands | Dive Travel Business News

[VirtualVagabond]

Originally Posted by HappyMdRSailor

Vic....

If you're headed to Nuku Hiva.... Don't stop for lunch... Er... Be lunch...:whistlin g:

Avid Diver/Sailer Feared eaten by Cannibals in Marquesas Islands | Dive Travel Business News

Great... and I told Sandy all they eat is fish and coconuts. And that's the story I'm sticking to!

Vic

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by VirtualVagabond

Great... and I told Sandy all they eat is fish and coconuts. And that's the story I'm sticking to!

Vic

Well make sure none of the crew has a haircut that could have your head mistaken for a coconut then!

Sounds like you guys are having a blast! Enjoy and be safe!

[atoll]

update! via sailmail from the op

vic and sandy,on Wind Wanderer,arrived safely in puerto amistad,ecuador at 9.30 this morning.
they plan on spending 72 hours stop over to refuel and get some fresh veggies,before leaving for the marquesas.

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by atoll

update! via sailmail from the op

vic and sandy,on Wind Wanderer,arrived safely in puerto amistad,ecuador at 9.30 this morning.
they plan on spending 72 hours stop over to refuel and get some fresh veggies,before leaving for the marquesas.

Thanks for the update Atoll !!!

Apparently everybody still has their head... er...wits bout them...

[atoll]

Originally Posted by HappyMdRSailor

Thanks for the update Atoll !!!

Apparently everybody still has their head... er...wits bout them...

the stop was thought about beforehand,but not scheduled,but due to seasonal headwinds vic decided to pull in there to top off the fuel tanks before heading a bit further south where the trades are well established.

a much cheaper option than stopping in the galapagos these days that have unfortunately become again very expensive to check into.

[Amnesia II]

Sounds like Wind Wanderer is moving very late in the season to cross the Pacific, unless they are staying over in French Poly somewhere?

[atoll]

update from vic and sandy
via snailmail this morning.

Pos: 09.09'S and 121.22'W Monday 3/9 around 9am 'our time'... Panama - 2 hrs.

Our steering has developed a knock in the last 24 hours. At first I traced the sound and there is a bit of play where the shaft from the hydraulic ram connects to the lever that is attached to the rudder post and actually turns it. Then it looked like it was coming from the ram itself and it didn't do my peace of mind any good to see a small weep of hydraulic fluid.
But eventually it turned out to be slight movement of the rudder shaft itself where it goes through the stuffing box. The stuffing box is letting more water in than it should and the bolts don't have much adjustment left. I've searched for packing that I know I have on the boat but it's gone walkabout.
I'm not about to tackle it out here anyway so I'm hoping it holds up for the next 1000 miles, or probably another 800 after that to get to Papeete.
Would Nuku Hiva be any more likely to have repair facilities or packing than Hiva Oa?
I'm not too worried at this stage but the sooner I can do it the better.

Three weeks yesterday since we left Ecuador and it's all going quite well.
The boat is behaving, the weather still isn't.
What we expected to be a 6-7kt magic carpet ride on a slow rolling, following sea once we got to the trades just isn't.
The 6-7 kts is probably our wind speed most of the time! We need 15kts to get this old ark to 'wake up'.

I guess we are averaging about 4.5 kts, and that is with the help of a knot of current. We've done 2500 nm, as the crow flies in 22 days. Probably a bit more than that under the keel as we headed virtually due south some days, particularly initially.
Five kts has us jumping up and down, 6 kts and I'm ready to crack open the champagne and enter us in the next Americas Cup.

i reccomended using cotton or non synthetic rope greased as temp packing,till the find the real stuff.

cheers alex

[robert sailor]

Unless things have really changed the Marquesas had no yacht maintenance facilities to speak of and no lifts. That might have changed but you'll probably have to wait until you get to Tahiti, enjoy yourself.

[boatman61]

I'll second that... zip-zero facilities or chandlers in Nuku Hiva.

[VirtualVagabond]

Just a quick update...
We're sitting in the Pink Coconut in Tahiti sipping Tequila Sunrises. We're sipping them because they're probably a couple of bucks a sip!

The internet here is pathetic, but I wanted to log on and catch up with the CF family.
Atoll has been a great help, both with information, but also just as a source of the latest weather update etc.

We'd highly recommend Ecuador as a stop on the way south from Panama. Great people, safe, cheap. Some cruisers leave their boats there while they explore South America's interior.

We crossed from Ecuador to Nuku Hiva in 31 days. Some days we virtually drifted with the current plus a knot.
Loved Nuku Hiva. Friendly people, close supermarkets etc.
There is a little business there called Yacht Services run by Kevin, a Californian guy who married a local girl and they are extremely helpful.
We got a couple of sails repaired, bottom cleaned, a few other bits repaired and all at about $35/hour. They deserve the Yay for the day.

A slow trip again from Nuku Hiva to Tahiti. Took us a week, but after we picked our way through the Tuamotus without hitting any palm trees we had a few days of PERFECT sailing. It was great. All 4 sails up, easy seas, clipping along at 6.5 knots with no heel to speak of

We should have a few rigging bits arrive here from New Zealand on Monday and we've caught up all the urgent repairs, so we'll head up the island chain... Moorea, Raiatea, Bora Bora, then a long hop to Tonga.

I really could get used to this...

Vic (and Sandy)

PS. We're still on track to make it back to Aus for Christmas.

[Jimbo485]

Great to hear from you, Vic and Sandy!!

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by VirtualVagabond

Just a quick update...
We're sitting in the Pink Coconut in Tahiti sipping Tequila Sunrises. We're sipping them because they're probably a couple of bucks a sip!

The internet here is pathetic, but I wanted to log on and catch up with the CF family.
Atoll has been a great help, both with information, but also just as a source of the latest weather update etc.

We'd highly recommend Ecuador as a stop on the way south from Panama. Great people, safe, cheap. Some cruisers leave their boats there while they explore South America's interior.

We crossed from Ecuador to Nuku Hiva in 31 days. Some days we virtually drifted with the current plus a knot.
Loved Nuku Hiva. Friendly people, close supermarkets etc.
There is a little business there called Yacht Services run by Kevin, a Californian guy who married a local girl and they are extremely helpful.
We got a couple of sails repaired, bottom cleaned, a few other bits repaired and all at about $35/hour. They deserve the Yay for the day.

A slow trip again from Nuku Hiva to Tahiti. Took us a week, but after we picked our way through the Tuamotus without hitting any palm trees we had a few days of PERFECT sailing. It was great. All 4 sails up, easy seas, clipping along at 6.5 knots with no heel to speak of

We should have a few rigging bits arrive here from New Zealand on Monday and we've caught up all the urgent repairs, so we'll head up the island chain... Moorea, Raiatea, Bora Bora, then a long hop to Tonga.

I really could get used to this...

Vic (and Sandy)

PS. We're still on track to make it back to Aus for Christmas.

I'm totally jealous!