July 16-21, 2014
We had heard some negative things from friends in Suwarrow, and it was going to be a long passage anyway, so when we left Mopelia we kept our options open for proceeding on to Samoa rather than stopping in Suwarrow, weather permitting. However, about three days into the passage it became apparent that there was no way we could make it to Samoa before the winds totally died and then the next cold front passed through, so… Suwarrow it is!
We had great wind upon leaving Mopelia and sailed the entire first afternoon, but then in the evening the wind died and we motor sailed all night. That’s not always a terrible thing, especially if the batteries need to be charged and we would have to run the generator anyway. At least that’s what I tell myself when we have to motorsail all night. In the morning the wind picked up, slight at first, but we couldn’t justify the running an engine any longer once the sun was up and the batteries were getting charged by the solar panel, so we limped along at about 3.5 kts. The wind did continue to pick up from there, and we sailed downwind the entire rest of the way with either one or two headsails, depending on the exact conditions.
Right when we were exiting the pass at Mopelia, we saw another vessel approaching the atoll from the east. The conditions in the pass were about as good as it gets. Crazy easy. I think we saw as little as 1.5 knots of current or something like that. So, I decided to hail the other vessel on VHF and share with them our observations of the pass conditions. And that’s how we first met Novae. Stephano thanked me for the call and then about 15 minutes later he called us back to let us know that since the wind was so good they were going to bypass Mopelia and press on to Suwarrow. So, instantly, we had a new buddy boat. Although, that didn’t last long. They are a much faster catamaran than us, and they left us in their dust, and within 24 hours we no longer had VHF contact. Now we know how Lady Carolina feels.
Sometime that first afternoon, after we had spoken with Novae on VHF, another vessel piped up on channel 16 without identifying himself. He said something like, “Did someone turn off the wind?” I aways hate that. I’m kind of a stickler for radio protocol. I know, I know, we were out in the middle of the ocean and it’s not like transmitting on channel 16 is going to block higher priority traffic or anything. But to not identify yourself? Too cavalier for me. Anyway, I hailed him and switched to a working channel to so that we could introduce ourselves. He’s an American single hander on the vessel called Dances with Dragons en route from Bora Bora to Fiji. He was extremely polite, called me ma’am, even. That isn’t exactly endearing to me, but I know it is to a lot of people, so I tried to feel respected. OK, cool. Three of us out here to keep each other company. That night in the middle of the night on my watch, Dances with Dragons hailed us. He asked if I knew anything about facilities and services in Pago Pago, because he was having trouble with his engine. The low oil pressure light came on. Although he was intending to go all the way to Fiji, in light of this he may divert to Pago Pago instead. Not long after that he hailed again to say that he restarted the engine and the pressure looks good, so he suspects a faulty gauge. His original plan is back on; he’s headed to Fiji. Before long we fell out of VHF range and we never heard from him again. His radio traffic seemed strange to me, but I was happy to be there for him when he needed someone to talk to. A sounding board, if you will. Anyway, I have heard that he made it safely to Fiji, which is good, because even though I certainly don’t know him at all, as a fellow cruiser, that little bit of contact out at sea makes an impression. And I would always wonder and worry if I had never heard he made it safely.
The highlight of the passage was that the guys caught two wahoo. Until we figured out they weren’t wahoo. Tim leaves the lines in the water all night with the understanding that if we catch something on MY watch, I WILL be waking his butt up. And that’s what happened with the second “wahoo” and Tim brought it in nicely even after being quickly startled awake. The “wahoo” turned out to be barracuda. Brenden says he never thought they were Wahoo, he said the eyes were too big, the teeth too big, the tail too small, and the stripes not quite right. Brenden, our resident fish expert. We ate one of them anyway, and found it to be tasty enough; more juicy like Dorado, unlike Wahoo.
Overall, this was a particularly uncomfortable passage. Certainly not your lovely downwind run with following seas. No, the seas were a confused mess and we would get hit on the beam at random intervals which sets us rocking pretty good, so Brenden and I were down for the count most of the time, not sick, just not right. The final morning was the closest I felt to my normal self since the winds picked up about a day and a half in.
And on the last day the guys caught a yellowfin tuna. So, when I said the highlight of the passage was that the guys caught wahoo that turned out to be barracuda, I should have said, “UNTIL they caught the tuna.” Sashimi, tuna steaks and poke were enjoyed by all.
Gresham Family Exodus 