Here are a series of emails I sent out during this passage:
Day 1
We sadly left Nanumea yesterday afternoon with high slack water, and the pass exit was far less dramatic than the entrance. So far on passage we have sailed really fast in the wrong direction and now we are motor sailing slowly in the right direction. We don’t have enough diesel to motor too much, so hopefully the wind fills in today.
Yesterday during some bumpiness we lost our big plastic tub overboard (yes, the one Tim recently rescued at Funafuti) and we had a hatch left open so there is sea water in our bed. Sheesh! You’d think we just started cruising last week with hatches left open and things not tied down.
Anyway, one other boat left Nanumea with us yesterday and I think everyone else is leaving today. It’s looking like those who waited made the right call since it really hasn’t been that great out here.
Day 2
Right now we are sailing slowly, and I seriously mean slowly. Under 2 kts. But Tim used that as an opportunity to rig a bit of a sling attached to the pulley we use for the dingy engine, and he had Brenden him lower him into the water to go for a swim. Well, I thought it was just to go for a swim, but what he really wanted to do was look under the boat and see what kind of fish keep triggering our depth sounder. Too bad it was just little fish, if it were tuna, I’m sure he would have asked for his spear gun. Although the winds are light our spirits are still high, because at least none of us are seasick. The boys are passing time eradicating Exodus of all the flies from Nanumea. We don’t want to import any to Kiribati
Day 3
Forget the naked tuna dance, someone needs to do the naked wind dance! We can’t even get a squall to come over us. We are baking in a 95 deg F oven called our salon, and the only fish we’ve caught was a tiny Mahi Mahi, so we released it. Other than all that whining, things aren’t too bad. It’s hard to complain about a comfortable, flat sea, and we are even going to BBQ chicken tonight, since we don’t have to worry about the wind blowing the grill out!
Perhaps we’ll make it to Tarawa by Christmas.
Day 4
It seems that shortly after I sent the email last night the wind picked up and we’ve been sailing ever since. So, someone out there must have done the naked wind dance for us, and for that, we thank you.
Oh, and it must have been a two for one, naked wind AND tuna dance, because we caught a yellow fin tuna today. Well, we actually hooked 3, but one got away and one was too small to keep. And the boys will tell you that the one that got away was my fault, but don’t you believe them for a second.
It is peaceful, even if slow, sailing, and we are enjoying it.
Day 5
So, lack of wind is no longer a problem, so I’ll just share a couple of tidbits unique to this passage so far…
I always have the early morning watch, so I have grown accustomed to peacefully enjoying the sunset by myself in the mornings. For almost 3 years, this has consistently been one of my highlights while on passage. I usually count down until the sun comes up and the shroud of deep black darkness is slowly replaced with colorful brightness.
Well, not any more. Now, I loathe when the sun comes up because my comfortably cool cockpit, where I can doze in my underwear without being too hot or too cold, turns into a furnace with a laser piercing heat source that will burn holes in your skin if you stay in one place too long. No, sunrise is no longer a happy time.
We figured out how to send inReach to inReach texts that don’t count towards the monthly limit, and there are two other boats out here who also have them. So, we are constantly texting back and forth, and it feels so normal to be checking my phone for texts (my iPhone is paired to the inReach) and laughing and sending something back. I’m just out here in the middle of the pacific ocean sending texts on my iPhone… nothing strange about that!
We are about to cross the equator again and re-join the northern hemisphere after over a year and a half. We don’t have anything big planned but there may be haircuts involved again. And pizza. I’ll write more about that tomorrow.
Anchor down Tarawa
This morning I was sure there was no chance we would make it before dark, but this afternoon the wind picked up and shifted to a good direction just enough that we made anchors down just at dusk. We had some our worst conditions the entire passage as we approached the island as there were squalls all around us, but now we are anchored safely right next to True Blue V again, and all is good. We have a new safe arrival tradition of playing a game as a family as we drink our safe arrival drinks, and I’m really enjoying that time with the boys.
Now, it’s time for a full night sleep without someone waking me at 3am to stand watch.P.S. I slept through the equator crossing last night. The boys toasted to Neptune and ate popcorn. Everyone still has their hair.
Gresham Family Exodus 