Passage to Samoa Photo Log

April 11-20, 2016

We travelled 2022 nmi from Kwajalein, Marshall Islands to Apia, Samoa with just a couple pit stops at Jaluit and Onotoa along the way. This is the final leg from Onotoa to Apia, and it turned out to be our second longest passage ever, clocking in at just under 10 days.

Logbook – April 11, 2016 (Onotoa to Funafuti)

Passage Log Highlights

1210 Engines on (SB engine started – no problem)
1250 Engines off, main + genniker
1315 Squall – wind shift to the N, 17-18 kts TWS
1800 Main + genniker

Daily Notes

Visited by 2 men from the village before we left. Photos & Tim fixed their outboard

Email to Family and Friends Dated April 11, 2016

Subject: Exodus – Pressing on

We departed Onotoa this morning, and our next stop is likely back in Funafuti, 4-5 days away. This is the polar opposite of our last passage…instead of bashing upwind in strong winds trying to avoid squalls and getting pushed off our course by the current, we are comfortably sailing downwind in light air hoping for squalls and getting pushed toward our course by the current. We’ll see what tonight and beyond brings.
Just as we had made the decision to leave this morning, two men from the village came out to the boat to say hi. They brought us some coconuts and asked if they could take some photos, since they’d never been on a yacht. For good measure, Tim ended up fixing their outboard, so needless to say we got a late start. Totally worth it though.
Our friends on EOS II (with the two adorable little girls) left Majuro a couple days after we left Jaluit, so they are out here within a couple hundred miles of us, and we are really hoping to converge in Funafuti.
Love and miss you all,
-D.

Logbook – April 12, 2016 (Onotoa to Funafuti)

Passage Log Highlights

0341 Genniker only
0603 Genniker only
0811 P engine on – low batteries
0828 P engine off
0928 Genoa only
1200 Genniker only
1500 Genniker only
1821 Same
2210 SB engine on

Daily Notes

Skipjack tuna, didn’t keep
Rescued a little bird, died later that night

Logbook – April 13, 2016 (Onotoa to Funafuti)

Passage Log Highlights

0330 SB engine only
0600 SB engine + genoa
0905 SB engine only
1126 SB off, genniker
1500 Genniker only
1807 Same
2320 P engine on

Daily Notes

Sunshine!

Logbook – April 14, 2016 (Onotoa to Funafuti)

Passage Log Highlights

0326 P engine only
0600 P engine only
0843 P engine off, genniker
1200 Genniker only
1500 Same
1522 SB engine on, no sails
1813 SB engine only (squall?)
2120 SB engine off

Daily Notes

Blank

Even a squall can be beautiful sometimes

Email to Family and Friends Dated April 14, 2016

Subject: Exodus – Inching along

We are still out here, still a long way from Funafuti, or so it seems. Right now there are squalls all around us, but we inch along with only 4 kts of wind. We alternate between motoring slowly and sailing more slowly. We are comfortable, but ready to get there all the same. I am looking forward to the rarity of returning to somewhere we’ve already been, a place where I already know the best places to provision and where to fill propane. It’s a small thing, but I’m finding some comfort in it.
Love and miss you all,
-D.

Logbook – April 15, 2016 (Onotoa to Funafuti)

Passage Log Highlights

0322 Genniker only
0415 Jibe ho!
0600 Genniker only
0917 SB engine on, no sails
1200 SB engine only
1328 SB off
1457 Genoa (2 reefs) + Genniker
1621 Same

Daily Notes

Blank

Logbook – April 16, 2016 (Onotoa to Samoa)

Passage Log Highlights

0300 Genniker + genoa (2 reefs)
0600 Genniker + genoa (2 reefs)
0900 Genoa only
1200 Genniker only
1500 Genoa only – just passed by a squall – max 28 kts
1817 Main (2 reefs) + genoa

Daily Notes

Decided to alter course and keep going to Samoa

Email to Family and Friends Dated April 16, 2016

Subject: Exodus – Weather is king

Within sight of Funafuti, we made the decision today to keep going and try to get to Wallis or better yet, Samoa, with these N-NW winds. It wasn’t as hard of a decision as you might think… backing up a bit, when we left Fiji back in November it was with the idea that we would return in May to haul out and then possibly cruise Fiji a little more. But since then we’ve found out that we can’t actually haul out in Fiji, the boatyards can’t haul boats our width, which means they can’t haul catamarans… I know, we were shocked. So our options became Vanuatu or Tonga, and since Tonga is more centrally located to possibly be more attractive to a buyer, we’ve changed our plans to go back to Tonga instead. Now, for the quick South Pacific geography/weather lesson… It’s really hard to go Southeast, because that’s the direction of the trade winds, and Tonga is southeast of Tuvalu. I’ve been wondering for awhile now how we were going to manage to get to Tonga, and this morning, a weather window presented itself, and if we can get to Samoa we will be in excellent shape. There have been a family of weak lows, and we’ve been riding the top of one to get NW winds in order to sail downwind from Kirbati to Funafuti. Now it looks like we might be able to continue that approach, and hopefully we’ll make it as far as Samoa. So, that’s why it wasn’t a hard decision… who knows when/if another weather window would open like this again. Of course, I’m about to download weather now, and things change and the window could close on us and then we would have to follow one of my 96 contigency plans.
Morale is surprisingly high on board considering that this morning we thought we’d be making landfall today and now we have 4-6 more days underway. I made two loaves of bread today, so I think that helped. My crew is pretty easy to please.
Love and miss you all,
-D.

Logbook – April 17, 2016 (Onotoa to Samoa)

Passage Log Highlights

0315 Main (2 reefs) + genoa – crossed the date line
0530 Squall 30-35 kts – turned downwind and reefed genoa
0600 Main (2 reefs) + genoa (1 reef)
0900 Main (2 reefs) + genoa
1200 Main (2 reefs) + genniker
1500 Same
1800 Same

Daily Notes

Blank

Logbook – April 18, 2016 (Onotoa to Samoa)

Passage Log Highlights

0320 Main (2 reefs) + genoa
Squall 30-35 kts
0600 Main (2 reefs) + genoa wing/wing
0645 Squall 31 kts
0900 Main (2 reefs) + genoa – backside of squall, wind died, not enough for wing/wing
1200 SB engine on
1235 SB engine + Main (2 reefs)
1356 SB off
Squall Max 37 kts
1510 Main (2 reefs) + genoa (1 reef)
1835 Main (2 reefs) + genoa (2 reefs)