E-mails from Recidivist

These are e-mails I wrote from my sail from Hawaii to California. It took 15 days almost exactly....

Aloha Everyone,

Just got an e-mail from Rick the Weather Guy who says we are making great progress. The wind and waves have been mellow besides rain at night and a few squalls (nothing over 20 knots)
We caught a 12-15lbs. Mahimahi yesterday and Sherry, having the best sea legs of us all, cooked it up with some rice, peas, and furikaki...delicious!
Today was the last day of happy hour now that our ice has melted. I keep having semi-conscious dreams that we can pull over at the 7 eleven and get some more.
The first night out we saw a moonbow = rainbow illuminated by the moon, along with a stunning red sunset the following night. Yesterday night the stars were amazing and sparkling brighter than the phosphorescence bouncing off our tail. We took the opportunity to bust out the green laser that our friend Kahi lent us. We can point directly at a star and see the beam the whole way. Thanks Kahi!!
There have been bits and pieces of trash here and there and a possible boobie/albatros. Our spirits are high and we have fallen into a fairly good pattern of sleep. Our watches are 2 hours on (1 on deck & 1 driving) and 3 hours off- constantly. It isn't as bad as I thought it would be and I even enjoy the late night watches with the moon lighting everything up. We have decided that the squalls love JP and Reid, the rain loves Sherry and Roscoe, I often get a little of both.

Miss you all!

Jess (Roscoe, Reid, Sherry, & JP)




Aloha!

As I write Roscoe is on deck manning the auto pilot, which we have dubbed "Mr. Auto Peeloteh," and the rest of the crew is falling asleep in their bunks to the sweet diesel engine lullaby. We also have another new member aboard- Carlton Wintrop Jr. III (Ken we'll let you figure out who that is.) No we are not losing it, just finding ways to entertain ourselves. Just a little while ago Roscoe attempted to cool a few beers by dragging them off the back of the boat but it seems the water still isn't cold enough, which has me back to my conspiracy theory that we are actually going in circles.

Yesterday was Roscoe's birthday and hopefully marked our passage through the half-way point. We also enjoyed a well deserved break from the tiller and a little deck party to celebrate. I made Roscoe a jib sheet slip knot lei and a tang tai (tang with some meyers rum.) We listened to Jack Johnson and ate one of Roscoe's favorite dishes- Mapo Tofu. I also devoured most of the chocolate bar we shared for dessert :)It was good times.

I know it sounds like we are having a blast but we all do wish to make it to land soon. Missing friends, family, and lovers, with an ocean that can only comfort us so much. I, personally, can't wait to see the color green! We look forward to seeing all of you soon and have eager expectations of 6 days left to go.

Yesterday we also saw a big ship from Hong Kong. Funny how in the middle of the ocean our two courses almost intersected. We took their stern but not by much. Shortly after we made our first tack of the trip which might have trumped Roscoe's birthday celebrations by a few knots. And last night was one of the darkest yet. Stars were amazing but with no horizon steering gets tricky. As the moon fades we will continue to practice steering by numbers and hopefully see more shooting stars and a clearer milky way.

Lastly, I'll leave you with a rough copy of the message we wrote and threw out to sea in a bottle:

How to sail from Hawaii to California-

Step 1: Leave Hawaii going North-ish on a starboard tack
Step 2: Stay on Starboard tack until you go crazy
Step 3: When you see a big ship, tack
Step 4: Put on a sweater
Step 5: Keep going until you see a big red bridge


-Jess

Hi Dad,

Thanks for the e-mail. The sea state has been pretty mellow the whole way. I was surprised after a few days when I realized channel crossings in between the islands are much rougher than what we are experiencing. The swells are interesting though. Before I left I was studying up on some Hawaiian culture and I read that Hawaiians had many names for all the different sea swells (being that they were expert sailors.) It really is quite obvious that there are major differences in the swells as we continue on. As we are making way north I have noticed larger swells with bigger periods and distance between crests. Nothing close to the stories you have told me! We expect larger seas as we approach San Fran but they will be off our port quarter as we will be most likely on a broad reach...very manageable. The wind initially was around 10-15 knots, decreasing during the day and increasing at night. No squalls above 20 knots and they have ceased since we have left the warm waters. We just touched the high where there was practically no wind. We expected to be in it for a few days but really only got a few hours of it- It is a very illusive thing as I have come to find and must have been dancing around somewhere else while we past through. Now we are back to 9-11 knots of wind.

We have been motor sailing for the past few days because the wind has been inconsistent and to close to our nose. Today we ran out of fuel while I was on watch and Roscoe had to bleed air that had gotten in there. Apparently our calculations on fuel consumption were off. The owner estimated 10 hours for every 5 gallons of fuel, which is usually dead on, but it might be that the only diesel we could find was bio-diesel...still not sure what that is all about but it was from a gas station so we figured it was okay for diesel engines...any thoughts on that? Luckily the wind has shifted more north and our heading is more east so we have turned the engine off and are sailing at a steady 7 knots on a close reach. No auto pilot but I think we all enjoy getting back to the routine of actual shifts. I also haven't been able to sleep more than 2 hours a day since the engine turned on...and that has only happened if my dreams involved being in a boat or an airplane.

I wouldn't exactly call this luxurious...maybe compared to Great Grandfather Hansson's trip across the Atlantic, but we are all in very close quarters in a boat built for speed, not comfort. Luckily I brought a squishy yoga mat with me which I cut ear plugs out of today in order to drowned out the motor, which is pretty much my bunk buddy. JP, our token frenchman, has a theory that after about ten days everyone gets crabby. He calls is tendonitis. I wouldn't say we are cranky, but sure as hell ready to get there already. I have been staying positive but realistically I've had headaches the whole way and been feeling kinda junky- its only now getting to me. But this is all a challenge and I understand that. Won't be doing it again anytime soon. :) Its exciting to hear from you and if you have the time I would love some Tutu sailing stories or maybe that one about you delivering a boat and getting into bad weather.

LOVE YOU!!!

Jess



Hi Dad,

Your viking comment got quite a laugh on board. We are no where close to formidable so no need to surrender when we come in...except maybe to my desperate needs for some homemade mint ice cream (not too much sugar please.) :)and a Lisa salad! We are expecting to arrive on Monday if all goes well. The computer predicts 3 days 20 hours but the word is that the computer is often optimistic. Other boats are experiencing 18 knots near us so hopefully if we get into some of that breeze we'll make our way to the bridge earlier Monday.

Just as I finished writing you yesterday the swells picked up. I was feeling fine until the sun went down and the horizon disappeared. On my second shift of the night I ended up hanging my head overboard and releasing my chicken noodle soup dinner. The phosphorescence were going off, which actually made it quite the pleasant experience. Then I retired to some of the best sleep I've had yet...and this morning cooked up pasta and ate almost half the pot. Feeling much better. :)

I'll rally for a north bridge entrance if we come in during the day. Will keep you updated on our arrival so you can meet me at the dock if possible.

Love lots,

Jess