Living & Learning Aboard the Good Ship Learnativity

Thanks for changing my life forever Barney!!

On November 23, 2013 Barney the Yorkshire Terror changed my life forever when he unknowingly introduced me to his Mom Christine, who is now my wife, my best friend, my partner and the love of my life and the life of my love.

He did so in his typically masterful way by posting this simple video.to Christine’s Write on the Water blog.  My curiosity raised, I posted a question asking what software it was that created this cute little video.  Christine, who as Barney noted was deep into the final edits of her second in the Shipwreck Series of books called Dragons Triangle was short on time, hence both the quick to make video of Barney and her equally quick reply that she had used the My Talking Pet app (iOS only sorry). 

 

So I wrote back, which was apparently something which hardly any of the many other people who send questions to the, unbeknownst to me at the time, best selling author Christine Kling, ever do, to say Thank You.  After some quick background checks on who this Thank You writing Canadian was, she felt compelled to write a short note to let me know she appreciated the thanks and that she had sailed in Fiji back in the 70’s, was a single handed sailor herself and wondered how much Fiji had changed since.  So I wrote back a “slightly” longer response (never a sentence when a paragraph will do don’t you know?), and then she wrote back, and then I wrote back and then we Skyped and then we Skyped and then ……………………………………………..

Christine flew to Fiji on Dec. 19th so we could meet and our “first date” turned out to be almost a month while we sailed up from Fiji to the Marshall islands.  It seemed to work out rather well we have not been more than 50’ apart (length of Learnativity) ever since and I asked, and she said Yes! and we are now married, have two new grandchildren and five children between us.

If you’d like to read more about all this, check out previous posts on the Learnativity blog such as:

Wayne Finds His Blankie!

Wayne gets Entangled, Enchanted and Engaged with his Blankie!!

 

For now all I want to say is THANK YOU Barney, and Thank You Christine, for changing my life so profoundly and so completely.  I always thought I was very happy, and I was, but you have both taken that, along with Ruby the WonderDog and our kids and grand kids, to a whole new exponentially better level.  I LOVE YOU Christine Louise and Barney, I shall be forever in your debt!

Wayne gets Entangled, Enchanted and Engaged with his Blankie!!

NOTE:  For those of you who may have missed my previous post “Wayne Finds His Blankie” the above reference won’t make much sense so you may want to click on that link and read that post from the beginning of January before you read over this latest and most exciting update. 

For those of you who want the shortest possible refresher, I saw this posting Christine put up, or should I say that Barney her Yorkshire Terrier/Terror put up on her Write on the Water blog and thought it was very clever and perhaps I should create some like it with Ruby the Wonderdog.  So I sent a note to Christine asking her what software she had used to create this fun talking video.  She sent back a quick note to let me know she was extremely busy putting the finishing touches on her latest book “Dragon’s Triangle” (available for pre-order now, shipping June 1st) and and that she had used an app called “My Talking Pet”.  I sent back a short note to say Thanks, she sent a slightly longer note back because she says she almost never receives a Thank you note when she answers such Email requests and one Email response led to the next, which led to Skype calls, which led to Christine jumping on a plane to fly over and meet for our “first date” in Fiji, which turned into being a very special dinner on Christmas Eve, which turned into us making the 3 week, 2000+ nautical mile passage from Fiji up north of the equator to Majuro atoll in the Marshall Islands.

For those of you who would appreciate the option of reading some well written accounts of our adventures for a change, you can read some of Christine’s post on her weekly postings to the Write on the Water blog such as:

What a difference a week makes!

Fijian Christmas

A rudderless life

More than making do with what’s on hand

Attitude adjustment

Since Christine flew out to Fiji back in December to join Ruby and I aboard Learnativity, we’ve been learning, loving and living life extremely well every day.  Both Christine and I enjoy living on what we refer to as “the no plan plan” in that we live with no expectations or plans and instead we have unbounded intentions and hopes.  After spending the first two weeks and Christmas in Fiji we spent the next three weeks sailing north to Majuro with one stop at the small island of Rotuma which you can read more about in the “Blankie” post I noted above. 

If you’ve got more time than good sense you can review ALL the other Learnativity Updates at http://learnativity.typepad.com for Dec 2013/Jan 2014 where you will find the daily updates from our three week passage north from Vuda Point Marina in Fiji north to Majuro in the Marshall Islands.  It was a phenomenal adventure for both of us as sailors and as a couple and in spite of some challenges along the way such as losing the use of our rudder we had a truly awemazing time throughout, I was finally able to swim across the equator and we sailed onto the mooring ball in Majuro sans rudder but avec the biggest grins you can imagine. 

For the more sane of you, let me start with a quick synopsis (remember who is writing this!)  of our adventures leading up to this latest development.

 

 

Once we arrived in Majuro we enjoyed the next few weeks introducing Christine to the fascinating atoll of Majuro, getting the rudder removed, welded and replaced (thanks Philip!), attending to lots of other boat jobs and took a small test run over to the idyllic islet of Eneko which is only about six nautical miles away from where we are normally moored.  Time flew by and it was soon mid February and time for us to transform ourselves into “land lubbers” for the next few months as we switched from sailing North at 5 knots to flying East at over 500.  After a quick hop through Honolulu our first stop was near LA to spend a few days with my amazing daughter Lia, hubby Brian AND our new baby/grand daughter to be!  Yes, that’s right folks Lia is expecting a little girl about the middle of July and so I’m about to become a Grand Dad for the first time!!!  I have not had as exciting a time with Lia & Brian since being the Father of the Bride at their wedding back in 2009 and lucky for you I’m not going to start gushing about my feelings about all this but do let me issue an early warning of upcoming prolific postings from a very proud Grand Dad come July. 

 

 

Since then we have continued hopping our way mostly eastward with stops in the Orlando area just long enough to all too briefly meet up with Christine’s son Tim and his fiancé Ashley and some of Christine’s best friends in the Fort Lauderdale area and move Christine’s sailboat up to my land based home in New Smyrna Beach (thanks John & Michelle!).  Then we were back on the next flights over to St. Martin for a week of fun with my “second family” the Alonso clan on their fabulous PowerCat.  Ruby decided she would rather continue to be a boat dog and stay there where she had six new people to attend to her Princess needs, tropical climate preferences and join forces with their dog Amy and cat Calypso while Christine and I jumped on the next jet over to Europe for two months.  Primary purpose here is to do the fascinating style of what I’d best describe as “serendipitous research” which Christine does for her books and to also take advantage of the opportunity to visit with some dear friends and family we each have in various parts of Europe.  We initially flew into Malta as that is where Christine’s next thriller (as yet untitled) will begin and where the story I want to tell today also begins.

 

 

 

Neither of us had ever been to Malta before and it turned out to be truly magical with its stunning natural beauty and extraordinary history as well as providing the perfect setting for something I’d been waiting to find just the right moment for.  And so it was that on yet another stunning sunny Spring day we wandered our way over to the colourful and ancient medieval little fishing village of Marsaxlokk.  We spent the morning wandering through the Sunday market they are famous for that was filled as you can see in these pictures with stall after stall of every kind of fresh fish and seafood, veggies, fruit, nuts, candy, baked goodies and crafts.  As is our daily habit, along the way we picked up some still warm fresh bread, olives, cheese, dried meat and a bottle of wine and headed over for the hills out on the point we could see were blanketed in spring flowers and would give us a great view back into the circular little harbour the market rings. 

 

 

I think you might agree when you look at the picture to the left here, that we found just the right spot that was sheltered from the still cold wind in the midst of a rainbow of new flowers springing up all around us and also provided us with a panoramic view of both the little town harbour and all the boats out at sea behind us.  So we spread out all our treasures from the market, fresh bread, olives, cheeses, meats and I popped the cork and poured us each a glass of the latest bottle of Maltese wine we found.  If I had any doubts that this was going to be perfect “Goldilocks” moment where everything was just right, a flock of doves suddenly flew right over our heads and that was it!  NOW was the time. 

I was going to use a poem I’d been working on but I decided to just speak spontaneously from my heart instead.  As you might imagine Christine was by now very used to my verbosity but I asked her to let me get to the end of what I wanted to say as I told her how completely my perspectives on life and love have changed and been enriched since we serendipitously found each other.

Christine and I have both been fortunate enough to have had previous wonderful marriages so we have known the joys of a great loving relationship with a great spouse.  We have also both have the unbelievable loving experience of being parents; Christine has a son Tim (29) and I have Lia (29) and Skyler (27) so we know what that kind of love feels like.  As you can see then, I have lived a VERY full, rich and wonderful life and yet I was now 61 years young and experiencing all new highs and all new feelings of true LOVE every day.

A few days earlier I had managed to find the most exquisite little filigreed round box with a hinged lid that was locally hand made out of silver.  This is a special craft of a few villages in Malta which dates back to medieval times and Christine and I had both been entranced of some of the examples we had been seeing of the delicate and intricate patterns these artisans are able to create out of silver.  So when I finally found one little shop tucked away in a tiny alley of one of the towns we visited a few days ago that had this tiny jewel like box, I knew it was just right for what I had in mind.  We walked a few blocks further in the old fortified city and with the excuse of needing to go find a WC, I dashed back and bought the little silver box.

And so as I talked to Christine I pulled out this little box which I had carefully been carrying for the past few days, hidden away inside a little “secret pocket” in my jacket and presented it to Christine as I asked her if she would marry me. Inside the box I had previously placed the diamond I had been wearing in my left ear since I was in my twenties and which I explained can be inserted into the ring I am in the process of designing and making.

The way a proposal works for me is that I get to make my decision and ask the question when I’m ready to do so and then Christine gets to make her decision and answer when she is ready to do so.  It wasn’t a complete surprise as we had been talking along these lines for some time.  This is after all about THE most important decision and commitment two people can make!  So I reiterated all this to Christine as I handed her that little silver filigree box, that s he needed to be careful what she wished for or agreed to in this case as she just might get her wish and that there was no rush and she could take as much time as she wanted to respond to my proposal. 

Maybe it was that Spring was so strongly in the air that day.  Or maybe it was another momentary lapse of her otherwise excellent good judgement, such as when she agreed to fly over to Fiji to go on a month long “first date” that included a non stop sailing passage with some crazy Canadian she had never met!  Or maybe it was that Maltese wine?  Whatever the reason, after only a slight pause and a long loving look, she quietly said YES!!! instantly making me the richest, happiest and most fortunate man in the cosmos!!!

It has taken me a few weeks to put this more public announcement together because we both wanted to talk to our kids and a few close family and friends and let them know first and a wee bit more personally.  And we both look forward to sharing this all with you in person when we are next able to meet up with you.  For as many who are living in Europe, the USA and Canada, we would hope that will be in the next few months of our land lubber adventures there.  We have already been able to meet with some of Christine’s special friends in France from when she was an exchange student there back in 1971/72 and with some of my family in Switzerland and dear friends in Antwerp.  In June we hope to meet with many more of you when Christine and I take a big west coast road trip driving up the Pacific Coast Highway 1 from Lia’s place in Chino CA to BC and back again in time for the birth of little “Baby B” about July 12th.  Watch for updates here and on FB as our travels proceed and we will do our best to be in touch as we get closer to you and know more.

As you can imagine, Christine and I couldn’t be happier and we both remain totally awemazed at the degree, depth and completeness of the love we have found buried away deeply within ourselves and each other.  I won’t go on and on about it now (lucky you!) just suffice it to say that I am truly in awe of finding someone who is such a “perfectly imperfect” match for me in seemingly every facet and who feels the same way too.  While life has taken us along extremely different routes to get here, Christine and I find ourselves to be so in synch in literally every way that matters; our outlook on life, our priorities, our sense of adventure, our perspectives and our attitudes.  Each and every step along the way of our each of our 60+ years of life’s experiences have somehow made us into these two very unique snowflakes who awemazingly happen to mesh and fit together perfectly. 

By far the best illustration of how this “perfectly imperfect” complete meshing feels to both Christine and me, click on the illustration you see here on the left. (it is too long to fit here)  While this may be just a metaphorical illustration, this IS exactly how it feels to both of us to have so unexpectedly and serendipitously found our perfectly imperfect match.  When we put Christine’s perfectly imperfect individual self together with mine, it is just like when you find the two halves of a ceramic plate that broke in half; they fit so perfectly together that the crack disappears completely and it becomes one new whole.  In our case that new whole is called “WE”.

The best way I can synthesize my situation is that I am hoping to be one of the rarest of all men, one who gets to have loved two awemazing women and two great romantic marriages in his lifetime.  The first one with Diana was the greatest love of my life for thirty years and we were blessed with the two best gifts a couple could have ever imagined; Lia and Skyler.  For a long time I thought that having one great love in your life was all one could hope for, but a few years ago I came to see this wasn’t necessarily true and opened myself up to the possibility knowing full well that finding just the right “perfectly imperfect” woman a second time and much later in life was very rare.  Add in my unusual single handed and remote lifestyle and it was in fact extremely improbable.  However since Christine and I so serendipitously found each other last year it has become clearer to me each day that by trusting in serendipity and synchronicity I have stumbled upon the perfect matching woman and person for the man and person I’ve become at 61.  And so with Christine’s enthusiastic “Yes!” to my proposal it would seem that I have somehow managed to become the rarest, richest and most fortunate of men upon receiving her gift of “Yes!” and becoming husband and wife and being the last great love of each of our lives.

I’m sure you have lots of questions and right now we don’t have many answers.  We don’t know just when or where or how we will get married other than sooner rather than later and in some very special and memorable way.  With our respective friends and family spread literally around the world it would be a challenge for the majority to get to the same place at the same time.  PLUS, we have two other events coming up that are even more important to both of us; Christine’s son Tim is engaged to a wonderful woman and he and Ashley are going to be getting married in the Fort Lauderdale area on March 1st next year and Lia and Brian are expecting “Baby B” to arrive about July 12th and she will be the first of the Hodgins grandchildren!  Suddenly there seems to be a lot of plans in our “no plan plan” life! 

However, Christine and I are great problem solvers and we will figure out something creative, romantic and innovative for our wedding and let you know as we do.  In any case, these are all just fun details for us really as we have already made our loving commitments to each other and that’s what matters most to us.  What I DO know is that all of Wayne loves all of Christine.  I love every facet of her more deeply and more completely than I ever knew possible.  Best of all she says she feels exactly the same! 

I’ll leave it at that for now and look forward to sharing our happiness with you in person when we next get to be with you in person.

LTY UPDATE: Sunday, September 9th, 2012

LTY UPDATE: Sunday, September 9th, 2012
Uliveo Island, Vanuatu

LTY time: 17:35 (Vanuatu time = UTC +11)
Location: SW bay of Uliveo Island, part of Meskelyne Islands, Vanuatu
Position: 16 31.833 S, 167 49.716 E (you can cut & past this into Google Earth to see on map)
Wind: 5-12 knots (inside the bay)
Seas/Swell: flat
Air temp: 86 F 30C
Sea temp: 85 F 29.5 C
Barometer: 1020mm

LIVING LARGE in ULIVEO

I had a boisterous but fast sail from Port Villa to Uliveo on Tuesday night. Both the wind and seas were quite a bit more than forecast with winds at time over 35 knots and seas up to almost 5 meters at times. The wind was also almost directly behind me which makes it a bit tricky to sail as I’ve described before, but with the winds being so strong and the following seas so large I was able to sail at 6-8 knots with just the main sail up which worked out quite well. The seas were not quite directly behind me so they would roll dear Learnativity all the way from one side to the other, at times well over 45 degrees so it was a very “active” ride but not overly bothersome or problematic.

I did have one nasty problem for a few hours when the outer cover on the main halyard wore through and jammed in the clutch. This is the line that goes up to a pulley at the very top aft side of the mast and pulls the main sail up so it is one of the more critical lines and the boat and takes some of the most stress and strain. In my usual “thrifty” ways I’ve been trying to eek out every last nautical mile from this now six year old line and over 30,000 nm, and I finally succeeded in doing so about midnight on Tuesday. However I’ve been planning on this event for some time and so I’ve had 200 feet of a new high tech halyard in my stores and all ready to go. Most of the lines we use have all their strength in the inner core and then are covered with a different material, usually poly based, woven covers that are better in your hands, protect the inner core from UV and take the wear and tear from the clutches (line holders) and winches. So what happened was that the common spot where the “teeth” of my clutch jaws clamp the halyard when the main sail is in the fully raised position, wore through in the high winds and stress they were experiencing on the sail on Tuesday night. This created two problems; one is that the inner line was now able to slip through the clutch so the main sail slid down the mast a few meters and then the outer cover material bunched up and jammed the clutch jaws. This in turn gave me two problems; a flopping main sail in a full down wind run and no ability to raise or lower it due to the jammed halyard. Both of these conspired to then have the upper part of the flopping main sail to tangle with the shrouds (stainless steel wire line that holds up the mast) and were threatening to tear the main sail.

With no other choice I could see, it was time for me to take a trip up the 70’ mast and free the main sail before it ripped on the shrouds. Fortunately I installed mast steps all the way up the mast shortly after I bought Learnativity for just these type of situations and so I’m used to climbing the mast. However doing so in 30-35 knot winds and with the boat rolling from side to side in the big seas did make it a bit more challenging. It took the better part of an exhausting hour to do so, but I was finally able to get the sail free though not before the batten, a fiberglass rod that slides inside a horizontal pocket on the sail about every 2 meters up the main sail to help keep its shape) snapped in two. Nothing much I could do about that in these conditions and if I could get the sail back under control it wouldn’t likely cut through the sail pocket material. I spent a good while then cutting about 4 meters of the outer cover of the halyard off and managing to tape the ends tightly to the inner core such that this jury rigged line would now be able to feed through the clutches and mast pulleys. With this all done I was then able to reef/drop the main to have less area in these higher winds and then tighten up the luff (edge that goes up the mast) and pull down the boom such that the sail was back to flying properly and we were soon back to sailing along at a good pace. This held just fine all the way into the bay at Uliveo island and the main sail all furled up into the boom just fine to my great delight as we pulled in just after noon time. Best of all, I was greeted by Philip on the VHF and he came out in his dinghy to be show me the way around some of the big bommies and corals here in this lovely little bay.

It has been a salubrious time tucked in here in the small and well protected little bay on the SW corner of Uliveo Island which is one of the small islands that make up the Meskelyne Island group on the SE tip of the large island of Malakula here in Vanuatu. Lots of factors contributing to this welcomed condition, primary amongst those being here with my dear friend Philip and his new mate Teri on their Outreemer catamaran “Blue Bie”. Philip and I first met over four years ago when we both happened to be making our entry into Ecuador at the same time and place and had to wait for several hours before the authorities could process us. We just seemed to hit it off immediately and our friendship has grown more and more with each year as we continue to find ways to meet up as we make our very different ways around the sea.

Best of all I managed to get here in time for Philip’s birthday on Friday which made the time even more special. We spent part of the day on a nearby beach with them enjoying the kite surfing, Ruby enjoying beach time and me learning the details of kite surfing, catching up with Philip and getting to know Teri.  I got some shots of Philip and Teri out kite boarding and one fun thing was the juxtaposition of old and new as some of the locals would paddle over in their dugout outrigger wood canoes and you’d get shots like the one on the right here with this centuries old canoe paddling beside 21st century kite boarding.

Then it was back to Blue Bie to celebrate with champagne and then we joined forces to make a fabulous birthday meal topped off with freshly ground coconut cake with Swiss chocolate icing and complete with a full set of Happy Birthday candles thanks to Teri’s great foresight and caring while they were in some shops in Port Villa a few weeks ago.

Over the past few days together we’ve had more kite surfing, beach walks, a trip with the locals to their giant clam farm and ashore for a Kustom dance and ceremony and mostly just lots of time spent being together. Unfortunately Teri’s time is almost up here in Vanuatu and her flight back to Maui is in a few days out of Port Villa so they sailed off yesterday (Saturday) afternoon heading for Port Villa and to be there in time for Teri’s birthday present to Philip of a scenic flight over the islands in a small sea plane. So we had one last late lunch together with hamburgers grilled on my BBQ a few last licks and cuddles with Ruby and they were off into the late afternoon sun heading south. Vanuatu turns out to have amazingly high quality beef, for reasons I’m not completely sure of and while I’m not a big beef eater the fillet mignon we had for Philip’s birthday (he is a BIG beef lover) and the hamburgers, were truly delicious.

The Vanuatu culture continues to be filled with lots of new learning for me and quite different that others I’ve experienced. For example they prefer to life in very small groups and so even on this small island of Uliveo there are at least four separate small villages rather than one large one. It is also quite common that each village will have its own language or dialect and in some cases these are so different that people on the same island don’t understand each other’s language. However they also all speak Bislama, a form of “pidgin English” as well as English so communicating amongst themselves and with us is not a problem. They are all very proud of their culture and traditions and quite anxious to have “show and tell” events referred to as Kustom ceremonies. “Chief Jim” of the nearby village invited us ashore for their such a ceremony on Thursday night after visiting the giant clams and it was most entertaining. This is the third one I’ve been to and the most informal of them all. The dancing was performed only by the men, which is more traditional but on Aneityum both women and children participated which is quite rare apparently.

The only slightly disappointing aspect of Vanuatu I’ve come across is that they have the most focus on charging fees and seeing us as a source of cash income of any of the places I’ve been so far. All quite understandable and reasonable I might add as they have increasing needs to buy thing such as gas for their outboard motors and their sources of income such as from copra (coconut oil) have dropped off precipitously in the last 20 years. Fiji was notable to me in part because some how they continue to avoid the “wanting” or lust for material goods and the deep contentment with other riches they have such as friends and family. Having been living in this culture for over two years I’d become accustomed to it, though always marveling at it and learning more about it, so the contrast here in Vanuatu no doubt seems stronger to me.

The other nice change is that the clouds have cleared off and I’m back to being spoiled once again by blue skies, sunshine, starry nights and increasingly warmer temperatures. From others I’ve talked to and what I’ve read this is an unseasonably cold and wet year so far and it may also be because I’ve dropped down to almost the limit of my preferred “20/20” living (between the two Tropics) zone. However I’m now headed in the “right” direction for my warm weather body, which is north towards the equator so I’m hoping this warming trend will continue as I go and I’ll soon be back to the heat and humidity I’ve strangely come to prefer these past few years. I don’t expect any “sympathy” from anyone but I have the luxury of living wherever I’d like to and I choose to live where neither sea nor air ever goes below 30 C and where I don’t need to wear socks, pants or much clothes at all thank you very much!

I’ve now got the new halyard reeved up inside the mast and through all the pulleys and clutches so that should be good for at least another six years I hope. I have a piece of new batten material that is too short to fully replace the batten I need but I’ve been able to fashion a repair that will hold me till I can get a new one in Majuro in a few months and so all is good to go for the next journey. I’m not quite decided just where that will be as there are lots of great spots and attractions in the many islands to the north and east of me and so I’ll probably just start doing some short day sails and hop scotch myself up north till I get to Luganville in the big island of Espiritu Santo where I will checkout of Fiji and either head up to Santa Cruz in the Solomon Islands or just start making my way on the long passage north to the Marshall Islands. I’ll keep you posted as the sailing goes and as with life, create the path behind me one nautical smile at a time.

Talk about Exponential Learning Density! Year #5 Begins

Joined by my son Skyler, seen in the photo on our earlier 4am departure from Bodega Bay) and Ruby the Wonderdog, I sailed out under the Golden Gate bridge on March 3, 2008 so I’m now starting year number five of this grand adventure and Wow! what a ride, what a life, what a privilege it has been every day since! 

NOTE:  I’ll put a photo album at the end with some additional pictures and note that if you click on any of the pictures here you will get the full size view.

 

 

 

If you will indulge me I’ll do a bit of reflecting on these past four years of truly living life large.  Sailing from one great experience to the next have taught an incredible number of lessons and created a life which for me is nothing short of awemazing. Each day has been filed with more adventures, experiences, living, loving and learning than I thought was possible for one person to experience in a full lifetime never mind just four years. 

I continue to be struck by what I wrote about a two years ago when I was in New Zealand reflecting on the start of my third year at the time and trying to comprehend how I could have experienced so much in just two years.  I eventually made some sense out of it and what I called “Exponential Learning Density” or ELD.  In the coming weeks and months I’ll write more about that and some of the other major lessons I’ve learned in the last four years and over 25,000 nautical “smiles” as I like to call them.  As I’ve recounted these lessons to others via Email, visits and even some pubic presentations many people have confirmed that these are lessons in life that completely transcend their origins in sailing and I get a lot of requests to write these up and share them online so more people can access them and I’ll do my best to try and articulate these as best I can and share them with you here.

First let me set the scene with a quick overview of how this all came to be. 

I named the boat Learnativity, a word I had created about twenty years ago when I couldn’t seem to find a word to describe something I think we do all the time. We have words such as learning, working, creating, inventing, discovering and I use them all a lot.  But these individual words suggest that they are discrete and independent activities on our part whereas my sense has always been that we do these all simultaneously as we go about our daily lives solving problems, making choices and just living. Do we really stop learning and start working and vice versa? Not in my experience and so I came up with Learnativity as an amalgam of all these and focal point for what I wanted to explore, talk about, experience and grow.

Sailing is something completely new to me.  I grew up living all over Canada and Europe as my Dad was a chef in the Canadian army.  No nautical background in my history or my family tree.  No life long childhood dream of going to sea.  I just happened to serendipitously stumble over sailing about ten years ago on a family vacation in Polynesia, where thanks to Diana’s great planning we chartered a sailboat (WITH a captain I might stress), for a week.  I didn’t really know it then but as I reflect back now I think that is when the sailing bug first bit me. Over the next five years I became more and more curious and fascinated by sailing, read lots, had more charted boat vacations with my dear friends John and Michelle and soon reached a familiar conclusion for me that the only way to learn more was through the experiential learning of doing it myself. I particularly relish diving head first into the deep end of my many pools of ignorance and so I figured what I really needed to do was go sailing long term, indefinitely in fact.  No destination in particular, rather a journey of grand adventure through the world’s oceans in general.  Yea right, that’s the plan, my favorite kind; the no plan plan!

And so the search for my first boat began and spent almost two years figuring out what I wanted and needed in a boat by scouring the worldwide used boat market, going to boat shows, reading and talking with anyone who would put up with my incessant questions.  Then one day in early 2005 I found just the right boat for me in Sidney BC, just outside Victoria, the one town where my parents retired and I had finished high school and started university. She is a 52’ steel monohull sailboat built from 1992-94 by Kristen Yachts and after several visits and much discussion I bought her from the original owner and took possession in July 2005 in Friday Harbour.  Yikes!

She was in good shape overall having not been sailed much at all but was lived in and used by the owner and sometimes his young family as he used it as an office for his geographical plotting work of sea bottoms.  However as I learned more and more, she was not set up for open ocean or blue water sailing but for short day sails and certainly not possible to be sailed single handed around the world.  I didn’t know a thing about boats really and somehow I missed the memo that you can’t sail a boat this size by yourself so I just jumped in with my usual ignorant bliss and got going with what would turn out to be a two year refit to get her ready to set sail on this grand adventure.  While I didn’t know anything about boats, I’m pretty handy and I can figure most things out and I’m a good problem solver and more than anything I LOVE learning by doing. 

With lots of help along the way of my great friend John and his dad Juan on several occasions, as well as too many other friends old and new to mention, I spent the first six months visiting the boat up in Victoria/Sidney and then later moved her over to Port Townsend for more extensive work in the boatyard there as they specialized in steel (and wooden) boats.  During the winter months in Port Townsend we sandblasted the bottom of the hull back to bare steel and put on new epoxy primer, sealer and anti foul paint, installed a new bow thruster, cleaned fuel tanks and put in a complete new fuel line system, pumps and filters, new AutoProp propeller and many other renovations. 

Joined by my good friend Steve we even managed to take her on a trial run back over to Vancouver Island and docked right in front of the Empress Hotel!  One of the things that grabbed me very early on in my research into sailing was the fact that you can legally anchor your boat in the middle of almost any harbour in the world!  As long as you aren’t blocking any shipping or sea plane lanes, the world is quite literally your oyster.  How kewl is that?!  I can anchor in front of hotels that are costing their guests thousands of dollars a night, have a view to die for and sleep in my own bed for “free”!  How can you not go for that?!

 

The Port of Port Townsend (had to say that for you Skyler!) was a great marina to work on a steel boat but it was way too far away for me to get there as often as I wanted and needed to.  My home and workshop were down in Petaluma, about 50 miles north of San Francisco so I was anxious to move the boat down close to there as soon as weather would permit.  Bodega Bay, which is just north of SF Bay proved to be a great spot that was less than 20 minute drive from my home and workshop and where I ended up working on her for almost two years to get her ship shape for single handed blue water sailing.

There were many attempts to get Learnativity down south to Bodega Bay that were thwarted by weather windows that suddenly snapped shut.  Even my friend Robin from England (seen on the right) flew in for one of these aborted attempts and my dear friend Erik from Antwerp had a memorable flight into Port Angeles to lend a helping hand.   Erik had an even more memorable experience the next day when he woke up and came up on deck to find himself swinging from a Travel Lift carrying the boat over to its final resting spot on the hard stands!

But finally, joined by a brave crew of John and his Dad Juan from Florida and two of my Autodesk colleagues and friends Dave and JohnH (the mermaid and the shark declined to join us) we finally set out for Bodega Bay on May 6, 2006.  As we were to learn, the west coast of North America, in fact every continent, is not very friendly to sailors with few points of entry and all of them difficult. 

 

 

 

The weather is also still very iffy this time of year and we ran into a severe storm about 60nm off the Oregon coast and made the call to head for Crescent City on the Oregon/California border to seek shelter from the worsening conditions that kept increasing to over 50 knot winds and 5 meter seas all the while the forecasts were calling for mild conditions.  The entry into Crescent City was even more challenging as none of us had ever entered it before, it was a challenging entry at the best times and we were doing it at night in storm conditions!  But we made it in just fine and were soon all sleeping soundly down below, snuggly tied up to the docks.  Now THAT is experiential learning!

I needed to change the name of the boat as it was the name of the original owner’s business and so began my search for just the right name. Almost as important as naming your children I knew this was a name that would be with me for a long, long time, one I would be saying on the VHF radio every day as I called others or was being hailed, on every document I filled out as I checked in and out of each new port around the world and so I gave it great thought and deliberation. I wanted a name that would be unique and capture the essence of what this ship was all about for me and the great unknown adventures which lay ahead. Not finding any existing names or words that seemed to fit I was soon trying to create my own word by putting together bits and pieces of others such as my kids names and trying these out on everyone who would lend an ear. It was my two great kids who nailed it though when they just looked at me, with those wonderfully quizzical looks teenage children give their Dad when they are so puzzled at your apparent blindness and ignorance, and said “You’re kidding right Dad? You already have the perfect name for this boat; Learnativity!” Duh! Smack! Of course! If there was one single explanation for this otherwise insanity of buying my first boat and sailing it around the world, it was my love of learning. I love jumping into the deep end of my pools of ignorance, and trust me those ends are VERY deep and numerous!  Though I had no inkling of the depths of this connection, I was pretty sure that I would be learning, working, inventing, discovering and a whole lot more every day I owned and sailed this ship. So Learnativity it was and she has lived up to that name every single day since then in more ways and depth than I could have ever imagined.

OK, enough of my nostalgic reflections for now.  Thanks to every one of you who have helped me so generously and kindly in so many ways to be out on this grand adventure.  I could not possibly be leading this charmed and full life without each and every one of you.  I’ll be back with more stories of some of the bigger lessons I’ve learned along the way.

 

		s/v Learnativity: the Adventure Begins! VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Kava & the Simple Joys from Nothingness

Friday night I had an extremely special experience when Isikelli one of the guys on my Fiji paint crew from Baobab Marine (left front behind Ruby in this photo) invited me to his home for a visit and some kava.  Kava as you may know from my previous posts over the past two year’s I’ve been in Fiji, is the ceremonial drink here in Fiji and many of the other Southern Pacific islands.

This Kava drink is made from the dried and aged roots of the Kava tree which are then pounded or ground into a fine powder and mixed it with fresh water. Kava is part of a ceremony and historic cultural tradition called “Sevusevu” which is what I experience each time I first anchor off shore from one of the small inhabited islands here in Fiji. 

As soon as I have my anchor down and inspected so I know Learnativity is secure, I put the dingy in the water and row ashore to meet with the chief and ask for his blessings and permission to be there. When I arrive ashore I am usually greeted by a gaggle of giggling children and seek out an adult to ask to take me to their chief.  I bring with me about a pound or half kilo of kava roots which I have purchased previously in one of the bigger city vegetable markets and keep a stock of onboard.  Usually my adult guide takes the kava from me and talks with me as we walk to get a bit of background on me, where I’m from, where I have just sailed from, how long in Fiji, and so on.  They introduce me to the chief and give him a summary of from this conversation and I am then invited to sit across from the chief sitting on a large hand woven mat.  I present the chief with the kava and he places it in front of him as we sit cross legged he then says a prayer in Fijian, we clap three times when he has done so and the then welcomes me to his island and we chat for a bit more before I take my leave and return to the boat. More informally, Kava is also the traditional drink that Fijian men usually have at the end of the day when they get home from work and is similar to having a beer or wine after work.  Several times while anchored for longer times off one of these islands I've been invited ashore to join them which has been a great gift and treasured experience.

On Friday however I had a whole new and even more intense experience with kava and the Fijian people and their way of life when one of my regular Fijian paint crew and friend Isikeli invited me to join him at his home for such a drink of kava. I was not sure what I could bring as a gift of thanks and appreciation but I remembered that I had about 2lbs/1kg of kava root still on board in my stores from sailing here last year and so I wrapped this up with ribbon into a bouquet like form that is the tradition here and took that along with me. Moreover, he had expressly invited Ruby to come along as he had been telling his daughters about Ruby the Wonderdog for months and she is also a "gift" for most people we meet. 

 

 

 

Isikeli lives with his two daughters Vani (2) and Marica (4) and his wife Salome who unfortunately was not able to join us as she works nights at the neighboring First Landing resort which is next to the Vuda Point Marina where I’ve been since September.  They live only a kilometer or two away and he and his oldest daughter, Marica (Fijian for Martha), met me at the marina and we walked over to their home. They recently moved into a new rental property that is situated in the middle of a large set of sugar cane fields and it was a perfect evening and just starting to cool off as the sun was starting to set (about 6:30pm).  Their home is an adjoining half of the landlord's home and he joined us for the last half of the walk to the house where Ruby and I were introduced to the kids playing in the houses and yard and Isikeli's sister in law. 

The kava roots need to be pulverized into powder and they fetched a large tall cast iron or steel urn that they used for this purpose. It needed to be cleaned out of rust and water so they wiped it all out and then lit some newspaper on fire inside it to burn off the remainder, wiped it clean and it was ready to use.  Isikeli, his older son and the man who owns the houses where they live all took turns in pounding the kava with a long heavy steel rod that was about 4cm in diameter and 2.5m long until the kava roots were transformed into a fine powder.

 

 

My offers to assist were politely declined as the men took turns raising the rod high overhead and then bringing it down as hard as possible onto the kava roots inside the urn.  This process took quite some time, almost an hour or so by the time it was fully pulverized and was a significant and sweaty effort in the hot humid night air.  All the while I was invited to sit on the woven grass mat, enjoy a tea and some biscuits as Ruby and I played with the 3 young girls who came and went from inside the house to the covered porch we were sitting on, and the yard.

 

 

As has been surprisingly common, the kids and even many adult men are quite fearful of Ruby at first as they have never seen anything like her. There are LOTS of dogs here but they are mostly roaming free and not in very good health as the concept of having domestic pets is not common in Fiji. With her strange curly black hair and small size many think she is some kind of wind up or electric toy! It took a while for the little girls to get closer and closer to Ruby, reach out and touch her and finally end up sitting with her, petting her and their initial wary squeals were transformed into that joyous giggling of little girls.

 

Kava has a very distinctive smell that is hard to describe but has a very earthy, spicy smell much like you might expect from a root. They were very pleased with the kava I brought as apparently it was very good quality and this was a very large quantity for them as it made enough kava powder for several months of drinking. Isikeli then brought out his kava bowl and his son put a few heaping tablespoons full of kava powder into a cloth bag which he then kneaded in the large bowl of fresh water. It is a bit like making drip coffee or tea in that you do not want the kava powder itself to be in the water you just want to extract all the flavour out of the powder into the water. Isikeli continued to knead the bag in the water for about 10 minutes to extract all the flavour from the powered kava.

 

Once it was all mixed to his satisfaction, Isikeli brought out the traditional kava “cups” which are hollowed out halves of a coconut shell and offered me the first drink. You accept the bowl with both hands and while the other guests toast you and clap three times you then drink the kava in one steady go and when you are done they all clap three more times and you pass the bowl back to the “chief” of the ceremony. In our case it was just Isikeli and myself and once we had both had a cup Isikeli would place the lid back on the big bowl and we would talk some more and then he would serve another round about every 15-20 minutes.  Kava is apparently mildly intoxicating but I have never had enough to feel any such effect and it just makes your lips, tongue and throat a bit numb. The bowl is then filled and passed amongst all the guests and then you usually sit around, chat for a while, and then repeat the whole process. It is a very old tradition and very special to be a part of.

I had my pocket camera with me and the girls were all quite intrigued with it and wanting to see pictures of themselves so that along with Ruby provided lots of fun for all of us throughout the evening as the girls got closer and closer to Ruby, petted her and worked up their courage with this very strange creature. 

Isikeli had even brought out a small can of tuna and some crackers for Ruby which Vani (the brave one of the two) served to her as you can see in this photo.  I also used several bites of soda crackers to entice Ruby to perform her full repertoire of entertaining tricks like standing on her hind legs, sit, down, dancing and giving High Fives all the accompanying music of giggles and laughs from the girls. 

 

And so this most wondrous and simple time passed with Isikeli and I talking, sometimes just the two of us, sometimes with his two girls and older son.  Fijian families usually speak Fijian in their homes and with their kids and then they learn English “immersion” style once they start school, which is usually when they are about five years old and start half day Kindergarten classes.  So the young girls don’t speak much English yet but as usual it was no problem to communicate these simple pleasures of looking at pictures and playing with Ruby.  The time passed in that oxymoronic way where it is all luxuriously slow and peaceful and yet in the end seems to go by in a blink.

 

We stayed until almost 9 o’clock, which is quite late here, and then walked back to the boat. Isikeli and Marica walked us out to the end of the sugar cane fields and then Ruby and I walked the last km back to the boat under a beautiful starry sky. The moon is rising and setting very early now so it was not in the sky at all so the sky was even darker and the stars shining even brighter than usual.  It took a while for my eyes to adjust to the darkness and find my way along the dirt roads but the road is quite wide and not a problem to walk along as we made our way back to our little nest in the trees.  I was not sure if we would be eating as part of this visit and I had been so busy with all the painting that I had not eaten since breakfast so I made up a quick snack back on the boat and was soon nodding off on the settee as I was pooped from a hard hot week of painting. I awoke a few hours later and stumbled my way into the aft cabin and was soon fast asleep in bed with Ruby curled up at my side and we were off to dream land here in this magical land called Fiji.

While it fails miserably to capture the magic of the evening, I have done my best here to describe what this evening was like.  As with all experiential learning, this is not something that can be explained well in words and as the saying goes, "You really had to be there".  It may sound to many like a very simple and even "boring" evening where “nothing” happened.  Yet for me it was truly magical and memorable time.  To be invited into the home and lives of these simply beautiful people, to have even just a few hours to become part of this moment in time was such a deeply authentic and Oh so real moment for me.  I seem to be blessed with gifts like these all the time out here on this grand sailing life adventure and you can see why I say that I lead a truly charmed life.

Many of you ask what the heck I do with all my time out here “doing nothing”.  It is a very reasonable question and one can fully understand as I often wonder myself where all the time has gone.  But as you read more and more of my stories perhaps you can begin to understand just how full my time “doing nothing” is!  I’m actually fascinated by the whole concept of “nothingness” and is why I have been devouring books like Stephen Hawking’s “Universe in a Nutshell” and Lawrence Krauss’ “A Universe from Nothing” that I am reading now.  Turns out that as best these physicists and cosmologists can figure out, everything from our very selves to the entire cosmos around us has been created from "nothing” and how over 90 percent of the energy in the cosmos exists in the “nothing” that is left when you remove every atom, electron, proton and quark of visible matter.

In a similar way, I live a life of profound joy that seems to be similarly created out of “nothingness” with the eclectic range of activities that include sailing from one magical destination to the next, experiencing the wonders of Mother Nature, endless boat repairs and maintenance juxtaposed between equally endless sunrises and sunsets, and then truly living IN life’s moments when snorkeling or laying under a full night sky or sitting with some of the local people I meet along the way.  To badly paraphrase Al Green’s “Use me” song, If this is what it feels like to do nothing, then nothing me up please!

Wayne’s World: The Year that was 2011

Greetings or as we say here in Fiji “Bula bula” and Happy New Year to one and all!

2011 was another awemazing year for me being one filled to overflowing with life, love and learning and I don’t think anyone could want for more.  I know I’ve not been posting or writing as much publically the past few months and so I thought I’d start up again with this overview to bring you up to date and then some weekly updates going forward and add more as seems fit and my experiences warrant.  With thanks to all of you who write and call to inquire and encourage me to post more updates, let’s get started!

As most of you know I am seriously “brevity challenged” but I’ll do my best to give you a brief update on 2011 to bring you up to speed to the present and as a lead in to my weekly updates.  This will probably end up being a bit like one of those annual “holiday letters” you get from friends and family so if you don’t like those you can just skip this post and maybe the weekend updates will be more you style and length. For those interested there are blog postings you can read here on this Learnativity blog that will give you all the details of my sailing adventures first half of the year from the Marshall Islands to Fiji (and all the way back to my start in 2008) if you missed them or want to review. 

I started 2010 still in Majuro, the capital of the Marshall Islands where I had sailed to from Fiji back in October 2010 to get out of the cyclone belt by being north of the equator.  (Majuro is about 7 degrees N)  While there is no mistaking Majuro for a “tropical paradise” it does have many redeeming qualities such as a US Post Office which is a huge advantage for shipping boat parts and equipment in and out, a good supply of hardware, groceries and other store bought items and a close community of cruisers, many of whom have been there for many years.  Majuro is also one of the largest centers for tuna boats and there was always an entertaining steam of both the large tuna fishing boats and the even larger freighters which took on all their catch.  One of the local cruisers organized a tour of a tuna boat and one of the carriers and we spent hours going through both these ships with the captains and crew answering all our incessant questions. 

Both out of necessity and to take advantage of the supply of parts I did a lot of boat projects, mostly engine related and got Learnativity all ready for another busy sailing season down south of the equator and by mid May I was more than ready to go.  I had decided to go back to Fiji as I had truly fallen in love with this country during my extended 5 months stay there the year before and so when the weather window opened up on May 23, 2010 and I bid Majuro a fond farewell, headed out the pass through the coral of the atoll and turned south.  Having enjoyed them so much on my way north the previous year I once again made stops in Mili, Funafuti, Tuvalu and Rotuma rather than do it all in one go and arrived back in Savusavu Fiji on June 18th and have been here in Fiji ever since.

I wondered if I my love for Fiji had been a first time infatuation but having now spent the past 8 months here it is clear that for me at least this is the best overall location I’ve ever been to.  It isn’t any one thing so much as it is almost everything about this country that I love; the people, the food, the climate, the scenery, the snorkelling, the sailing, the affordability, the cultures…….. well you get the idea.  If it weren’t for the fact that I’m such a journey person I would seriously consider buying property and living here.  Many do as this is almost the only country in the South Pacific with “freehold” land, that is where you can buy and own property outright.  I’m now feeling that urge to head out again and several countries west and north of here are calling my name more and more loudly and so I’m currently VERY hard at work and taking advantage of an excellent marine yard and workforce to do a 20 year refit of Learnativity and be ready when the cyclone season ends which is typically about April/May.

2011 also brought me several great gifts of sharing “my” fabulous Fiji and this great life of sailing, snorkelling and sunsets with friends and family.  My brother had just moved to Melbourne Australia with his wife and youngest son where he is establishing a new office and presence for his company and they all came for a holiday in Fiji in July and so I sailed down to the south side of the big island of Viti Levu and anchored in front of their resort at Pacific Harbour.  We spent a week together, partly ashore enjoying all the amenities of the Pacific Harbour resort and partly out for some short sails on Learnativity over to the island of Beqa for some amazing snorkelling there.

For the month of August I was delighted to be able to share Fiji and this life afloat with two good friends from Vancouver, Steve and Joy and we had a phenomenal time sailing all over the many islands on the far west side of Fiji to experience everything from postcard perfect little islands where we were the only boat and people there to ones with small villages where we went ashore and had “sevusevu” with the Chief where we presented him with some kava and he performed a brief ceremony to bless us and welcome us to his island.  We also went to a few of the popular cruiser spots such as Musket Cove and Port Denarau for supplies and a few dinners out.  Once again this sailing season, my dear friend Philip, a single handed sailor from Switzerland, met up.  Philip and I initially met when we were checking into Ecuador at the same time and port, were able to meet up in Fiji and although we only had a few days together before I flew out to Florida and he sailed to New Zealand, they were extremely special.  I also met Philip’s Dad when he came to Fiji for his annual sail and then later in December I was able to take him up on his offer to come visit him in Switzerland.

On September 5th, Learnativity was hauled out and put up on stands or what we call being “on the hard” at Vuda Point marina which is about mid way up the far west coast of the biggest island in Fiji, Viti Levu.  She had been long in need of some serious TLC to look after lots of little things and especially the growing amount of rust spots sprouting up on her steel decks and after serendipitously discovering that there was a very good marine repair company who worked out of this little marina I decided to bit the bullet and have them help me repaint the entire exterior of Learnativity.  This is no small task I can assure you as to do it properly, I had to remove EVERY single bolt, fitting, window, hatch, lines and anything that wasn’t welded on, in order to get at all the spots, remove all the rust and cover them with top quality epoxy primer, filler and colour paint.  I’ll fill you in on more details in the weekly updates to follow, but suffice it to say that I am still “on the hard” and have a few more months of long hot hard days of work to get her all shiny and new again. 

And while this is taking a VERY BIG bite out of my VERY fixed budget I’m quite happy with myself that I’ve been able to pay others to help me as it is something I find very difficult to do.  Being fortunate enough to have most of the skills to do all the work on Learnativity and of course feeling that no one can do it better than I can, (and the fact that my life literally depends on the sea worthiness of my boat!) I tend to do all the work myself.  But there is only one of me and only 24 hours a day so there is a very finite limit to what I can get done by myself and I’ve exceeded that limit for a while now. So I checked out the work this company, Baobab Marine had done on other boats over the past few years and was very impressed and so they have been working with me almost every day since September to sandblast, grind, weld, prime, sand, fill and paint Learnativity inside and out.  We’ve still got a LONG ways to go but huge progress has been made and when I “splash” her back into the water, hopefully by April, she will look like a brand new boat.

2011 was also quite a year for me personally as I managed to fall in, and alas out, of love with two amazing ladies.  Thanks Linda and Heidi for making my life in 2011 SO memorable and full of life, love and learning.  For now though, it is back to sailing through life’s experiences single handed. While it remains my hope, though not my expectation (more on that theory some other posting) that I will some day find my “soul mate”, I leave that all up to serendipity and synchronicity as to if, when, where, who and how that will happen and by simply continuing to truly live in life’s moments, be present in the present and experience my experiences fully.  It’s been working incredibly well all my life, why would I change now?! 

Of course I’m never alone as I’ve got so many friends, family and new local people I meet and interact with as I sail, and I have my ever faithful and amazing Ruby the Wonderdog at my side at all times. She is not only a great companion but also a great teacher and I do my best to learn all that she has to offer such as how to adapt to whatever life offers up moment to moment.

I spent the month of November back in New Smyrna Beach Florida with my beloved “second family” where I’m blessed to have four “God children” and two extraordinary friends.  This is also one of Ruby’s special spots and she had an extended vacation here with her buddy “Coco” a chocolate Cocker Spaniel when she stayed there while I flew over to Europe.  I was also delighted to have my colleague and friend Elliott provide me the opportunity to make several presentations at his large learning conference in Orlando the first week of November and it also provided lots of gifts of time with many other colleagues and friends who come to this annual professional gathering. 

At the beginning of December it was off to Europe for a few weeks where I was able to visit with several friends and some family.  I spent two day’s with Philip’s parents in their small town near St. Gallen in Switzerland and then continued by train to the lake of Biel to spend a week with my cousin and her family who I had spent lots of time with when Diana and I lived in Germany from 1980-84.  Although I had to cut my trip to Europe short to return to Fiji and look after some new boat problems that came up, I was still able to get in some time with my dear friend Erik who flew into Heathrow just to spend a day and evening with me and then I spent one more night at the home of friends Robin and Jayne who live outside of London, before I had to fly back to the USA. 

A brief stop in Florida to pick up Ruby and say goodbye to my family of friends there, and then it was off to LA to spend a few days with my daughter Lia, husband Brian and their two dogs Piglet and Ponzu.  It is such a treat to be the parent of two such incredible “kids” as Skyler and Lia and watch and learn as they become such amazing adults.  Lia and Brian let me just “hang out” with them and catch up on their busy lives.  The timing worked out very well as Brian is a high school math teacher and had his last day of classes just before I arrived and Lia had just finished her stint as a lecturer at Cal Poly Pomona before going back to her job with a fascinating nuclear medicine and unique chemical compound making company who made her “an offer she couldn’t refuse” to get her to come back and work for them again.

On December 20th Ruby and I headed off for LAX and caught our flight back to Nadi in Fiji and though we missed December 21st completely due to crossing the date line, we were back onboard Learnativity on Dec. 22nd and back to the hot humid weather we both much prefer.  As you may recall, Learnativity is “on the hard” and so we have to climb up a ladder to get onboard as she sits here on her stands so it isn’t ideal but Ruby goes up and down the ladder like a pro and never misses a step.  I’ve set up all the systems so we can continue to live aboard with water, stove, electricity, etc. and there is a nice clean show and bathroom facility about 100m away so it all works out well.

So Ruby and I celebrated Christmas and New Years quite literally “up in the air” on Learnativity as we adjusted quickly to the heat and humidity.  It is the wet season here in Fiji so most days are around +35C/100F and we have a good tropical thunder and lighting storm with rain most afternoons and evenings.  It makes working on the boat trying to do welding, sanding and painting a bit challenging but so far the rain usually holds off until late afternoon and usually after 4:30pm when they work crews like to finish, so it is all working out quite well. If there is such a thing as “sweat equity” I’m building up a fortune!!

Whew!  As I warned you at the beginning it takes me a while and way too many words, but that will at least bring you up to speed on where I’m at as this new year gets underway and some background for the weekly updates I’ll start posting now.  I continue to be awemazed at the charmed serendipitous life I lead and while much of that is in reference to this life I now live of being on the water, so directly connected to nature and the world around me and truly living IN life’s moments as they happen, I am blessed mostly to be able to love and be loved in return by so many special friends and family.  Words alone will never adequately express my love, appreciation and gratitude for all that you do and all you enable me to do, so the best I can do is continue to live, love and learn from you and with you and share it all as it happens.  Thanks to ALL of you for making all my past years SO rich and SO full and here’s to continuing that trend for as many more moments we are gifted with.

 

Wayne & Ruby the Wonderdog

Up on the hard in Vuda Point Marina, Fiji

17 40.858 S, 17 723.211 E

Contacting Linda, Wayne & Ruby

Dear Friends & Family:

Many of you have asked how to best stay in contact with us while we are out sailing the oceans blue far and wide.  We would LOVE to hear from you and stay in touch and there are many ways we can do so.  When we are anchored or moored near developed populations we usually have good access to the internet via Wi-Fi and cellular networks so you can just use our regular Email (Gmail) addresses, check our blogs, Facebook pages, etc.

When we are out sailing or in remote locations (our preferred spots) we rely on our satellite phone for staying in touch Email (text only please) and texting.

We are about to set sail in the next few days (likely about May 22^nd 2011) from the Marshall Islands making our way mostly southbound to Fiji and depending on wind and our whim we should be in Fiji sometime between June 4-20^th.  During that time we will be mostly off line, just using our sat phone to post daily updates to our FaceBook pages and blogs and also checking our sat phone Email account (see below) about once a day.

Please find below all the info you need for all these various ways of contacting us and we look forward to hearing from you and sharing our phenomenal live, love and learning with you all.

Linda, Wayne & Ruby the Wonderdog,

aboard the good ship Learnativity

Currently (May 21, 2011) moored off town of Uliga on Majuro atoll, Marshall Islands

07 06.274 N, 171 22.358 E (cut & paste this into Google Earth or Bing to see where we are)

Regular Email:  (when we are anchored near populated areas)

[email protected]

[email protected]

Email when we are @ sea:

[email protected]   (Yes! This is the correct spelling OCENS)

We typically retrieve and answer Emails to this account via our satellite phone at least once every 24 hours.  You can send as much text as you like but are asked not to send any attachments such as photos.

 

FaceBook pages:              Wayne              www.facebook.com/wayne.hodgins

                              Linda              www.facebook.com/linda.woodhouse.smith

Learnativity blog:             www.learnativity.typepad.com

Linda’s new blog:            IMITF.wordpress.com   (I Made It This Far)

World Phone VoiceMail:   +1-501-492-9634              

(This GoogleVoice number has voice mail that is forwarded to us via Email)

Text Messages:  (to our sat phone)

send short 140 character Text msgs via Email to:  [email protected]

These are great! and free for us to receive and only 50cents for us to respond to.  We will receive these right away and be able to respond quickly.

Other contact info:

Skype:                                  Linda = woodsmith2009         Wayne = Whodgins

Twitter:                                 WWWayne

I LOVE BOOKS because I LOVE LEARNING!

While I have no desire to live forever from an immortal standpoint (thank goodness!)I do have a deep desire to learn forever so I could read every book I would want to and feed my insatiable curiosity forever. However, I live very much in the present and this picture if of the recent presents (pun intended) I received in the boxes which arrived the other day from my trip to the USA and Canada last month which you may have seen in the previous blog entry here.

Many of you know that I have become a complete convert to eBooks and prefer to do pretty much all my reading on my eReader (Kindle) tablet (iPhone), smart phone or laptop.  I’ve talked about that at length over on my Off Course – On Target blog if you are interested in more details but the reasons are essentially that my eBooks are now as good or better than paper from a pure readability standpoint, they have reached the level of transparency so I can forget I’m reading on a digital device and get lost in the story, and then they give me a built in OED dictionary I use so often as I read plus a organized collection of all my highlights and notes taken while I read so that I have this to refer to and use after I’ve finished each book or even as I’m in the process of reading it.

However as you can see in the picture these ones I’m highlighting today are all paper books because they are not yet available in Kindle or eBook format and I’m not going to let that stand in the way of me reading them especially when I get the opportunity such as here in Majuro to have them shipped to me.  Here is some of what am I reading that you can see in the picture:

DRAWING on the RIGHT SIDE of the BRAIN:

Yes, that’s right Wayne is going to try to learn how to draw, go after his more creative side and learn to see the world more fully through the eyes of an artist.  Well, that’s my intent and motivation anyways.  As you may be able to see I have both the book and the workbook for Betty Edward’s acclaimed “Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain” and these are maybe the ones I’m most excited about as they represent an another journey I’ve long wanted to take, that of learning how to draw better and more so learning how to see the world better.  I’ve only read the first chapter so far and I don’t know if I’m more excited about learning how to draw or all the ways in which drawing and Betty’s experiences for the past 20+ years inspire and ignite my passionate pursuit of topics such as how to become a more “whole brained” person and how this all relates to learning in general.  Both are all part of this grand voyage I’m on for my own self improvement on a more quantum and spiritual level and I couldn’t be more excited about all of it.

Knowing how I like to use myself and my life as a grand experiment and my recent penchant for uncharacteristically  putting myself “out there” and sharing everything, I will undoubtedly share with you some of my drawings along the way so you can see first hand how I’m doing and hopefully the great progress along the way.  I

TOUCH!

I will also be using this as an opportunity to test the use of the touch screen on my iPad and my stylus to do some of the drawings.  Some of you will know that I’ve long been fascinated by and talked much about how we can discern and extract the essence out of our historical and well proven practices and human elements and carry them forward into the future as we combine them with the most modern of technologies and innovations.  The combination of drawing and touch screens is one of my most cited examples.  We have been drawing since we lived in caves and I see no likelihood or desire to stop doing so as far into the future as I can see.  However the transmogrification into the digital world and the apparent readiness of touch to be added to our human computer interactions and interfaces is extremely exciting and already upon us. I want to have the experiential learning of doing so and be able to share this all with you more knowledgeably and hence the new books and the new voyage.  Wish me luck!

 

Rudy Rucker’s Trilogy: The Ware Tetralogy

This is another long time coming read for me and will likely need to wait till I’m back into full time sailing mode rather than my current boat work mode, but I finally have it onboard with me now and can’t wait to dive into each of these four books; Software, Wetware, Freeware and Realware. If you aren’t familiar with these a quick search on any of these titles will give you a good overviews and you’ll quickly see why I’ve been wanting to read these for so long. I had the distinct pleasure to be at Autodesk in the early years when we were working with Rudy and James Gleick on things like Chaos Theory so my interest goes a long ways back.

I took advantage of being back in the USA and in Florida to be able to raid my carefully stowed few boxes of books which I keep ashore as they are too bulky and valuable to have on the boat all the time. I was looking for and found three that I’ve been wanting to read or reread which were:

David Bohm’s “Wholeness and the Implicate Order” and “On Creativity”

David is one of my mentors and a great inspiration to me for over twenty years since Jimm Meloy, one of my many great “bosses” at Autodesk, first put me on to him. You can read a brief tribute I did about David and his work several years ago over on the Off Course – On Target blog. Again, I’ll let you read up on these books if you’re intrigued which I can’t imagine anyone not being but that’s just me. David is one of the great minds of the past century in my humble opinion and he has helped me understand so much about how things work, not just from the theoretical physics side of which Bohm is one of the most highly regarded scientists ever to be in that field, but also his more spiritual and holistic views on life, learning and how we think.

Stephen Hawking’s “A Brief History of Time” and “The Universe in a Nutshell”

Inspired by my recent reading of Martin Gardner’s great collection of essays in “The Night is Large” (thank you, thank you, thank you Erik for that great gift!) I’ve become ever more fascinated by what would seem to be the one single constant in the universe: time. And I’ve also been learning about celestial navigation with the purpose less so for the actual navigation abilities it gives me in a catastrophic failure of all my digital navigation on board and the use of my sextant, but more so for the development of a true working understanding of how the whole universe works in a full three dimensional way or perhaps more. I’ve had Hawking’s books for a long time but as usual I let serendipity and synchronicity determine when the call to read them will come. It came, I’m reading!

Finally on the sailing front, I was able to pick up two books which will be extremely valuable to my ongoing education about all things sailing to which I am such a complete novice.

Tropical Cruising Handbook by Mark Smaalders and Kim de Rochers

You can maybe just make this one out over in the distance on the on the far side of my cockpit table where I took the picture above. A friend had this when I was in my beloved Fiji last year and rather than be a cruising guide which I depend upon for all the local knowledge about islands, bays, inlets and the like, this one was a fabulous collection of detailed and well illustrated explanations of things like weather systems, anchoring , navigation and health and wellness in the tropics. I couldn’t put it down nor remember enough of it so I ordered a copy for myself last year and finally have it in my eager hands now.

Offshore Cruising Encyclopedia by Linda and Steve Dashew

This is one of the “bibles” of we blue water or off shore cruisers and I finally have my own copy now. I’ve become a huge fan and student of Steve and Linda and have learned so much from being a regular visitor to their setsail.com web site where their prolific writing and photography is freely available and constantly being added to as they sail the world and more recently have moved over to power boating. In all cases they have designed and built their own boats and what is so great about them is they explain every detail about each and ever decision they make in the process. Plus they are the “real deal” living aboard and sailing or powering their way around and all over the world many times over and for many many years. Now into their seventies they are still going as strong as ever, still pushing the envelop more than ever and I’m looking forward to learning even more from them within the pages of this old classic of theirs.

I will leave for another posting the MUCH longer list of books that are patiently awaiting my attention on my Kindle and end with this additional photo of my paper books. I thought I was just taking a second photo in case the first one didn’t turn out so well and zoomed out a bit as Ruby the Wonderdog decided she needed to be in the picture. But I’m putting it in here as it will give you a microcosm view of my life right now as there is so much of it in this one photo. For example if you look just behind Ruby you will see the recalcitrant oil pan you may recall from the previous posting now awaiting an adapter I need for my oxy-acetylene welder to weld in a new section of the bottom. There is my dear Ruby of course, and all of this is taken the cockpit where I am typing this up and where I spend the vast majority of my time when I’m aboard and not down in the engine room or otherwise busy with boat jobs.

So there you have it folks, the update for today from the good ship Learnativity here in the tropical NE Trades and crystal clear waters of Majuro in the Marshall Islands. Wish you were here and you do too!!

 

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More Magical Moments

LTY UPDATE:
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Arrived in Bora Bora after sailing from Huahine

Location:        inside the reef, anchored in Baie de Povai, on the SW coast of Bora Bora
Position:        16 31.405S 151 44.336W (cut & paste into Google Earth to see for yourself)

Wind:             gusting to 20 knots at times inside the lagoon
Sea temp:       79.7F            26.5C
Air temp:        79.3F            26.3C
Humidity:        63%
Barometer:     1017
Weather:        mostly cloudy & overcast, threatening to rain but never quite does.

Today was very special for me with one of those magical memorable moments in life.  But before I get to that, let’s start by bringing you up to date with the most recent sail and Learnativity Update:

After a very rolly, fast and blustery overnight sail from our anchorage at Huahine (shown in the four photos here), Learnativity arrived in Bora Bora at first light this morning.  Julia, (my sister Wendy’s daughter from Comox) successfully completed her 2nd night watch and did great.  She’s very observant and a quick learner and it is a nice treat for me to have someone else on board to take over for a few hours while I catch a few more winks than usual on night sails.  Didn’t get too much sleep last night though as the wind was up quite high and shifting directions and we were sailing with just the jib as the main sail is still in being repaired back in Papeete. 

 

We had spent the past 2 days on the North side of Huahine, a small island to the NW of Tahiti and Moorea, anchored near the only village of Fave.  We were joined by our good friends Philip and Moni on their Outreemer catamaran Blue Bie and though the weather was overcast with a few bouts of rain, we enjoyed some time ashore and snorkeling inside the lagoon. 

With Julia’s time starting to run out (she flies out on Sunday August 6th) and wanting to have her see Bora Bora, we pulled up the anchor last night (Sat) just after sundown last night figuring that would put us at the pass into Bora Bora at about first light, which is around 6am local time.  However in spite of having only the one smaller jib to sail with,we made very good time, too good in fact, as the wind was quite strong for the beginning and end of the approximately 50nm trip. and we were at the pass just after 5am this morning.

Julia had made up supper just before we weighed anchor and so we enjoyed her tasty stir fry with “fragrance de poulet” as soon as we had cleared the easy exit out of the pass at Huahine.  The “fragrance” comment comes from a pretty funny story.  Near the marina Tahina where we were last week in Papeete there is a fabulous French grocery store I recall from France called Carrefour where the food selection is unbelievable and the prices are about as low as they get for French Polynesia, meaning not quite as expensive.  We stocked up on food supplies for the next two weeks and Julia purchased a package of what appeared to be the better part of a whole chicken and put it in our freezer onboard.  Last night, just as I was about to bring in the anchor, she called me down to the galley where the delectable smells of roasted chicken had been wafting out and across the harbor, and asked me what was wrong with the chicken as she couldn’t seem to get any of the meat off?  This was a bit puzzling and upon closer inspection it turned out that this was a stewing chicken!  Would have been great for soup but not much meat on those bones for the ginger stir fry Julia had planned!  However, we scraped off what meat we could and the stir fry was delicious, plus we had yet another story to tell!

Back to sailing, the wind continued to build as we sailed northwest toward NE corner of the island of Tahaa and by the time rounded that corner we were doing over 6 knots in the 20+ knots of wind coming out of the SE.  We turned westward headed for the SE corner of Bora Bora and the wind died down considerably as we got into the lee of Tahaa.  With less wind and sail adjustment to worry about, I got Julia up for a few hours watch from about 1 to 3am during this lull and she completed her 2nd night watch with no problems while I got a bit of sleep as we sailed through a rainy night.   As we left the protection of Tahaa and worked our way west to Bora Bora the wind picked returned and was back into the mid 20’s for the rest of the trip. 

The wind continued to build and by the time I rounded the SW corner of Bora Bora and headed north towards the only pass in, Passe Teavanui, I had the jib furled all the way in and we were still doing 4 knots with just the bare poles (no sail up).  All these islands are surrounded by coral reefs and there are also many coral heads scattered within their inner lagoons, so goo visibility is critical, especially when navigating into a new location.  Not wanting to head into this unfamiliar pass in the dark I kept our speed down as low as possible up the west side and waited just off shore of the pass until the sun was up enough to light the way in.  The wind was on our nose and up into the 20’s all the way in but the pass was very well marked and presented no problems.  I found a nice protected spot in Baie de Povai down on the SW corner of the mainland of Bora Bora and easily anchored in about 70’ of water with a sandy bottom.  This put the stern right up against where the bottom rises up very quickly to a coral reef along the shore but we held well and this location makes for a very beautiful anchorage.  

We are sitting right at the base of the famously changing Mt. Otemanu with its set of very different shaped peaks you can see in some of these photos here.  Mount Otemanu is what you see in all the postcards and movies which has made Bora Bora such a well known location for so many years.  In addition to be quite spectacular, these varying peaks give Mt. Otemanu the fascinating characteristic of appearing to be a completely different mountain as you make your way around the island and your vantage point changes.  And I know this from my first visit here almost 15 years ago when Diana, Lia and Skyler and I were here on one of our many sabbatical holiday adventures (thanks Autodesk!).  Diana had done here typically spectacular job of planning yet another fun 2 month travel vacation and had chartered a sailboat (with captain) for a week, followed by a week here on Bora Bora where we stayed in one of those pretty Polynesian round palm roof huts.  Which brings me to the magical memorable moment I mentioned at the outset.

Not that I realized it at the time, but as best I can trace it, this is where the sailing bug first bit me and hence the title of today’s posting.  The infection remained latent for a long time, but as I’ve looked back and tried to answer the question for others as well as myself as to why I’m out sailing the world, I can see the symptoms gradually emerged after this family vacation and our time aboard that chartered sailboat inside the lagoon of Bora Bora, gazing up through the cabin hatch at the peaks of Mount Otemanu and watching Lia and Skyler jumping off the boat into the almost bath temperature azure lagoon waters. 

Try to imagine how very special this morning was for me as I sat off shore of Passe Teavanui and watched as the rising sun lit up this special set of peaks as if I was watching the beginning of a classic movie where the opening scene slowly fades into view.  For this is a grand adventure movie and it is just beginning and it is now so very real!  It therefore struck me that in a figurative sense this morning marked my completion of what could be called a “cognitive circumnavigation”.  Here I was about to enter the same Bora Bora lagoon where we had anchored as a family lo so many years ago.  But this time I was not sailing as a passenger on a chartered boat from nearby (40nm) Raiatea but as captain of my very own sailboat, having sailed over ten thousand nautical miles from Victoria where Learnativity was built!  How special is that??

Now you can see just how true it is when I say that I jumped into the deep end of the pool of ignorance!  I did not grow up around boats, sailing or the sea.  I can find no trace of mariners in any of my ancestry.  In one sense I’m completely unprepared and in another I’ve been preparing for this all my life.  As with all my previous milestones in life, I truly don’t know what led me here and this has taught me to trust in and use serendipity and synchronicity as my strategic guides.  What I do know is that this grand new aquatic adventure just seems to fit me better every day.  The complete independence and freedom coupled with equally complete self dependence and reliance upon equal parts head, hand and heart.  The human kindness and generosity.  The bonding with other cruisers you’ve only just met.  The teachings of local people who speak, think and live so differently and yet with whom you discover so much in common if you open up, listen and learn.  The learning that seems to increase exponentially as I’m humbled every day by the teachings of my new mothers; Nature and Ocean.  How truly paradoxical it is that the more you learn the better you understand how much you don’t know what you don’t know! 

All of this merely reinforces what I’ve long believed; that life is for living, loving and learning and I’m trying to do each of these a little bit better every day. I remain as excited, as humbled and as awestruck by this grand adventure movie I’m in, whether its the one which began here in Bora Bora over 15 years ago or the one which began just this morning.  It is GREAT to have you for an audience.  Stay tuned for the next act!

Wayne & Ruby the Wonderdog,
Wandering and pondering the planet, one nautical mile at a time.

Galapagos to Easter Island: Daily sailing logs (ALL of them!)

For those who are interested, below you will find a long scrolling list of the Learnativity Update logs I sent out morning and evening each day of the crossing from Puerto Ayora in Galapagos to Rapa Nui aka Easter Island. 

It is a long list so if you plan to read this I’d recommend a comfy chair and a good beverage.  I’ve been quite delightfully surprised at the reactions I received from the small group of family and friends I was sending these daily updates to directly during the trip.  I thought they would only be of interest to these few souls brave enough to want to wade through all this and keep track of Ruby and I as we sailed along.  But apparently it makes for some interesting reading and I certainly enjoyed writing them to start and end each day.  It is actually quite a good discipline I think as it forces you to take a few minutes and reflect upon the day or the evening and see what you learned, what stood out, your reactions and so on.

I had a phenomenal time in Galapagos, truly one of the natural wonders of the world.  Was able to see many of the unique species and experiences such as walking amongst over a hundred large Galapagos tortoises, underwater ballet dancing with seals, Scuba diving with Hammerhead sharks, white and black tipped Galapagos sharks, and watching huge sea turtles idly swimming under the water while tens of fish worked at cleaning off all the grown on their shells.  Was also able to visit the Charles Darwin center and lucked out in befriending several people on one of my diving trips who were on staff there doing various research projects and get a bit more of an inside view on the work.  And of course it was always wonderful weather with hot sunny days and nights just cool enough to need a sheet on.  How fortunate am I?

And next, the trip from Galapagos to Easter Island was a fantastic success as not only did we get here safe and sound but did so in record time; only 14 days when I thought it would be more like 20-25.  Not that it is a race or anything and in fact I would have enjoyed many more days of it, but the winds were very strong and consistently the right direction such that I was able to stay right on the bearing for Easter Island the whole way. 

Hope you enjoy reading through each of these, I’ve put them in chronological order starting with our departure from Galapagos and as you’ll see there is a set of data at the start of each log entry that will give you the basics of our location, wind and weather, speed, etc.  They started out very basic and I evolved the information more as each day passed so you’ll see that happen as you read along.  Hopefully they improved as I went and I would appreciate any feedback you might have on how to improve these for you further.  Now that I’m in the habit and getting the discipline of writing these each morning and evening I plan to continue to do so for the remainder of the voyages of the good ship Learnativity.

For those interested you may want to take the lat/long coordinates and put them into Google Maps or Google Earth to see just where on the planet we were and the route we took to get here.

For those not familiar with some of the sailing terms, the key ones are:

SOG = Speed Over Ground
COG = Course over Ground (compass heading)
VMG = Velocity Made Good (actual progress along straight line towards destination)
UTC  = Universal Time Clock aka GMT Grenich Mean Time
NM = Nautical Miles
kts = Knots = Nautical Miles
Port = left side when facing forward
Starboard = right side when facing forward

Great to have you along, enjoy the ride, Ruby and I sure did!

================================ START of DAILY LOG ENTRIES ===============================

LTY AFTERNOON UPDATE: April 11, 2009
Day #1

02:34 Local Time 20:34 UTC 
START POSITION: -00d 44.838’ S -90d 18.387’ W
COG 213 
SOG 5.8   
Wind 2kts NNE
It is about 2000nm from Galapagos to Easter.

We're off! Greetings from the (not so) high seas today on the way to Easter Island. Rather fitting to be headed there on Easter weekend don't you think? <g> Hope the Easter Bunny make a visit to your house and when you're done with him can you send him my way and tell him (or is it her?) that I can give them a lift home! <g>

Changed all the fuel and oil filters before leaving, TOTALLY topped up to the brim with diesel fuel that I was able to have a fellow bring out via 20 gal jugs. Used less than 50 gals for the whole trip over from Ecuador plus all the generator use for the past 2 weeks, so quite pleased with that. I did the last provisioning of vegetables, bread, etc. and pulled up the anchor at 14:10 local time off on the biggest leg of the journey so far.

Or not! Just as I was motoring out I realized left my cell phone and digital notebook at the internet café! So back to re-anchor, quick trip ashore and back in water taxi and off again at 15:05, this time for good.

LTY Evening UPDATE: April 11, 2009
Day #1

22:01 Local Time 04:01 UTC 
POSITION: -01d 16.04’ S -90d 38.367’ W
COG 213 
SOG 6.3
Wind 10kts NE

Had a very good start heading South West between Isabella and Floreana islands. Wind was good and we were doing almost 7 knots with the spinnaker up. The wind died down after sunset as usual, but must have current going our way as still maintaining 4.3-6 kts

We had the most FABULOUS moon rise! It was just past full and was this rising golden globe glowing off our port beam that was beautiful to behold as we sailed into the night.

LTY Morning UPDATE: April 12, 2009
Day #2

09:44 Local Time 20:44 UTC 
Position: -2d 07.394’ S -91d 15.766’ W
COG 213 
SOG 6.4kts motoring
Wind 2kts NNE

Up at first light to a similar pattern of clouds all around on horizon. Also some clouds above but all look to be white and good. Moon still up very high. Swell up a bit but almost no wind! Wind has stayed shifted to the NNE which seems odd compared to predictions. Motored all through the night unfortunately as wind had pretty much died, spinnaker wouldn't stay up and main was just slating all the time. Ran watermaker till about midnight and tanks were full so shut down. Slept well, few false Radar alarms for the first few hours until midnight then all quiet. Ruby snuggled all night and seems to be glad that I'm on board all the time not leaving her alone all day as I had done several times for the Galapagos day trips.

Wind still strangely coming from the N-NNE. Trying to sail with spinnaker alone. Working fairly well but wind shifting a lot between N and NNE which changes which side it blows over so collapses a bit, will watch and learn. Starting to see the benefits of a pole and a full spinnaker but not sure if it is worth the cost and trouble? Code 0 on a furler perhaps?

The wind died on us not long after sundown last night and hasn't come back much yet. Ran with just the spinnaker for a few hours and was able to get 3-4kts SOG but then it died and the spinnaker kept collapsing and then fell in love with the headsail furler and wrapped itself VERY intimately around her! So I cleared that out and took the spinnaker down, fired up the good ole" iron Genny" and we are motoring now. We've got a following current it seems that's helping so I'm able to maintain about 6.4 knots at a fuel miserly 1400RPM so will keep an eye on fuel and try to get us further South into some more wind. This is typically very windless area around the equator so nothing out of the ordinary. The only odd thing is that the wind, what VERY little there is, has backed itself around to being from the N and NNE which is very atypical as it is usually SE. So here's hoping we find more wind up ahead.

But it is truly gorgeous weather here! Gets very humid at night, into the high 70's@ so everything gets very damp and even though it only goes down to about 78F it feels very chilly to my thinned blood so I have my sweatshirt, long pants and a blanket when napping up in the cockpit at night. Skyler, you’d get a kick out of knowing this is the Mexicali blanket from when you were aboard when we were sailing down Mexico and I’m still using it every night!

We've are still getting those INCREDIBLE moon rises here the past few days, you getting them too?

Patched the tear in the upper spinnaker. Had been just a small hole previously but when I put it up today saw that it was a L shaped tear now about 6" on each side. Patch with sticky rip stop nylon repair tape seemed to work very well. I see that the dousing sock also has some big tears in it down near bottom but will need to sew those up later when I have access to a sewing machine. I’m seeing that it may be as much of a safety issue as a nicety to have a sewing machine on board so will have to start saving up for that.

I started up generator for a bit to top up the batteries and also turned on water maker to fill up the water tanks and take advantage of the extra amps from the genset.

LTY Evening UPDATE: April 12, 2009
Day #2

18:34 Local Time 00:34 UTC
POSITION: -02d 48.226’ S -91d 42.061’ W
COG 213 
SOG 5.8    motoring
Wind 2kts NNE

Nice sunset, clouds forming in far distance to S and SE

Rather frustrating day with what little wind there was being very unusually from the North and constantly switching from N to NE such that it was always right on the stern and switching sides. Able to use the sails, spinnaker only mostly, for a few hours but continuously collapses in these conditions and likes to wrap itself around the headsail which then requires some interesting acrobatics on my part to unwrap.

Tried again just before sundown but no luck so all sails back down and back to motoring. Wind is usually light to nothing in the evenings so suspect will motor again tonight. However have a bit of helpful current and am able to motor at low revs, about 1400RPM and still do 5.8-6.2kts while using very little fuel.

According to the Ugrib weather file I downloaded before leaving Galapagos, the winds will be light down to at least 4 degrees S which means till Tuesday or so for us.

Was a typically busy day aboard with patching a few small tears in the spinnaker, fixing the sunroof panel, and just dealing with sail changes. You end up at the end of the day wondering where all the time went and you didn't really ever seem to sit down and relax for long. However it is a great way to spend the day, busy all the time and I did get caught up on a few Emails and the like.

It is very peaceful out here, not a soul in sight and not much wildlife either. Seas are calm, swell is a bit larger today, about 1.5-2.5 meters but long frequency so just large undulations in the sea that rock the boat steadily. Was a bit cloudier today than past days, mostly large white ones, not overcast, so the sun was not as direct and very pleasant.

Hope this finds you having enjoyed a very good Easter weekend. I sure did and seems all very fitting to be starting this journey to Easter Island on this weekend.

Thanks for coming along for the ride!

LTY Morning UPDATE: April 13, 2009
Day #3

Position: -03d 37.211' S -92d 27.385' W
COG: 217
SOG: 6.0
Wind: 15-20kts SE Apparent
Seas: wave ht.~ 1.5m @4secs
Weather: suns up, scattered clouds on horizons, clear overhead
Sea temp: 83.3F
Air temp: 94F 64% humidity

WOW! What a difference since the last update last night! The Easter Bunny arrived with a wonderful gift of a sudden burst of wind that is still holding! The wind clocked around to where I expected it to be, SE and has been a steady 15-20kts ever since. I've been riding the edge of the minimum wind angle and close hauled at about 35d over the port bow. We're heeled about 12-14d but quite comfortable and is a joy to have compared to motoring in the calms of yesterday.

There were some storm cells showing up on the radar as this wind came up and they continued through about midnight local time and then cleared off but fortunately the wind stayed. I got some good batches of sleep through the night, am well rested and very thankful to the Easter bunny for this great gift!

LTY Morning UPDATE: April 14, 2009
Day #4

06:15 local         12:15UTC
Position:             -5d 24.266'S -93d 33.911' W
COG:                   213
SOG:                   5.5
Wind:                  11-15kts SE Apparent
Seas:                   wave ht.~ 1.5m @8secs
Weather:              suns up, scattered clouds on horizons, clear overhead
Sea temp:            82.4F
Air temp:              82.2F
Humidity:             80%
Distance in last 24 hours: 134 nm
Distance to Destination: 1580 nm

Well, after losing and recovering the blown spinnaker last night the rest of the evening went very well. Wind picked up a bit and held steady throughout the night at 10-15kts which drove us along at about 5+ knots all night. Died briefly about 2am and we slowed and lost steering and drifted off course but easy to get back on it and it held through the rest of the night. So we made lots of VMG (Vector Made Good) and are down to about 1600nm to Easter. A few storm cells showing up on the Radar screen during the night but very small and don't seem to amount to much so not sure what the Radar is seeing that I'm not. It is enough to sound the Radar alarm which can be annoying so have the alarm off most of the time and just keep an eye on the Radar screen to see what's around us. Don't expect we'll detect much till Easter. Got some good sleeps during the night and am feeling well rested and good. Really enjoying the quiet sounds of no motor and non stop sailing for several days and hope it continues for many more!

Have not seen a ship or anything else since clearing Galapagos so makes for easy sailing

Hope you have a great day as well and will be back with this evenings LTY update.

LTY Evening UPDATE: April 14, 2009
Day #4

19:40 local           02:40 UTC
Position:             -06d 24.969' S -94d 11.336' W
COG:                   213
SOG:                   6.5
Wind:                  12-20kts SE Apparent
Seas:                   wave ht.~ 2.m @ 6 secs
Weather:             lots of clouds on all horizons as night fell. Stormy looking to the S and SW so may have some rain tonight, but nothing showing on Radar as of yet.
Sea temp:            82.4F
Air temp:              82.1F
Humidity:              81%
Distance in last 24 hours: 124 nm
Distance to Destination: 1518 nm

Pretty good day's sailing. Wind was in the 10-15kt range from the SE most of the day which translated into only 4-5.5 knots most of the time. I still don't seem to have the optimum speed/sail trim figured out when the wind is on the beam (at 90 degrees to hull) so I need to keep playing and learning with that tomorrow. Since the sun when down the wind has picked up a notch as has our speed so that will be good if it holds for the night to make more VMG.

Had a busy day aboard installing new 1/2" SS U bolt for the main sheet blocks (lines that control the boom) as one of the previous pad eyes (SS rings) I had let go due to metal fatigue. I'd purchased the new U bolt setup previously and so was just a matter of drilling new holes and bolting them in but took the better part of 5 hours all together. Not the easiest thing in the world when you're hand drilling 1/2 holes in steel up on the coach roof with a boat that is pitching in 2 meter seas and heeled over at 10+ degrees! All part of keeping me young and fit.

Had a fascinating time this morning watching "flocks" of flying fish all around. They have been around most of the trip all the way up to Mexico and I usually find several of the poor things on deck every morning on my rounds. But watching them this morning was fun. They seem to literally go in "flocks" or whatever you call groups of them as they all launch themselves out of the water in groups of 20-70 and fly an amazing distance till they head back into the water. There average flight time is sometimes more than 10 seconds which is quite amazing to me. I also read that the world record (who knew?) is 45 seconds so I guess these guys are under performers!? And did you know that flying fish are the official national fish of Bermuda? One of the many things I learned today. (thanks to my trusty offline version of Wikipedia I now have! Thanks Xavier!)

Ruby has been having her challenges going out to her "potty mat" on the front deck when we are heeled over so much. Her claws don't work so well on steel decks at 10-15 degree angles! But she's a real trooper and manages to get out there eventually and manages to balance herself with amazing grace as she squats to look after business. She's pretty amazing to watch as she stands inside the cockpit automatically swaying to adjust to the boat pitching through all 6 degrees of motion!

Well the wind is dying again now. Was up to 20 knots for the past hour or so and now dropped back down to 8-10. Likely the effect of storms around us so expect it will be up and down through the night. Will let you know with tomorrow morning's update.

LTY Morning UPDATE:  April 15, 2009
07:05 local 13:05 UTC
Day #5

Position:    -7d 27.808' S  -94d 53.636W
COG:        213
SOG:        7.2
Wind:    14-20kts ESE Apparent
Seas:        wave ht.~ 2\\1.5m @ 5 secs
Weather:    Breaking clouds all around and over, clear sky ahead
Sea temp:    81.5F
Air temp:    87.2F 
Humidity:    72%
Distance in last 24 hours:    148 nm
Distance to Destination:    1434 nm

What is it about 2am??  Seems that so many of the calamities that befall sailors happen around or about that wee hour of the morning and such was the case for me again last night.  The shackle that holds the port side main sheet block snapped off with a ferocious BANG!  Fortunately when I was re-doing the rigging I decided to go with a rather unusual dual main sheet setup where I have lines going from the boom down through 6:1 blocks on each side and each of these are controlled independently.  So when the port side gave way, which is the one with all the strain on it as we are on a port tack, the boom did not travel too far before the starboard side lines stopped it.  So what could have been a rather catastrophic failure, breaking the boom, was averted and I was able to continue to sail while I affected repairs.  But what to do?  Fortunately I remembered I had some super strong small diameter synthetic line that is used to secure the main sail to the furling boom mandrel and this stuff (Amsteel Dynema) is supposed to be about as strong as steel cable.  The design of my blocks is such that there are two large holes with nicely radiused edges for the line to go through and so I was able to make multiple wraps through the blocks and through those nice new SS U bolts I installed yesterday and secure the block in place.  Because this is such a critical junction and takes so much load (the full force of the main sail) I added a second set of 3 wraps of some  larger diameter rope for backup. 
Next problem, what knot to use to join these lines together that would be sure to stay tight under such strain, not slip and be one I could tie after I had wrapped it all around the blocks and U bolts so it would be the right length?  Down to the library for my book of knots (thanks Doreen!) and looks like best choice is a double sheet bend.  Now I just need to change instructions figuring out how to tie this knot and do so when the line is in place and needs to be a set length.  Got it all sorted out, couple of practice runs and tests, committed it all to memory and now on to put it all into practice and place.

Now THIS is learning in action!  There I am, at 2AM out on the deck, headlamp on, rope and tools in hand trying to lash down this recalcitrant block.  Oh, and did I mention that all the while, the boat is heeled at about 15 degrees, it is going through every one of the 6 degrees of motion, the wind is 20-22 knots and the sea spray is washing over me along with a steady wash of water about 4" over my feet.  Ahh yes, another calm relaxing day in the life of a sailor!  What do they do with all their time at sea??

However by 3:30 it was all sorted out, blocks were sturdily attached, boom was back at the angle it should be, wind was still up at a steady 15-20 knots and we were charging through the night at 6.8-7.4 knots an hour!  Time for some well earned 1-2 hour sleeps and soon enough it was first light and another nice sunrise on the South Pacific.

So that's what my night was like.  How was yours? <g>

We really are steam rolling along here.  This wind has been great and strong for the past 2 days now and I'm getting a better handle on the optimum trim of the mainsail for these conditions so our speed has been in the high 6's low 7's since yesterday afternoon.  Heck, at this rate we'll be in Easter island in mere weeks!

Well, I'm late getting this off to you so I'll send it now and be back with the evening update tonight.

Thanks for coming along for the ride.

LTY Evening UPDATE:  April 15, 2009
19:30 local 01:30 UTC
Day #5

Position:    -8d 40.295' S  -95d 45.75' W
COG:        214
SOG:        6.5
Wind:    12-17kts SE Apparent
Seas:        wave ht ~2.0 m @ 6 secs
Weather:    At sunset (about hour ago) clouds on all horizons, clear overhead
Sea temp:    81.5F
Air temp:    84.8F 
Humidity:    71%
Distance in last 24 hours:    148nm
Distance to Destination:    1345nm

Another great day's sail!  Wind has continued to be steady from the SE - ESE and running 15-20kts.  I'm getting better at sail trim and so our speeds have consistently been in the high 6's and low 7's (nm/hr) which is just great and makes for lots of VMG and clicking off those miles to Easter.

More boat projects done but nothing of great urgency for a nice change.  The flying fish have been more fun to watch and I see that some of the more advanced fliers are able to both catch gusts of wind off the tops of waves as well as deflect themselves off the surface to keep going before diving back into mother ocean.  Fascinating evolution.  From what I've read it is primarily for escaping their enemies but I wonder about that.  I usually fine several of the poor things up on my deck each morning in my walk around, along with half a dozen squid as well, and the flying fish are beautiful shades of bright and iridescent blue.  Usually about 3-5" long so not very big and their wing span is about the same as their length so they can really fly!

Night time now and so I'll get this sent off and head to the galley to rustle up some dinner and attend to more Emails.  Hope this finds you having had a great day back from a good Easter weekend.

LTY Morning UPDATE:  April 16, 2009
07:40 local 01:40 UTC
Day #6

Position:    -9d 52.475' S  -96d 29.512' W
COG:        214
SOG:        7.1
Wind:    17-21kts SE Apparent
Seas:        wave ht ~2.0 m @ 6 secs
Weather:    Broken clouds above and mostly behind to the North.   Mostly clear ahead SW
Sea temp:    80.6F
Air temp:    83.2F 
Humidity:    71%
Distance in last 24 hours:    170nm
Distance to Destination:    1261nm

Another excellent night of sailing as the winds hold steady in direction (from SE) and velocity (15-21) so we continue to maintain above 6 knots/hour and often into the 7's.  That gave us the best distance in 24 hours of 170nm since yesterday morning at this time!  IF this continues we could make landfall in as little as 10 days from now, April 26th, but I'd expect it to be more like April 28-30.  You'll be the first to know as the updates come in!

Last night looking up at all the stars, I was reminded that although I keep thinking that I'll get used to it, I never do.  The clarity you get when you are away from ANY other light sources is truly quite amazing.  It's like having super High Definition TV or something.  You gain a whole new perspective on just how many stars, galaxies and solar systems are out there, a better sense of just how tiny and insignificant we are and it's just one of those times when I can honestly use the word awesome and mean it.  Awe is what I feel as I look both up at the sky and out at the sea and experience the healthy humbling sense of just how small a little speck I am, floating on the "top" of this sphere of water and on this tiny little planet in the universe.  And isn't that GREAT!!??  One of my favorite quotes about this is I believe from a movie I once saw, name I'm not sure of but stared Jodie Foster as an astronomer and when asked if she thought Earth was the only inhabited planet out there she responded "If so, it is a terrible waste of space".  Quite right and I for one can't believe there is such a waste of space so I stare up at the billions and billions of stars each night thankful that I get to do so and comforted by the knowledge that I and we are SO much not alone (nor that significant).  So get over yourself and get on with yourself right?!! <g>

Well, enough of my philosophical ramblings for this morning.  I'll spare you any further right now, fire up the sat phone and get this on its way to you from my aquatic waves through the air, radio and electronic waves to you.

LTY Evening UPDATE:  April 16, 2009
18:05 local 00:05 UTC
Day #6

Position:    -10d 59.350' S  -97d 10.890' W
COG:        214
SOG:        7.1
Wind:    17-21kts SE Apparent
Seas:        wave ht ~2.5 m @ 6 secs
Weather:    Broken clouds on all horizons, sun just down
Sea temp:    79.7F
Air temp:    83.2F 
Humidity:    69%
Distance in last 24 hours:    169nm
Distance to Destination:    1183nm

Well we've made it past the 10 degree South point, in fact coming up on 11 degrees very soon here so we are making great time. The wind continues non stop up to and sometimes above 20 which is pretty much perfect.  Any higher would more than I'd like for both sail, stress on the boat and roughness of the seas.  And we are already pretty much doing what LTY wants to do max speed wise as we have been in the 7's all day. 

As it is there is quite a bit of boat motion and it makes moving about a very conscious act.  We're heeled (angled) over about 15-30 degrees partly from the sails/wind of course but more so and the back and forth is from the seas which in this wind are running 2-3 meters (6-10 ft) and coming at us at about 70 degrees so we ride up and over them every 6-10 seconds.  When your seated it is all very good and I never tire of the sensation of riding up these swells and then back down the other side.  But it makes moving around, making meals, and working a challenge to be sure s their is a LOT of motion all the time and it is not one that you can time or get in a rhythm to.  Ruby is particularly affected as she can't get out on deck now as they are just too steep and she can't get any traction on the steel. So I need to take her out to her "potty mat" a few times each day and I think she misses her independence of being able to move around the boat of her own free will.  I do too!

But we'll take this gladly compared to more violent storms of becalmed so no complaints and we are really making MUCH faster progress than I expected.  The total trip will be just under 2000nm I think and so we will likely hit the halfway mark  by Friday afternoon at this rate!

Weather also continues to be more of the same, clouds all around but all the very "friendly" kind, mostly broken higher elevation and "fluffy" stuff, mostly out on the horizons. It stays pretty much clear overhead so days are bright and sunny and nights are clear views of all those stars and planets.  Sun has just gone down here so it's time to get ready for another night, get some dinner so I'll sign off for now.

More in the morning.

LTY Morning UPDATE:  April 17, 2009
08:00 local 01:00 UTC
Day #7 

Position:    -12d 17.050' S  -99d 01.480' W
COG:        214
SOG:        7.2
Wind:    14-18kts SE Apparent
Seas:        wave height = ~1.0 m @ 4 secs
Weather:    sky covered with high breaking clouds, some stormy looking the N, NE
Sea temp:    79.7F
Air temp:    82.4F 
Humidity:    66%
Distance in last 24 hours:    169nm
Distance to Destination:    1091nm

Good morning!  Had a bit of excitement in the night when the wind picked up to over 25 knots for awhile at about 10pm.  Nothing significant,but it did mean I needed to shorten the sails to reduce their size in this higher wind.  This is a pretty straight forward and very common maneuver and requires bringing the jib in, starting the engine, motoring into the wind, letting the main down to roll in the reef (I have an in boom furling system which rolls the main sail onto a drum inside the boom), tightening the main in the new position, get back on course, set the boom angle, roll out the jib and trim all the sails.  It has been pretty great with the wind being so steady for this first week that I have not needed to do a reef up till now, nor needing to do that much sail trim.  This also gave me a chance to check all the lines, sails, etc. and get new spots on the lines that are tensioned, going over the rollers in the blocks, etc. so that there is not the steady wear always on the same spot.

This is totally different sailing than what I or most people are used to, where you get on one sail set and stay there for days.  Typical however of the Trade Wind belts and which is what I'll be in for many months now and it makes for some very good sailing.

With the higher wind, the seas got much larger too of course so things on the boat were a bit rougher.  Nothing serious again, more "annoying" than anything in that the movements back and forth in all directions are more severe, the angles go up another notch and so getting around is that much more challenging.  Best thing of course is to be laying down, nicely wedged into a corner on the low or leeward side of the boat and so this worked out well as it was happening at night and we were all set up with the new reefed setup by 11pm and so started the night shift of "sleeps" which are typically for me 1-3 hour stretches where I sleep, get up briefly to check instruments, sails, wind, etc. and then go back down again for more.  So Ruby snuggles in with me and I lie in the starboard side of the cockpit nicely nestled into the corner of the seat bottom and back and the motion now becomes wonderfully soothing and comfortable.  So we got a very good set of sleeps and are up ready and rested for another day at sea on the way to Rapa Nui.

This morning is the cloudiest I've had this trip, very high clouds with spaces of blue between but Mr.. Sun has not managed to get through yet so there is that overcast lighting which is quite a contrast to the bright blue and sunlight days that have become so much the norm for me.  But the wind is down now, averaging about 15 knots which is just perfect and so I've unrolled the reef, we are back to full main and jib and nicely doing 6.5-7.4 knots and continuing to make great VMG towards Rapa Nui.  The motion and sound is also much reduced in these conditions, we are heeled over much less so even Ruby can get around much easier now and so conditions are quite excellent this morning. 

We'll pass the halfway point by distance later today if everything holds and so that means we'll have done it in less than a week, which is MUCH faster than I ever expected.  But I won't count my chickens just yet as there are lots of miles to go and anything can happen with the weather so we'll just keep on pointing SW and get there when we get there. 

As always, you'll be the first to know how things progress via these updates and the SPOT updates on Twitter, the LTY blog and my Facebook page.  Thanks again for your interest and for coming along for the adventure.  It is great to have you there and be sending out these updates to more than just myself! <g>

LTY Evening UPDATE:  April 17, 2009
18:25 local 00:25 UTC
Day #7 

Position:    -13d 10.945' S  -98d 40.888' W
COG:        214
SOG:        7.0
Wind:    14-18kts SE Apparent
Seas:        wave height = ~1.5 m @ 4 secs
Weather:    clear sky, not a cloud to be seen as the sun kisses the horizon
Sea temp:    78.8F
Air temp:    84F 
Humidity:    59%
Distance in last 24 hours:    159nm
Distance to Destination:    1025nm

What a WONDERFUL day it was!  As per this morning's update the wind was down at the start of this morning as were the seas our speed and our motion.  But it came back in perfect Baby Bear fashion (just right) and stayed in about the 15 knot range, with low seas, good speed in the high 6's and not much heeling. 

It has been interesting for me to note how much different these slight changes in conditions make.  It was noticeably calmer state, more peaceful, more relaxed.  I think that when the speeds, wind, seas and boat motion are all high then you are unconsciously much more alert, balancing against the physical movement, and otherwise just more "on".  It wasn't at all stressful or anything at the time, but when the wind and the seas drop and it all smoothes out then you notice the difference quite markedly.  It's a bit like when you finally stop at the end of a busy day and relax and take a breath that you realize how wound up you were. 

So today was quite wonderfully relaxing and I took full advantage of it, catching up with more and more reading that I am SO behind on.  Though I really can't imagine any such thing as being up to date on reading?  There is always easily 100x more I would like to read and know about.  But I put a bit of a dent in the pile of magazines onboard, and went through several of the books I've currently on the go.  My book reading now is almost all on the Kindle (electronic book reader from Amazon) and it is proving to be FANTASTIC!  It so very much passes the ultimate test of any technology for me in that it becomes invisible.  That is to say, I just get lost in the subject matter of the story I'm reading and have no sense that I'm "reading a book" much less doing so that this is also an electronic book.  It is so much so that I regularly find my hand unconsciously moving to the top right corner to turn the page, that isn't there!  That and it's size, that I can have a couple thousand books on it, all in one place, and with a built in note pad and Oxford dictionary.  THIS is when you love enabling technology!

Did manage to tear myself away to do some cleaning up aboard, some Emails, some writing and some boat repairs as well, so it was another full and productive day as well.  Gotta love it!

And as the sun sets on this glorious day the wind is picking up a notch.  Running about 17-19 and the seas are only up slightly so we are again back up into the 7's boat speed or SOG wise, but still quite comfortable in terms of boat motion.  So far it looks like this will hold and not keep climbing which would be great.  Very different night tonight, not a cloud to be seen, not even on the horizon, which I don't believe I've seen on this leg before and hopefully bodes well for what's ahead.

So that's the quick day in review.  Have a great evening yourself and will be back to you in the morning with the next update.

LTY Morning UPDATE:  Saturday, April 18, 2009
07:20 local 13:20 UTC
Day #8

Position:    -14d 24.488' S    -99d 34.287' W
COG:        215
SOG:        6.6
Wind:      12-15kts SE Apparent
Seas:        wave height = ~2.0 m @ 5 secs
Weather:    No clo0uds overhead but some closer to us and all around, wispy building upwards, a bit flat bottomed and all white
Sea temp:    75.4F
Air temp:    78.8F 
Humidity:    73%
Distance in last 24 hours:    160 nm
Distance to Destination:    934 nm

Another great night's sail.  Wind piped up to about 15-19 and stayed there all night so we keep steaming along like a locomotive out here!  This morning we are up to another great day, clear overhead with lots of large billowing clouds all around us a few miles off and out on all horizons.  The typical pattern this time of morning and then it usually all seems to burn off and then come back in the evening.

As I enter week #2 it is feeling a bit surrealistic to be under sail this consistently for this long.  The wind has been extremely consistent direction wise, from the SE and so once I got the sails all well trimmed they need hardly any attention and the auto pilot looks after keeping us on the right heading (215 degrees) for Rapa Nui.  With no traffic, no land, no nothing out here, you don't even need to keep that close a watch as there is nothing new to see, nothing to run into, nothing that is going to run into you.  This is SO very different than what it is usually like with sailing where you are constantly on alert, tweaking the sails, changing heading, tacking, etc. and so it is now feeling more like being on a train, where you are a passenger and just get to enjoy the ride.  Which I AM I assure you!  Just a very odd sensation as you realize that you've been on this same point of sail, this same sail trim, for almost a week, non stop, 24/7. 

The vastness of it all starts to make an impression as well.  I've become accustomed to seeing nothing but ocean stretching out for as far as they eye can see, being able to see the curvature of the earth all around you for 360 degrees, getting the feeling of floating on the top of this sphere of water and witnessing literal infinity as you look up into the night sky.  And now after a week of that, having sailed non stop for a week and not seeing anything off in the distance, no land, no ships, just some local wildlife, and in fact very little of that, you also become aware of just how truly BIG the ocean is.  I've been fortunate enough to travel to many places on land where there are vast distances stretched out before you; dessert, forests, plains, tundra, arctic ice, etc. this is different when you realize it isn't just one moment in time from one vantage point, but a week's worth of constant traveling through this same vast ocean.  It is this fascinating combination of feeling so very very small while at the same time appreciating the true meanings of big, vast, open, infinite.  It is both a visceral and literal thing as well as a very cerebral and conceptual thing.  And how privileged am I to be able to experience all this?  VERY!

Well, log has been taken, morning walk around the deck is done ,LTY Update now done and it is breakfast time aboard the good ship Learnativity.  Top of the morning to you all, back with a summary of the day tonight.

Don't touch that dial!

LTY Evening UPDATE:  Saturday, April 18, 2009
18:25 local 00:25 UTC
Day #8

Position:    -15d 21.225' S    -100d 13.619' W
COG:        215
SOG:        6.8
Wind:    14-20kts SE Apparent
Seas:        wave height = ~2.0 m @ 5 secs
Weather:    sun is just setting behind some low clouds on the W horizon, clear otherwise.
Sea temp:    75.4F
Air temp:    81F 
Humidity:    61%
Distance in last 24 hours:    159nm
Distance to Destination:    876nm

Sun going down on yet another fast and good day's sailing.  This great wind just won't stop (thankfully!) and we continue to roll along at relatively breakneck speeds of 6.5-7.5 knots/hr and regularly doing over 150nm each 24 hour day. I had anticipated about 100nm/day so you can see how much faster this is.  The wind has been up and down a bit but mostly over 16 and gusting up to 21 at points.  Seas have similarly been up a bit more so things are back to being at much more of an angle and more motion than yesterday, so the day was spent mostly continuing to catch up with reading and some smaller chores aboard.  But then I happened to notice that today is Saturday so its the weekend I guess and I can afford to take it "off"! <g>

Hope your weekend is going similarly well.  Be back with more in the morning update. 

Night for now.

LTY Morning UPDATE:  Sunday, April 19, 2009
07:55 local 14:55 UTC
Day #9 

Position:    -16d 34.787' S    -101d 05.878' W
COG:        215
SOG:        6.6
Wind:    10-18kts E Apparent
Seas:        wave height = ~1.2 m @ 5 secs
Weather:    up to a GORGEOUS rainbow spread out in front of us!
Sea temp:    74.5F
Air temp:    78.6F 
Humidity:    73%
Distance in last 24 hours:    158nm
Distance to Destination:    777.7nm

Wow!  Now THAT is a rainbow!  We are greeted this morning to a full rainbow arcing across the slate gray storm clouds right in front of us.  Have captured on the camera but surely it is one of those things you just can't really capture.  We continue to be blessed with great sailing weather.  These storm clouds are nicely missing us, one is passing in front moving to the West before we get to it and the other is behind us, also moving West and looks like well skirt in before it passes over.  But it is obscuring the sun from us right now and so this is the first overcast light I've experiences for some time.  It's interesting to note how even this brief change affects your mood and attitude. Nothing severe but I note that feeling of wanting to just "stay inside" and be safe, dry and warm, read, eat soup, etc.  There has never been any question in my mind that our moods and many of our actions are based on our environment, that which surrounds us and yet I think we give this so little regard in terms of either knowing these effects will be there or altering when we can, our environment to promote and optimize the mood or the settings we want.  I think this literally affects the way we think and the kind of thinking, working and learning that is optimum in these different circumstances.  I'm trying to pay more and more attention to the effects of my environment on my work, thinking, learning, moods and be able to adapt to them or change the environment to be optimal for what I am doing at the time.  This experience on the boat and out at sea is providing me with even more chances to experience different environments and the time in this little "lab" of mine to experiment more with how to optimize environments for learning, working, thinking, etc.  Yet another dimension of this whole experience I am loving, learning and living by.

Hope your Sunday is off to a similarly spectacular start and there are rainbows in your life and that your environments are stimulating and optimal for you.  If not, why not??

Back with the evening report tonight.  Sea you then!

LTY Evening UPDATE:  Sunday, April 19, 2009
18:15 local 01:15 UTC
Day #9

Position:    -17d 36.300' S    -101d 48.341' W
COG:        215
SOG:        7.2
Wind:    13-18kts SE Apparent
Seas:        wave height = ~1.0 m @ 5 secs
Weather:    Perfection; scattered clouds on horizon, all blue overhead, sun just going down
Sea temp:    75.4F
Air temp:    81.1F 
Humidity:    61%
Distance in last 24 hours:    165nm
Distance to Destination:    703.7nm

Perhaps the best day sail yet!  Covered 165 nm in the past 24 hours and our speeds today were consistently in the mid 7's.  I'll attribute most of this to getting the sail trim better.  I adjusted both the jib and the main out a bit this morning when the wind had backed to the North a bit and so was more on our beam (perpendicular to the boat) than in front, and this has seemed to be a better sail trim even when the wind has returned to being from the ESE and is at about 70-80 degrees to us most of the day.  Wind speeds have been consistently between 14-18 and so they don't account for the great speed and the seas are smaller, which helps both with speed and motion.  So all in all a pretty great day's sail.

The patches of clouds overhead seemed to follow the sun today so it was often behind them and noticeably cool in the cockpit with the wind coming through, but very pleasant. 

I spent the day reading for the most part, got through another 6 magazines and am about half way through Snow Crash and a few more chapters of Diamond's Collapse, both of these on my Kindle.  Had a shower and shave which is always a fun acrobatic exercise up on the aft deck as the boat is pitching and heeling throughout, but feels great to be clean and refreshed. 

Miss Ruby is more comfortable with the less motion and heeling and enjoyed another day snoozing alongside me in the cockpit and the occasional trip out for a potty break on her mat which I now have out on the back deck so she doesn't have to make her way all the way to the front in these seas and at night.  I still accompany her on these as it is just too slippery and uneven pitching for her on her own.

We are now past 17d South and 101 degrees West, and I guess it is an indication of my resetting of measurements of speed and distances when I'm measuring them in degrees of lat/long.  I also remember reading a quip that "If you're adjusting your sails more than once a week, you're not really cruising" so I guess we are now "really cruising"!  In any case I'm really liking it and the whole experience. Unlike what I read about for many, I find this part, being out at sea and underway, the best part and when I sight land and anchor there is a certain let down and disappointment that it is all over.  But this quickly is replaced by the new fun of being in a new location, seeing new sights, sounds, food and meeting new people, wildlife and experiences. And then I get to weigh anchor anytime I decide and start another voyage out to sea! 

Pretty phenomenal and I've been starting to read up as well on destinations after Rapa Nui (Easter) and doing some of my route planning.  The new wonderful problem I have is how to see as many of these fascinating places as possible and on routes that work for the wind, currents and weather.  Right now I'm thinking that after Easter it will be heading for Pitcairn, then Mangareva (Gambier's), perhaps a trip over to uninhabited Henderson and then I need to make some decisions about heading North to catch the Marquesas which are quite spectacular, mountainous and beautiful, or perhaps go SW and catch the Austral Islands?  And how to fit in the Tuamotu's in this?  In any case, these will all be as I make my way to Tahiti and ultimately will leave Learnativity there, most probably Papeete, about the end of June when I'll fly back to the USA to look after some business, see some friends and family in the Bay area AND celebrate Lia's wedding on August 1st!!!  Just a bit excited (and scared) about that as a Dad. 

Which reminds, me, there will be this wonderful sailboat/floating 2 bedroom condo, sitting vacant in Tahiti for the month of July in case any of you might want to turn that into a vacation?  I'll write more about that in a future Email in case any of you are interested.

For now, the sun has set here in the South Pacific, time for me to put on some clothes as it starts to get down to 80 degrees and I need to go make some supper!

Sea you tomorrow morning for the next update.

LTY Morning UPDATE:  Monday, April 20, 2009
07:25 local 13:25 UTC
Day #10

Position:    -18d 40.811' S    -102d 44.315' W
COG:        216
SOG:        6.9
Wind:      14-22kts E Apparent
Seas:        wave height = ~2.5m @ 5 secs
Weather:    Perfection; scattered clouds on horizon, all blue overhead, sun just going down
Sea temp:    75.4F
Air temp:    77.9F 
Humidity:    71%
Distance in last 24 hours:    159 nm
Distance to Destination:    620.3 nm

It was a dark and stormy  night. (sorry, couldn't resist)  It was actually.  Wind suddenly picked up about 10pm and we had cycles where it would drop down to under 10 knots, clock around to the South and then start to pick up, back around to the North and gust up to the high 20's.  So I put a good reef in the main (made it smaller) and we settled in for the night.  These conditions continued all night and got worse in terms of the variation of the wind, sometimes up over 30 knots and some very high seas.  We took one wave on the windward side that managed to make it through the side curtains a bit and give all the seats on that side in the cockpit a good soaking, but otherwise we handled it well. 

I'm rather spoiled, and part of the reason  I chose this boat is that it has a very protected cockpit.  On most sailboats the cockpit is quite exposed and you typically need to be dressed accordingly because it takes on water regularly in these kinds of conditions, gets most of the wind, sun, rain, etc.  All very good for being out there in the elements and when it is nice it's pretty great.  But when it gets very windy and stormy, it isn't as much fun.  On Learnativity, the cockpit can be pretty much fully enclosed.  There is a solid 3 windshield up front with a solid roof all the way overhead and this provides a tremendous amount of shelter from the front and above, yet it is open on all 3 sides so you get great visibility, protection from the sun and rain.  Then there are clear plastic curtains which I have fitted onto a track around the roof edges which snap down onto the bottom sides of the cockpit and can completely enclose the cockpit.  At nights out here, I usually just snap in the first 2 curtain panels on each side to keep the wind gusts out but last night I put in all but the very back center panel and we were pretty comfortable.

This morning it looks like it is breaking up and we have blue patches out on most of the horizon and some above us.  But the sun is still blocked behind a large set of storm clouds off our stern port side, to the NE and there are still other large sets of storm clouds around.  Hopefully these will all dissipate as the day goes on.  There is another large set of storm clouds that look like they will pass in front of us as they move to the West and we'll probably get hit with a bit of wind and perhaps some rain from that but then looks to clear afterwards.  The wind is still up in the 20's so we are still sailing along with the reef in and our speed is in the 7's most of the time but it is all quite controlled and comfortable.  The seas are much higher as a result of the storm and winds so we ride up and down over about 2.5m/8ft swells that are coming across us from the East which rolls us a bunch and makes moving around a challenge so we'll sit it out mostly this morning and try to catch up on some sleep.

Hope your evening was not quite as boisterous and will be back to you with the evening update to let you know how the weather and sailing went for us today.

LTY Evening UPDATE:  Monday, April 20, 2009
17:25 local 23:25 UTC
Day #10

Position:    -19d 32.757' S    -103d 18.687' W
COG:        216
SOG:        6.7   
Wind:    10-16kts E Apparent
Seas:        wave height = ~4.0 m @ 9 secs
Weather:    Clear overhead, scattered, high billowing clouds around horizons
Sea temp:    74.5F
Air temp:    86.7F 
Humidity:    59%
Distance in last 24 hours:    149nm
Distance to Destination:    559.2nm

We keep marching down the lat/longs, now passed 19d S and 103d W, so continue to make excellent time.  Lovely ride out here this afternoon.  The swell is much higher, up to about 4 meters but much more spaced apart and going a bit more in our direction. 

This may sound nasty but it is quite the opposite.  It's not really the height that is the issue with the seas I don't think but their frequency and direction relative to you.  Today was wonderful as the swells were up to about 4 meters but stretched out to 10+ seconds apart and going more the same direction as the boat, about 40 degrees off.  So this is one of my favorite motions as the boat glides up one side and down the other but in a very gentle "soft" way.  And as you look out you see this incredible view of this mass of undulating swells of billions of gallons of water coursing their way SE as if they were horses headed for the barn. That combined with lower wind, 10-15kts, has made for a wonderfully gentle ride this afternoon and our speed is averaging about 6kts.

Miss Ruby got a bath and is looking maaawvelous now and I got more reading done so a good day had by all.

The sun is starting to head for that West horizon, we are headed for Rapa Nui and the skies look good ahead so all is well out here as I hope it is for you.

Back to you in the morning.

LTY Morning  UPDATE:  Tuesday, April 21, 2009
08:05 local 14:05 UTC
Day #11 

Position:    -20d 29.877' S    -104d 06.850' W
COG:        216
SOG:        4.5kts   
Wind:    4-11kts E Apparent
Seas:        wave height = ~ 2.0 m @ 7 secs
Weather:    Clear overhead, scattered clouds around on all horizons
Sea temp:    74.5F
Air temp:    89.6F 
Humidity:    62%
Distance in last 24 hours:    132nm
Distance to Destination:    496.5nm

Quite the opposite of the night before, last night was very calm as the wind and the seas both gradually diminished starting at sundown last night.  Wind is now down to as low as 5kts at times, but averaging around 9-10 so its enough to keep us moving at 4-5kts which is  just fine and the pace I had expected for the whole trip.  Morning weather is equally fine, all clear overhead all evening and this morning, some scattered clouds as per usual on the horizons all around us, so looks like we are in for a more typical bright and sunny day.  With the seas and the wind both down it makes for a much calmer ride which we'll enjoy as well while we have it.  Live in the moment, max what you got right?!

Still seeing almost nothing else around us but sea and sky.  Very little wild life in either.  We had a few gull like birds that would come and follow overhead for an hour or two the past 3 days but none yesterday and no flying fish on the decks this morning nor visible out in the water for the past 4-5 days.  Also still to sight any other ships, which is as expected.  This is a very untraveled part of the world, no commercial routes here and very few sailboats make this trip, Easter Island usually sees less than 20 sailboats a year and is dependent upon the supply ship which comes in about every 6 months from Valparaiso Chile, 2000nm away.  This certainly makes for stress free sailing when there is almost no worry about hitting anything as there's nothing to hit! <g>

In any case, both Ruby and I are enjoying it, though Ruby is certainly hoping that she might be allowed off the boat when we get to Easter so she can get some exercise and do her crazy running in endless circles that she SO loves to do on sand and grass.  More and more of the places we are going to now have very restrictive animal policies and so in most cases she will be restricted to staying on the boat.  This is all very understandable as most of these countries are rabies free and understandably want to maintain that all too rare condition, and of course many of the islands are small and have fragile eco systems so the introduction of foreign species and diseases is a major problem and one they therefore are increasingly guarding against.  Unfortunately this is giving me more and more concern as some of the upcoming countries make it either very difficult and costly or impossible to have a pet on board and so I need to make some difficult decisions as to whether to find a place to leave Ruby and sail without her for a while, or just not go to some of these locations.  Neither option is a good one for me of course and so I'm doing more and more research into it all and will see if it isn't possible to work something out. 
Entering and exiting countries is quite a significant part of the challenges of blue water cruising, and for the most part I enjoy it as it is different in each country, provides experiences with some of the people in each one and gives you some insight into governments and other country situations.  Of course bureaucracy is bureaucracy and can drive you crazy as well with endless forms, endless copies, and often takes a day or more to clear in and clear out.  In some countries you need to do this for every port you go to as well.  However, it is important to remember that I am privileged to be a guest in these amazing countries and only right that I should have to comply by their standards and rules.  For the most part it is no different that I've found with officials in any country, treat them with respect and courtesy, act like an appreciative guest, try to speak a bit of the language and use the killer weapon as much as possible:  SMILE!  That plus the art answering only the exact question you are asked, never adding any embellishment or further explanation unless explicitly asked for it.  Has worked well for me in all the millions of miles I've traveled in my life and similarly for all the entry and exits I've experienced while out logging sea miles.   Easter Island is reportedly quite quick and easy, as are many of the small less inhabited and visited islands I'm headed for and I look forward to meeting these new officials, acquiring new stamps in the passport and just the chance to be able to be welcomed into these fascinating places and cultures of our amazing world.

Will continue to keep you posted as this all unfolds.  Back to you this evening with a summary of this, our 11th day at sea on the way to Rapa Nui.

LTY Evening UPDATE:  Tuesday, April 21, 2009
18:25 local 00:25 UTC
Day #11

Position:    -21d 18.898' S    -104d 41.809' W
COG:        216
SOG:        6.4kts   
Wind:    12-16kts ESE Apparent
Seas:        wave height = ~ 2.0 m @ 9 secs
Weather:    sun setting into the usual evening buildup of clouds on all horizons. 
Sea temp:    74.5F
Air temp:    80.6F 
Humidity:    60%
Distance in last 24 hours:    138nm
Distance to Destination:    427.6nm

And the sun sets on yet another glorious day of sailing the South Pacific seas and we stealthily slide through the swells towards Rapa Nui.  The mornings overcast cloud cover cleared away to blue skies and the clouds have now built up as usual to their nightly position as pillows on the the ocean beds on all horizons.  Wind freshened up to the 12-16 knot range pulling us along at a good 6+ knots average SOG as we gently glided up and down the undulating swells of the unending expanse of saline that stretches for as far as the eye can see over every degree of 360.

Spent most of the day on the laptop, getting to Emails, responding with more reflective notes to many unfinished bits and people.  Late lunch of yet another giant salad.  Still have a few days more of fresh vegetables but today was the last of the bananas for the morning ritual of toasted peanut butter (crunchy) and cranberry and banana "sandwiches".  It is on to cream cheese and orange marmalade tomorrow.  Eating well, feeling well and continuing to enjoy this special aquatic existence.

Realized earlier today that I've fulfilled one of my goals without noticing it explicitly, which was to become a full time learner again. Not that I don't learn every day and do my best to satisfy my endless curiosity and fascination with just about everything, but this has afforded me the opportunity to truly be a full time learner.  Be it through reading that I get to do more of now, an environment so fertile for reflective thinking, time to write, to become more amazed every day as I study all my atlas, guides and maps on where to go and when, just how full and teaming with people, culture and countries this supposedly "empty" expanse of the South Pacific really is.  My wonderful new problem is that of abundance; how to choose from an endless list of great choices.  I do understand that as they saying goes "you can't kiss all the girls in the world" but I'm definitely out to kiss life full on the mouth every day and learn how to do it better every day.  While I've got a LONG ways to go, as in the real think (kissing) practicing is the best part!

So as I watch the sun kiss the horizon and the day goodbye, I bid you adieu for another day as we sail into another night out here.  Sweet dreams to us all, back in the morning to tell you all about them!

LTY Morning  UPDATE:  Wednesday, April 22, 2009 07:20 local 01:20 UTC
Day #12 

Position:    -22d 26.478' S    -105d 35.583' W
COG:        217
SOG:        7.2kts   
Wind:    15-18kts ESE Apparent
Seas:        wave height = ~ 1.2 m @ 4 secs
Weather:    sun rising to a mostly clear sky except for the storm we passed through in the night which is now off to the North.
Sea temp:    74.5F
Air temp:    76.8F 
Humidity:    70%
Distance in last 24 hours:    148nm
Distance to Destination:    353.6nm

A bit of excitement last night.  Discovered about 10pm that both starter batteries, one for the main engine, one for the generator, were completely dead.  I had been noticing that the last few times both engines had taken a bit longer to start and know I guess I know why, they were cranking slower.  These two batteries are completely separate from the house bank and the bow thruster batteries, which is normally so that if you completely discharge the house bank you can still start the engine and generator.  In this case I'll do the opposite, use the house bank to start these engines.
In hindsight I made a poor decision in not replacing these batteries before the trip.  These are the only ones I've not replaced and are still the ones that came with the boat and I therefore know little about.  My thinking at the time was to get the most out of them and frankly I simply let them be and forgot about them.  I also now realize that I don't have monitors on these batteries to check their charging and condition which is something I'll rectify as soon as possible as well. 
So what to do?  I'll first try to just jump start the main engine with the set of automotive jumper cables I have along for that purpose and ensure that I can start the main engine and have it when needed.  I'll also then leave it running for some time as there is an alternator on the main engine dedicated to charging the starter batteries.  Something I also need to check is that it may be that this is the only way these batteries are getting charged and they are not being charged by the main battery charger or generator that looks after the house bank.  Given that I have not run the engine for almost two weeks now, other than for a few minutes to reef the main it could well be that the starting of the main plus starting the genset and not recharging the starter batteries in between has drained them.  We'll see later today if that's the case and ideally I'd be able to bring them back up to charge.  If not, I'll likely wire the starters into the house bank and use that until I can get to a location where I can buy new starter batteries.  That could be quite a while from now given the remote spots I'm headed!

This all produced a bit more excitement at 4am this morning when I passed through a storm front and winds picked up considerably.   Winds picked up to over 20 and ran as high as 26+ in gusts for a while.  The challenge was to be able to reef the main sail if needed without the motor to help keep up the boat speed and steering.  If the boat is not moving through the water then you have no steering.  And to reef the main, you need to point the boat directly into the wind, which would stop the boat from moving so you see the problem. 

As it turned out, these higher winds did not last long, and repeated the same pattern as in previous days, usually at night, when I've passed through other storms.  The wind picks up for about 15-30 minutes while we pass through and then dies right back down again.  That's what I was counting on and what happened again last night.  I was therefore able to get by with just reefing the jib (front sail) and pointing us more into the wind which slowed us down from speeds in the 8's down to 4-5 knots and reduced the stress on the sails and rigging considerably by aligning the boat and sails more with the wind.  Once the wind settled back to 12-15 I was able to unfurl the jib point us back on course and settle in for another day of great sailing out here on the South Pacific.

LTY Evening  UPDATE:  Wednesday, April 22, 2009 18:10:20 local 00:10 UTC
Day #12 

Position:    -22d 21.568' S    -106d 20.189' W
COG:        217
SOG:        7.8kts   
Wind:    18-24kts ESE Apparent
Seas:        wave height = ~ 3 m @ 6 secs
Weather:    after morning winds died down rest of the day was great, wind 13-16 but now storms off to the S are kicking the wind back up over 22-25
Sea temp:    75.4F
Air temp:    82.2F 
Humidity:    67%
Distance in last 24 hours:    150nm
Distance to Destination:    284.8nm

Well, a very busy day at sea.  After dealing with this mornings storms, the wind dropped back down to a pleasant average of around 15 knots.  So I dived into the engine room to deal with the dead battery issues and of course an hour later as I'm up to my ears in grease, corrosion and acid that storm that was behind us had clocked all the way around and hit us with another round of strong wind.  Got the sails reefed and back to work.
As suspected the two starter batteries were dead, one for the main engine one for the generator.  Cleaned all the terminals, check the water/acid level, hydrometer readings, etc. and they were definitely dead.  Confirmed that part of the problem is that they are only being charged from the main engine and so when I don't run it much but do start it and the generator several times, they would get run down.  Got both the main engine and the generator started with jumper cables from the house bank and charged batteries for most of the day and used the juice to also run the water maker for 6 hours. 

In the end, the generator battery is toast.  Literally, overheating badly when charging and only 10.6volts so it is history and I've disconnected it.  The main engine start battery shows some promise and has come up to 13.6v after the day's charge so we'll now see if it will hold it.  If not, I'll rely on the house bank and the jumpers to enable me to start the generator and main engine when needed and until I get somewhere that sells batteries.  Doubtful that any of my upcoming destinations will have any such supplies so likely won't be till I get to Tahiti, but you never know what you'll find on these islands so I'll try at Easter and see what happens.  Also hoping I might find a sewing machine or tailor or even a sail maker there to see if the spinnaker is salvageable, but again it will be what it will be.

So between sail changes and batteries and other chores aboard I didn't sit down much today and now we have another storm off to the South which is clocking around in front of us and has kicked the wind back up over 20 again so I need to go deal with that.

More tomorrow.  Night.

LTY Morning UPDATE:  Thursday, April 23, 2009 07:10:20 local 13:10 UTC
Day #13

Position:    -24d 30.398' S    -107d 22.189' W
COG:        216
SOG:        6.8ts   
Wind:       15-19kts E Apparent
Seas:        wave height = ~ 2 m @ 5 secs
Weather:    scattered clouds, stormy looking to North
Sea temp:    75.4F
Air temp:    78F 
Humidity:    71%
Distance in last 24 hours:    160 nm
Distance to Destination:    185.8 nm

Winds have remained strong and steady and we knocked off another 160nm in the last 24 hours and are now under 200nm away from Easter Island.  If these speeds continue I estimate our ETA in Hanga Roa to be in the late afternoon tomorrow, Friday the 14th.  This is quite amazing as I was estimating at least one and perhaps two weeks more than this and had no expectation of winds this consistently high and in the right direction.  We are enjoying the what are known as the trade winds and they are known for just this kind of wonderful consistency and comments from others like "if you are adjusting your sails more than once a week you're not cruising!"  We will see how they hold up for this last distance as we close in on Easter Island.  If they do drop off and delay our arrival I will slow us down tomorrow so that we don't arrive at night and delay our arrival to Saturday, but I'll let you know in these updates how that all goes.

I've not been recording the times of sunrise/sunset but it is very noticeable this morning that the sun is rising considerably later now that we are this much further South.  Quite amazing really to have gone from sitting on the equator as we were in Galapagos to now being over 24 degrees South and will end up at 27 degrees at Rapa Nui.  That will also mark the furthest South I will go for a while as after that I'll be heading slowly North as I work my way West across the South Pacific toward Pitcairn next and then onward to the Society Islands (Polynesia), Samoa, etc.   Not sure just what route I'll take through all of this, but I will need to be out of the area by about the end of October when hurricane/cyclone season begins and right now am likely to head back South again to the top of New Zealand at Whangarei.  However as my trip to date has well proven, I just never know where I'll be or for how long, until it happens.  I really do work at using serendipity as my guide and my strategy for life and given my track record of a phenomenal life so far I don't intend to change that now and only work at getting better at it with each passing experience.

Ahh, the sun has just pushed its way through the clouds and is treating my eyes and skin to its healing rays and so another good day, lucky 13 of the voyage, is off to a great start.  Had a super set of sleeps last night with the winds and seas being so consistent and no reefing necessary so I'm feeling very well rested.  The seas are a bit confused still after the previous storms but the ride is quite gentle this morning and we are not heeling or rolling too bad from side to side so moving about isn't too difficult.  Of course I'm sure that it is also partly due to adjusting to these conditions and it will no doubt feel very strange when the boat is at anchor and when I'm ashore.   I sure hope that I'll be able to bring Ruby ashore for a few runs.  I do feel badly for her being cooped up aboard the boat for this long as she can't move around too much with all this motion.  She does amazingly well and it doesn't seem to phase her, but she can't go out on the decks as easily or up and down the stairs as easily with all this motion.  Plus she just SO loves to race around in circles whenever her feet touch sand or grass.  Not sure what that is, been this way since I first got her, but grass and sand are to her  like catnip to a cat and she just flips into this different dog who races at top speed in circles around and around and around, making these gleeful little grunts as she does so.  Been a long time since she's been able to do that as most places of late have restricted her to the boat.  She got in a few of these at night when I'd take her ashore in Ecuador but none since so here's hoping I can get her ashore a few times when we are at Easter Island.

The other thing I've been meaning to tell you about is that I think I've discovered what the color indigo is supposed to look like.  Whatever the name, the color of the ocean out here is impossible to describe and something I often just sit and stare at in amazement.  I've been fortunate enough to see a lot of oceans around the world and thought I had pretty much seen the full spectrum of blues and greens that ocean water, sand, sun and rocks can produce.  But this color of blue that is so consistently out here is completely new to me.  It is quite dark and yet very bright at the same time and it has given me a new appreciation of the term "the deep blue sea".  I think I've just experienced where that comes from and will have to leave it at that as an attempt to help you imagine it. 

All of this I guess is more confirmation, not that I really needed it, that there is just no substitute for experiential learning.  Life, as best I can tell, is meant for such learning and is a huge part of what it means to BE alive.  As as often been said but not so often realized, life is for living and what I'm working at more and more is ensuring that I LIVE while I'm alive.  I really don't fear death, though I'm not anxious for it either, but  I do fear not living while I'm alive, and so the best way to deal with fear that I know of is to take action, to charge directly into it, convert the unknown to the known and deal with it and revel in it all.  As the great blues tunes puts it:  "Live the life you love, and love the life you live!"  I'm doing my best to do just that and hope you are finding more and more ways to do it too in your context.

This is your maritime cub reporter Wayne, signing off for the day, be back to you with this evenings update to summarize it all.

LTY Evening  UPDATE:  Thursday, April 23, 2009 17:50:20 local 23:50 UTC
Day #13 

Position:    -25d 22.840' S    -108d 02.387' W
COG:        217
SOG:        5.6kts   
Wind:    8-12kts ENE Apparent
Seas:        wave height = ~ 3 m @ 8 secs
Weather:    clear with scattered clouds all around.  Wind down and shifted a bit North making for a very comfortable day's sail
Sea temp:    75.4F
Air temp:    84.2F 
Humidity:    62%
Distance in last 24 hours:    155nm
Distance to Destination:    132.0nm

A most enjoyably calm day at sea today.  Wind was down in the 10-14 range so not heeled much at all, swell is up to 3m but good frequency making for a lovely ride.  Spent most of the day reading and enjoying these conditions.

We are now only about a day away from Hanga Roa harbor in Rapa Nui and I'm already finding myself lamenting the end of this rather endless state of being under sail and the daily rhythm that has established itself.  I REALLY like this state of being underway to a destination and "in motion", something I've known about myself for a long time.  I recall how much I enjoyed it when the plane doors would close and we'd start the take off procedures and I cold settle back into the seat and similar to being aboard, maximize this opportunity to do some reflective thinking, catch up with some reading and writing. This sea based version is even better as the durations are MUCH longer, I'm "home" and have it all to myself!

Not that I'm not looking forward to being in Easter and all the great experiences that are undoubtedly awaiting me there; seeing the amazing Moai, meeting with Sonja and the great people on the island working to resurrect the great island this once was.  This provides a great deal of the purpose for doing all this.  But it is still the time underway and the journey that brings me such great joy.  Yet this isn't a competition and journey and destination are not choices I need to make.  One begets the other and I'm the fortunate soul who gets to reap the benefits of the combination of the total of which is SO much greater than the mere sum of these two parts.  A fortunate fellow indeed I am.

So I shall simply enjoy these last few days of this leg of the journey and what has been an incredible experience.  As unexpectedly fast as it has been rich in it's learnings for me.  I had anticipated these 2000 nautical miles would take at least 20 days, perhaps more with some inevitable calms and low winds that are typical of this route.  Instead I've been treated to an extremely steady and strong set of mostly SE and E trade winds and will be arriving in only 14-15 days!   And as per the above, much different than many other's experiences I read about I'm almost disappointed it has gone so quickly.  However I get to experience Easter's charms all that much sooner and have more time for what's up ahead, which is certainly all good.

And so onward into the night we'll sail to see what this evening brings.  The sun is headed for the horizon again but has a ways to go (only just after 6pm here as I type this) and the calm conditions continue though they often change a bit after sunset and with the cooling of the air.  Clouds all look very "friendly" being scattered and quite while and fluffy and small all around us.  More of a buildup behind us to the North but they don't appear threatening or stormy.  Tomorrow I'll make the call as to whether to push on to arrive in Hanga Roa tomorrow, Friday afternoon or if I'll need to purposely slow down so as to not arrive in the night and do so instead on Saturday morning.  Will see how many miles we sail through this evening and what conditions are like tomorrow and make the call then.  Either way the next part of the adventure looms ahead and I look forward to the transition back to the destination phase and remembering what it is like to not have your world constantly going through all six degrees of motion.

Enjoy your evening and I'll be back with the morning update for Day #14 tomorrow!

LTY Morning  UPDATE:  Friday, April 24, 2009
07:50 local 13:50 UTC
Day #14

Position:    -26d 33.290' S    -109d 01.595' W
COG:        218
SOG:        7.0kts   
Wind:    5-15kts E Apparent
Seas:        wave height = ~ 3 m @ 8 secs
Weather:    Clearing off nicely with the rising sun, rain patches and varied low winds overnight.
Sea temp:    77.2F
Air temp:    883.8F 
Humidity:    67%
Distance in last 24 hours:    148nm
Distance to Destination:    44nm

Had a bit of everything weather wise last night.  The wind had been low and steady all yesterday afternoon, about 10-12kts most of the time and then it started to pick up to 15+ about 10pm only to then die off to almost nothing and swing around all points of the compass at about 11pm when we also got some rain showers.  These only lasted about 5 minutes each and were not at all heavy but should have been enough to give the boat a good fresh water rinse, which is needed VERY much after 2 weeks of crusty salt buildup everywhere.  Thank you Mom Nature!   Had about 3 more of these short burst of rain in the night and the wind stayed low to nothing most of this time.  Tried to keep sailing but by about 1am our SOG (speed) was down to under 2 knots and steering starts to be a problem and I therefore reluctantly turned on the motor to help move us along. This also helped to bring all the house batteries back up to 100% and save running the generator to do so. 

It would have been nice to have sailed the whole way there unassisted, and I could have done so I suppose but would have made for a very uncertain night just drifting about, sails flapping, etc. and so we'll use up a bit of our carbon footprint and motor.  Not too bad though as I have not used the motor since the first day after leaving Galapagos 2 weeks ago. 

Tried several times in the night to go back to sailing but the wind continued to be up and down and changing direction a lot so we motor sailed through the night.  It was quite lovely outside as the stars were out in almost all the sky all night, so this must have been smaller storm clouds spread out and that matched up with what the Radar was telling me.  Radar in case you don't know picks up rain and dense cloud formations as well as ships and land.  Basically anything that will bounce back the Radar signal.  So you can see storm and rain formations on the screen which is both helpful and not.  Good to see things like squalls and sometimes be able to steer around them, but it also means that you don't tend to see anything else, like ships in the midst of all this.  Not much of an issue where I am right now but this can be a problem in busier areas.  I'm still yet to sight my first ship or anything other than wildlife for that matter since leaving Galapagos 2 weeks ago, and there isn't exactly a lot of traffic to and from Easter Island and there isn't anything else for over 2000 miles in any direction, so I'm not likely to have too much of a traffic congestion problem!

This morning the sun rose to give a spectacular show as it lit up the large clouds behind us to the North and East and gave them all a beautiful halo of yellow, gold and pink.  Now (about 8:30pm by the time I'm getting this done) it is well up in the sky, has burned off mots of the clouds and we are left with a few scattered clouds around most points on the compass, crystal blue clear sky overhead and the wind looks like it might be coming back up again! 

I've got the motor on still as I've made the decision to press on and arrive in Hanga Roa before dark tonight.  I don't want to arrive after night fall as the area is obviously new to me and anchoring is tentative at the best of times anywhere on Easter Island.  There are essentially no safe harbors from all weather anywhere on Easter Island so my stay and location there will be dictated by how good or bad the weather is.  It is reportedly often difficult or impossible to anchor in most spots for any length of time and I also have the challenge of leaving the boat unattended while I'm ashore as the weather is notorious for changing very quickly.  But this will all play out however Mothers Nature and Ocean decide and I'll let you know how it goes.

For now I'm just starting to prepare for landfall, anchoring and the other changes needed to make the transition to be stopped for a while.  As per my previous messages this is always with mixed emotions; some sadness that this lovely day to day rhythm of non stop sailing and being out at sea is coming to an end, and excited about the new people I'm about to meet, new things I'm about to see and new experiences I'm about to have.  I'm going to Easter Island man!!  How cool is THAT?!!  As my previous boss Kelly used to say "It's all good" and that certainly sums it up for me!

Enjoy your day and I'll be back to you with more and perhaps the conclusion to this chapter when we are likely to have reached Rapa Nui and be safely anchored at Hanga Roa.

LTY Afternoon UPDATE:  Friday, April 24, 2009 15:40:20 local 21:40 UTC
Day #14  

Learnativity has landed at Hanga Roa, Rapa Nui aka Easter Island!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anchor down and set at 15:15 local time 21:15 UTC

Position:    -27d 08.625' S    -109d 26,087' W
COG:       
SOG:        0kts    Hey, that means we're stopped!!
Wind:    5-8kts SE True
Seas:        swell = ~ 0.5 m @ 8 secs
Weather:    Gorgeous afternoon on Easter Island, some billowy clouds to the North and West, otherwise spectacularly clear.
Sea temp:    77.9F
Air temp:    92.4F 
Humidity:    49%
Distance to Destination:    ZERO!  We're here man!!

Well, with a set of the famous Moai statues a few hundred yards in front of us on the shore of Hanga Roa, I think it is a safe bet to say we're here!!  The anchor was down and set at 15:15 local time, held right away in about 40' of the most unbelievably clear water I think I've ever seen.  The water is still that incredible bright dark blue that I tried to describe a bit in the previous posting and I'm currently floating in about 50' and yet I can see the bottom as if it were about 5' away.  Can't wait to break out the snorkel and my Sea Breathe (electric compressor/snorkel unit) and check it out up close and personal.

It is a spectacularly brilliant afternoon here, there is just enough breeze blowing from the shore (SE) to keep us off the shore nicely and the blue sky above with the dark blue water below is the ideal contrast to the greens of the grassy low volcanic hills and trees of Rapa Nui. 

The Port Control was in contact with me on the VHF about 3nm out ,took my basic information and will be sending out the Navy and Port officials in an hour to look after all the paper work.  It can apparently all be done on board so can't get to much more convenient than that and they were very professional and helpful.
** update:  in fact before I could send this out their RIB arrived with the full compliment of 8 officials from the Navy, immigration, health, agriculture, port captain, island council and some I'm not sure of  plus two to manage the RIB.  I had all the documents they wanted to see, they confiscated my limes (boo hoo) but everything else was fine; apples, tomatoes, lettuce, potatoes and meat (no bones), we signed a lot of forms, though many less than most other countries, shook hands and we're now officially here.  Ruby was officially entered, forms stamped and so she is all legal and no mention of not going ashore so I'll assume that means she can!  Woof woof says Ruby!!
And according to them it is no problem for me to go ashore on my own in the dingy, so we'll try that out and see how difficult it is.  There is a strong surf but there is also a more protected harbor not far south that I'll try.  Will be good if I can do this on my own and be able to come and go when I need to and not be dependent upon others.  I'm not supposed to leave the ship unattended which makes it rather difficult as a single hander, but I'll do it anyway and just keep a close eye on the weather for any change coming up.

There is one other Canadian catamaran on the one mooring ball here, a German aluminum sloop about 40' came in from the South the same time I was coming in from the North and there is one other large sailboat anchored further off shore.  Then there is a very large (to me) ship, may be Chilean Navy I think and one small fish boat and that appears to be about it.  The Navy vessel just pulled up it's anchor and is heading South and I'll inquire ashore when I meet my local contacts for more information.

Ashore is there are a series of buildings along the shoreline that make up the main settlement on the island and the official port of entry.  Almost all the houses and buildings are within about 200m of the shoreline and I didn't seen any other buildings on the coast coming down the west side of the island.

Ruby smelled the land about 40nm out and I think she is anxiously awaiting her turn to go ashore and get some much needed exercise.  Hopefully that will be possible.  It is highly discouraged to take your own dingy ashore due to the strong surf and rocks and lack of docks or landing spots so you depend upon the locals to bring you back and forth but I still hope I can take Ruby ashore for at least a short while.

I'll let you know if/when I get internet access, it is available on the island and I can pick up one access point from here but it is locked so will need to check it out when I go ashore, hopefully that will be later this afternoon.

This trip was FANTASTIC!!  So much faster than I EVER expected, we got here in 14 days vs the 20-28 I was ready for.  And the whole experience was amazing.  For those of you who have been receiving the twice daily updates you know all about it and for the others I'll post all these daily logs as a blog posting on the Learnativity blog (http://learnativity.typepad.com) as soon as I can get a regular net connection. (this Email uses my sat phone which works great but is quite expensive)

It is great to be here.  The feeling is one of delight in having turned an intent into a reality.  I'd been saying for a long time that I wanted to go to Easter Island.  Then it became I am going to Easter Island followed by I'm on my way to Easter Island and now, sitting here typing this out in the cockpit as I look out at this postcard view of the first land I've seen in 14 days and then the Moai statues to verify that this is not just "land" this is EASTER ISLAND!!  I don't have any feelings of wanting to get here sooner or that it is a relief to be here, for me the journey is the destination in many ways and I so thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the 14 days voyage to get here that there is a bit of a let down effect that it is over.  However it is immediately offset by the realization that I'm here, really HERE and about to set foot on this place that Thor Heyerdahl once called the loneliest outpost in the world.  Doesn't feel that way to me ,at least not yet.   I'm just looking forward with great anticipation to going ashore, meeting the contacts that my good friend and colleague Pete Kelsey from Autodesk has introduced me to and adding the experience of exploring Easter Island and some of its mysteries for myself.  I've done a lot of reading of the history of the island which was also fascinating learning. And now I get to do my favorite kind of learning; experiential!

I'll do my best to keep up the daily logs at least once a day while I'm here for those of you who are on that list and I'll also get them posted to the Learnativity blog whenever I can get a connection to the internet.  I look forward to sharing this rare experience that I am so privileged to have and will enjoy having you along for the ride in that sense.

Rapa Nui, here we come!!

================================ END of LOGS =======================================

Whew!  If you made it this far you deserve a medal!  Hope it was worth it if you did and I’ll start adding more updates here while I’m on Easter but these are all dependent upon me having an internet connection which is often a challenge and not something I have when I’m out at sea.

If you are not receiving them now and would like to, send me an Email ([email protected]) and I’d be glad to include you on the list of people who receive the morning and evening daily updates when I’m underway and out at sea.

Thanks for joining me on this grand adventure.  Hope you are enjoying the ride, I sure am!

Wayne