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The Captain's Logs are below.See where Pride II is on the MAP of current Location.Tune into what's going on in the foc's'le with Crew's Views. Read what Passengers aboard Pride II have to say in: Passengers Write |
 Captain Jan Miles |
March 1998
From the beginning, this blow was not predicted to be more than Force 7. While I have known for the last 3 days this weather was likely, it was not until last night and this morning that any text describing the coming weather came in on the weather fax. Tonight they have downgraded the blow a little, suggesting only Force 6. That is all fine and well, but it will still mean we will eventually have to heave-to and kill some time before we can move to the pilot station in a day and a half. Right now we are sailing towards a general area I hope will be good for heaving-to and not find the wind pushing us into harm's way or to a disadvantageous position when the time comes to move towards the pilot station. Going down wind is a lot easier than going up wind, so I hope I find a good location up wind from Shanghai. When we heave-to, PRIDE has a drift rate of about 2 knots, not counting any current. If I am correct with my choice of location for heaving-to, we should drift down towards our destination. Then when the time comes, we should be in a position to go down wind the rest of the way toward the river entrance near Shanghai. So far the forecasters have it right -- the first winds are coming from the south.
As I have been writing, the southerly wind of nearly 30 knots has died and shifted to the northwest. As the crew struggled in the dark to shift over the foresail and the staysail to deal with this new direction, the wind shifted again, this time towards the north. Recently it has been coming from the northeast. All of this has been within the last two hours at strengths of only Force 1 or 2. We are motoring again (sigh). The central part of the East China Sea, where we are now, has presented us with lots of traffic, mostly fishing vessels. They move all over the place and cause the watch leaders fits when they change direction just as the watch leaders figure out a plan to navigate around them. (I must be kept informed of all these course changes. Getting my rest can be tricky with all the goings on.) There are also plenty of interesting broadcasts of emergencies at sea. During the past week, since we have been in range of the Japanese broadcasts of marine information over the NAVTEX system (text broadcast of weather and announcements), I have read at least five announcements of crew lost overboard from different vessels. By the names given in the broadcast, I would guess the incidents are occurring aboard Japanese vessels. In all my sailing in the States and Europe, I have never heard so many reports of crew going overboard. When these announcements are made, they include the geographic position of the vessel so other vessels in the vicinity can keep an eye out and maybe lend assistance. In at least three of the cases, the weather was not serious. I marvel at the high numbers of incidents and wonder if they occur because these boats are fishing vessels. Whatever the cause, it is sobering to know it is happening around us. Meanwhile, we now have fog. It's so thick we can't see the jibboom. It makes for some stress on the watch leaders as they worry about what they can't see - and hope the radar does! There won't be much rest for me tonight.
Cheers
Okinawa is just over the horizon, although too far to see. The wind is southerly now and rising from the Force 2 it has been for a while. The port motor is off and we are making 8 knots again. The speed we need to average to be on time is now down to less than 6 knots. My anxiety about being late for our arrival has lessened. If the fair weather keeps up, we should be just fine for a timely arrival at Shanghai on April 1. That will be pretty special feat for this boat and a proud moment for all Marylanders whose ambassadors we are. I just hope the long range weather prognosis I saw this morning is not a harbinger of difficulty for the day of arrival. It's all but certain that the wind, which has largely been behind the ship all the way from Aruba, will soon go ahead of us. It probably won't be too strong, but strong enough at Force 4-5. I don't think it will last long, not more than a full day, before it will again shift to the north and east. There is a stationary front to our north that we have been approaching. But it undulates a bit and thus from one day to the next I can't tell if it will come south to meet us or we will sail up to it. (There is also the possibility that it will evaporate.) Overall, the weather is not supposed to be threatening. But having been so long in the mild and fairly predictable trade winds, I am feeling a little anxious about the very changeable weather of these upper latitudes. I watch over the weather fax machine constantly and check the NAVTEX text messages for weather descriptions. I pour over the charts, the Coast Pilots, and the atlas to review and re-review the changing weather and how it may affect our sail. A frequently repeated report is for fog. There is a lot of fog around and it comes and goes constantly in these parts at this time of year. Reports of visibility down to 0.3 nautical miles are frequent. These reports are coming from places all over the region - Taiwan, Okinawa, the eastern coast of China, and the southern waters of Japan. And there are place names I can't even find - Southern Sea of Shikoku, Sea of West Nagasaki, Sea of Southwest Meshima, Hyuga Nada, Sea off Kagoshima, Sea around Amami.
We have less than 500 miles to go. Some of the crew are showing signs of excitement that China is near. One or two definitely want this leg of the voyage to end - too long on the ship with no escape. I will certainly be happy to end this sojourn - it has seemed endless. But now I am rejuvenated by the feeling that we may indeed finish on time, as advertised. I was pretty worried about being late (no doubt, it would be embarrassing). And in all candor, we may still be late.
The diversion to Guam was a good decision. We could not have anticipated the fortunate weather we have had since Guam. Between compensating and some fortunate timing with a change in the weather, we may arrive happily as planned. Good job all around! But I jump ahead a bit. The last 500 miles could be very challenging. I will return to my concentration on the weather and the strategy for our arrival April 1.
Later Same DayWe have reached a front of some sort. There is some rain and a shift in the wind. After a short while, things cleared and then no wind. We are now motoring. Most sail is taken in so we're motoring towards Shanghai. We can see Okinawa now. We have seen a number of white boats around. One got pretty close, too - a 40 footer. I presume it was a Japanese fishing vessel. There were lots of poles with black flags spread out about 2-3 miles north and south of him. I don't know if they were holding up a net or were long-line fishing markers. I worried we were sailing into a net, but the fishing boat did nothing to gain our attention - so I assumed we were no threat to his fishing gear. We sailed on by and the skipper gave no sign that he saw us. I am sure he did because I saw him clearly through the binoculars. I bet he works hard and has no time for "leisure sailors" on the water. The front disturbed our "Bardinay (i.e. happy) hour." I had to send the goodies below and the crew aloft. So much for establishing a party atmosphere. After the work was done, some of the crew reconvened the party below out of the rain. After a while the weather cleared and the wind died. So I broke the party up again to take sail. I'm a real party animal!
Cheers
Guam
We have reached the longitude of Tokyo! Yet we still have more than 18 degrees further east to go, or about 1,000 miles. This Pacific is one very large ocean to cross. But let me tell you about Guam.
Once we were alongside and the authorities were satisfied, we started to take fuel and Joe delivered the mail that had been forwarded to the ship from the Pride office. Then he and I discussed getting the cook out to the supermarket and the laundry detail to a laundromat. While these discussions were going on, I began to realizing our dock was not located near anything useful for the crew. We were surrounded by dusty commercial wharves. My concern for how to deal with this evaporated when a voice from the dock called "Hello Jan" in an Australian accent. It was John Degan whose wife Dee had stopped by earlier and said hello. We had met the Degans when PRIDE visited WoodenBoat Magazine in Maine last summer. (Being at WoodenBoat is like visiting a club of like-minded people.) But Dee and John said hello in a much more personal way than merely as enthusiasts for PRIDE. John offered to take the crew around as he had access to more than one car and could handle the whole crew if I wanted. Wow! What an offer and what a easy solution to my concern about the crew being able to get ashore but not being able to do much with the opportunity. Although they had not been promised the chance of getting off the ship for any length of time, it was my desire (and certainly theirs) to go ashore for a short while before we headed off on the next 1,600 miles toward Shanghai. After some logistical planning with the mate, it was arranged that half the crew would go off for nearly three hours and then return so the second half could go. Both John and Dee would drive to where the crew would find what they wanted, or take them to see some sights. This arrangement meant ship's maintenance would be accomplished while the crew also got an opportunity to get ashore.
John and Dee Degan are a lovely couple that live on their 43 foot sailboat home, SOTALIA. They have wandered the globe for the last 15 years, stopping along the way and earning livings to finance their next sojourn. John is from Australia and Dee is American. Over the years, they have done stints working at WoodenBoat where John's skill as a marine craftsman is highly admired. Here in Guam, John is in the security business. He helps manage a large outfit that provides security services to corporations and industry as well as to private residences. Dee is a teacher and teaches at the middle school level here in Guam. By working for a year or so while living inexpensively on their floating home, they will accumulate the wherewithal for the next voyage of exploration - maybe east around the world again, or maybe up to Alaska before going back to Maine (that is, unless Dee can get John to go back to Australia and live for awhile in Tasmania). John and Dee had some pretty horrifying details to share about surviving the typhoon-paka last December. The one detail I will share demonstrates the force of the wind. Their boat was secured in a basin of concrete built some years ago by the Army Corps of Engineers. The Degans' vessel, and others, were tied up to a series of underwater concrete blocks. This basin is nearly a half mile inland and backs up to a pretty steep hillside. Yet, when the wind came ashore after the eye of the typhoon had passed, it was a horrifying 180 miles per hour. John says he and Dee sat in the cockpit and watched their boat get blown over so the "spreaders were in the water." Another vessel nearby had its rig literally blown out of the boat, chain plates and all! Typhoons, like tornadoes, have awesome power. While in Guam, we saw a close view of a Taiwanese fishing vessel for the first time. These boats are somewhat comic looking to a westerner's eye. They have extremely flared bows that rise up high behind which the well deck area is low. Aft of that is the pilot house and cabin area, all very high. These vessels are about 60 to 80 feet long and have so many curves in them they appear like a caricature of a boat rather than a proper sea going fishing vessel. But they are obviously sea worthy since they are so far from home. I expect we will see a lot of them over the next several months.
The weather has been very cooperative for the last 5 days by blowing as normal trade winds should - at about 15-20 knots from the northeast. As we make our way toward the northwest, we expect the strength to diminish and the direction to veer to the east and southeast. This pattern is due to a series of high pressure zones that are moving east from the mainland of China. With about 1,200 miles still to go, it will be interesting to see how the weather patterns look when we get another 600 miles along our way. While we have had good winds for these last few days, a full gale has been blowing in the China Sea from the northeast with big seas of nearly 20 feet in some places. If we keep up our current fast pace, we could be near Shanghai a little early. After so much worrying about being late, I feel like I've cried wolf when I acknowledge the possibility of being early. But if we have to plow through a full gale before we arrive Shanghai, we could still be delayed a bit. At least we are getting on our way steadily now rather than plodding along as we were before. Our fuel tanks are full now, too, so we have some extra flexibility at hand to try and stay on schedule.
Cheers PS. Deckhand Sinker and I just had a nice question and answer session with students at Mattawoman Middle School in Waldorf, MD, via satellite phone. It is kind of weird to be sailing in the dark while talking to school kids a half a world away. It was 10 AM in Maryland -- it was near midnight on board PRIDE II.
Sailing again!
The sea became very confused with the build up from the quick increase in wind strength. All day yesterday and most of last night, the ship's motion has been uncomfortable. Not as uncomfortable as it was coming out of Bermuda, but nearly so. Today the motion is more regular, although we are still experiencing a lurching motion. Now and again something gets loose in the galley and rattles and clatters around. According to weather resources, these conditions are going to continue through the weekend. This means we should arrive Guam early tomorrow morning and be able to leave in the afternoon after taking on fuel, revictualing with fresh produce, and doing the laundry. All this will put us in good position to race off for Shanghai in hopes of arriving on time. But the highlight is going to be receiving the package sent out by the office. Crew mail! I have let it be known that it was sent out, so the crew is just as interested in getting to Guam quickly as I, if not for the same reason. Hopefully, all the chores planned in Guam will get done with enough time for the crew to enjoy some ice cream before we leave. But before the end of the afternoon, we must be off again. We will have some 1,600 miles to go in 10 days. Not an impossibility - as long as the weather doesn't "hang one on us." It is still the winter monsoon season in the Shanghai area, which means winds from the north. So, after we get out of the trade wind latitudes, the variety of weather will increase. Hopefully, we will hit patterns that will permit us to remain on schedule.
Cheers
Where are the Winds!A northwest breeze in the trade wind belt? Sadly, it happens. And it's happening to us right now - and not exactly at a convenient time. No surprise there, I suppose. But still I am surprised. For a couple of days now the wind has been Force 2 or less. This has brought our speed down. For the last 24 hours, the wind has been from the west (from in front of us). This is unusual at this latitude because the trades normally blow from the east. These westerlies are not good for our fuel economy at all. But I am told there is wind further ahead - we just need to get there and find it!
But why the westerly breeze? I don't know. The weather maps don't give me enough detail to understand why. I suspect it is due to a small low to our north. But that is only a guess - the maps are not explicit and I am no weatherman. So we will just have to persevere and work our way west as well as we can. I am afraid my hopes of getting in and out of Guam on Sunday are at risk now. Oh where oh where are those fresh, new trade winds that are supposedly just ahead of us?!
Meanwhile there is the issue of motorsailing (using one of the engines as an auxiliary to augment the force of the wind in the sails). If the wind is not directly against us, it is very easy to go pretty fast in light winds by motorsailing. However, if the wind is against us (even a light breeze of, say, 5 knots), the question becomes, "Do we turn away from where we want to go, fill the sails, and assist with one engine - or do we drop sail, crank up both engines, and just push into it?" Right now, given our fuel supply and the distance to Guam, we can't merely push into the wind. All the resistance ship and rig against the wind would simply eat up more fuel than we've got. So we have turned away from where we want to go by some 30-40 degrees and are motorsailing - sails up and one engine engaged. We're not going very fast, but at least we are not using up fuel as quickly as we would with two engines running.
I'll sign off in my usual way (although the crew may have a different assessment of my mood right now).
Cheers
Motor motor motor!
With the wind at our stern, the ship becomes hotter than if we were sailing - particularly back aft. The reason it feels hotter (although the temperature hasn't gone up) is that there is less wind flowing over the deck. And back aft has direct sunlight most of the day - unlike the midships area which has the awning spread. We must look a little strange from afar with our two masts - one with the mainsail and the main-gafftopsail set; the other with only the squares and maybe one or two of the jibs set. But having the foresail brailed-in means less wear and tear on it and the awning keeps the midships deck cool. We get quite a bit of push out of the sails that are up. With one motor running at 1,400 RPM, we are able to make between 7.5 and 8.5 knots over the bottom. With 1,000 miles to go, we can cover the distance in five days. If we continue this with no setback, or if we get some wind from the right direction, we should be able to arrive in Guam early Sunday. It is my hope that we can get refueled, wash the ship's laundry, and buy some perishables in time to be out and underway before dark on Sunday. Meanwhile, the only highlight recently is that we have seen several ships the last two days. They are painted white and all look alike. They are part of the Japanese fishing fleet. We have seen at least eight of these vessels in the last couple of days. For two weeks after leaving Honolulu we saw only one ship. Now, for two days we have been in the company of a small fleet of vessels. The nearest land is the atoll of Eniwetok of the Northwestern Marshall Islands, a mere 140 miles to our south. Japan is some 1,800 miles away to the northwest. These fishing ships are a long way from home!
Cheers
Today's Afternoon Snack - Animal CrackersI guess I should not be surprised. But I am always amused by a peculiar trait of this crew. We have a large bin of animal crackers always available as a snack. To a person, when crew members approach the bin, pick up a cracker, and prepare to pop it into their mouth, they make the noise of that animal! Now it's true that this crew is pretty young compared to me. But they are all adults and professionals - they've sailed a complicated schooner about 9,000 miles now over the last three and a half months. They are very serious about their jobs - seamanship and care for the rig and ship, etc. But get them near a bunch of animal crackers and they make animal noises!
We have been blessed with the most significant weather change since leaving Hawaii. We have a breeze of some strength that is blowing out of the northeast. This permits some faster sailing (no record speeds, though) as well as sailing more directly in the desired direction. My hope is this will last for a couple of days. The weather charts suggest this may be possible. However, I need to control my hopes and plan on this good fortune being around for only a day or so. With the moderate breezes there is a moderate sea, except for the swells coming from the north. The decks have been dry since leaving Hawaii. They get rinsed down every morning, though. The morning watch and the afternoon watch do some maintenance. With one person on the helm and no sail changes scheduled to occur, it allows one or two to get into a project here or there. Amy has taken to looking over the deck and is caulking/pitching where she can. The rest of the chores are in the rig; replace some worn stitching in a sail even while it is set if the spot can be reached; put up some leather if there is a sign of chafe; swab some tar on a dry spot in the rig; repair a broken block; change out the old "robans" (lashings for a sail to a stay or spar) for staysail hanks so they will be strong when the wind blows harder in the higher latitudes nearer the mainland. Now and then there is something in the engine room that needs doing. Thankfully nothing has failed, but a new idea for solving a small problem can get implemented. As each watch passes its time by doing a myriad of small things, another watch begins. Those off watch have their hobbies or chores - celestial navigation, reading, making something, washing clothes, sleeping. Talking does not seem to be one of the pastimes for the off watch. It might be for the on watch, if there is no work to be done. Any talking that goes on is usually at the change of the watch, during a sail maneuver, readjustment of halyards, catching fish, or at meal times. Otherwise, the ship remains quiet for most of the time as the days and nights go by. Each soul aboard is spending much of his or her time in peaceful solitude as this slow boat makes her way to China.
Cheers
The International Dateline
Our position now, at 2212 hrs GMT Tuesday, March 10 (which is 1012 hrs ship time Wednesday, March 11 or 1712 hrs in Baltimore, on Tuesday, March 10), is 12d 55m North x 178d 40m East. We are still sailing toward the southwest. And we're trying, whenever the wind allows, to head more west. Our speed has been mostly 8 knots but there have been periods of 9 knots. The sky has been nearly completely clear since well before dawn yesterday (was that Tuesday or Monday?). With a clear sky, the nearly full moon made life on deck at night very mystical indeed. The cool reflected glow of the sails with the darker highlights of the masts and yards against the clear and starlit night is a sight to behold as PRIDE moves easily along. Later, when the moon had sunk out of sight ahead in the western sky over Asia we enjoyed a vivid view of the Milky Way running north and south across the heavens.
It is a great pleasure to be in the trades again. How long these winds will last is a pure guess. The weather fax has been suggesting all along that there was more wind further south. But the highs and lows to the north, moving eastward with their ridges and cold fronts, can, if strong enough, create a lot of havoc with the trades. As a case in point, this morning's weather analysis map shows only 10 knots around Guam, which is near 13 degrees North. There is a high located closely to the north at 21 degrees North. So, maybe being north or south in the trades is not a guarantee of wind. But it is nice to have this wind right now -- especially as it means we are not using fuel trying to keep up with the schedule. In the last 72 hours we have motored 29 hours. This is too much motoring for anybody's taste. But motoring during the lulls may be critical from a schedule point of view. However, we do not carry enough fuel to spend nearly half of our time motoring across the Pacific! Meanwhile we had our weekly video matinee last Sunday (two shows for the price of one, including popcorn and candy) and Andy had his day off. Mike did a great job cooking up a pork meal for supper as Cook for the Day. Yesterday we caught another large Mahi Mahi. It fed more than the crew could eat at one supper.
Later Same Day (1718 hrs SHIP)The wind has reduced some. We are making about 7 knots. Guam is just under 2,000 miles away. A stop there might make sense to top off the fuel which would make it possible for a faster run up to Shanghai, yet another 1,600 odd miles beyond. The trick now will be to use the fuel on board to best advantage without risking getting too low at the point of arrival.
Cheers
Ahoy!
It is still pretty amazing to me how much sailing is possible with this vessel in the lighter conditions that we have been finding. Overall the wind has been around 12 knots. It has been up as high as 16-17 knots when a cloud went by, and as low as 10 knots. Since turning off the engine on March 2, we had noon to noon runs of:
Also weather systems are passing to our north and they influence the wind patterns where we are now. For an amateur weather analyst like myself, anticipating the subtle effects of these changes is not easy. However, I have good guidance in the professionals at the weather routing service, Weather Routing, Inc. in Massachusetts, who are advising us. What they have predicted has usually happened. For instance, when the wind is up near 15 knots, PRIDE can exceed 174 miles a day as it did earlier in the week. So, I console myself with hoping that light wind days will be balanced by stronger wind days so we can make Shanghai on time.
Sunday, March 8, 1998Yesterday, I received notification from our weather service that a cold front is heading east across the Pacific and will cause the trades to weaken. This zone of weak winds is expected to cover from where PRIDE was yesterday at 172 West to as far as 170 East (on the other side of the International Date Line at 180 degrees). That's about 1,000 miles of light winds, or a whole week of travel in PRIDE terms! This would normally be resolved by using one of PRIDE's two main engines. But even with the prudent and economical use of an engine, PRIDE does not carry enough fuel to keep us going at 174+ miles a day for a whole week. Upon review of the information I had aboard about the weather for our area from the weather fax, I decided to ask WRI for their opinion on a strategy for dealing with the new problem - that was to motorsail down to near 11 degrees North where it looked like there would be more wind. They responded this morning with the opinion that there are no extra winds to the south worth chasing after. Overall, this calm of sorts affects a very large part of the trades. So it seems there is nothing really radical to do but persevere. And so we shall.In that vein, late yesterday we started motoring due to a measurable decrease in wind. We motored for 14 hours and used some 35 gallons of fuel traveling at a motorsailing speed of nearly 8 knots. We were on a starboard reach so our heading was a little north of west and we moved from 15 North to near 16 North. This morning the wind has increased and shifted to the southeast, so we are sailing again. It does not feel like it will last. There are large expanses of slow moving clouds about with some rain falling in isolated showers. This is not a good sign for strength in the winds around us. So, I expect we will be motoring again soon.
JibingJibing PRIDE is a very laborious affair made more complex when the studdingsail (pronounced stunnsail) is in use as it is now to maximize these light winds. The studdingsail is a high flying square sail that sets outboard of, and to windward of, the fore-squaretopsail. Whenever we jibe, the studdingsail must be sent down to the deck and switched to the other side for resetting after all the other sails are jibed over. The sequence is this (you may want to check PRIDE's Sail Plan to follow this discussion).
As I said, jibing PRIDE is a laborious task and requires at least two watches. Reaching (sailing downwind) with PRIDE is generally faster than beating to windward (going upwind). But it is not necessarily more efficient from a strategic point of view. PRIDE's low aspect rig and large overlapping sails make it necessary to sail pretty close to the wind, even when on a reach. Consequently her effective jibe arc is 90 degrees, or about the same as her tacking arc when going to windward in a smooth sea. So, while we have favorable easterly winds blowing us across the Pacific, we must jibe downwind on long broad reaches with the apparent wind angle at 110-120 degrees from the bow in order to keep all the sails filled and drawing effectively. This jibing means we increase the number of miles that must be sailed if the destination is directly downwind. On this leg, deciding when to jibe has been mostly based on wind shifts that allow us to head west. Now that I have a clearer understanding of the likely weather and a solid recommendation from our weather consultants, staying on the port jibe longer than the starboard jibe will be fine for now since we want to drift southwards toward 12 degrees North anyway. In other news, today, Sunday is afternoon movie matinee day. It is also Andy's day off from cooking. Mike McCreery is Cook for the Day. Breakfast was pretty standard with bacon, pancakes, and cut cantaloupe. I wonder what he will do with lunch and supper. Sometimes a quiet competition develops between these stand-in Cooks for the Day to see who can come up with the tastiest, most elaborate, or most different meal. So far, none has given Andy cause to be concerned for his job. But then, no deckhand wants the job of cook. Ever! But if keeping the cook happy includes giving him a day off once in a while, it can be fun and rewarding to all if the stand-ins attempt a bang-up job. Speaking of cooking, we caught another big Mahi-Mahi today. And Andy has said, "There is never too much fish! I can freeze it." So we continue to drag a line. For all the sailing I have done aboard this vessel, I can't think of a time when we have caught as much fish. When Bob Glover was sailing down the west coast of Central America in '94, they caught a lot of fish - even a sail fish. And during the sail from Panama this year, Dan Parrott and our fine crew caught a 9 foot sail fish. But I have not been aboard when so much fish has been caught. The weight so far has totaled over 30 pounds. At market prices that is a lot of money saved in the food budget. But I can see it now, "Crew getting tired of Mahi-Mahi!" Personally, I don't see this as a problem. Fish is better than hot dogs and beans any day. Later on in this voyage, fresh food like fish could become a highlight of the day. So we keep on fishing.
Cheers
Ahoy, We are getting into a routine.
But this winter is an El Niño winter. One of the effects upon trade winds is to move them further south than normal for this time of the year. I thought I had considered all this in planning this leg of the trip. But I may have not have taken into account how much an extra few degrees of latitude may affect us. Going to the 15th parallel is about as far south as I had thought we would have to go. But between 15 and 16 degrees, we have experienced pretty light conditions and PRIDE has only been moving at 7 knots or so. That would not be bad if we could just sail due west. But we can't since the winds are somewhat easterly rather than northerly. (PRIDE can't sail well straight down wind, so we put the wind on one side of her stern or the other. To switch from one stern quarter to the other is to jibe). Therefore, to stay between 15d and 16d north, we jibe back and forth. This increases mileage -- not an insurmountable issue if we were going faster than 7 knots. But it is only now, for the first time since departing Hawaii, that we are romping along at better than 8 knots. With a current behind us, we are now getting about 9 knots over the bottom. These speeds, if they continue, make it possible to do all this jibing and increased mileage yet still make Shanghai on schedule. That is assuming we don't run into a weather delay near the Asian continent as we turn northwesterly toward Shanghai - and running into a storm like that is very likely. So I am anxious that we sail fast now in order to build up a pad so we can deal with any natural delays that are likely to occur near the end of this Pacific crossing. It is great to feel the new speed we are experiencing now! (Ahh, the worries of a sea captain on a schedule...but I would not trade them for all the riding mowers in Maryland!) Getting into a routine at sea is a phenomenon of time. This crew has already experienced a month long voyage during the run from Panama to Hawaii. Now, after three and a half weeks in Honolulu, we are back at sea again. Everyone must make adjustments to being underway again. It is surprising how much adjusting there is to do. Not only must everyone remember where all the lines that handle sail go (oh, how quickly those details are forgotten!) but everyone must be reminded of what we do with garbage, wash down, rig maintenance, and many other routines at sea that are not necessary when we're secure in harbor. On top of all these adjustments, there are adjustments to one's personal freedom. After work, there are no movie theaters, stores, or interesting backstreets to explore as there were in port. Instead, there is a mere 100 feet of deck topside (and less down below) within which work AND personal activity take place. The only choices for crew not on watch are things to do in their bunk, at the saloon table, or on deck. They spend a lot of time on deck while on watch. So that leaves their bunk and the saloon. In contrast to being in harbor, life at sea becomes pretty limited. But it is also surprising how peaceful the reduction in choices can be for life in general. However, it takes time to make the adjustment. The first phase of adjusting is the sense of boredom. Life underway is at first only seen as a factor of what has changed - primarily a reduction of choices from lots to few. And this can be a relief to many - no more distractions or demands on the mind other than the essential moment to moment demands of the ship. But this change leaves a void. Hence the feeling of boredom after the initial elation of getting underway. What does one do with oneself when there is now very little outside distraction or choice? While this is being figured out, life aboard can take on a sense of endlessness. Overall, it seems to me no one has yet established a personal routine. At some point this will change for everyone. The length of time it takes to change is different for each of us.
Soon after my conversation with Bob, I called an all hands meeting. I shared the news and the shock was evident. If you have been following these logs, you will remember that PRIDE and PICTON CASTLE were in port together in Bermuda and Aruba in December. Our two crews spent time together then, and members of our crew had sailed with many of their crew on a variety of other ships. The owner/skipper of PICTON, Dan Moreland, is a former PRIDE crew member and a good friend. At our all hands meetings and for hours afterwards, we discussed, analyzed, and speculated about what may have happened. This was based on the scanty information that Bob could provide in his phone call. Just as we were getting to the natural end of the conversation that turned up more questions than answers, PRIDE's satellite phone rang again. It was Bob. The PICTON CASTLE had just made contact after an eight day silence and was OK! Bob did not know where they were, nor how they had made contact -- just that the mother of the Second Mate had heard and had called the CONSTELLATION Project in Baltimore (many friends of people on the PICTON are in the CONSTELLATION re-building crew) who in turn called Bob. WOW! What a way to be distracted from the boring sameness of everyday life at sea during a long slow trip! As the crew absorbed the good news so soon after getting the bad news, Damion commented, "Gee, that was exciting! What are you going to do for the next change of the watch?"
Just before sundown, we jibed toward the southwest.
Cheers P.S. As I am writing this, the wind has died down and PRIDE is loafing along at around 7 knots again. But we caught our second Mahi-Mahi. One learns to take the bad with the good.
Greetings,
Motoring along in a quiet sea has permitted all hands to acclimate to life underway in an orderly fashion. It has also permitted everyone to catch up with their rest. Hawaii was meant to be a stop between two long passages where R&R would occur - rest for the crew and repair for the ship. Both did indeed occur, particularly the repair. But rest comes in many forms. City life was near - hours of sleep could be rare. Out in the middle of an ocean, if there is nothing to do (not even sail), sleep often becomes a pastime. I do not begrudge this. While I would prefer to be sailing (and no doubt so too the crew), having a quiet start to this leg is not a disappointment after the busy time spent in Hawaii.
Then there is Bill Nickson -- ship's agent extraordinaire! Bill was very helpful in making sure all the proper formalities were attended to. He also was our main source of local knowledge for things technical - like where to get that special widget we just had to have. Bill was my host at Propeller and Rotary Club meetings. The word of PRIDE's Open House was spread effectively at these gatherings, resulting in over 2,000 visitors on a sunny Honolulu Sunday.
The staff of the Hawaiian Maritime Center are a wonderful example of the Aloha spirit. They accommodated our needs to use the phone at all hours. They were prompt with messages that came to the Museum for me or the ship. Deliveries at all hours did not seem to bother them either, as goods and spares came from the mainland as well as from the islands. Meanwhile, they had a business to run - but they were always most helpful. Without these folks, and many more that I have left out, PRIDE's stay and the accomplishments of the crew in readying her for another long voyage would not have gone as smoothly it did. In Hawaiian, "thanks" is "mahalo." So, from me and all aboard PRIDE II, MAHALO to all our Hawaiian friends!!
But even with some time off and lots of maintenance accomplished, the time eventually came to get underway. Personally I could have stayed another week. The crew did such a great job of tending to ship maintenance I wanted another week for more of the same. It would have also given the crew more time off. But the schedule - and the crew - were in agreement. It was "time to go!" They were hankering for that privacy and orderliness that comes from having a small world to live in. I understand this impulse. But I wonder if they were just relieved there would not be anymore nonstop maintenance!
It is very easy to dismiss the colorful Chinese ceremonies with their fire crackers and dragons as just an excuse to party. But Captain Lyman explained the symbolism of the ceremonies and it was very moving. For instance, there were two dragons that are actually elaborate and colorful tiger costumes. Inside a trail of young people following each other in a serpentine movement make the dragon come alive. The lead person is responsible for moving the head of the tiger in ways that symbolize various meanings. A percussion band plays in the background providing a happy but eerie tune for the dragon to move by. The gymnastics of the leader are elaborate. After a series of choreographed moves on the dock, the dragons came aboard. There is a tradition of "feeding" the dragon money to get "good luck" for the coming voyage. There was much humor involved as various guests and crew members fed the big cats who eyed the proffered morsels with interest. The Chinatown elders were escorted by four "Miss Chinatown" representatives.
Captain Lyman then offered a closing ceremony in Hawaiian style. He took a bunch of ti leaves and had a number of people in the crew and some among the well wishers split the leaves on either side of the stalk. He then tied the leaves in two bunches -- one bunch was hung aft and another hung forward. Then everyone, those on board and those on the dock, formed a huge circle by holding hands. David then offered an Hawaiian prayer. With that accomplished, it was "all hands prepare for departure." Ready to cast off dock lines -- stand by engines -- fire up the radio -- call traffic control -- take in dock lines -- engage engines -- move away from the dock with lots of waving -- fire a cannon or two while sail is set -- more cannons and more sail. As we turn away from the shore, it's time to set off the Chinese fire crackers hanging from the main boom. This symbolizes separation from shore. Then more sail as we exit the main channel. The Honolulu Pilot boat carried David Lyman and Leslie Bridgett and other well-wishers. Leslie was taking video pictures of the departure. Eventually the pilot boat came alongside and the cameras were handed off to the boat. Now it was truly time to say the last goodbye. As we left the Pilot boat and other escort craft, PRIDE II turned into the sun in the southwest and moved off at a fair speed in the moderate breeze. Eight knots felt good for the beginning of a new leg of this adventurous voyage.
As darkness came on, a new moon was shining ahead, almost as a beacon. But, it too, soon went to bed by sinking below the horizon. With just one watch on deck, PRIDE continued to slide on towards the southwest as Oahu slowly shrank behind us. When I was sure that everything necessary had been dealt with, I, too, sank away below. But not for long. Around 0200 hours this morning, the wind died and the ship's rolling woke me up. We started one motor and took in a lot of sail. It has been like this all day. We're motoring slowly in a near oily swell. What little wind there is, is behind us. We are making about 5.5 to 6 knots and have only gotten south of 19d North. My hope is that a new high now moving east from the Asian continent will slide across to our north and give us the trade winds back in a day or so. By that time, we should be south of 17d North. Then maybe we can get some sailing miles behind us.
Cheers
Past Logs| February 1998 | January 1998 | December 1997 | October 1997 | September 1997| August 1997 | July 1997 | June 1997 | May 1997 | March - April 1997 | December 1996 | September - November 1996 | August 1996 | July 1996 | June 1996 | May 1996 | |
We are 130 miles away from Shanghai. The wind is now between 25-30 knots out of the south. We are reasonably ready for the near gale that is predicted for tonight and tomorrow. We're shortened down to just the foresail and the staysail - everything else is stowed tightly. We have even taken the jibtopsail in from the jib-boom and triced up the jib. The mainsail has all its gaskets tied in. Too bad we could not be in Shanghai now, but there is not much flexibility for having us come in any ol' time we want. That's due partly to the busy harbor, partly to our mission. So, for the last couple of days, we have been poking along as fast as the light winds of late would give us, or motoring economically when the light winds died. We won't be early, but we will weather out the blow.
The crew's feeling of lassitude I have been wondering about does not exist in our engineer, John Shellenberger. For the last three days he has been warming up the crew to participate in a movie he was creating, GODZILLA WITH PRIDE. The crew's response to his first efforts was a little lame. Only a few seemed to get into the spirit. But when he showed everyone how that effort looked, everyone got enthusiastic and today they made the final cut. Andy Jackson, our cook, is a bit of a media maven and had some ideas about the script and how to do some of the scenes. His voice was used to tell the story. Others in the crew helped out with special effects and noises. Everyone helped out with the tumultuous experience of Godzilla's attack on PRIDE. The final cut is, I must say, very clever and hilarious. My admiration goes out to John and his assistants.
I have been kept busy today as well. The ship received a long fax from the agent in Shanghai. It had all kinds of requests for information and instructions for preparing paperwork prior to entry. So I spent the day getting the information together and sending some of it out to him. The formality Shanghai is looking for seems very complicated - much more so than anywhere else in the world PRIDE has visited. This is probably because recreational boating across international borders is not common in China, so they may not have the simplified paperwork for yachts and vessels like ours that are not carrying cargo. It remains to be seen just how the authorities in China will perceive PRIDE. Currently they are asking for a form that shows the ship has no rats, a form to show everyone is healthy, a form to describe the cargo, a form to describe the crew, a form to describe the goods that are on the ship. There are also forms to show the licensing of the ship and her crew. Generally, the only forms of any detail asked of PRIDE by Customs and Immigration elsewhere are crew lists (although sometimes a list of the ship's stores is requested).
The context of my search for these elusive storms is my fear that we may sail into a zone we could avoid if I was more precisely able to identify places described in the weather reports. Fortunately, the weather fax gives a map overview, so I am not completely in the dark, and I can figure out many, if not all, of the references.
I went with the second shift. Because I did not have any personal chores, John showed me around a bit. Guam is mostly a military asset for the United States. Its harbor is very protected from everything but a direct hit from a typhoon. The military presence is not overbearing, so civilian life is all I saw. The biggest commercial enterprise on the island is tourism - mostly Korean until the recent economic problems. Now it is Japanese tourism. Tourism consists mostly of hotels and shopping in "American" stores. Nearly every imaginable American high profile store and restaurant has a presence on Guam - Planet Hollywood and Hard Rock Cafe are just two examples. Other tourist activities include the beach, underwater coral tours, and a bit of World War II history. The island is much too big to see in the three hours we had, but near the main town there is a high promontory that gives a breathtaking view. Two Lovers Cliff is a sheer drop of some 500 feet on the water side. On the other side, there is a sweeping vista of the hotels and the southwest side of the island.
Guam was nearly denuded during the American effort to retake it from the Japanese during World War II. An effort to recultivate grass and other vegetation has saved the island from washing away with the rainy season. But after a typhoon-paka (super typhoon) last December, the island looks almost like a desert for lack of vegetation. The wind force that hit the island was easily 180 miles an hour, and it flattened or uprooted much of the vegetation. Evidence of the typhoon is still visible everywhere. In the harbor, a large waste oil tank, 150 feet in diameter and 60 feet high, had its top blown off and its walls collapsed. In town several aluminum-sided buildings were blown apart. The windows of most public schools are still blown out, so school is only half day because air conditioning is not available and it gets too hot to stay in school in the afternoon. The list of damage is nearly endless. But even so, tourism is still bustling and the crew got much of what they wanted. Including a lot of ice cream!
We got underway around 1700 hours and set sail for Shanghai toward the northwest. The trade winds are still blowing, and so with a double-reefed mainsail, full foresail, staysail, jib, and foretopsail, PRIDE has been making between 8 and 10 knots since leaving Guam. The wind has not been steady. Sometimes it is above 20 knots and sometimes below. Just above 20 knots is a critical point for deciding to take in the foretop or reef it. So far in the last 48 hours the topsail has been taken in twice, reefed twice, and set full twice. Other than that activity, it has been a lumpy ride in a near beam sea of 8 feet made by the northeast breeze. Meal times have been more interesting as we now have fruit at breakfast and salad at lunch and supper - thanks to Andy's shopping spree in Guam. Today was movie matinee day, too. Between the ship's bouncing around and all the noise and action of the "Last Action Hero," it's a wonder that some of the moviegoers didn't get seasick!
Not much more than a half a day after I was lamenting the bad luck of a head-on breeze while in the trade wind belt, the trades came back with a vengeance! First we had a period of rain with light wind from the northwest. Then wind increased from the north. Soon we had 30 knots and we reefed the mainsail. For the last 26 hours, we have been sailing at nearly 10 knots -- and in the right direction!
Motoring along is not as simple as it may sound. PRIDE has limited fuel and lots of resistance. The masts and rigging can produce resistance over and above the drag of the hull through the water. When the wind comes from behind, it is possible to get a lot of speed out of just one engine, which makes for some incredible economy. But when the wind is coming directly at us, resistance can double or triple.
Light air can be frustrating for the crew too. The captain is in a foul mood and spends lots of time looking over and into everything. The sails go up and come down as the wind changes direction and force. For instance, we have set and doused the headsails and the foresail THREE times today in the span of 8 hours. Dare I mention El Niño? It could be that these conditions are "normal," at least within the grand sweep of the planet's history. But for the last 100 years during which statistics have been kept, we should find those wonderful easterly trade winds at this latitude around 55% of the time. And in March the trades are supposed to be even stronger than usual. I would say we have not had what is "normal" for more than 20% of the time, considering both direction and strength. Hope our fortune changes soon.
Yesterday we had a ship cross our bow from the northwest heading to the southeast. It appeared to be Chinese as we could see containers stacked on deck labeled COSCO (China Overseas Shipping Company), a Chinese firm. While we could see the Chinese characters of the name of the ship and her place of origin on the stern, we could not make out the English print below them. After it passed us and was heading off, we got a call on the radio. The watch leader wanted to find out what we were, where we were from, and where we were going. His English was not conversational but he was adequately clear when using small words and short sentences. He confirmed that both he and the ship were from Shanghai and were headed for New Zealand. It was a kick to hear him say, "Welcome to China" when he learned where we were going.
Interestingly, we crossed the dateline at 2352 hrs Monday night. Therefore it was 1152 hrs Tuesday at Greenwich, since we are 12 hours earlier. That made it Tuesday night for us, but still just before noon on Tuesday in Greenwich. Then, at midnight just eight minutes later, it became Wednesday for us, yet it was still mid-day Tuesday in Greenwich. So, here we are, sailing well for the first time in a few days and we lose a whole calendar day in a matter of eight minutes! Confusing? It takes a little study, but it does make sense. But at least we have found some wind and are putting away the miles. We made almost 190 miles yesterday, noon to noon!
It's Saturday, March 7. We've been underway a whole week! We are about 900 nautical miles (as the Brown Faced Booby flies) from Honolulu on a true bearing of 245 degrees. In distance traveled, we have sailed 1,152 nautical miles. If this leg turns into a 5,000 mile voyage, we are about a fifth of the way toward Shanghai.
While life aboard has been very serene for the crew, I have been more than fully engaged moment to moment in getting the most out of the ship and the weather. Since starting to sail, we have jibed twice a day - generally in the morning around breakfast and in the evening before dark. It is then that the wind direction seems to change, almost like clockwork. We have been spending days on the port reach and nights on the starboard reach. The process of deciding when to jibe is not clear cut. While a 10 degree shift in the wind can translate mathematically and suggest a jibe is called for, sea conditions and overall strategy muddy the decision pretty quickly. For instance latitude is a big factor. Looking at the maps from our weather fax, it is apparent there are stronger winds near latitude 10 degrees North. However, sailing that far south increases the overall mileage dramatically. The weather maps indicate there is wind at latitude 15 degrees North, but it is not the 20 knots being indicated at 10 degrees North. Instead it is 15 knots at 15 North.
On our sixth day out of Honolulu, we are moving to the southwest again -- more south than west I am afraid. On the starboard jibe we had gotten back up to the 16th parallel but the wind seemed to be getting less strong during the preceding 24 hours. So we jibed over toward the southwest last night at about 1800 hrs ship time. Right now we are steering southwest and making nearly 9 knots rather than the 7+ knots of the last couple of days. For me this is the best feeling that I have had since the beginning of this leg. However, I still don't know if the time allowed to get to Shanghai is enough.
The big picture is this. Shanghai is near 30 degrees north. Hawaii is at 20 degrees north. The shortest distance between the two would be a great circle route towards the northwest. But we can't do that because it would sail PRIDE right into the wintertime storm track of the North Pacific. It is also not practical to sail straight west from Hawaii. If we did that, we would experience quite a bit of wind from the northwest and west (straight at us). PRIDE's strong suit is not going to windward (into the wind). She sails better off, or away from, the wind. So, instead of the great circle or due west routes, we go south till we hit the trade winds. These are those wonderfully steady winds that come from the east along the latitudes adjacent to the equator.
But something pretty exciting happened yesterday to distract us all. Sadly it was not the lovely Mahi-Mahi that fed everyone amply at supper last night. No, it was a phone call from my former partner, Captain Robert Glover. Getting a phone call while sailing a traditional tall ship is a weird feeling. Getting it when one has been underway for a while on a voyage across a huge expanse of sea where we have seen very little life at all is even more strange. Bob called to inform me of a situation that was about to become public that he thought I should know about, especially as I knew the people involved. Soon to be made public was the fact that my friend Captain Daniel Moreland and the 
PRIDE found some very fine friends in Honolulu on this visit. Being able to dock alongside the four-masted FALLS OF CLYDE at the Hawaii Maritime Center at Honolulu's Pier 7 was a Godsend. None of the municipal piers where we might have docked have electricity and water. We were able to get both from the Museum. This meant the generator and the watermaker could be given a rest. Those on board were also spared the noise and heat of the generator. Captain David Lyman, Honolulu Pilot #5 and a trustee of the Museum, was also invaluable as a new friend with the generous use of his vehicle and hospitality. He was also instrumental in getting me connected to weather authorities at the University of Hawaii and the NOAA office at the university. He also provided a huge amount of information about Hawaiian history and lore.
Captain Lyman was also instrumental in involving Honolulu's Chinatown leaders in a very colorful send-off ceremony, complete with Chinese traditions for good luck. During that sendoff, Chinatown seniors blessed a special piece of cargo PRIDE is carrying to Shanghai. It's a granite rock shaped into a sidewalk stone that came to Honolulu from Shanghai as ballast in a cargo ship in the mid 19th century.
Coordinating crew time off and work to be done on the ship is a tricky balancing act. The ship must be cared for, but so too the crew. This crew had been on the ship sailing and working from Baltimore to Honolulu for two months and seven thousand miles by the time they arrived in Honolulu in February. Once the ship was cleaned up and our relationship established with the Maritime Museum, it was time to give some time off. Shortly after arrival, Captain Parrott established a routine where the crew would get alternating days off - two days for each watch, each week, spanning Friday through Monday. Thus the ship would have maintenance seven day a week, with all hands at work Tuesday through Thursday. In the three weeks PRIDE was in Honolulu, the ship was very well tended and the crew got a goodly amount of personal time. For instance, some crew members flew to other islands in the state. And the ship got almost all its varnish brought back to life. Today, as she motors along seeking out the wind, she looks better than she did when she left Baltimore in early December.
While the crew and her captain were hard at work, Leslie Bridgett, ship's teacher, was totally occupied in discovering Hawaii and introducing Maryland school kids to Hawaiian school kids. I don't think she got any time off as she was whisked off by various hosts on tours of Oahu, visits to several schools, personal tours of museums and cultural centers, and meetings to demonstrate Maryland's distance learning project we're calling ASIA with PRIDE. While all this was happening, Leslie had much writing to do to inform students back home about Hawaii via PRIDE's web site. Deadlines to get words and pictures beamed up to the satellite and back to Baltimore often kept her occupied late into the night as PRIDE's crew hit the town. Check out the fruits of her labors - they are spectacular! 
Saturday, February 28, arrived and, except for a few last minute details, the ship was ready to go. At 1400 hrs we shifted to the adjacent pier, Aloha Tower Pier #8 which houses an Inner Harbor-like festival hall of shops and restaurants. Departure ceremonies were hosted by Captain David Lyman of the Maritime Museum and the Honolulu Chinatown elders. Before the ceremonies started, all hands were given leis. These colorful rings of flowers carry much symbolism. There are different patterns of flowers given to ladies and men. They are not only lovely to look at, they smell great, too.
After the dragons left the ship, these beautiful young ladies and the elders gathered with me on deck around the granite rock we had boarded earlier. The ship, the crew, and I were given best wishes along with a proclamation entrusting the rock to our care to return it to Shanghai from where it had come 200 years ago. It was now a half hour before departure.
As we proceeded, the crew went about straightening up and final stowing. Behind us were the beautiful green mountains of Oahu with a lace topping of cloud. In a short while we came across the three-masted topsail schooner
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