Archive | February, 2016

I have been reading a couple of books on Captain Cook. Short version: he explored the South Pacific, Australia, New Zealand and the South Pole and was eaten by cannibals in Hawaii. As we are sailing in his wake I thought it would be enjoyable to read his adventures, but now I am convinced he is cursing us from the grave (actually from the belly of the Hawaiian who ate him).

The evidence of this curse is that every time I read a chapter where something afflicts Cook’s ship something similar occurs on Two Fish. I have wisely suspended reading anymore pages until we are safely in Australia.

#1
Shortly after reading about a series of painful illness striking the Endeavor, I was set back with a flu. I am sure this came from the pages of the book.

#2
We had the amazing crew of Mike and Rebecca from Zero To Cruising aboard. They made the canal passage easy and we are thankful they came aboard. However, the curse of Cook did not escape them. In the book Cook has an issue with his anchor. Later, on Two Fish I noticed our stern anchor did not seem too effective. I pulled on the line and it came to the boat with little effort. At the end of the line was only half of a shackle. Mike had forgotten to tighten the shackle properly and my stern anchor had escaped. A well studied sailor had been done in by the curse of Cook. After one and a half hours of diving, the search was given up as the visibility was poor. Two Fish is fine as we still have two anchors and Into the Blue, another rally boat, was quick to offer their spare anchor. What a nice bunch of folks. Cook did not have friends like us!

#3
Cook hit the barrier reef and two days after reading of his crash, Two Fish bumped bottom. We dropped anchor in 5 meters of water. The tide went out a bit more than the tables predicted and the depth sounder was reading 3.2 meters. Gail took the handheld sensor and measured the depth from the stern because the built in sensor is near the bow. Our stern depth was 1.9 but we only need 1.2 meters. A wave came and stole some of our water. We touched bottom. Gail was great and was working the anchor chain in a flash. We moved forward 5 meters and had plenty of water. We learned to afford some room for waves in our depth calculations. We were smart to stay onboard during the tide change as it would have been much worse had we been ashore.

#4
Captain Cook complains that his crew was too slow with the lead line used for sounding the depth. Instead of a depth sounder issue, Two Fish’s anemometer (wind meter) is starting to fail. The Cook curse was noticed at anchor yesterday. The computer was displaying zero knots of wind during a zephyr of over 5 knots. I shook the mast and the anemometer cups began to spin and the computer showed 5 knots. The problem was not electrical but mechanical at the top of the mast. Gail “volunteered” to go to the top of the mast and investigate. Despite two trips to the top she was unable to change the performance of the misbehaving machine. It seems the bearing has seized up and the unit is not serviceable. A call to Furuno support confirmed our fears but we were told there is a near by service center in Singapore (9,000 miles away). We do carry a spare hand held wind meter and our next crew (Jim and Theresa) will come with a replacement for the broken part (thanks guys!). Any volunteers for installing the devil?

#5
Cook had many issues when meeting the natives of the South Pacific Islands. Spears being tossed at his crew, insults yelled in unknown languages and natives with scary face paint barking guttural noises were some of Cook’s negative negative encounters. Two Fish was attacked by paperwork. At one point we had 12 representatives from the Galapagos aboard Two Fish. They were all polite and only asked for water.

We are officially in offshore passage rhythm. 2 hours of “on watch” followed by six hours “off watch” is the plan. Reality works out to something different. Mike and Rebecca often share their watches while I will often do the bulk of Gail’s night watches and she does the bulk of my day watches. Our bodies are used to being jiggled, we walk naturally like penguins and hold on to the boat at all times. We enjoying chatting when a crowd forms in the cockpit but also appreciate the silence of standing a solo watch. The boat and the sea set the tempo. Sometimes life is very slow and patience is required. We spent a night coasting in light air with twin head sails pulling us along. While other times one is very busy. My heart rate races with the physical effort of a full sail change. Chute down. Boat head to wind. Full Main up. Screecher deployed. Clean up lines. Head back to the bunk. Did I reef too early? Is the wind light enough for the chute? Will there be a large wind shift? Books are read, music listened to and radio chats with other rally boats.

I enjoy watching the birds coasting inches above the water as they hunt for fish. Mike and Rebecca are also keen fishermen and they caught 4 yellow fin tuna in 24 hours. The fishing rods are stowed and we will gorge on fresh fish for the next two days. Galapagos customs will not allow us to bring in caught fish so the choices are eat it or loose it. I choose eat it. How is tuna on cereal?

The bigger boats are thinking about arriving in the Galapagos but we still have 2 more nights at sea. Rally boats are asked to use a stern anchor to fit the large quantity of participant boats. Nicely the water taxis will help deploy your stern anchor, what a deluxe service. I think the rally organizers oversold the rally. A smaller number of boats would make the rendez vous anchorages less complicated. However, the pacific ocean is huge so there is plenty of room for all 32 boats.

I will watch a Galapagos related documentary tonight unless Two Fish needs a bunch of sail changes. I write this while the water maker is producing 25 gallons per hour. With 4 people aboard we use about 20 gallons a day. Our batteries also need charging so it is two tanks with one generator?

Here is an example of one of the many sailing puzzles we had to solve now we are going downwind. Downwind was a rarity in the eastern Caribbean.
True wind speed of 10 knots and true wind angle of 180 (dead down wind). We had twin heads sails of chute (pink stink) and screecher(black fish). This rig works well in 12 knots or more but as the breeze dropped to 8 to 10 knots both sails shook on every wave and the boat was frustrating to steer and slow. Our solution was to drop screecher and steered TWA (true wind angle) of 135-140. Boat moved very well under only the chute. We were much faster with just one sail that with two. This faster speed takes into account the fact we were sailing off course. We were able to sail the whole night while many near by boats were motoring. We actually kept pace with them.

Jason
www.twofishcat.com

New crew and Two Fish forge an understanding during their first full night at sea. Last night our crew Mike and Rebecca met Two Fish in an ocean breeze of 20 knots with squalls going over 30. Both crew and boat are unscathed and happy. Before buying a boat one might think passages are a test of your ability to fill empty time. You research workouts, download books and possibly pick up a crochet kit.
A night passage in a good breeze keeps the crew busy. Fishing sometimes takes second position to frequent sail changes, course adjustments, tracking other rally boats and avoiding ships. In the past 24 hours we have had the mainsail in FULL, 1 Reef, 2 Reef, 1 reef, Full. The headsail changes are a blur but as far as I can remember they were screecher, chute, genoa, genoa 1 reef, genoa 2 reef, screecher, genoa, genoa 1 reef, genoa 2 reef, genoa 1 reef, genoa 2 reef, genoa 1 reef, full genoa, and screecher. This does not include many jibes and other maneuvers. With all this work comes a peace that you have earned your place among the sea. That you belong out in the biggest ocean on earth. The word gets out and dolphins and whales come by the boat to greet the boat. The stars are told that you are a serious sailor and they twinkle a bit brighter. The sea bubbles with phosphorescence in concert with the stars. The wind gives you a hair style that proves you live at sea. Can life be any better?

At 11 am Panama time the Rally committee the starting gun to begin the leg to the Galapagos. It was a downwind start with a half knot of current pushing us across the line. A racing mono hull was early and luffed us up at the start to avoid crossing the line early. Cruising cats can not respond with equally nimble behavior to a racing mono hull. I turned the helm hard to starboard and the Two Fish crew luffed our jib. We slowed the boat and avoided the racing boat. A little too much excitement for a start of a rally.

Shortly after the gun went off we navigated by a few reefs. Gail was hard at work on the tablet to ensure we avoided any rocks. Twenty minutes later we were in deep water and it was time for the chute. Two Fish accelerated doing a solid 8 knots. We slowly started picking off the faster rated boats and the loved the large pink chute. It was not without effort as we had to jibe multiple times to keep clear of the big boats wind blanketing rigs.

The breeze filled in to over 25 knots and Mike snuffed the chute will Rebecca rolled out the genoa. We now had to weave through the busy shipping lanes. We chose our spot with the help of the AIS. I never cross a large ship’s bow but at the panama canal approach you have to find a spot and go for it. One large mono hull chose a novel and illegal technique. She was sailing up the middle of the inbound lane with 3 large ships heading toward her. Sailboats are required to pass across these canal approach lanes at 180 degree angle. This boat skipped this rule. A distraught captain of a container ship hailed him and asked “what was your intention”. I think the captain wanted to ask him what was his problem. The sailboat then replied that he was sailing and could only turn to starboard. That must have gotten a response on the container ship! A guy driving the wrong way on a one way starts dictating terms. The three ships adjusted their speed and course. No darwin award was given today despite the sailboat’s best efforts.

We have the screecher and full main flying in 20 knots which is fine but I have my eyes open as reefing will be required later tonight. The forecast is for more breeze and some uncomfortable waves over 2 meters. The forecast goes on to predict that after two days of good breeze we may be forced to motor in light airs.

Happy now, I love it at sea. Passages are a place I feel comfortable and relish the time.

Jason and the great crew of two fish
www.twofishcat.com

This one is for those of our readers who prefer boat fix-it adventures rather than sunsets and hikes.

DST (Depth, Speed via paddle wheel, and Sea temp transducer)

Shortly before our departure from Mogo Mogo to Isla Contadora, I noticed that the chart plotter was not showing depth data. I consulted the emergency protocol with anything running Windows. The protocol instructed me to reboot. This had fixed this problem a few days earlier but was not the cure this morning. After a bit of messing about, we weighed anchor since Two Fish has a back-up depth sounding device, a fish finder. The network that transmits data throughout Two Fish is mostly NMEA 2000. Each device can contribute data (PGN’s) and/or listen to data. The fish finder is not on the NMEA network so the depth data was only appearing on the chart plotter. A quick click and the chartplotter was told to publish the depth data and the whole boat system knew our depth. But the primary depth sounder and paddle wheel log still needed to be fixed. Once in our new anchorage we called Furuno for advice before prying parts open. I wanted to open up the top of the transducer but Gail slowed me down. The delay was worth it, as Furuno told us the top is weather-sealed. Instead, they instructed us to check the junction box. This box accepts data from various NMEA-speaking devices such as the wind instruments, GPS antenna, and many others. So many others that the junction box is crowded. On closer examination, Gail discoverd a couple of wires were touching, possibly creating a short and preventing the DST from working properly. Problem fixed for the short run, but in the long run we should clean up the wiring in the junction box to make it bulletproof. We also learned that the cable from the DST has a connecting point near the port water heater. This mightcome in handy in the future, if we need to swap out the unit.
Dyneema Soft Shackle Replaces Mantus for attaching bridle to anchor

The boat came with a Wichard hook to attach the bridle to the anchor. The Wichard’s pin is very easy to bend and a bent pin in the closed position can create some annoyance when weighing anchor. Early on we tossed the Wichard in the waste bin. Instead we have been using the bullet proof Mantus chain hook. The Mantus’ lack of moving parts and solid construction reduces concerns that this would be a point of failure. The shortcoming of the hook is that it requires that I (Jason) must come forward and hang over the water to attach it to and remove it from the chain. This concerns me if I had to weigh anchor quickly at night in big seas. The soft shackle can exit and enter the boat with the chain and does not require any bow ballet moves. Some argue that it also pulls on the chain in a more natural position and thus gives a higher breaking strength for the system. Early days but we like it so far. Thanks to Mike and Rebecca for bringing this along for testing and for constructing it themselves.

Water pump spinning like mad

The water pump was pumping furiously without any intention of stopping. Moment for head scratching. Kristal, our sister ship, had a similar problem. He diagnosed the problem as a bad water pump. He planned to do a pump rebuild but lacked the kit. However, in the interim he realized his problem was only a loose pipe, causing air to enter the system. So using another man’s hard-earned lesson we checked the system for air leaks. The issue only occurred when drawing from the port tank. I announced how smart we were for narrowing down the problem. It must be a poor fitting between the tank and the pump. Starting at the tank, I reset the hose into the quick connect fitting. Then Gail climbed into the battery locker and other remote parts of the boat looking for leaky connections. Finally Mike and Rebecca swapped out a half-inch isolator valve on 15 mm pipe for the correct 15mm part. I thought that this could be the air leak. We then turned the system on and I was ready to celebrate our victory, but the pumping kept sprinting along. Gail then asked a question: “Is the tank empty?”. I requested a mallet and a soft touch to the water tank sensor caused the gauge to drop from full to empty. Next time I will remember the fundamental rule, start with the easiest fix first.

SSB DSC

What an alphabet sandwich for a section heading? It reminds me of some work acronyms. In this case, it refers to our long range radio’s ability to place a call to another long range radio. The SSB radio is misunderstood and ignored by most of our cruising friends. Gail has tried to learn a bit about the operation. We now can send email via SSB and tune in a particular station. Recently, Kristal installed a DSC (distress call) antenna for us. Kind of shocked me that the SSB needs a second antenna. We initially tried to call each other using this feature but failed. But Gail tried again with another sailboat, Zoom. She figured out that you have to hold down the call key for 2 seconds at the final step and voila another mystery solved.

Diving for Barnacles

Galapagos immigration is very harsh if you have marine life attached to your hull. If you fail the marine inspection you are sent away from the harbor to an area 50 miles offshore. There you will await hull cleaning. This would be uncomfortable and very annoying. I have worked very hard to avoid this outcome. I have spent over 4 hours diving a freshly painted hull to remove anything from the animal kingdom. My focus has been barnacles which led to much research about their lonely life. They only travel for their first ten days and thereafter are attached head first to Two Fish’s hull. Is that why they are born without a heart?
While cleaning the hull, I was stung many times by some type of jelly fish. The red welts have not retreated yet. I was also swept away by a current exceeding two knots. At one point I had my legs wrapped around the rudder as if riding a pony. I was upside down trying to clean the dynaplate (a ground for the SSB radio). I also received a few hulls to the head as the waves moved the boat. To add to the fun, visibility in Las Perlas is about 2 feet since the water is very green. I did not lose a limb, and now we have a good chance for a clean bill of health for our Galapagos entry.

Anchor Lights

Near sunset a game broke out of which boat would turn their anchor light on last. The game had a slightly judgmental tone since the goal was to choose the boat who might forget to turn it on at all. As the sun was about to dip under the horizon we realized that Two Fish’s anchor light was not turned on. Next time we will spend less time captaining other boats and try to manage ours better.

Hash

We have enjoyed hashing (running club) in several countries. Now we can add Panama to the list as the rlly led a hash run on Las Perlas Islands. I was thankful to have such a great way to start the day.

Jason
www.twofishcat.com

We started the day with an early morning swim to our expansive private beach. Large rocks trapped pools of water that 20 small fish used as a home as they waited for the tide to return. In a few hours our private beach was back underwater and the green water prevented further fish sightings.
After a hearty breakfast, the kind captain announced that a dinghy trip to the village of Canas was departing shortly. All aboard! The downwind trip was delightful. There is no sign of humans in most of these islands. After a couple of miles we neared the village and realized their beach was protected by a confusing mess of rocks. I raised the motor to low water mode, but the breeze was strong and I began to lose control of the dinghy. Both women jumped over board to guide One Fish into the anchorage.
The town of Canas is a bit sad. There is trash lying on their streets. After a short friendly encounter with the locals we left. I felt a bit like Captain Cook: clueless of what I had just seen. I am reading Captain Cook’s journals, a must read for Pacific sailors.
By the time we returned to One Fish, the tide had filled in most of the bay. I volunteered to drag the dinghy to safe waters but the cost was my flip flop strap got separated from the sole. It is my only pair, so Gail repaired them when we returned to Two Fish. We also replaced a shackle holding the trampoline and added warning thread to the salon screen door. Final upgrade was a mount that holds the PC tablet near the helm, useful when navigating by Sea Clear or Google Earth.

Rebecca and Mike climbed to the summit of the nearby island. Without a path, they got a few cuts from the shrubs. All of this action before cocktail hour. I have really enjoyed paddleboarding the shores of the islands. I sighted species of bird that sounds like a barking dog. I barked back but got no reaction.

At cocktail hour we decided to fly a kite. Really fly a kite. It got airborne with little fanfare, but five minutes into the maiden flight, the line parted. A quick launch of the paddleboard was required to retrieve the kite. Now I am shopping for stronger kite string.

The next day we motored into the wind and current to get closer to the rally rendez-vous. We are going to an island called Mogo Mogo where the TV show Survivor was filmed. When we arrive, it will be boat cleaning day. Mike and Rebecca are doing the deck. I am going to scrub the hull while in Scuba gear. This is very important as the Galapagos authority will send you fifty miles offshore if they find a barnacle. That would really stink. Gail will clean up the inside of the boat.

jason
www.twofishcat.com

We had planned a busy day, so we weighed anchor at first light. We rolled out the screecher and enjoyed a brisk ride in 20 to 25 knots of breeze. Black Fish, the screecher, pulled us along at 8 knots, which is much faster than an ox cart. The Eastern side of Isla del Rey is windswept and pounded by waves, so affords no anchorages. During the downwind trip we were entertained by black clouds of birds. The tern, the pelican and many more which I could not identify swarmed over Two Fish. Their success in diving for fish teased us, as our rods were not able to summon dinner. Pasta tonight for the failed fisherman.

Our goal for the day was the wreck of a very early submarine. The sub was built before man understood the effects of pressure. Many of the crew died of what was diagnosed as the flu. The sub was then used in pearl diving operations, killing more crew. The sub was then wisely abandoned and years later people thought it was a WWII wreck. Much later, a historian figured out the true history. I was excited to go explore the wreck. However, when we reached the reef, I realized the day’s weather would prevent a close-up examination. The day anchorage had short steep waves, two knots of current and puffs over twenty-five knots. When we got close enough, I ran down for the camera. I changed course and headed north. We had spent the first half of the day sailing south on the eastern side. Now it was time to go north by motoring upwind on the western side of Isla del Rey. The first bay was wind swept and all of the anchorages looked uncomfortable so we pressed on. We were hoping to reach an anchorage sandwiched between two islands. The entrance at springs low water (or in American low low water) was charted as one meter. We need 1.2 meters. The guide book reminded us that the bottom in Las Perlas is hard rock. I slowed the boat and we passed over on a rising tide in over two meters of water. Resumption of breathing allowed. Gail was great at coaching me through the gap using our digitized Bauhaus guide.

This anchorage is fairly remote and we are sharing it with just one boat. But the boat is a mega yacht! Their dinghy has AIS and passed us doing 18 knots. They also have a fifty foot sport fishing boat rafted along side. They are too big to get far into the anchorage, so we have some privacy.

As soon as we were safely anchored, we swam, paddleboarded and ate. We are still struggling with figuring out the tides in Las Perlas. Once again, we laid out tons of chain to be prepared for a rising tide. Looks like the Navionics tide module is fairly good. The Furuno is completely confused so I will investigate if it is confused because it is on Zulu time, or if it is just off. We will stay in this anchorage for two nights, so you can expect plenty of goofing about on Two Fish.

Jason

www.twofishcat.com

Sometimes we get a break from long sails, boat repair and crew floggings. Today we bobbed at anchor and enjoyed doing very little. Gail paddled me to the nearby island. We looked for a trail that would lead inland but none were to be found. Instead, we walked the varied coast line which is comprised of hard sand, large boulders, and mud flats. Each surface required a different technique since I was wearing flip flops. I must remember to wash my flip flops or the smell of the sea will become permanently bonded to them.

While strolling down the beach I pondered what I would be doing back in the “real” world. Market volatility would have created a busy work week. A winter Saturday in NYC might include skipping over slush puddles on the way to the gym. This day beats the old life hands down.

We have become lazy about tidal flows since entering the Caribbean. In New England and the ICW knowing the tides is as important as knowing the weather. We arrived at Isla Bayonetta in the earl afternoon yesterday. The chartplotter showed that we were in 6 meters of water and this would rise to 10 meters as the tide returned. Visual inspection of the nearby rocks also indicated low water. So we let out 50 meters of chain to have a scope of 5 to 1 at high tide. By supper time the water had dropped, not raised. The chartplotter was wrong so Two Fish was super-securely anchored with a 9 to 1 scope. Once again, indications that we are outside the usual cruising grounds.

The tides made our walk possible since the far side of the island is thick with mangroves. Only when the tide is out can the island be circumnavigated. After the circum-island navigation we took the paddle board downwind to enjoy an idyllic bay with white sand. The cost was a tough upwind paddle home.

We do have a few chores sitting on the to do list. Deck wash and laundry are dependant on making some more water. The pipe that connects the two watermaker pre-filters needs some extra sealant. This is not an urgent job since the leak is very tiny. I want to do my homework before accidentally disabling such an important machine. Black fish, the screecher, was stowed improperly and the bottom fitting might still need some adjustment. Unlike real work we can postpone these jobs until we reach the next harbor.

Tonight Gail will produce another galley miracle, this one is named chicken-tofu stir fry. I will then screen a short movie on Hugo Chavez, the former leader of Venezuela. Tomorrow we have planned a nice 4 hour downwind sail to the southern end of the largest island in Las Perlas.

Jason
www.twofishcat.com

At first light the clattering of our anchor chain could be heard as it returned to its locker. Two Fish was escaping from Balboa, Panama and heading off to explore Panama’s Las Perlas Islands. We used our motors to thread through 40 ships waiting for their turn to pass through the lock. Ships pay more for express passage so I suppose most of these were on the discount program. Busy season for the locks is in advance of the Christmas shopping season. We are in the middle of low season, a good time for sailing yachts to pass through. The anchorage has large wakes that mercilessly tossed Two Fish side to side. This forced us off the boat to explore a charming old town and a vibrant city. Confession: we spent one afternoon at a modern mall. Panama looks like a nice place for Americans to retire since the prices are decent and the weather warm. We joined the pizza night for “regular” cruisers instead of the Rally’s party bus. We met boats heading to Easter Island and Thailand. Also heard the story of a boat who cleated their line to the wall while in the lock. The line became extremely loaded when the water left the lock and they could not un-cleat it. They cut the line, causing the boat to become lopsided and touch the concrete sides of the lock. Thankfully we had great line handlers.

Thirty minutes after raising anchor, we were able to turn off the engines and propel ourselves to Isla Bayoneta. The breeze built so much that black fish (schreecher) was doused and the genoa rolled out. The breeze topped out at 30 knots causing us to reef the main. Promptly after reefing, the breeze declined while the current pushed us off course. As we approached the island, the wind dropped to a kind 10 knots and we sailed slowly down the coast watching various birds play. While we tried to find the right path in the reef, we reduced our speed to investigate twenty birds floating in the water. Were they just floating or were they on a reef? We gathered up the courage to approach and realized there was plenty of water. The algae are blooming currently so it is impossible to see the bottom. We cautiously approached our anchorage and found a good spot in a large area with only two boats. Balboa’s anchorage was filled with forty boats, two of which had dragged when the breeze rose to a meager 20 knots. I felt excited to have escaped from Balboa.

We have a week in Las Perlas before we head towards the Galapagos. We will spend the next week circumnavigating the island chain before catching up with the rally.

The route to the Galapagos is often blanketed with light breezes. Our hope is that the “gap wind” from the Caribbean comes over the isthmus and propels Two Fish for the first few days. Worst case, we will use our 900 miles of fuel to get to Darwin’s islands.

9,000 miles as the crow flies until Australia. Can’t wait for a kangaroo sandwich, does it come with fries?

Jason
www.twofishcat.com