For sailors leaving the protected waters of North America's Pacific Northwest, this is often the first offshore/overnight passage of a grand sailing adventure. And it can be a daunting one… even with tens of thousands of offshore miles under our keels, I'll admit I suffered a few sleepless nights ahead of time. Hence, my theory: … Continue reading Passage PNW to San Francisco – Thoughts and Tips
We are into the shotgun departures! Two nights in Crescent City were much appreciated to break up the trip, catch up on sleep, enjoy celebratory coffee and beer, and see part of California's 'Wild Rivers Coast'. More on that later. We had no plans to leave yesterday, Saturday; we'd rented a car and spent the … Continue reading Doesn’t get much nicer
A quick update - it's been a foggy day. Radar is key for dodging fishing boats as none of them seem to transmit AIS. We keep a close watch. We're making good time, heading for Crescent City, Northern California. We should arrive around 6am tomorrow morning. Looking forward to it! This morning I saw a … Continue reading Shark Fin and Fog
Our position: 45*42'N 124*54'W Motor sailing at 7knots 172*T I may have given yesterday's position incorrectly (the chart plotter cursor position, not the boat - whoops!) So sailing through fog through the night... it's interesting. Just before sunset last night, the fog started closing in on us and the wind picked up at the same … Continue reading Fog all night
47*42'.1N 124*56'.5W Heading due south 19nm off Hoh Head We were up at 5am to catch a ride on the magic carpet - a strong ebb tide out the Straight of Juan de Fuca. Two other BCA boats (SV Double Deuce and SV Angelique) had already departed in the wee hours of the morning. Hopefully … Continue reading The Big Left Turn
All is well aboard Hydroquest once again. Many days of rest in Nelson Bay did the trick, and now we are back to normal activity level. Hydroquest was starting to grow roots onto the jetty dock, so early one morning we woke up and said “Let’s go!” The forecast was for light easterly winds, but in … Continue reading Nelson Bay to Newcastle
We did it!!! It feels incredible to be safely berthed in the Coffs Harbour Marina in AUSTRALIA after sailing across the biggest ocean in the world to get here. After I posted ‘Frustrating Day’, we had the most wonderful sailing conditions. The wind was soft but enough to keep us moving at 7 knots (HQ loves her light … Continue reading Landfall AUSTRALIA
Tonight will be the final night of our Pacific ocean crossing. We've covered 7,000 nautical miles in the past seven months since we left Mexico, and now there's only 130 to go. 130!! It seems ridiculous. We've spent 47 nights at sea, and tonight will be the last one (on this trip 😉 ). The … Continue reading Final night at sea
This passage has given us a very mixed bag of conditions. Yesterday afternoon's wind blew itself out by 7pm so the engine went back on and has been running ever since. This morning an E swell came up from behind us, but without any wind to help us sail. Frustrating, motoring in lumpy seas. Right … Continue reading Frustrating Day
Last night we entered a cloud bank and line of rain squalls. Not the scary kind, thank goodness, just the annoying kind. The rain washed all the salt water off Hydroquest's decks but meant that we were stuck down below on watch once again. The wind continued to drop throughout the night and by 7am … Continue reading Sailing at its finest
