Mexico-Hawaii Log5

• Day 12

Not much going on a that point. Days start to repeat themselves. Wind did not shift yet and sky is still overcast. We have been 10 days at sea now and likely, the biggest part of the journey is behind us. We are making steady progress to the West at 6knots, 140 nm/day. The pace is around 7mph - I go  faster when I run :) - but the boat  goes on and on for hours. This keep astonish me. Only notable fact today was that I felt very tired, light headache and in a gloomy mood. Maybe the fallback of the stress if last week or the down of the energy level. Or just a small cold. It is still chilly on deck all day, with all those clouds. And the wind from the NE is cold as well. Hopefully the clouds will disappear as the wind shift, and it might even be tomorrow. But I have been saying that for days now. Anyway, white man problems at that point. The important is that we are on course, the weather is fine and the boat continues to sail herself. I am pretty sure she could reach Japan by herself no problem. She was made for this and she is doing it quite well, no doubts.

• Day 13

Today: around 5am we had the good news if the wind shift to the East, meaning we could head toward Maui and South. Around 6am the wind picked up and then the bad news : on this tack, the windvane could not handle it. After investigation, there is too much play in some parts of the mechanism for such strain. We were ready to take he helm for the next 7 days which would have been serious strain. After 2 hours of tweaking, we found a balance between heading, sails and the windvane that seems to be working. Joining the party, the sun showed up later on. We are back on track, at a pace down a notch. That should not delay our arrival to the islands more than one day overall. With the slow pace, the downwinder and the sun, this really start to look like lazy vacation. Only the swell shake the boat every now and then to remind us we are still pretty far out in the middle of nowhere.

Felt better today. Not sure what was on me yesterday. Maybe just tiredness. We just passed the 3/4 longitude marker of the journey. I am still amazed how we are just cruising along in the middle of nowhere. Did  I mention we saw some dolphins here and there? There is life under our keel. To finally feel some sun on deck was relaxing. And I can tell already the night will be a little warmer too. It feels we are back on tracks.

• Day 14

Interesting night so far. Of course, as soon as we realized our windvane was giving up, the wind decided to blow seriously. We had gust over 30 knots and the sea is still big, at least 3 meters waves. Gilles took the helm eventually as we were getting totally overpowered. Our limping autopilot couldn't handle this anymore. Now, for my watch the situation is under control but we are keeping close surveillance at the wheel. I don't think I have been at sea on those conditions yet. I am adjusting my references about what the boat can handle , the rig can yell, and the wind scream. Of course, no breaking waves at that point, it was always safe, still impressive. A boat is so noisy ... I read story of boat diving under waves, cockpit full of grey water, hard to imagine. Anyway, the good news is the heading is actually pretty good, and we are screaming our way in direct line. We will see what the remaining of the night got for us. In daylight, everything seems always more manageable. No wonder haunted houses are always pitch black. We like to scare ourselves here as well.

As for today, not much going on. Weather is quite similar than yesterday and we are making good progress. Seas are still very disturbed and quite big. That begin to wear on the crew. I don't think we had one day in calm seas since the beginning. I am glad it is coming to an end soon, I feel a bit tired. It will be good to be home, on a flat surface :)

Wednesday, April 23

Wind map April 23 2am HST