Miles Day 1: 128
Miles Total: 128
Miles To Japan: 1,320
Cabin Temp: 89 Water Temp: 83
Well this passage is going much better than we thought it would, so far at least. We’re sailing just off the wind, making 6 knots in the direction we want to go. Having not sailed to weather in the last four years, we were a bit unsure about how much of a bash this trip might be, but we’re being pleasantly surprised so far. The boat’s heeled a bit and we do bounce through some low swell and chop, but Rob’s work to lighten the bow and move weight aft was well worth the effort, as we’re not pounding at all. We were both pleased when we discovered it was infinitely sleepable in the cabin last night.
The motor mount repair in Palau went amazingly well. When we came back into the harbor our friends showed up in their dinks to see what was up. As soon as the guys found out it was something as serious as a broken motor mount they all wanted to come aboard and see it and help out. I was down below listening to them talk and thought it was funny that the men took such an interest in something I found so not interesting, until I heard Greg offer up a spare engine mount, and Brian offer up a spare water pump (ours was leaking onto the mount) and Allan offer up help as a former diesel engineer in New Zealand. It’s a typical cruiser story, though. In the end we had a new stud welded onto our motor mount, installed Brian’s water pump, and ordered a new one shipped to him from Seattle. The only challenge was convincing the Port Control and Immigration officers that we were back for repairs, even though it’s legal for us to stay in the country for a full year.
Now we’re heading north, glad to be getting out of the heat for a few years. The weather is lovely, with few clouds and so far a squall free passage. We have up our full jib and mainsail, which is something we also have done very little of in the last four years. So far, so good.
Teresa
