Eleuthera Draws Parrot Fish in the Pacific – a 1500nm Voyage
O Captain, my Captain! Our Fearful Trip is done.
Walt Whitman
The ship has weather’d every storm, the prize we sought is done
The port is near, the bells we hear, the people all exalting..
Departing to French Polynesia
Day 1. Wednesday June 18th Foggy then fine day for departure heading East.
After many delays (see previous blog about upgrades and repairs) we finally departed Marsden Cove on the 18th June. The weather was flat calm and a lovely day. The forecasts were for a storm to go through in 2/3 days but only a max of 25kts. The storm was currently up near Noumea and the weather along the route was looking good for our 2000 mile voyage to the Austral Islands.
As usual we were using MetBob for our forecasts and passage planning. Wtracke had also registered with Passage Guardian to monitor our progress. Things have moved on a little since Kerikeri Radio schedules on the HF radio.
Once out into the harbour, we were motor-sailing on a beautiful, flat, calm day. Unfortunately, the crew were already feeling queasy. The trial sail had been rough and they had felt ill then, but this weather was so lovely. They would be OK not to take any seasickness medication. By lunchtime, they were thinking perhaps they should, sea sickness medication is best taken before leaving the dock!!
Lunch at the Hen & Chicks in 3kts of wind
Day 2. Thursday June 19th
9am NW 10kts and several birds- 3 different petrels, Cape Petrel, Grey Faced Petrel and a third – too fast for photos. 1700 NW 15 G 20kts. Nice sailing and low seas. Crews stomachs are settling down, Sunny during the day but temperature drops fast at night.
Day 3. Friday 20th
Wind still NW now 20kts, sky overcast and rough 2m seas. Wind kept climbing with an overnight average of 20kt gusting 35kts. We were carrying 3 reefs on the main and 1 reef on the genoa. Forecast now was for the storm to increase to over 30kt and the barometer to drop to 1008. Last check around the yacht before nighttime revealed a lazy jack line around the light fitting on the mast. Hew and Debra were at the ready with two boat hook poles tied together and retrieved the wayward line. We were looking forward to turning north for the warmer weather
Day 4. Saturday 21st
A morning walk around the yacht revealed a lazy jack had blown back again, which needed realigning, then the 3rd reef needed a tidy up. The crew were settling in and working well together . Hew was on deck, Elias on the reefing line, Chris and Camille on the main and preventer, and Barb on the helm to steer up into the wind.
The sun was out, but rain and frontal cloud had now appeared on the horizon. The wind was NNW 30kts with lumpy 3m seas. The forecast for the evening was higher winds N/NE 30G45 then SW 20G30 and easing. The storm should pass behind us, with a peak 3.5m swell at 7 sec. Passage Guardian and Met Bob had both advised us to prepare the boat for heavy weather. The approaching system was becoming both larger and stronger than previously forecast.
The crew were all relaxed. A regular game of 5 Crowns after dinner had everyone in good spirits as the night watches began. Current information showed we should cross just in front of the low pressure system, and then be safely in the “Safe” quadrant heading away from the weather.
The Not So “Safe” Quadrant
Day 4. Sunday 22nd
As the night progressed, the Autopilot started to disconnect, so we started hand steering, a new skill for the crew. This was very frustrating for the engineer as it looked like the new pump had failed after less than 300 hours. Catamarans are not easy to hand steer at the best of times, but our newbie crew were up for the challenge, and with 2 people on each watch, all was fine.
Overnight the weather worsened and by dawn gusts were now approaching 50kt and the seas were building. The sea state was confused as the storm waves were coming from a different direction to the prevailing swell. Eleuthera was handling it well as we sailed slowly away from the weather on a port tack at about 50 degrees apparent and at right angles to the storm track. Apart from more wind and larger seas than forecast life was looking OK.
Day 5. Monday 23rd – A Large Wave and Multiple Issues
Meanwhile upon the watery plain there rises
Jean Racine, from Phaedra
A mountain billow with a mighty crest
Of Foam, that shoreward rolls, and, as it breaks,
Before our eyes vomits a furious monster.
Act V, Scene 4, 1677
At around 9am, Hew was on the helm, Barb in her bunk and the rest of the crew in the saloon. Hew heard a sound like a freight train, and a large breaking wave hit on the port aft quarter. The impact was like being hit side-on by a truck. Blue water went over the boat, and as it cleared, a call came from the saloon that we had a broken window.
The large window above the navigation station had cracked and allowed seawater in which was all a little exciting for the crew. After a high pressure wash of the saloon and with water coming out of the light fittings and washing through the electronics those in the saloon were looking a little startled. Additionally the large “eyebrow” around the cabin top had been ripped up and was now free floating held in place only by the primary winches, a step beside the mast had disappeared and we were down a winch handle from the mast as well.
The crew leapt into action and we soon had a sheet of plywood lashed across the crack and copious amounts of Sikaflex sealed the leak. The window remained bonded into the hull and it appeared that the flex in the boat as we were hit by the wave had caused it to crack. We also fitted plywood covers over some forward-facing vents as the duct tape solution was not coping.
In the adventure, we had shipped a few hundred litres of seawater, which had made its way through and into spaces it was not supposed to. The other issue was initially smoke from the electronics and then the batteries shut down and we were without power.
A few bucket fulls later the bilges were mostly empty but there was still residiual water coming from unexpected places. The good news was the leaks had been sealed and now we could start thinking about repairs.
Deteriorating Weather
Unfortunately, the weather continued to deteriorate. The barometer continued to fall, and the winds were increasing so we needed to concentrate on sailing the boat. Early in the morning, the barometer dropped to 999 with 45ktw G60kts 5m seas. Wind at this stage was estimated at 9 on the Beaufort scale as water completely white in daylight. These two pictures from the internet will give you a rough idea of what it was like – very little visibility and horizontal spray. We were sailing slowly at 45 degrees off the wind at the time. (If I can find a better picture later, I will replace these.) We took no pictures at the time.
By this time it was beyond the ability of the crew to steer the boat in these conditions so firstly Barb and then Hew managed through the worst of it. Barb preferred to steer with her head in the breeze and continual spray over the boat. Hew however tried the same approach only to discover the wind was now strong enough to blow his glasses off – steering from behind the dodger seemed a better idea.
Motor sailing slowly at around 45 degrees to the breeze and steering manually with no instruments, no AIS, no Starlink and the wind increasing and +4m seas was enough for the crew to handle. With 2 people on watch everyone stepped up and we reverted to hand steering on the compass. A very unusual event on a modern catamaran!! Without power, a head torch was needed to see the compass through the night.
Prior to leaving, we had fitted new Lithium batteries and we were still in the novice phase of learning about them. The instrument displaying battery status was showing a row of XXX’s and the engineer was not sure of what to do next. Slightly terrified of the huge potential energy in the new batteries and uncertain as to where the smoke had come from we decided to leave the power off and concentrate on getting the water out of the boat and making things as dry as possible.
Meanwhile the engineer set about trying to isolate the problems and work out how to fix things. Investigations behind the instrument panel saw seawater dripping everywhere and the main power supply to the instruments was fried as were a couple of USB outlets.
Day 6. Tuesday 24th – More Repairs
At daybreak with all the systems isolated and everything switched off we tried restarting the batteries and these came back to life, the XXX’s on the display disappeared – sighs of relief all round. We now had lights, Iridium Go, fresh water, flushing toilets, electric bilge pumps and the ability to charge iPads etc for navigation.
The weather slowly abated as the day progressed dropping to 35kn G 40kn by late afternoon and we started to think about options. We were about 1100 miles from the Austral Islands, about the same from Tonga and maybe 800 from New Zealand. At this stage were uncertain as to the extent of the damage to the boat apart from the obvious. Significant repairs were necessary and given the limited facilities in Tonga, almost none in the Australs and the realisation that anything we would need would have to come from New Zealand we decided to head home.
The Return
With the decision made to return to NZ for repairs we advised both Passage Guardian and MetBob of our plans. They were quite relieved to hear from us after we had had no communications for a day with Starlink and AIS out in the first 24 hours. Passage Guardian had notified Search and Rescue and was a little worried as to our status. They also warned us that there was a Chinese fishing fleet directly ahead of us. We had no AIS at this stage so there was little we could do except plot their position and try and avoid them. All these communications the initial stage were carried out on the Iridium Go and the cell phone App.
Electrical repairs continued and after washing much of the cupboard out with fresh water and then contact cleaner liberally applied we replaced the instrument power supply with a spare, and miraculously, the main instruments came back to life. A great boost to crew morale as both Elias and Deb had reached the “I don’t want to go to sea again” stage, Cammie meanwhile was disappointed we had not continued to French Polynesia.
By this stage the engineer was barely functioning after over 24 hours of steering, problem solving and boat fixing he was sent to bed for the night. A well earned and very long rest.
Day 7. Wednesday 25th
The weather had abated, and we now had 20kt G 30kt on our beam and were headed for Whangarei. The crew were all feeling much better after hot showers this morning(water heaters were running off the engines), a sunny day and a good breakfast. The broken window is still watertight, and a boat cleanup is underway.
We have started the generator on the alternate system and have run the water maker this morning. The engineer was not confident about switching on the inverters and the whole 240V system, so we continued to rely on the main engines and the solar panels for house battery charging and made do without 240V appliances.
The Autopilot was also back online and is currently working after some encouragement with the hammer. It was not a permanent solution. It soon stopped again.
By lunch time normal activities had resumed, Camille cooking lunch, Chris doing his washing in a bucket, Debra snoozing in the saloon, Elias steering as the autopilot had given up and Hew trying to rewire the Starlink, Barb getting more weather and info from Passage Guardian and MetBob. If we hadn’t had enough of the weather another NE/SW front was coming through NZ about the same time as we were due. Although our final destination is Whangarei due to front coming through Tauranga was considered as an interim destination may be Saturday or Sunday.
Success later in the day as Starlink came back online after Elias and Hew had rigged a 12V supply to the router. With very low expectations of success as the router had had a proper saltwater wash the boys were in various cupboards running new 12v power supply wires in place of the 240V supply. After washing the router out with copious quantities of contact cleaner it came back to life with no smoke or other complaints. CRC contact cleaner is now an essential in Eleuthera’s tool kit.
To add to the issue, the starboard engine water pump started leaking. It had recently been fully reconditioned by one of the marine engineering companies at Westhaven. To say we were annoyed is an understatement. We were concerned that if we did not fix it, it might get worse later or at a time when we really needed it. So Hew and I sat down on the steps in the companion way and took it apart and cleaned it. Guess what the job that we had paid to have done in Auckland was rubbish. Their rebuild of the pump had been simply to replace a seal with an automotive one which had corroded and failed and goo the rest up with sealant. So after an hour or two of muttering we rebuilt the pump with new seals, bearings, O rings and reinstalled it without leaks!
Day 8. Thursday 26th
The wind had been veering and backing through 90 degrees and while averaging 17kts it was gusting 22 and subsiding to 10kts at times through the night. The unsettled nature of the weather made hand steering difficult and exhausting, requiring high levels of concentration from the crew. We were hoping for a more settled day.
At daylight three visitors were found on deck were one lovely large flying fish and 2 squid!! Yes we had no idea the squid flew as well??? We had never seen them on the deck before.
The forecast was for 40kts and 4m seas with a short interval, so we were heading northwest to avoid the strongest winds in the front crossing NZ tomorrow. What we were getting at the time was a good beam reach in 20kts. The crew are learning how to surf down waves, aiming for the fastest speed – lots of fun. In the afternoon, Debra saw a whale breach on a SW-NE track, and we watched as it sadly continued away from us, seemingly loving the weather.
Friday 27th
Steady 20-25kt breeze last night. 2-2.5m swell. The crew’s manual steering was improving rapidly. In the morning, a large pod of dolphins (30-40) passed us, feeding, leaping into the air and surfing.
During the afternoon, while we were waiting for the front and the peak wind, the crew laid bets on what time the peak wind would occur. Even MetBob got into the game. This time, the wind was less than forecast, as were the waves. The model with the closest time was GFS the closest crew member to the time was Debra. Passage guardian thought we were headed to the highest wind spot just to help MetBob win – but not so.
We had many precooked meals on board in case of a tough passage and we are very glad for them. Gannet 1- Chris, Gannet 2 Elias, Gannet 3 Hew. G1 can hear a fridge or cupboard open before the food was even cooked and looking for anything to eat that was left around, G2 is competition if portion was left when someone is not feeling like eating. G3 was a late runner. The previous night’s dinner was a precooked Lasagne and a beautiful salad made by Elias. Both were finished promptly as everyone was hungry after steering all day. Those that couldn’t finish their portion passed it across to be scoffed by G1. G2 could not complete dinner after being in the galley too long. Then desert was apple crumble . Some bacon & egg pie was left from lunch. G3 sent G1 to get a storage container but while waiting for him, decided that the pie should just be eaten. They were both too full for desert and all others were feeling more like crashing so desert it was left for overnight watches and breakfast. Good to have everyone happy and well.
Saturday 28th
We had a slow night with very short rough seas and gusty conditions motoring slowly with the headsail. Come daybreak we pulled up the main and let out more Genoa and started to pick up speed. Although very rough at the start of the day, the seas slowly lessened and formed into a better long roll. We knew we were getting close to home when we passed a tanker and then a coastal trader. Then we could see the Poor Knights Islands on the horizon and hear the marine weather report on the radio. 25nm away from Whangarei heads we knew that if the wind speed and angle held we would be round the heads just on dusk. We were all hanging out for a good nights unbroken sleep in calm waters.
Sunday 29th
Back to where we started. No injuries and all well. Checked in by the friendly customs from Auckland who made us all fill in all the normal forms for arrival in the country since we had been outside the international limit for customs. We plugged in with extension cables as could not operate through the inverter and started a long cleaning job to go.
Monday30th
Back to Whangarei Town Basin, and the crew departed. One to get to Fiji and jump on another yacht as soon as possible. One flying to Tonga to catch up with a friend, then back to University in Germany. One back to family in Auckland and Christchurch with plans to sail the Gulf on her new yacht but not to go offshore again. And one back to Auckland to catch up with his daughter. Hew and I were left with a long list of repairs.
Hindcasts and Analysis After the Event from Bob McDavitt
We had a lot of data from forecasts beforehand, the log book, Predict Wind (PW) tracking information, PW hindcasts and data that Bob McDavitt(MetBob) had retained. From all this information, Bob reconstructed the weather and the journey after we got back, which was very interesting. Here are the pictures and notes.
Bob transferred the data on a 6 hour basis into his expedition file and downloaded the weather data analysis from the GFS model. It iwas not impossible to directly match them but he labelled the entered log position with date at UTC tine , so 220606 on 22 June at 0606UTC close to 06UTC.
First by assuming a polars of around up to 8kt he was able to produce an animation that closely follows the weather pattern and our progress but not exactly…time/place are an average fit….you can see the difference at any time step by comparing the chart time top left and the moving triangle between the waypoint labels which you’re your observed position.
The mp4 file animation is on YouTube at https://youtu.be/YC_j2-68Aoo
Here are some images of the maps that coincide exactly time/place with the main incidents in the voyage
- around 22 0000UTC, marking the passing of the first front
2. and the timing of the lowest pressure reading of at 999hPa at around 220700UTC – Note that the analysis at that time /place was 1011hPa. Note the difference – I know our barometer was accurate as I had checked it before we left with the airport at Whangarei and MetBob’s note, so I’m pretty sure it would not have changed in the 4 days.
3. The record gust with the second passing front at 270400 UTC
The two forecasts I ran off ECMWF on the 18th and 21st were markedly different, but that happens. I always extract and print the data so we can keep an eye on it during the trip. Unfortunately, I did not keep a copy of the maps, which I will do in the future. It is hard to judge in hindsight but with the weather we had, I am not sure we would have done anything different.
Bob thought that the 999 hPa reading was significant. It confirmed that the models missed a tight but compact secondary low not seen in their data. Here are a couple of weather maps from MetBob’s archives at 22 July 0000 UTC, near 22 July 0700 UTC when you reported 999hPa. It was possible that small, tight compact secondary low with an isobar below 1000 may have been near our location, and not picked up by the models (they don’t have much evidence here, but absence of evidence is not evidence of absence)
Post Trip Repairs
See next Blog
Lessons from the Experience
Things that would stay the same or that we were glad to have on board
- all the precooked meals and would absolutely do that again.
- a lot of crew to help with the watches especially when items needed fixing
- all the contact cleaner on board
- lots of Sikaflex
- spare network power packs
- crew compatibility was great
Things we would add/change
- retain all weather maps and print outs
- be ready to leave earlier in the year and leave earlier
- don’t let the departure get so delayed
- try and leave a wider margin between us and bad weather systems
- install an extra autopilot hydraulic pump – too hard to change at sea in rough weather ( already done at time of writing)
Things you cannot predict or change
- Forecasts are forecasts, but the weather you are in is what you have to deal with
- recently reconditioned engine water pump failing
- new autopilot hydraulic pump failing
- yacht twisting so much that a window would crack around a screw hole
What Next
Whangarei and Repairs
Whangarei Over Wintering
