Location 32° 45S, 167° 38W
Sunday 12:00, 07.22.2007

The Schooner Maggie B was at 32° 45S, 167° 38W at noon on July 22. We are still in the right place, riding the shoulder of the gale. We jibed at about dawn this morning with the wind shift, and now have 25-30 knots from the SSW, which has us on a starboard broad reach, speeding along to our turn point at 32S/155W. We have about 1/2 to 1 knot help from the Southern Ocean Current. We did 217 NM in the last 24 hours and 30 in the last three. The barometer reached its lowest point, a relatively modest 1008 mb at 0400 this morning and is slowly working its way back up. The rain, which had been heavy at times, has cleared and our new solar panels are back working for us.

The SW swells are 3-5 meters and of a period that gets us surfing, while causing heading excursions of 20-30 degrees port and starboard. But the basic ride is more comfortable than last night and seems to be calming down gradually. Our "basic" speed is 9-10 knots, speeding up to 12-13 while surfing.

We have come 985 NM from Opua, and have 1332 to go to Papeete.

We have at least one Grey-headed Albatross (Diomedia chrysostoma) flying with us, plus a cloud of Pintado Petrels and Sooty Shearwaters. Theresa and Hannah were all the way on the stern, behind the boom-gallows (harnessed in!), surfing the boat and dangling their toes in the foam of the waves rushing up on us. It seemed sometimes that the birds were almost in their hair.

The Force 10 stove, which is central to our happiness, has been acting up a bit. The burners' "auto-igniters" weren't working any more and the burners didn't want to stay lit after lighting. After pulling it all apart, I discovered a simple AA battery incredibly well hidden that had lost most of its charge. Now that is replaced, the stove is running as good as new.

I'm pleased to report that Ben has passed his initial apprenticeship, where he stood watches with all of us. He will start standing his own watch tonight on the 2100-midnight. I'm on the Midnight-0300; Hannah the 0300-0600; Theresa the 0600-0900.

All is well.

Location 32° 55S, 171° 13W
Saturday 12:00, 07.21.2007

The Schooner Maggie B was at 32° 55S, 171° 13Wat noon on July 21st. We are booming along at hull speed, 10 knots, on a beam reach with 25-30 knots of wind from the WNW. The sky is overcast with occasional rain showers. The wind waves are only 2-3 meters from the NW, but the SW swell is making up 2-4 meters also, making for occasional good surfing. The max GPS speed this afternoon was 14.2 knots. We have reefed down both the main and fore to one reef.

We made 205 NM in the last 24 hours, and, as I write this, 53 in the last five.

Reefing down the main and fore, but leaving the jib full moves the center of pressure forward somewhat, as the Maggie B is now more pulled than pushed by the main. We also have the centerboard down about 1/3 which reduces rolling. Both the centerboard and moving the center of pressure forward increases directional stability, which makes Jorge, the Furuno autopilot happier. In about the same conditions, with full sail and no centerboard, Jorge took 2 degrees port and 8 starboard (we are on port tack) to keep us straight as the waves and gusts push us around. With the reefs in and 1/3 c/b, Jorge takes 2 degrees port and 2 degrees starboard. It makes it much less likely that Jorge will throw up his hands and turn us towards Tonga or the Antarctic, as it did a few times last night during Theresa's and my watches. Please see Nigel Iren's discussion on directional stability in schooners, and particularly the Maggie B, posted on the web site.

As those who check out our weather brief from Commanders (posted on the web) will see, the plan of staying south of the rhumb line seems to be working out. We certainly are in the right place (right now) for this low. We are easing north a bit, aiming for a point at 32S/155W, due to Commanders "Heads up!" about a "Big Dog" possibly developing in Fiji/Tonga early next week. We are in the traditional storm track, which is where we want to be, but it makes sense to slide a bit north so that we don't get too much of a good thing.

When I was growing up racing in Maine, I was taught to "tack on a header," which means if the wind shifts to push your nose away from your goal, it is time to go over on the other tack to take advantage of the shift. In Maine it was a question of going a couple of hundred feet to get a shift, in the America's Cup, they go perhaps 300 meters to grab one. We are planning three days or 600 NM ahead for our easterly header, which should hit us about when we get to our 32S/155W turn point. We'll tack there and head north for the Islands. That's the plan, anyway.

Stay tuned.

We started fishing again this morning, though we were really going too fast for good trolling speed. The speed made it very difficult to keep the lures underwater. We were horrified when a Pintado Petrel briefly became tangled on one lure, and fishing quickly ended for the day. The rain, waves and wind seem to have attracted a whole mixed squadron of Blue Water birds around the boat. It is such a pleasure to watch the petrels do aerial maneuvers that this former fighter pilot wholly envies. What is more amazing is to see albatross doing much the same. Rather like a 747 (Airbus 380?) in an air show.

I have a neat new gadget. A striking Brazilian woman in a Paihia shop effortless sold me a "2C Light.com" ball cap. It is the size of a normal ball cap, but the top of the visor has solar cells and under the visor are two LED's which give good light. You wear it during the day and charge up, you use it at night to read the latest thriller when on watch. My shipmates think it is dorky, but I'm sure I'll have the last laugh.

All is well.

Location 33° 00S 175° 46W
Friday 12:00, 07.20.2007

At noon on July 20, the Schooner Maggie B was at 33° 00S, 175° 46W. We were making 7 knots essentially right along the 33 South latitude. The wind has piped up a bit to a perfect 12-14 knots from the West, as the barometer begins to fall. The next front is also being indicated by the progression of clouds from high cirrus Mares Tails last night to Alto Stratus this morning, to lower cumulus and stratus showing up on the horizon at dusk.

We started fishing today, and have our wasabi ready. Our "Fishing Stations!" are: 1) Whoever's on watch sets the hook
2) Hannah takes over handling the boat and slowing her down
3) Ben takes over handling the rod
4) Theresa gets the salt water washdown hose going and gets the gaff
5) Frank gets the killing gear (hammer, ice pick and sharp knife)
6) Ben brings the fish in close enough for Theresa to gaff, and she lands it 7) Frank kills the fish with the ice pick, stunning it first with the hammer, if necessary
8) Frank slits the arteries in the gills and tail and ropes up the fish, which is then dragged to bleed out, but not so long that the sharks arrive
9) It is then cleaned, washed down and sashimi within minutes. Yum!

We had a big fish hit about sundown, but it spat out the hook before it could be set. Tomorrow is another day.

Our overhauled C. Plath Southern Hemisphere steering compass is leaking out its fluid. I accused the crew of drinking it, but it was pointed out that A) it contained oil, not alcohol like in the old days, and B) we have better alcohol on board. It appears to need a new expansion seal at the base plus some more fluid.

Much of today was taken up by overhauling docking lines from the beating they took in the storms in Russell. All protective leathers came off, and two were shortened and respliced where chafe was severe. We also made up two new lines from 50 meters of new rope purchased in Opua. All the books about the coast of Chile emphasize how much line you'll need to carry.

Hannah made some delicious carrot/oatmeal/bran muffins for tea. She is spoiling us.

All is well.

Location 33° 03S 178° 50WEST
Thursday 12:00, 07.19.2007

The Schooner Maggie B was at 33° 03 S, 178° 50 W at noon on July 19th, GMT +12, where yesterday it was GMT -12. I haven't yet been able to persuade the Furuno operating system that today is yesterday, so it may be time to break out the books. The MaxSEA software refused to cross the Date Line and had to head all the way back West, around the globe to work. But we crossed the line last night about 2000 and broke out a bottle of champagne (oops, Tasmanian sparkling).

We have come 408 NM and have 1831 to go to Tahiti.

Many people have told me that we are "going the wrong way around." Hard to fully understand how anybody could argue with today's sail: doing 6-7 knots in 10-12 knots of wind on our beam, all in t-shirts and shorts and barefoot. We did the usual make/fix jobs, including new leather jackets for some blocks, repairing running lights, and adjusting the bolts for the centerboard hydraulic "foot." One bolt broke and we didn't have a spare long enough, but, thanks to Bart Gabriel's advice (shipmate for the Southern Atlantic Crossing) we had a meter of 8 mm threaded rod, which we cut to length.

We are currently setting a course right along 33 degrees South (heading about 74 degrees magnetic) rather than right for Papeete (heading about 50 degrees magnetic). I expect we'll get some more Easterly winds after this next low, and it gives some "Northing" to draw on, when we need to. Theresa complained at lunch that it wouldn't get warmer if we stayed at 33 degrees South, but I said that we'd get to Tahiti faster and not have to beat our brains out to get there, which made it OK.

Over the last few nights, when I came on watch at midnight, I had been intrigued by one star. It was just rising in the SSE, and really appeared to be pulsing red and green when it was low to the horizon. It turned out to be Canopus, an orange-white super giant, the second brightest star in the sky after Sirius, the Dog Star. It is 100 light years away and 2000 times brighter than our sun. It is the principal star in Carina, the Keel. But, most important to sailors, it was the focus of the huge Chinese multiple-fleet circumnavigation so well described in the book "1421" by Gavin Menzies. They were plotting the position of Canopus to improve their navigation expertise in the Southern Hemisphere.

All is well.

Location 34° 01S 178° 51EAST
Thursday 12:00, 07.19.2007

The Schooner Maggie B was at 34° 01S, 178° 51E at noon on 19 July, New Zealand time. Our wind had about pooped out and we were headed 035 at 5 knots. We had traveled 271 NM from Opua and have 1962 to go to Tahiti. It is a lovely day now as the high fills in and the sky clears. As of this writing (1630), we are motor sailing on the rhumb line for Tahiti.

It appears that we have about half a day of light or no wind before the next low sets us up with a nice NW'erly. Right now we are headed directly for Papeete, but we are conscious of being careful not to get too far north and miss out on the westerlies. One low at a time!

We are back in an area of wonderful phosphorescence. Having dolphin alongside was Theresa's delight last night and Hannah brought a bucket of seawater on board to light things up. I turned out the running lights (the stern light is very bright) for a while to watch the wake.

We are now standing three, four hour watches, and Ben is taking a watch with everyone, to learn the ropes (literally!). Soon we all will be comfortable and he'll be able to stand his own, and we will return to the luxury of three hours on and nine off.

Ben had made a bet with some friends twenty months ago that he wouldn't cut his hair for the year he was to travel around Australia. He won that bet, but some of his mates interpret the bet that he wasn't to cut his hair until he returned. His more-than-shoulder-length hair is bothering him at sea, but he doesn't wan to lose the money. As Captain, I feel that I should call it a Safety Issue and have him cut it, and thus void out the bet. He has by far the most beautiful hair on board and it is going to be very scary to pick up the shears.

We have a ritual aboard when we set sail on long legs. We gather in the cockpit and pour a glass of rum. The first "drink" goes as a libation into the sea, then I say a short quote or poem, then all drink and make a toast. Setting out for Tahiti I read from Joshua Slocum's "Sailing Alone Around the World:" "I had penetrated a mystery, and, by the way, sailed through a fog. I had met Neptune in his wrath, but he found that I had not treated him with contempt, and so he suffered me to go on and explore." We hope that the Maggie B will be "suffered..to go on and explore."

All is well.

Location 35° 08S 176° 47E
Wednesday 12:00, 07.18.2007

The Schooner Maggie B was at 35° 08S, 176° 47E at noon on July 18th. We are headed directly (on the great circle rhumb line) towards Tahiti. We have come 146 NM in the last 22.5 hours and have 2082 to go to Tahiti. We are slipping along at 6.3 knots with the G2 gennaker up (AKA "The Bird") in 9-10 knots of wind on our beam. It is a lovely day with just a few rain showers marching along in the Southerly, spreading more rainbows than rain. It is sunny enough for Ben to have already burnt his fair Albion skin.

We are now back shadowed by our "air cover" of Blue Water seabirds. The marvelous new addition is the black and white spotted Cape Petrel (Daption capense), also known as Pintado Petrel or Cape Pigeon. This Opua to Tahiti route has been sailed many times in the last 1000 years, and we feel the spirit of the big sailing wakas on the water. We are very glad to have our carving of Tawhirimatea on our boom end to accompany us. The weather looks very favorable for this next week (see Commander's Forecast on the web site). We are positioned just right for the next low, expected Friday to bring a nice 25 knot NW'erly.

I am sad to report the death of Hannah's grandfather, Robert Franklin Scarf, in Nova Scotia last week. Together with some friends from Russell, we went last Sunday to the little 170-year-old Anglican Church in the village, where the 25 member congregation supported her in her mourning, adding his and her name to the Prayers for the People, as well as praying for the safety of the Maggie B. It was very kind and comforting.

Ben is a little stunned by the level of cuisine on the Maggie B. On his last boat, they lived mostly on cheese sandwiches and cold corned beef. Hannah baked a chocolate cake for tea, gilding it with fresh cream and raspberry jam. Sigh.

All is well.

Off the curb and out into traffic. . .

The Schooner Maggie B got underway from Opua for Tahiti at about 1320, 17 July. We had been waiting for the "right" low pressure system, to jump on its shoulder and ride it East to about 155 degrees West, heading along the 35 South parallel. At least that is what all the old salts tell us to do. Waiting got old. So we jumped on the back of a little low, and right now have a nice 15 knots westerly blowing us along direct to Tahiti at about eight knots. Tahiti is about 2200 NM, or perhaps two weeks. We may stop in the Australs, about 200 NM south of Tahiti, if the weather permits.

Unlike the big South Atlantic High or the high in the Southern Indian Ocean, the South Pacific East of New Zealand responds to many different influences, rather than one dominant weather maker. We will just have to play them as they come.

It was very hard for all of us to leave New Zealand. The people have been very friendly, it is a very, very yachtie environment, world-class boat support, lovely towns, tons of fun things to do ashore, excellent food (oysters, baby lamb, seafood) and superb wines. We won't forget out new friends, and hope that we might be able to see them soon again.

Ben Carpenter of Bristol, England has joined the crew. He is 27 and has been working in New Zealand as a carpenter, looking for a chance to crew on a sailboat for the Islands. He was a star in the recent Russell Birdman Competition, winning "MC's Choice." He has had previous Blue Water experience sailing around Australia.

All is well.

Commanders Weather Corporation
Tuesday 12:00, 07.17.07

From: Commanders' Weather Corporation
Route: Opua, NZ to Tahiti
Est position: approx. 34 20S/176 10E, 12utc Tue, July 17, 2007
Prepared: 1700utc Tue, July 17, 2007
Summary

Next 7 days look good

Center of the 1007MB low will slide E of NZ today

Increasing your W winds and turning them out of the WSW to SW duringthe 18th and 19th

Very weak area of high pressure fills in behind the low - lighteningyour winds out of the SW during the 19th

The next, strong low/cold front has pushed across Tasmania and into the SW Tasman Sea early today

This low is still forecast to deepen as it crosses the Tasman duringthe 20th and slides E across the NZ Northland on the 21st

Helping to build your winds out of the NW ahead of the front from the 21st through the 24th

The intense low is expected to move S to near 45S/175W by 00utc on the 22nd, but the 989MB low will be strong enough to keep NW winds gusty alongyour route through the weekend

Winds from the strong high pressure that follows this low are expectedto back your winds out of the SE and then E during the end of your trip

Routing

Rhumbline looks good, at least for the first week, in the W clocking to NW winds

Might have to adjust your routing for the last 3 days, as the stronghigh catches up to you

Routed you around 170nm/day in lighter winds on Friday, but usually figured you for 200 nm/day

Wind forecasts
Wind directions are TRUE, wind speed in kts, and time is UTC
Wed, July 18
00: 280-260/15-23 g30 nr 34S/178 10E
06: 280-260/14-22 g30
12: 270-250/12-20 g25
Weather: Variably cloudy, with increasing chc of showers/squalls
Seas building to 8-10ft
Thu, July 19
00: 260-240/12-20 g30 nr 32 40S/178W
06: 240-260/10-18 g25
12: 260-290/10-16
Weather: Variably cloudy, with some showers/squalls
Seas diminishing to 5-8ft
Fri, July 20
00: 280-300/10-18 near 31 30S/175W
12: 290-310/10-15
Weather: Variably cloudy, with some showers / squalls
Seas diminishing to 4-7ft
Sat, July 21
00: 310-330/13-20 g30 near 30 20S/172 20W
12: 320-340/15-23 g30
Weather: Variably cloudy, with scattered showers/thunderstorms
Seas building to 5-9ft
Sun, July 22
00: 320-340/18-25 g35 near 29S/169W
12: 330-350/15-22 g30
Weather: Variably cloudy, with isolated chc showers/thunderstorms
Seas building quickly to 8-11ft

Eye on the storm

We are still tied up to the Russell pier, now with 12 lines out in every direction. The storm on Tuesday was a real dilly. Actually it reached cyclone strength, even though it wasn't "named." Near Russell one rain gauge recorded 274 mm of rain (11 inches) and a regional weather station recorded a 180 km/h gust (100 mph). We saw 51 knots on our wind gauge, but certainly felt stronger gusts.

Anticipating the storm, we had moved to the Russell pier, facing NE into the wind, and in the lee of the land. All around the area, many, many boats dragged, broke their moorings, hit other ships, blew ashore, sank or were damaged on piers. The Coast Guard was scurrying around, Channel 16 was full of Maydays and flares were being shot off. Ashore, roofs blew off, trees fell and closed roads and took down power lines, low areas were flooded and some bridges were washed out. Russell was without power for a day. The Maggie B danced a bit amid all her lines, but rode things out fine. We kept the diesel stove burning, the deck lights on as a guide for others, and bailed the Reep every hour or so.

We helped rescue one boat, the Figment from Florida. She had broken free from her mooring, gotten holed when she hit another boat, and sunk her two dinghies. She had quite a struggle in the wind to make the lee of Russell. Her owner had a broken ankle (don't put your foot between two ships in a storm), and both on board were in early stages of hyperthermia. We guided them into a safe berth, handled their lines, got them on board and gave them warm, dry clothes and hot tea with a big dose of rum.

Commanders Weather says that we may be able to get an opening for a nice SW'erly to take us to Tahiti by next Monday, July 16th. We are ready.

All is well.

Waiting out a gale in Russell, NZ

The Schooner Maggie B is back in Russell, NZ, tied up securely to the pier. The forecast is for an Easterly gale with winds up to 65 knots, and 250 mm (10 inches) of rain tomorrow. We are nose first (headed easterly) into a "U" shaped part of the Russell pier with nine dock lines mooring us in tighter than a moth in a spider's web. Hopefully.

We had a marvelous sail yesterday with Bill and Claudie Sellers. Bill is famous even among the many famous Kiwi sailors. He has traveled the world by sail, often single handed and has great stories about almost every known port. He is also one of the best scrimshaw artists in the world. His watercolors of nautical themes are very successful, and now his "Cook's Endeavour in a Calm" is the centerpiece of our Crew Mess. He has built and is building his own ping my eye on the crew now, to see if any show signs of swallowing coins.

Last Saturday was just marvelous. It was the First Annual Russell Birdman Festival. A birdman festival basically means people dressing up in funny costumes, often with wings, and hurtling themselves off a pier, often into very cold water, to see who is funniest and flies furthest. Russell is a little town of perhaps 900 in the winter (@8000 in the summer!). The weather had been cold and rainy. The festival had beach digs, kayak races, spaghetti eating contests, bar-be-que cook offs, and the Birdman Competition.

On Saturday, just about exactly at 10 AM, as things started, the sun came out and it was hot enough to think about sunscreen. The day was perfect with perhaps 4000 showing up.

I am very proud that our new shipmate, Ben Carpenter, lead the "Super Liquor" Birdman entry, which won the "Master of Ceremonies Favorite" prize, NZ$100. Plus two cases of beer from his Sponsor! Photos to follow. Just about exactly at Four PM, right after the final prize giving, the rain and cold returned. A perfect day!

Experienced advice is that to get to Tahiti from here, one needs to head straight east, wherever one needs to go to get a Westerly between 32 and 40 South, until you get to about 155 West, then you turn left for the Islands. The joke is that if you turn too early, you end up in the Cooks, and never, ever, get to Tahiti. Out latest forecast (we are using three different sources) says it may be until 21-22 July before there will be a chance of a nice southerly. We are ready whenever it comes.

All is well.