As the weather looked fair and the port of Hilo is a security nightmare we
decided to leave yesterday. Got our clearance from customs, the harbor
master and the coast guard.  Sounds like a Mexican process but the port of
Hilo takes security to the extreme and we had to be escorted in and out every
time we had to go somewhere making us feel like prisoners.
A great example of money wasted on the wrong thing.

We like Hilo though it small town provincial feel, the market with the fresh
selection of fruit and veggies.
 

Apr 27

The rains have stopped. It rained a lot the first few days but that helped cleaning the boat. It is amazing how much better every thing looks and feels when washed in soft rain water. Colors are more vibrant and very thing feels softer. Sheaths hard as cables feel much softer and the dirt has rained out of the rig.

We have been busy and now are getting ready to provision for a Wednesday departure if the winds are fair. Our new crew is boarding today and tomorrow. The winds offshore are light and variable and we hope that in a few days things will straighten out. The Harbor has a new security policy requiring us to escorted in and out the gate to our great frustration. Sometimes we have to wait for 30 minutes before we can get out. Rumor has it that the port of Hilo will be closed for cruising boats.
 

Apr 24

Sailed the last day and arrived of Pepeekeo point 1100 hrs. There we lost the wind and the rain started. Made the ship ready for arrival and the rain we craved for the whole voyage started in earnest soaking all to the bone as no one expected this to happen.

Called the coast guard for clearance and was granted permission to enter the security zone. Arrived at 0115 in the pouring rain, and were securely  moored with the big anchor and a couple stern line to the concrete wall.

After calling customs a arrival celebration and a short sleep. Around 0700 hrs customs called and we all got to the office where Bill Foss  cleared us in. 45 minutes later we where all done. Like always everyone got busy getting off the boat. Daniel and Richard had to wait till they got picked up and helped doing a rigging check, some small repairs on the running gear and making sure all is in working condition.

By early afternoon we had an empty boat and cleanup and safety checks in full swing. Looking at fuel levels and making arrangements to get some more as we used a lot of fuel.  Engine, rudder & quadrant, oil levels, belts, bilges, etc. This will keep us busy for a bit and we have some small repairs to make to keep the boat in top shape.

Apr 22

We are now 85 miles from Hilo. The Winds are starting to come back. Light to moderate trades the weather forecast says. We now receive the Hawaii VHF weather and we can almost smell land. Yesterday a Dragonfly came out to meet us another sign we got closer.

This morning every one is on deck watching the horizon. In theory we should be able to see the volcano 136 Miles out but the atmospheric conditions are to moist.

Almost done with night watches and look forward to sand between our toes.

The low NW swell from yesterday has gone and now is from the NE the normal direction.

A sailor is a strange creature. Looking forward to sailing away when on land and looking forward to landfall when at sea. For a true sailor this condition incurable. Yes some go ashore for a while but the call if the sea and adventure is always there. Ones answered the call to go to sea ( to get it out of the system) many times this changes into forever restlessness  So be aware you may be afflicted next.

Our crew has been great this voyage and we will look back on this time and the adventures shared.

We expect to clear customs tomorrow morning first thing.
 

Apr 21

After great sailing in the trades the winds have diminished. A low now moving North East has totally disrupted the winds around Hawaii. We kept going for most of it but now it is almost flat calm and in order to get there we have decided by mutual consensus to turn on the engine.

Fishing has been excellent, (for the fish) on this trip and they clearly won as we have only little to show for. Sometime you win sometime you loose.

The last few days have been mixed sun and clouds. The temperature always pleasant not to hot or cold.

Crew is looking forward to arrival. Last night we where treated to a crew cooked dinner. It was excellent and welcome break for Joanne. After dinner Daniel & Richard came up with a bottle of Port. (Any Port will do in a storm) We sipped on it and enjoyed the most spectacular sunset in a long time. The sun set on a almost clear horizon and a rainbow of colors where visible in a flashing motion for about 60 seconds after the sun had gone below the Horizon. This may have been caused by atmospheric duck ting. This bends the light as it passes through the atmospheric layers.

At this rate we expect to be in Hilo Thursday morning.

Apr 17

All is well. We are making good progress although we get pushed a little more North than we like. We may have to Gybe down South adding a few extra miles if we keep this course.

A crew member who prefers to stay anonymous did not tie the fishing line. A day ago when we had super we heard the fishing line go out and running to the rail try to grab the spool but it was going out so fast we lost it before we got to it. This was a big fish. We'll never know but we blame D for loosing the biggest fish ever.

This morning at breakfast we got hit by a sneaker wave hitting the transom spinning us around at least 50 degrees of course and make us heel 45 degrees. This puts enormous load on the vessel and we are glad to have a steel ship designed for these things. A spade rudder may have well broken and a smaller boat would be definitely pooped.

Our crew is been working with the sails to try to make us sail deeper and now setting the sneaker sails.
Moral is improved and the floggings have been temporarily suspended.

740 Nm to go
 

Apr 15

Making decent progress. During the night being pestered by rain Squalls. Luckily they are still benign and other than some confused wind direction we just got a bit of rain out of them. As we move more West they no doubt will increase in strength. The motion has been jerky at times and sleeping is a real art under these condition. But by now our crew can sleep standing up anywhere , anytime.

The trades are looking to be normal for the next few days. The winds are in our favor from the NE. The more East the wind goes the more we get pushed North and we have to Gybe back to avoid getting caught outside the trades.

Crew is already talking about steak dinners and endless showers which is about normal for this part of the trip. Yesterday did flares shooting practice much to the enjoyment of the crew. We got off without anybody shooting a hole in the sail.
 

Apr 12

With the trades and the increase in speed we start getting fish. Yesterday afternoon we had two tuna and this morning a small Mahi Mahi.

Just a moment ago both lines where ripped and the lure's missing. These where big!!

We made 181 Nm in the last 25 hours a we had a long day due to time change. Seas have been building and now are 12-14'. Still a bit lumpy as they are coming not all from the same direction.

We are now thundering through the big seas this is sailing! Ian had his noon shot to within 10 Nm as good as can be expected with the motion we have. We are rolling once in a while 30 degrees and than it is not easy.

If this speed holds we will pass the mid mark around midnight. We still can make some of the slow days up if the winds stay.

Apr 11

We consider now to have reached the trades. The winds overnight change little and we did not have the overnight lull in the winds we experienced till now. Western Grace has fun and is frolicking in the choppy waves. The seas are now more wind driven and closer together. Once in a while we have a bit of water on deck from a wave splashing it crests into the wind than blown on deck. Overnight we had a big splash and Richard and Daniel had there hatch not properly closed and got doused in there bunk. A rude awakening in the middle of ones sleep.

Anyway they looked like a bunch of drowned cats and after having sorted there lives out had to sleep in a wet bunk.

This morning they are cleaning the cabin and have the sheets and blankets to dry on deck.

Saturday morning is clean up day and in addition to the cabins we clean the deck and floors inside. Ian is washing the cockpit. Bonnie is turning into the saltiest sailor of all. She is really adapting well and does not get the slightest rattled when we take a deep roll and get tossed around.

We have a few extra sail set. Our wind scoop makes a great small spinnaker and is set on the bow far forward. Our awning is set as a square sail forward of the mast. Anything to get the best speed. We having fun with all that. This morning a small Mahi Mahi but tossed it back as it was to small. If only Daniel would learn to fish..

Apr 10

Happy Easter and Passover.

Yesterday afternoon we thought we hit the trades as the winds really where strong and we start moving. However overnight we hit a lull again but the wind just started to freshen. We are about a day behind last years as we have had trouble reaching the trades. Western Grace likes the heavier condition's. We position ourselves for  big mileage days when we get our trades.

Tuna everywhere this morning but none on our fishing hook. Daniel has been changing lures etc but no change.

This from Bonnie,

We listened to the Messiah this morning. We have satellite radio and can even get NPR. But now the signal is getting weak. Soon we will pick up Hawaii stations. Sometimes, with single side band radio we can pick up Friday Harbor from here.

It's a big deal when we see another boat out here. I thought it would be more crowded. This morning a Japanese fishing boat came quite close, did a 180 and left. We are the center of a 14 mile radius in the day and a bit larger at night because of the height of the lights on the boats. The curvature of the earth makes our little world quite petit.

The men on the boat have started playing pranks on each other. Sewing sleeves closed (hard to put on at 3am), attaching clothing to the fishing lines (the captain almost cut it all free in morning thinking it was not ours).

My shift is from midnight to 3am. The little world then becomes some instruments and the errrr errrr errr of the auto pilot. My watch partner and I take turns standing watch inside the pilot house and outside in the cockpit. Seeing a target (a fishing boat or freighter) makes the time go by faster. When it's my turn to watch outside (we switch each half hour) I like to watch the constellations, the mast, the cloud formations and our big sails. I tried taking photos of the sail and it lit up like a huge white beacon.

This  morning we have tuna circling the boat, tuna, tuna everywhere and not a bite to eat. We haven't caught any fish (except for tiny flying fish that jump onto the deck.
Love to all,
 

Apr 9

All is well onboard. We are slowly making westing and are about 1 day behind schedule. The winds have been fickle due to a series of lows off the California Coast messing our winds up getting to the trade. We figure we are on the edge of the trades at 120 W so things  are bound to improve.

Moral is good and we having lost of fun. We had a few booby birds flying around yesterday and Ian who had some of his clothes drying on the rail got hit by bird doo. We all had fun with that.

We have been playing with small area canvas fill in sails to increase our sail area. much fun and it keeps us busy.

Capt

WHEREAS:  The sailing vessel Western Grace departed Puerto Vallarta on the 1st day of April in the year of our Lord 2009;
AND WHEREAS:  The crew of Western Grace ha been anticipating arrival in the zone of the Trade Winds and has been sailing continuously to reach said Trade Winds;
AND WHEREAS:  The Trade Winds will carry Western Grace and her crew with all due dispatch to destination Hilo;
AND WHEREAS:  The current position of the said sailing vessel is North 17 degrees, 6 minutes, West 118 degrees, 32 minutes;

NOW THEREFORE BE IT DECLARED AND RECOGNIZED BY ALL AND SUNDRY AS FOLLOWS:

1.  Arrival in the zone of the Trade Winds is imminent;
2.  The crew is and shall remain in good spirits;
3.  Said Western Grace is deemed, by all accounts, to be performing at or in excess of technical specifications; and
4.  Despite the best efforts of said crew no fish have, as of this date, been retrieved from said ocean;

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the captain of Western Grace has made and certified this DECLARATION.

Apr 8

Where is the wind? We are looking for wind ever since early morning. During the night the wind shifted all over and and the seas where lumpy making it for a uncomfortable ride. According to the weather fax and grip files we should have 14-15 Kts of winds but somehow they have it wrong as we do not have enough wind to sail by right now. When the seas are rough the winds need to be strong to make sailing possible. In light winds the sail do nothing but bang and do not provided any drive.

Crew is doing fine. Ian nailed our noon position yesterday with the sextant. Not a easy feat with the ship rolling and the clouds partly obscuring the sun. Well done.

Our fishing lines are more lonely than the Maytag man. Two booby birds are fishing around us. We think they are from Clarion a fair distance away.
-------------------------------------------------

Apr 6

Finished day 5 at noon with 550 Nm under the keel. The winds picked up steadily today and in the afternoon it was blowing 12-17 Kts given us at steady speed of 7.6 to 8 Kts of speed. Now the winds are getting lighter and we are slowing down again. We are trailing at least 4 lines behind but despite all effort no fish to account for. Other than the few flying fish on deck.

The noon shots are continuing and we still do not know where we are today. If we really do not improve our skills chances are that we may miss Hawaii all together. We are very close to schedule and we hope the winds are staying strong enough to makes us reach for the trades in a few days.
The weather picture looks good. The climate is very nice with the water temp around 25C. We take most days a shower on the transom with saltwater and rinse with fresh. There is no better shower in the world.
 

Apr 4

Finished a slow day 3 at noon with 96 miles under the keel. The winds had been light and non existing. We motored since last night 2300 hrs till today at 1300 hrs. The wind has been slowly filling in from the North and the forecast is for fresher winds tomorrow. This morning it was cloudy but this afternoon the sun came through. Went swimming like yesterday in crystal clear water at 26 C. This morning we spotted some fins around the boat and Daniel & Richard both went to the crows nest to have a look. Nothing seen other than a few turtles. Fishing has been good for the fish.

Another great day. Every one is fine

Apr 3

Made 123 NM noon to noon today.
Winds are light and we had to motor a few times looking for wind. Our noon sight put us out 30 miles from out GPS position not bad for a first try. No fish yet but we are trying. Having lots of fun.

Apr 2

Wednesday April 1 2009
Left Paradise Village at 1100 hrs and set sail just outside the breakwater. Our intention trying to sail every inch to Hawaii like last year. Beat our way out of the bay till 1800 hrs when all wind disappeared we reluctantly turned on the engine to get into the wind. Found wind one hour and 5 minutes later and are sailing since.

Thursday April 2.
All is well. Still sailing and made 104 Nm the first 24 hours. The winds are light and the ocean is very benign. A great start for our crew and nobody is the slightest queasy. All did their watches during the night and all went well. We crossed paths with a few vessels but in another day or so we will see very few till we get to Hawaii. This morning we did our regular routine checking gear, vegetables/fruit etc. Than we did a man overboard exercise and launched the dinghy for practice and took turns buzzing around Western Grace under sail and taking pictures. A awesome sight seeing her cutting through the swell in the clear blue water.
Last night we got dolphin's  as several of them raced around leaving a fluorescent trail in the water. And the Southern Cross low on the Southern Horizon. Off to a great start.

Apr 1