Logbook - return voyage

Logbook - Kaiulani Return Voyage to Oregon from Hawaii, 2005

Date	noon position N lat. W long		noon-noon distance nm	speed knots	wind speed/ dir.	swell ht ft/dir.	dist to go nm	temp air/wat °F	barometer in. Hg	comments
Aug 8			-	-	-	-	-	-	-	Preparing for departure from Nawiliwili Bay, Kauai
Aug 9	21° 53.8'	159° 16.1'	n/a	5	10-15 ENE	2-4 occ. 6 dist. apart 5 sec/ 150 ft	2276	80/80	30.00 steady	Sky 10-15% cloud cover, visibility unlimited. Cleared the harbor at 10:30 am. As of 8 pm PDT, just cleared the north end of the island and are 10 miles off the coast. Mark says they are running close to the wind with a 10-15 degree heel, almost perfect conditions. Can see the Napali coast as well as the peaks of the mountains near Nawiliwili Harbor 30 miles away. Can also see the Kilauea lighthouse, the northernmost point of the main Hawaiian Islands. Susan, the new crew member, had to spend most of the afternoon lying down in the cabin, but is somewhat better now and is sitting in the cockpit.
Aug 10	24° 04'	158° 56'	131.6	5+	10 NE	2-4 NE	-	77/80	30.08 falling	Sky 10% cloud cover, visibility unlimited. Rain and fairly large seas through the night becoming flat by 8 pm PDT.
Aug 11	25° 57.3'	158° 42.5'	113.5	3	light SE	1-2	-	85/81	30.00 steady	Widely scattered clouds, visibility unlimited. Katrina said the sea is so calm that she is able to count the fish swimming alongside the boat. The wind is very light and sometimes from the NW. The calm sea state is good for cooking and everyone is feeling well.
Aug 12	27° 00.5'	158° 39.2'	63.6	5	10 SW	2-4	-	81/81	30.05 falling	Sky 50% overcast, visibility unlimited. Susan reports that most of yesterday afternoon and half the night they were "ghosting on zephyrs," nearly becalmed, and using the engine to make headway. They were visited by porpoises about sunset and after sunset were visited again. Susan heard them exhaling through their blowholes. Mark heard them talking to each other. They also saw fluorescent creatures alongside the boat. They also saw "a large meteor shower" [the Perseids, and probably a much better view than we had in Portland]. Susan landed a nice 2.5-foot Mahi Mahi after dinner; it will be tonight's dinner. The wind came up between 0300 and 0600. As of 8 pm they were sailing through a weather front with 100% overcast and showers.
Aug 13	28° 03.7'	158° 15.3'	66.7	2	calm to very light E	1 W and S	-	82/82	30.00 beginning to fall	Sky 50% overcast, visibility unlimited, except for some rain showers on the horizon. Mark reported that they are still making little headway with very light winds. Motored eight hours today. Lost the trade winds last night after clearing a weather front about sunset. They were going along for a while with the sails backwinding, finally took the main down and the jib kept them going at 2 knots. [Glossary: Backwinding: Wind deflected from a forward sail onto the sail behind it. Most typically from a headsail onto the leeward side of a main.]
Aug 14	29° 20.3	158° 33.6	78.3	-	10 SW	2-4 occ. 6 SW	-	77/80	30.06 rising	Sky 70% overcast, visibility OK except for rain showers. Katrina reports they are able to collect 1/3 gallon of water in 10 minutes from the boat [presumably from the rain showers]. The winds have been crazy. Since 6:00 am the direction has changed 180 degrees four times. The Captain says the computer he uses for weather maps seems to have recovered and is working again. The temperature is cooling somewhat, making things more comfortable.
Aug 15	30° 50.9'	159° 19.0'	98.7	4	5 SW	2 S	-	78/81	30.16 rising	Sky 15% overcast, visibility unlimited. Susan says they wish they had steadier wind. [Editor's comments: At noon, Kaiulani was 538 nm from Nawiliwili Bay, almost directly north, and 1884.6 nm from Astoria.]
Aug 16	31° 53'	159° 27'	62.4	~3	calm to very light	1-2 SW	-	82/82 cabin: 90	30.22 falling	Sky 50% clouds. Still in the doldrums. Mark reports they have been working out of a high pressure system all day today and yesterday. In the middle of the night (~ 3:00 a.m. local time) the wind quit entirely. Put up the big jib, no main, and about that time the wind picked up to 5 knots. At reporting time it was variable to 10 knots. They are heading a little west of north, which Mark says is ideal. They have been motoring between 4 and 7 hours a day lately, mainly to charge the batteries. Mark says Susan's fish was a twelve pounder, lasted for a couple of meals, is now all gone!
Aug 17	33° 01.2'	160° 12.8'	78.5	-	very little S to SE	<1 occ 6 W & SE	-	81/81	30.25 falling	Sky 75% overcast. Mark says they are 2 days (or 200 miles) behind schedule. He is hoping for 25-30 knot winds based on what he sees on the forecast maps. The backstay has corrosion on it, they are trying to clean it. They will be out after dinner examining other metal components for corrosion. The big jib is still up. No more fish! Glossary: Backstay - A wire support for the mast, usually running from the stern to the head of the mast.
Aug 18	34° 15.6'	160° 13.1'	74.4	-	less than 10 SE	4-6 occ <1 long swells	-	79/81	30.24 falling	Sky 10% clouds, visibility unlimited. They replaced the hardware with shackles. Mark thinks they are a good fix for the bronze ones which were affected by corrosion. The are near the center of a high pressure area that covers the eastern Pacific. Winds are very light. They are still using the big jib. Marty said, it is so calm that it is like a desert at sea. The low wind makes it feel hotter than it really is. The sea is so clear that they can see fish below the boat. Katrina is back to counting them for lack of anything else to do. [The NOAA 48 hour forecast shows they are about to see 25 knot winds.]
Aug 19	35° 22,44'	160° 14.11'	66.9	5	10 NW	4-6	-	80/80	30.24	Sky 65% clouds, visibility unlimited. Susan reports good speed this morning. Rainfall at noon cooled things a bit. She saw a big styrofoam ball 2 ft in diameter float by this morning. In general, they see a lot of styrofoam floating in the water. See some birds daily. Saw an albatross with 6-ft span today. Heading is now NNE. Wind has picked up considerably this afternoon.
Aug 20	36° 52'	158° 30.5'	118	4	20 Gusts to 35 NW	10-12	-	~75	30.02 falling	Sky variable 25-100% clouds. They are definitely out of the doldrums. As of reporting time, they were in gale conditions trying to steer 030 to 055 degrees with the storm jib and trisail up. Mark reported in a calm and collected voice, though it was obvious from the background noise and satellite phone drop-outs that there was a lot of activity. Nonetheless, Mark said everybody was in good spirits either on watch or in the bunks. [You are wondering why we thought we had no report last night. Mark called my cell phone instead of my home phone and left voice mail. I was waiting by my home phone for the call with the cell turned off. I checked with others in the phone rotation, and they had heard nothing. That led to an anxious night for some of us. I discovered the voice mail this morning. Susan phoned Joe about 2:30 a.m.--see below.]
Aug 21 special report 2:30 a.m.	36° 58,462'	157° 48.241'								Susan phoned her husband Joe about 2:30 a.m. with this report. Position (2:30 a.m.): 36º 58.462' N, 157º 48.241' W. They have been in gale conditions for most of the last 24 hours with seas greater than 11 ft. The head (toilet for non-sailors) is not working and there is a kink in the fresh water line so fresh water cannot be pumped. There has been no cooking for the past day, but everyone is OK. The satellite phone batteries were low, so we will probably not hear more until they are recharged.
Aug 21 regular report	36° 46.8'	157° 10.9'	69	-	Gusts to 35	6-12	-	?/75	rising	Susan phoned Carol, Mark was too busy. The weather and seas are largely unchanged from yesterday. They don't know the air temperature but the people outside are wet and cold. They have been heading NW and intend to turn NE in a while. They have up the storm jib and the trisail. They had soup to eat today; Mark was not able to keep his down. No word on others' conditions.
Aug 22	37° 43.4'	157° 45.4'	63.7	-	12 N-NE (noon)	6-8 NE slow	-	72/73	30.12 falling	Sky 10% clouds, visibility: haze on horizon They are out of the gale, still have significant waves. The NNE wind is from exactly the wrong direction. They can sail a little west of north or east. As of 8:30 pm PDT they have chosen the latter and are heading 100 degrees at 5.7 knots with the bigger sail. The toilet is no longer working. Susan and Katrina have been able to poop in a can, but she didn't know about the boys yet. On the lighter side, Sea Bats have been confirmed. One landed on the dodger of the boat. It was on its back and it flapped its wings at Marty. Marty thinks they live on container vessels and probably eat the stuff that it carries. Then at sunset they take off just like if they were on land. Another confirmed sight: Albatross do land on the ocean when there are very strong winds and very big waves. They can rest for a while. They take off by spreading their wings and letting the next big wave launch them into the air.
Aug 23	37° 19.2'	155° 31.1'	110	5	10 NW	2-4 N- NW	1486	70/72	30.00	Sky conditions: 50% overcast, visibility 1.5 miles with haze. They have been at sea for 15 days and still have 1486 nm to go. The big story is that Susan is no longer aboard Kaiulani. She became seriously ill, and rescue was arranged through the Coast Guard. Here is her husband Joe's summary of events: "Susan is on the big ship. Here is an update for the website. "Susan continued to be sick throughout the day on August 22 and getting more dehydrated and weaker. She and Mark decided that she needed to be taken off the sailboat onto a larger vessel. Mark contacted the Coast Guard in Honolulu around 6:00 PM local time. They issued a medical request for assistance to ships in the area and accepted the response from the M.V. Rhein Bridge, a container ship en route to New York via the Panama Canal. The Rhein Bridge made rendezvou with Kaiulani at around 9:00 AM this morning, local time. Susan has been successfully transferred to the Rhein Bridge and is on her way to Panama City. "I am hoping to speak with or have email contact with her later today. The Rhein Bridge's captain reported to the Coast Guard that she was very tired but seemed otherwise OK. Both Kaiulani and Rhein Bridge are now both on their separate ways." -Joe The crew would like to add: Within 18 hours of Susan's first mention to Katrina that she was ill, help, with medical facilities were provided. The ship that arrived to help was 900 foot freighter. The transport was done via pilot ladder. Susan was talking and asked to have Marty take video so she could see it later. So footage will be available once everyone is home safely.
Aug 24	38° 06.0'	153° 21.5'	113	6	10 NW	4-6 NW	1388	70/72	30.06	Sky conditions 50% overcast, visibility unlimited (now out of the fog). Mark reports everything is OK, the crew is comfortable, and they are back in the conditions they are used to. They are eating good meals, and making good progress. As of 8:00 pm, the buoy at the mouth of the Columbia bears 056 degrees magnetic, and they are heading 045 degrees at about 4.7 knots. Mark says the GPS unit projects arrival at Astoria on September 3, but Mark estimates September 6 to 8. Marty is estimating September 4. Mark said they had some minor repairs to do in Astoria, but don't want to spend much time there, a night and a day at the most. He would like to head up the Columbia to St. Helens, and can do so at night with radar navigation. He is asking if anyone was planning to meet them at Astoria, would prefer to do the official arrival at St. Helens, but if people want to do it at Astoria, that's OK too. We have plenty of time to think about it. From Joe on Susan's status... As expected, a day on a steady platform with food and fluid worked wonders. She is feeling pretty good. The digs are very comfortable; she has a private room with a toilet and shower. After 18 days at sea, they amazingly still have fresh fruit and veggies on this vessel (How do they do this?). The captain and everyone so far are very gracious. The captain is Croatian. Most of the crew is Filipino. I don't know how big the crew is. Susan says they all speak English somewhat. They expect to arrive at Panama City on Sept. 1. I am to send Susan's passport to the ship's agent in Panama. They will courier it to the ship and then she should be able to disembark with no problems. It will cost around $900 to fly her home. (oh, well) This is a container ship, the M/V Rhein Bridge, one of the K-Line ships that frequents Portland.
Aug 25	38° 43.4'	151° 06.0'	115	6	10 N	2-3	1275	70/71	30.05	Sky conditions: 30% clouds but highly variable, visibility unlimited. Still eating and resting well. No star sights last night due to clouds. Katrina is very interested in using the sextant for navigation. They received a Hawaiian flag as a gift; they need to work on the halyard in Astoria so they can fly the flag when they sail into their home port of St. Helens, OR. There never was anything wrong with the fresh water pump. That was a misunderstanding. What is not working is the foot pump for water at the kitchen sink, making Marty's job as cook more difficult. The GPS unit is still predicting arrival at the mouth of the Columbia on Sept. 4. Mark still doesn't believe it.
Aug 26	39° 12.1'	149° 48.4'	67	-	10 NE	2-4 NE	1207	70/70	30.12 rising	Sky conditions: 90% overcast, visibility unlimited. Looks like the wind is directly on their nose, not good for progress, and they are fighting a 1/2 knot ocean current. A fellow tracker on the web came up with the following interpretation of recent events, entitled Bad Blood: See if I've got this right: Big storm arises, Mysterious bat flops onto deck. Woman takes desperately ill. A good story, but I've read it before: "Dracula." The Hawaiian flag saved them all. It taught The Count not to mess with Pele!
Aug 27	39° 04.4'	147° 02.1'	130	-	10 NE	4-6 NE	1097	69/70	30.12 falling	Sky conditions: 75% overcast, visibility unlimited. The wind is still coming from the direction they want to travel, meaning they must sail east rather than northeast. They actually went just a bit south today as well. The water maker is giving them some trouble. They have to feed it water manually, not a danger, but a hassle. The head (toilet) needs a new valve, and cannot be repaired at sea. Katrina says the bucket is OK.
Aug 28	40° 09.8'	147° 22.2'	69	6.5 last night 5 today	5-15 NE	4-8 NE	-	70/68	30.32 and "scary"	Sky conditions: 50% clouds, visibility unlimited. Wind is still coming from the wrong direction. They sailed 69 nm today, but to the northwest (see chart), and are no closer to home. They have now been at sea 2 days longer than it took to sail from Astoria to Hawaii, yet they have more than 1000 nm to go, and they are getting anxious to get home. Mark asks for prayers for more favorable winds!
Aug 29	41° 31,0'	148° 11.8'	90	-	very light NE	4-6 long NE	1077	70/65	30.40 rising	Sky conditions: 25% clouds, visibility unlimited. What wind they have is a headwind. They feel like they are on a "slow boat to China." Their position at noon today is north and a little west of yesterdays's position. Mark says the weather charts indicate a high pressure area over the entire Pacific Ocean. He thought that could never happen.
Aug 30	42° 17.9'	147° 32.9'	53	1	very light E	6 or less W to NW	1039	70/66	30.38 falling	Sky conditions: 100% overcast, visibility unlimited. A new record for least distance in a day, but it's in the right direction. They talked to another ship who gave them a forecast of SW winds by 2 am. In spite of their slow progress, they are not concerned about food or fuel. They have 30 gallons of fuel left, and have been using about 1 gallon per day.
Aug 31	43° 04.8'	147° 13.1'	53	-	5-10 SW gusty	2-4 SW 6 N	1002	65/63	30.30 falling	Sky conditions 100% overcast, visibility one mile in rain. Light rain in the morning. At noon, the wind shifted to the south at 5 knots. At 3:15 pm, it shifted to the northwest at 5-7 knots and the rain ended. GPS unit predicts arrival in Astoria for Sept. 7.
Sep 1 Day 24	43° 49'	144° 27.1'	130	-	5-10 NW	2-4 NW	872	65/63	30.5 falling	Sky conditions: 25% clouds, visibility unlimited. Finally they are moving at a respectable rate. If conditions continue as they are now, they should be home in a week.
Sep 2 Day 25	44° 37.8'	141° 37.4'	132	up to 7+	10 NW	6-8 NW to 2-4 NW	741 to buoy +20 to basin	65/63	30.06 falling	Sky conditions: 50% clouds, visibility unlimited. They have crossed into a new time zone, now two hours behind PDT. Good sailing the last few days. The main is up all the way to the top of the mast. Mark estimates arrival on the 8th, GPS unit says 6th to 9th. They are beginning to think more about what they will do when they get to land. Most of the snacking food is gone. The one thing they most crave is popcorn! Next, it's mixed nuts! Mark's plan is to get a hotel room to relax and clean up. In the morning, he wants to do some minor repairs and major cleanup, then set sail up the Columbia River to St. Helens, Oregon, the home port.
Sep 3 Day 26	45° 00.4'	139° 09.2'	108	-	5 NW	2-4 occ. 9-12	633	65/63	30.11	Sky conditions: 100% overcast. Full main and little jib are up. A beautiful albatross is following them.
Sep 4 Day 27	46° 8.3'	136° 45.0'	123	-	10 W-SW	2-4 occ. 6 W-SW	523	65/63	30.10 steady	Sky conditions: 100% overcast, visibility unlimited. They caught an albacore tuna. Katrina said to have fresh anything was so good. During Marty's watch they had to pass a ship.The needed to make passing arrangements and even with them they passed within one mile. It was determined that they were on a head-on course if no change were made. They are predicting arrival on the 8th.
Sep 5 Day 28	45° 45.9'	133° 26.2'	140	var	10 S (noon) 3 SW (6 pm)	4-6 S	387	65/63	30.10 steady	Sky conditions: 100% overcast with occasional holes. Lots of squalls today provided highly variable wind in speed and direction. During one squall they reached a peak speed of 8.1 knots. At reporting time they were becalmed and approaching another squall. At one point the autopilot could not handle the wind speed and direction and manual steering was needed. Mark is still estimating arrival on the 8th. The 8-lb albacore caught yesterday provided dinner and lunch. Perhaps they will have more fresh fish. Marty, who was fishing while Mark provided the day's report by satellite phone, seemed to have a bite, and Mark cut off the call to help him land it.
Sep 6 Day 29	45° 54.7'	130° 25'	113	7 1/2	10 NW	1-2	274	65/64	30.20	Sky conditions: 30% clouds, visibility unlimited. They are eating fresh fish again, thanks to Marty's catch. The water maker is working again. The kitchen water pump (a foot pump) is clogged and needs a new filter. They have 20 gallons of diesel fuel remaining. Mark is refining his estimated time of arrival. He plans to cross the bar on the flood (incoming tide) about noon on the 8th and be in the boat basin by 4 pm.
Sep 7 Day 30	46° 4.7'	127° 13.2'	149	-	10 N	4-6 N	126	65/65	30.20 steady	Sky conditions 50% overcast, visibility unlimited. At the time of the call (8 pm) they were in stormy seas. The main sail was taken down. They expect to be at the buoy tomorrow and then hang out until the tide is right. They will contact us by cell phone once they are within range.
Sep 8 Day 31	46° 11.08' (buoy 1)	124° 11.5' (buoy 1)	126 to buoy 1 @ 10:47 am +16 to Astoria @ 2:45 pm	-	5 NW	2-4 NW @ buoy 1	0	65/54	29.90 falling	Sky conditions @ buoy 1: foggy, 1/4 mile visibility. Sky conditions at Astoria: scattered clouds, unlimited visibility. Astoria Arrival! From the Astoria Column, we spotted the white sail of Kaiulani in the sunlight against the blue water when it was four miles out. (Hopefully, there are photos.) They were doing as much as 10 knots from buoy 1 to the West End Mooring Basin at Astoria, being aided by the incoming tide. After a customs inspection (necessary because they had met a foreign ship at sea to transfer a sick crew member), they got hotel rooms and relaxed with the welcoming crew (all three of us) while talking about the adventure and having celebration bubbly and munchies. Tonight, for the first time in 31 days, they will sleep in beds firmly anchored to the earth, and they don't have to get up after six hours to stand watch! Mark's plan for Friday is to do some repairs and set sail (or motor) up the Columbia River for the home port of St. Helens, Oregon where they expect to arrive Saturday. Unofficial enroute time, Nawiliwili Bay to Astoria: 31 days, 1 hour, 15 minutes. Total distance traveled: 2906 nautical miles (according to Maptech).
Sep 9 Friday	After a night's sleep, the crew boarded again and after refueling left Astoria at 2:30 pm today. At 5:30 pm they had already reached the Cathlamet Channel. At this rate they could be in St. Helens by midnight. Intead they will anchor at Hunters Bar overnight and arrive at St. Helens at noon Saturday. A welcoming party is planned. >>>>> YOU ARE INVITED! <<<<< From the Portland area, take highway 30 north to St. Helens. Notice Wal-Mart on right. In 1.2 miles, bear RIGHT onto Columbia Blvd. In 0.8 miles turn LEFT onto S. River St. and proceed to second marina. Alternate route: At Wal-Mart, turn RIGHT onto Gable Rd. Bear left onto Old Portland Rd (twisty). Turn LEFT onto S. River St. and proceed to the second marina.
Sep 10 Saturday	Well, the night didn't go quite as planned. They ran aground trying to anchor at Hunters Bar where the chart said they had plenty of clearance. No damage was done, and they continued to Goat Island where they tied up for a restful night--just across the channel from the St. Helens marina. A little past noon under a threatening sky, they motored across the channel to the home slip where they were welcomed by family and friends. Champaigne flowed, fresh fruit, veggies, bread and cheese were served, and many photos and videos were taken. Perhaps some of them will appear here. We hope you enjoyed following the voyage of Kaiulani on this site. The rest of the story remains to be written by the crew. When the Captain sees this site for the first time, he will doubtless point out the webmaster's errors--which will be dutifully corrected! Aloha!