Flying Fish

"flying fish! wow!"

Getting there...

Monday evening:

Coby estimates eight days to Hawaii. 

text at 19:05:

lat27 25N,  lon145 01.6W sails slatting, zephyrs toying, maybe wind soon.

Weather & 2/3

Sun June 28 @22:07

Very often, perhaps always, when it is cloudy, the only bright spot visible also happens to be right where Snookums is heading. 

Coby saw cirrus hooks - mare's tails beginning to be blown apart.  These are the wispy, very high clouds. When they are not in the same direction as the surface winds, it means something is in opposition.  Indicates cross winds in the jet stream, activity that can mean storms. Sailors sometimes call cirrus clouds serious clouds, harbingers of bad weather. 

He readied the storm jib and the trysails. He prepared a hot beverage to keep in the thermos, and at a good hot meal. Everything is already battened down, due to the continued turbulence. 

The weather blew elsewhere. It did feel good to be ready. 

22:15  Text from Snookums: 2/3 of the way!!!

Saturday in the Tropics

Position at 18:16

29 45.5 N,  142 20.4  W 

"I'm in the tropics!! Less washing machine action now, too."

The gap in sail boat icons is partly because I didn't plot his position on Friday, and partly because he is making good time.  

Life

Two very different calls from Coby today:

First: Reports: "Very bumpy lurchy jerky. Need to keep putting head up to see horizon --since 4 am, shipping lanes again, and to quell possible seasickness." Observing the horizon can calm whatever causes motion sickness. 

The pictures are of ways things are kept secure in such motion. Two are for things. The other two are to keep Coby safe as he moves around. One is the cork ceiling, to keep Coby's noggin safe. The circles are covering protrusions such as bolts.  He is notorious for hitting his head on things, and the cabin ceiling is rather low. Another photo is of tennis balls covering the bolts for the portholes. They are at the level of the back of the head when you sit in the cabin. 

He asks: "Where are those famous pleasant tropical rollers?" (OK, I won't wait for Hawaii to read him the earlier comment about this time of year in the higher latitudes)

We are starting to wonder where in Hawaii he should put in. He initially planned Honolulu. But after all this time in solitude, the urbanity, even Island style, will probably be too much. We are thinking Hilo. Any leads welcome. We have been directed to Radio Bay. Sound good still these days?

Second: Feels better now that the sun came out. Realized hadn't slept much the whole night. This shipping lane between  Panama and Asia -- but hasn't seen a single ship. Has three more lanes to go through: Frisco/Honolulu, LA/Honolulu, Panama/Honolulu. Since the weather is fairly mild, the big ships won't need to take detours, and should remain on predictable paths. When he is within 30 miles of a shipping lane, he really begins a careful watch. In worse weather, it might need to be much farther out. 

Morning and night, he sees an albatross. Is it the same one? It only landed once. He has also seen one that he knows was a different one, because it was smaller. Its mate? The albatross is an amazing flier. It tilts at an angle, one wing almost, or barely touching the water - Coby imagines the tip is slicing through the top quarter inch of the water.

He decided not to think about whether he wants to continue after Hawaii. He wants to be involved in what he is doing right now, rather than "investing in an invented future." He will decide what he wants to do after a rest with me on the Islands. Whatever he chooses to do will be fine "because there is nothing wrong with being who you are." Truer words were never spoken.

Shower

Report Thursday night 20:20 

position: 32 56.8 N, 140 16.4 W

Coby took a voluntary shower!  No longer getting doused, and getting warmer, he hooked up his solar shower with salt water. He hung it from the back stay until it was pleasantly warm, and showered and soaped (with the traditional sailing soap, Joy dishwashing liquid) and rinsed. Then he spritzed with a pint and a half of precious fresh water in a spray bottle. 

Very refreshing. Lifted mood.

 

 

"halfway"

In just one mile, Coby will be at the halfway point to Hawaii. So by the time you read this, he will be past. When he called me at 11:11, he had gone 1339. Distance to Hawaii: 1340. 

However, that assumes that he will be able to sail in a straight line, which sail boats don't do much!

 6/25 @ 11:11 -- 33 43.7 N, 139 56.7 W

For the first time, the wind is with him. He has been in unusual winds, the ones that occur only 4 or 5 % of the time. Now he is enjoying the wind direction that he expected. 

He has caught up on tasks, rest. He has more energy. Snookum's motion is calmer. She is still rocking, but an easier motion. So he is starting to do some of the things he had planned. He just took a manual solar reading (old fashioned sextant, for determining your position and heading).

I don't have a picture of his sextant, so I am including image(s) of his compass. He can read it from inside the cabin or out in the cockpit.

Chop and Blue Sea

Wednesday Jun 24, 2009 @  21:46 

34 13.4 N, 138 51.7 W 

You salts out there have probably figured out that Coby's wife is not yet a sailor. Forgive me my errors, and feel free to comment. What I know I have picked up in the last two years, helping Coby prepare for this voyage. As many folks following this know Coby, but don't know boats, I'll be explaining terms as best I can.

Wind veers NW for a day and a half now. Small, rough, choppy swell. Then the wind comes from the N, and sets up a somewhat contrary chop. To cut through it well, he would be "head to wind" or "in irons" - traveling straight into the wind, not a viable sailing method. 

The result of all this is that the wind and the swells conspire to kick Snookums broadside to the swells. It rocks the boat. The rail (leeward?) sometimes touches the water -- not from speed, but from rocking. (Not dangerous, but not comfortable, either).

The picture is of Snookums being lowered into the Columbia right after her christening. It shows her deep keel. This is one reason she is so steady and safe, and also why the current affects her so much. When she can cut through the waves, she is magnificent. Broadside, she presents a lot for them to push on.

He has two reefs in the main (these are tucks to lessen the sail area) to lessen the tendency of the wind to turn him sideways. (if I understand him right) and he has set the windvane to steer him more to port than what he actually needs, in order to compensate. His windvane is a large blade, similar to a ceiling fan blade, that reacts to the wind. It helps keep the boat headed in the right direction, and oriented to the wind. 

He only has felt the beginnings of seasickness once. He was moving some things in the V berth. The waves were causing Snookums to be airborne, at least in front. Items he hadn't stowed back yet were floating in the air on the drop. Moments of weightlessness. He began to get hot, one of the signs, so he went above and was fine. 

He reports the sea is an amazing blue. One spring, we saw a luminous sky in early twilight. He had taken me to see a magnificent old flowering cherry, now gone. The color of the sky, seen throught the dripping blossoms was most memorable. He says that the sea is that color. You can see deeply into it, and the shafts of light go down into it, at least twenty feet. 

The moon out again, still a very thin sliver. 

location 6/24/09  @11:45:  34 45.2 N, 138 13.8 W

Coby is able to receive text messages again.

Snookums' odometer says that she has traveled 1,200 miles. If she was able to go in a straight line, Hawaii would be 1,460 more miles away. 

Coby thinks he just skirted the Pacific High, that he was closer to it than he thought. This may be why he was becalmed, and why he saw plastic in the water every time he looked out.

The wind has picked up. He said that I would enjoy the motion of the boat, reeling and rocking. The water, traveling fast, pushes, then he drops down the face. A swooping feeling, rushing down the waves.

Views & News

Call Tuesday night:

Coby reports "almost a following sea. some wind. not big waves but very close together 4'  a lot of little pushes to the side." 

He saw albatross again.

He is loving the camera (this is new for him). Sunsets are the big event. They are not all that red, because there is no pollution, but to see so much of the sunset sky is amazing.

He is so far west, and we are all so near to Solstice, that at 10:19 he could still see the last glow of sunset. 

On the shortwave he had gotten Australia, New Zealand and Honolulu stations, as well as the Voice of Russia. The latter had an interesting program on a 14th century archeological site in downtown Helsinki. 

He has the solar panel out, and did an hour and a half of pedaling, but still didn't bring up the battery enough. So he is using an 8 pack of AA batteries to run everything, including his tri-colored light. (For you landlubbers, the red, green and white lights give other boats information about whether he is coming or going, partly by telling them what side of the boat they are looking at) 

At night, it has often been cloudy, but one night he said that the "Milky Way was as broad as I've ever seen it."

Last night, the smallest sliver of the new moon, low in the west.

Cooking becalmed

Coby Monday June 22, 2009 10 pm

He's been becalmed, Sunday night and Monday. Very still.

Said with a chuckle: I wonder if I should begin water rationing. In actuality, he has plenty of water, plus multiple means to collect it and to make fresh water from sea water. 

Between the current (now in the preferred direction, towards Hawaii) and Snookum's ability to ghost, he has traveled another 60 miles. He put up the Spinnaker -- seemed to take a long time. (see picture of white sail in recent post)

Some water got into the cupboards and onto the books during the heavy seas. Smelled mildew. He hates mold. Took a lot of the day to take everything out and wipe it with vinegar. Fortunately, likes the smell of vinegar. Very tired after. Made himself good food. Helped. Proud of his dish:

tuna  s'ghetti

whole wheat spaghetti, tuna fish,  coconut milk,  tumeric,  black pepper,  rooster sauce (Asian hot sauce)

the islands in the lower left are Hawaii.

location at 10 pm:  36 18.5 N, 137 34.9 W

 

Easier to comment

Katja here:  I just figured out how to make it easier to comment, without having to join anything. So if you've been thwarted, please try again.  

midnight report

Coby reported traveling over 100 miles yesterday, despite light winds. Ideally he would have used the spinnaker -- the big balloon sail that is employed in front -- but he said health and safety called other tasks than ideal sails. After all, this is not a race, but one sailor dependent on his boat and himself. Fortunately, Snookums is good at "ghosting" -- getting travel out of just a whisper of a wind. 

He reported 36 46.3 N, 136 51.6 W - but this shows some-

what to the east of his last position -- though south also. 

So unless he is skirting traffic or a storm, I think my 

slightly dyslexic self wrote down some coordinates incor-

rectly. Will check as soon as we have text capability again.

The picture is of the spinnaker, taken on a sail before his

journey began. Unlike most of his other sails, it is white.

Energy, speed, communication

Coby called me for my birthday. We kept the call short, because his recharging system is extremely low. He kept his VHF (?) radio on for two days as he approached and crossed the shipping lanes from Asia -- evidently it is very power hungry. (I just got his power bill at the dock -- no recordable power use. Those LEDs are amazing!) He is pedaling to recharge the batteries. The sun is out, so he will put his flexible solar panel up, too (pictured)

 

At the moment the winds are very light. He gets rocked quite a bit when he sleeps, because the wind vane can't work with the scant wind to keep a good way on. He wants to save his fuel for when he really needs it for avoiding obstacles in such conditions. 

 

He can afford some light wind -- he is one third of the way to Hawaii. He has had strong winds. Snookums traveled 170 miles in 30 hours. His top recorded speed was over 8 knots

6/21 @ 9:21 -- 37 00 N, 137 15 W 

Crossing Shipping Lane

Saturday June 20    13:40 (1:40 p.m.)

Postion:  37  43.9 N, 135 02

Snookums had to cross a major international shipping lane last night. Coby reports that he had to awaken at regular intervals all night, to scan in all directions for ships. Even crossing these lanes, he has only seen two ships -- very intimidatingly big, though far away. The economic crisis is helping him have less traffic to avoid. 

He also sent out a "surité" (guessing the spelling, pronouned: shur ee TAY) that advised any ships in hearing distance that he was a small boat, giving his location, speed and heading so that they in turn could avoid him. 

He is now about 60 nautical miles out of the lanes, and relieved. 

He had it rigged so that he can adjust the sails and much more while keeping his lower body warmly and safely in the cabin, and just sticking his head and shoulders out. An advantage of a small boat.

I neglected to post: a few nights ago he saw brilliant flashes of green luminesce. It looked magical. 

If anyone out there knows phone cards that will cover iridium satellite phones for a good rate, please let me know. It would cost me 6$ a minute to call him, and the first minute or so is used up in connection!

Snookums Sea Lore #4

Take your pants off as much as possible. Of course, there are lots of reasons for this, especially if you have crew, but this is to prevent salt water boils from sitting in damp clothing too long. 

Position Friday 6/19 @ 20:20:   38 47.7 N, 134 02 W

Sun out, milder waves

Coby call via Satellite phone  Friday 6/19 @11:04

The Sun is out for the first time this trip.

He reports that the weather is milder. He slept perhaps 13 hours. The weather finally modulated around 3 a.m.  There is a little rolling, some waves are big but still gentle -- he says that I would like the motion (there is a way you get suspended on the drop, that feels like flying. You can get that feeling from a good leap, a dance lift, or a trampoline, too. )

location at 11:04  39 25 N, 133 32.4 W

Contrary Expectations

We expected crossing the bar to be perilous. But the combination of skill -- consulting to find the perfect tidal conditions for crossing, patience -- being will to wait for good condition, and luck, rendered the cross relatively smooth and easy. 

The passage to Hawaii this time of year is supposed to be easy, a very good way to break oneself in as a blue water sailor. So far it is proving rough, and taking concentration and stamina.

- Katja

Thursday 6/18 @20:52

Satellite phone call: 

Nasty cross swells. Enter first wave at a 45  degree angle, the next quickly broadsides. It is wild! One of books titled: " A Gentleman Does Not Go Upwind." He can see why. He is sleeping on the floor. The part he likes is that he is moving quickly towards Hawaii. He feels safe, though. Snookums is taking care of him. It is like sleeping in the backseat while Dad drives down a very rough road. 

location c. 9 pm -- 39 53N, 132 17.7W -- a lot a travel in a few hours. 

Thursday 6/18 15:38

Got this message around 3:30 Thursday afternoon:

40 02N, 131 45W

closehauled brgSW 20-25 knots rough ride sitting on floor to read book.

He called a little later, because he realized this might sound scary, but said it was fine. 

Phone reception spotty, though, because he had the hatch cover closed due to excessive spray. 

We are having challenges with him getting my messages and emails -- it is causing us to burn up precious voice minutes. Me calling him is so expensive, I used up a small calling card before I had even made connection! Yikes.

Wednesday night 23:44

I made the sail boat red, because Coby's sails are tanbark. Look back in the May archives to see his sails in action.

Wednesday night 23:44

40 49.9N, 131 13.6W

Visited by many dark swift birds, swallow-like but heavier, forever swooping. Another albatross.

3 pets: 2 spiders in the wind vein, and a grain moth. (Despite the threat to his dry food, he can't bring himself to kill it -- living things see so rare).

Calm enough, able to cook, eat, and clean up at one go.

Here is a picture I took of his gimbaled cooking apparatus. The rig swings to keep level despite the pitch of the boat. He has two small tea pots -- one is dented for heating salt water for cleaning and any other use, the other smooth for fresh water only. He has had the Svea (sp) stove since he was young -- he made coffee for us on it the first morning of our honeymoon.

Correction for Tuesday night

Actual location of Snookums Tuesday eve: 41 07' N, 130 58' W

Rough night, great lee cloth

Coby is making good time. But the sea is rough. Last night he wouldn't have been able to sleep at all without the lee cloth that Adele made him (thanks Adele, for that and much more). He said that the cloth functioned more as a hammock at times.

Here's a picture I took of Coby modeling his lee cloth (it holds you in when the boat tilts).

Photos of Crossing the Bar.

Tom and Kathy Ely, generous strangers, were on the platform at Ft. Stevens State Park when Coby was crossing the bar. Tom had an enormous lens, and captured Snookums, miles away, crossing the Columbia bar.

The images are reversed, the top one should be second.

Even Tom's camera couldn't capture Snookums passing buoy one, passing into the open ocean officially. 

Tuesday night

38.44N lon129 52.56W finally some wind

38 44'N, 129 52'56"W

Coby reports feeling now as if he is going to Hawaii (and me), rather than away from here.

Link to River Pictures - trip to the sea

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=81453&id=790269152&l=600376c689

progress as of eve of 6/15

Don figures:  By straight line distances on Google Earth Coby has traveled approximately 371 nautical miles. The straight line distance to Hawaii is @2217NM. He's about 1/6th of the way.

23:22 Monday night

SAT call:

People who say that they don't get leg workouts sailing aren't traveling on Snookums.

Coby reports having to brace himself against the chop quite a bit. The gray and the bumps aren't fun. Letting out more sail helped cut through better. Spirits on the upswing, nonetheless. Charming birds circle around at dusk. 

42 10'9" N,  129 54'3" W 

SW Swell

via satellite phone 17:57

Calmed down enough to cook hot meal and tea.

SW swell - trying to send boat to Siberia. According to pilot charts, this only happens 4% of the time at this time of year. So far not the easy run that going towards Hawaii is supposed to be. 

Map of

Don Jensen made a map of Coby's route to date. Thanks Don!

We are working on making a link in which you can interact with it, adding in weather, moving ahead to imagine his route to Hawaii, etc. 

In the meantime I will post his coordinates in a Google Earth friendly manner. Then you can put then in the "fly to" box and see right where he is.

Sunday location 19:29

Location sunday night around 7:30 

lat 43 10 709 lon 129 05 511

Coby is very very tired, and was meeting some of the challenges of soloing. Last report is that he got music on the radio, and was feeling better. Humans seem to need human voices. 

Sat. night location

text from Coby at 22:52

43 53'N, 128 03'W

Becalmed. Will try more S for better winds+weather

Albatross and rest

Satellite phone call:

An albatross circled the boat.

Coby is tired, so he is leaving a reef in the main even though the wind is mild at the moment. This will allow him to rest -- he won't have to change the sail for the gusts that have been up to 25 knots. He was in some rough seas, but Snookums handled them very well indeed. He checked the bilge -- not a drop! 

He might practice QiGong. To practice, he goes on the foredeck and is tethered to either side of the boat, so he can stand without fear of falling overboard.

current location:

n44.05' w127.41'

The minutes are precious. It was SO  hard for us to hang up!

location Friday night

From Coby's satellite phone, 20:42  Friday

 at N44 54 lon W126 48 wind 15-25. 2 reefs in main. seas lumpy. Snookums fine. me tired.

location June 11 22:46:57 PDT

From Coby's Satellite phone:

lat 45 48 210  lon 125 09 340 reef in main   Aries is steering  me to bed

Snookums launched!

Katja writing:

Coby set off from the West Basin Moorage in Astoria bound for New Zealand via Hilo and Samoa, some time after 9:40, after a proper blessing ceremony.  Ali, Larry, Deborah and I saw him off. Details to follow.

Many thanks to Ali, Dave, Scott, Ciaran, Deborah, John and Larry and all who journeyed out to Astoria to help him launch. You helped make his dream!

Larry and I traveled to the observation tower on the jetty and were able to watch his departure from near buoy 10 until he was out to sea. 

He progressed from motoring to the main sail, then adding foresail, though he kept the motor going until across the bar. He passed buoy 1 around 12:20 p.m.

Snookums looked as if she was enjoying taking the wind. He reported being well sprayed as he hoisted the foresail, and having fun. He sounded exhilarated. 

He saw a dolphin! Felt very auspicious. 

I watched until the sails were two tiny dots shimmering through the atmosphere and mist, and I lost them. Around the same time we lost phone contact, but not before we said: Aloha.

Bless every one of you who helped him to fulfill this lifelong dream.

Bar Crossing Set for Thursday

Katja writing: Decision was made: Coby was too tired to cross the bar -- especially with the couple of hours more work needed. A day of light work and rest is called for. This choice was re-enforced when an anchor was dropped by accident-- without its chain! 

This morning Dave Hewitt, a  friend here to see Coby off, retrieved it. Very helpful that Dave is a dive master! 

We decided to spend the night on land -- and found the delightful and newly re-opened Commodore Hotel.

How wonderful to have all these good friends around us!  Some couldn't wait until tomorrow, and are disappointed that they won't see the actual crossing -- but they understand the decision. 

Arrived in Astoria

We have arrived in Astoira. Idyllic passage with some adrenaline in the last hour. At celebratory dinner. More tomorrow.

Departure Day!

Departure Day! Some nerves, lots of stuff still to pack, but we will make it. Glad Katja is floating down the river with me -- would be too hectic otherwise. 

Here is Coby's Global Navigational System (GPS)!

Wishes & Comments

If you leave thoughts, comments or wishes, I will pass them on to Coby. After traveling down the river, we'll spend a little time on land in Astoria on Tuesday, and look for an internet café -- I'll check the blog and he can look at what you say with his own eyes before he sets sail. 

Those who know him enough to have his number and who want to, please call him Tuesday afternoon. 

Starting Location

Until I find the right gadget and how to link it with this blog, I will give you the navigation coordinates (latitude and longitude) for Coby's location. Maybe you can look at our route to Astoria.

Snookums is docked at Tomahawk Island, on the Columbia, in Portland. 

45 degrees 36'23.N

122 degrees 39'23.W

elev. 2'

Departure planned Sunday from Portland

(Katja writing)

Due in part to my food poisoning episode this week, we have pushed the departure back one day to Sunday the 7th, early. I will go down the Columbia River with Coby, a two day agenda. 

Blessedly, our change in plans enabled us to have a relaxing dinner with Ali and get a good night's sleep. Today we are doing everything we would have done until the wee hours -- we are trying not to add any extra tasks with the extra time. Breathe.

Plan to rest and re-test communication systems in Astoria. Then Wednesday morning, I will disembark, and Coby, si Díos quiere, will cross the bar. I can wave from an observation tower. The river is so wide that we will need binoculars to see each other.

He received a wonderful waterproof video camera from a friend, and a waterproof film camera from another. We will have to wait until he makes port to see the images; he will be sending me test messages of 160 characters max. We have sheets of text abbreviations and acronyms to help us. I'll post the public portion of these messages here. 

Testing Coby's overboard system

Practiced with safety equipment with Scott and Larry as crew. Sailing upriver at about four knots,  I lowered myself into the Columbia.  Attached to the boat by my safety harness and tether, I slid back on the jack-line that runs on the outside of the boat to the stern where I was dragged by my tether until I caught hold of the rope ladder, and climbed up aboard. It all went swimmingly!

I also tested my backup to the backup safety system -- two hundred feet of floating line knotted every eighteen inches, with a little buoy on the end, that I let snake out behind the boat. Tried pulling myself back up in while I was in the water -- very easy self-rescue. We likes it!