We arrived in Victoria in the morning of 31 May 2020! Total time at sea from Mexico was 29 days 3 hours 11 minutes. We used the 'clipper route' - the path used by sailing ships for centuries, taking advantage of the (usual) wind patterns in the North Pacific. Theoretically, we followed the clockwise winds around the high pressure system located somewhere off the BC/Washington/Oregon/California coast. That's mostly what happened, though the High was ill-behaved by shifting around a lot. Click here to see the Pilot Chart we used to plan the route.
See below for updates from our cockpit, which we sent daily.
Date/Timeyyyy-mm-dd (UTC) | Course(°T) | Speed(kts) | DailyRun(NM) | Wind(kts dir) | Waves(ft dir) | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2020-07-30 14:46:00 | 0.0 | 19 | 5 S | 0 | Anchored in Winter Cove. Had a swim in 17C ocean. | |
2020-07-29 09:30:00 | 0.0 | 26 | 5 S | 0 | Anchored at Sidney Spit. Heading for a walk on shore! | |
2020-05-31 08:41:00 | 0.0 | 52 | 18 SW | 0 | Arrived at Customs Dock at 08:41 local time this morning! Woot! Total distance = 3404 miles. Total time = 29 d 3 h 11m. Totally Awesome :-) Thanks for coming along for the ride! | |
2020-05-31 07:25:00 | 95 | 7.0 | 17 W | 1.5' W | At Becher Bay - only 3 miles to Race Rocks! Should be passing by around 06:45 PDT. Woot! | |
2020-05-30 18:00:00 | 156 | 2.7 | 120 | 9 WNW | 1' WNW | Got flung around throughout the night before entering Strait of Juan de Fuca. Now we have intentionally slowed to avoid predicted high winds farther up the strait. We'll probably be rounding Race Rocks around 0700 PDT Sunday morning - maybe you'll see us on their web cam! Hope to be in Victoria by noon. |
2020-05-29 18:00:00 | 90 | 5.9 | 132 | 15 NW | 2.5' WNW | Bring on the Hay! As our friends have noted, Hoku Pa'a is headed for the barn. Should sight land tomorrow. After many cloudy nights, it's remarkable how much higher the North Star (Hoku Pa'a) was last night. |
2020-05-28 18:00:00 | 43 | 5.3 | 135 | 10 WNW | <1' | SUN! Dawn had us breaking through fog into blue skies - big morale booster! Just under 300 miles to go, and comfortably sailing in moderate wind aft of the beam. |
2020-05-27 18:00:00 | 56 | 6.5 | 140 | 12 SSE | 3' SE | Feeling closer! Lots of yummy snacks are appearing; Barb is releasing extra provisions to the crew, for good behaviour :-) Still very damp and gray outside. |
2020-05-26 18:00:00 | 34 | 5.7 | 94 | 16 E | 5' NE | Weather map shows a Cold-front sandwich between 2 High buns. Unusual. Spent past night and day beating into wind and waves - expect more of a tailwind tomorrow. 14C in cabin! |
2020-05-25 18:00:00 | 5 | 4.2 | 118 | 6 W | 2' SW | Foggy and drizzly: we fired up our propane cabin heater for 1st time in 5 years. Also resorted to socks and boots. |
2020-05-24 18:00:00 | 59 | 5.7 | 125 | 15 SSE | 4' S | Ate the first orange in several days - also the last orange until Victoria. Course change has improved angle to seas - much better! Forecast looks more hopeful than it did yesterday. Grumpy factor has decreased. Could use some sun, though. |
2020-05-23 18:00:00 | 22 | 5.3 | 108 | 13 SW | 6' SW | Rolling along after 3 weeks at sea - ready for this passage to be done. Cheddar scones fresh from oven - yum! |
2020-05-22 18:00:00 | 0 | 4.9 | 111 | 6 SSE | <1' | At latitude of San Francisco. Deja vu: we crossed our outbound track Victoria->Hawaii from 16 years ago, and this spot on the ocean looked familiar. Ate last tomato with lunch, on fried egg s'wich. |
2020-05-21 18:00:00 | 305 | 4.5 | 102 | 5 N | < 1' | I spy with my little eye, something that is blue! Progress remains steady (though look up Donald Crowhurst :) Bjarne's beard is filling in nicely. |
2020-05-20 18:00:00 | 300 | 4.7 | 101 | 6 NNW | 2' NW | Seas mellow enough to allow baking of all-important delicious chocolate Birthday Cake for Barb. Winds moderate, allowing for easy progress. Enjoyed last apple - still have potatoes, eggs, jicama, tomatoes, oranges, and limes! |
2020-05-19 18:00:00 | 310 | 4.5 | 119 | 6 N | 2' N | Passed latitude of San Diego last night, and now at Los Angeles. Probably sailing faster than rush-hour traffic :-) Decided we are at half-way point by distance - celebrated with freshly-squeezed lime drink, with eensy splash of tequila! |
2020-05-18 18:00:00 | 272 | 5.0 | 55 | 10 NNW | 8' NW | AhHah! After 17 days of upwind stalking, we hear that the N. Pacific High is expected on Fri to be near 38N 138W. Hope to catch it there! Last night we hove-to for 6 hours to rest - bashing into high waves and wind had worn us out. Conditions much bette |
2020-05-17 18:00:00 | 0 | 5.2 | 128 | 19 WNW | 9' NW | Have been furling/unfurling sail frequently to deal with gusty conditions. Waves splashing over decks. Tiring, but otherwise all's well. |
2020-05-16 00:00:00 | 316 | 5.8 | 95 | 15 W | 4 W | Passed through the centre of a high and out of the very light winds this morning. Now bouncing along, chewing up more miles.Have been at sea for two weeks and passed our second waypoint. Rated a chocolate bar. |
2020-05-15 18:00:00 | 315 | 4.2 | 123 | 6 N | < 1' | Lovely blue sky and sea today, passing through light winds of High. Happy-hour snack of valuable hoarded potato chips, BBQ flavour! |
2020-05-14 18:00:00 | 315 | 5.9 | 142 | 10 NE | 1.5' NE | Hoku Pa'a is like Pac-Man gobbling up the miles - another nice run. Barb's msg from the doghouse: "Errors in yesterday's position report due to me. Did inventory today - concluded allowed more treats." Now out of doghouse. |
2020-05-13 18:00:00 | 310 | 6.1 | 132 | 15 NNE | 3 NNE | Seas are lively but we are happy to be making good time. Culinary experiments: shepherd's pie made with textured vegetable protein - let's call it sailor's pie (must say, hamburger is better); and, corn tortillas. |
2020-05-12 18:00:00 | 310 | 6.1 | 132 | 15 NNE | 3 NNE | Seas are lively but we are happy to be making good time. Culinary experiments: shepherd's pie made with textured vegetable protein - let's call it sailor's pie (must say, hamburger is better); and, corn tortillas. |
2020-05-12 18:00:00 | 310 | 5.6 | 94 | 11 N | 1.5 N | Woo hoo! We are moving steadily without having to work for every mile. What a relief! Last night was beautiful sailing under starry skies. A baby Kraken (OK, a squid) boarded just before sunset. |
2020-05-11 18:00:00 | 305 | 3.2 | 74 | 4 NNW | < 1' | Enjoyed half-hour visit by 40 or so Pantropical Spotted Dolphins! Barb's successful culinary experiment: muffins with dried hibiscus flowers (jamaica). |
2020-05-10 18:00:00 | 287 | 4.5 | 81 | 6 NNW | < 1' NW | Motored for 3 hrs this morning, then drifted in zero wind until mid-afternoon. Booby landed on pulpit just now! |
2020-05-09 18:00:00 | 290 | 4.1 | 83 | 6-8 N | 1 NW | Reached the "one week at sea" milestone so broke into the chocolate supply. Very light winds at night pushing us south then steadier winds in day letting us head back north. Still hand steering but not as frequently. Leaping Dolphins visited. Meatloat |
2020-05-08 18:00:00 | 275 | 5.0 | 68 | 12 NNW | 2' NW | Much steadier wind today after dawn. Enjoyed Tosti-Elotes for HappyHour snack. |
2020-05-07 18:00:00 | 262 | 3.0 | 88 | 7 NNW | 1 | Challenging day with light and variable winds, requiring lots of hand-steering, sail alterations and attention. Visitor bird (Mizzen) flew away after filling up on oats - we'll miss it. Popcorn and loud music improving morale:-) |
2020-05-06 18:00:00 | 270 | 5.2 | 108 | 9 NNW | <1' NW | "Sloopy-Joes" for supper (TVP standing in for beef) - yum! Acquired a 3rd crew-member: black bird smaller than a robin, with a green/blue sheen on back and breast. Likes bread crumbs and sesame seeds. |
2020-05-05 18:00:00 | 265 | 5.7 | 131 | 12 NNW | 2 NW | Four flying fish flip-flopping frantically on the deck have been returned to ocean. Other than upwind sailing, all is well aboard! |
2020-05-04 18:00:00 | 270 | 5.7 | 113 | 16 NNW | 5' NW | Ocean now the deep azure blue of offshore. Found a few more leaks - fixed others. No-one has yet admitted that this trip was their idea. Barb comments that seasickness is nature's way of keeping us from eating all the fresh provisions at once :-) |
2020-05-03 18:00:00 | 248 | 5.0 | 120 | 16 NW | 3.5 NW | Seas choppy; discovered three (minor) porthole leaks; off our feed; tired. Whose idea was this, anyway?. |
2020-05-02 15:04:00 | 150 | 4.2 | 18 | 6 E | 1' E | Underway! Left this morning at 06:30 and have been mostly sailing in light breeze. Toasty 29 C and sunny. |
2020-04-30 17:00:01 | 0.0 | 36 | 14 E | 1' E | After overnight passage anchored S side of Bahia la Ventana (huge bay!) Barb's spotted 2 breaching whales so far (good) and there's lots of flies (bad). | |
2020-04-30 06:00:00 | 170 | 4.3 | 15 | 6 S | < 1' | Left just before midnight to catch ebb tide. Headed for Bahia la Ventana. Saw incredible meteor: green trail spanning 1/3 of sky! |
2020-04-28 20:19:00 | 0.0 | 12 | 10 SW | < 1 | Anchored at Ensenada El Pulguero. Some campers on beach are stranded with a dead battery in truck. Will try to help tomorrow. | |
2020-04-27 20:02:00 | 0.0 | 29 | 5 SW | 1 SE | Anchored N of Punta Pallebote. Rays are leaping out of the water by the dozens - sounds like popcorn! | |
2020-04-25 17:00:01 | 0.0 | 5 Var | < 1' | In a burst of optimism, took advantage of revised BC liquor rules and ordered a batch of wine from our u-brew, to be ready for when we return! | ||
2020-04-23 15:51:00 | 0.0 | 15 | 12 NW | 1' N | Anchored E side of I. San Francisco after excellent downwind sail. Only 13 mins motoring. Saw 2 turtles! | |
2020-04-22 18:06:00 | 0.0 | 43 | 11 NW | 3 NW | Anchored at Mangle Solo. Wind died off last 45 min of trip - had to motor. | |
2020-04-21 18:19:00 | 0.0 | 15 | 3 E | 0 | Anchored at Isla Cosme. Cooled off with a snorkel. | |
2020-04-20 21:00:00 | 0.0 | 7 | 5 E | 0 | Anchored at Las Islitas. 2-1/2 hours to go 3 miles: this trip could take us a while! | |
2020-04-18 11:06:00 | 0.0 | 0 | 8 SE | 0 | Laundry Day! | |
2020-04-13 19:40:00 | 0.0 | 3 | Moored at Puerto Escondido for about 1 week |
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S/V Hoku Pa'a 1000 DeCosta Pl. Victoria, BC Canada V9A 6Y3 |
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