Category: Sailing

It was our first Sunday in Changabang. Ups and downs today. Up: I had fun handsteering with the A1. Sometimes I have referred to Changabang as a whale because she’s big inside. And I’ve confirmed she sings like a whale too. The rudder emits a low tone at certain speeds. So far I think I’ve picked up 3 notes. Down: we had 4 broaches under AP (autopilot). The AP recovers and that’s that, but broaching is slow, so I switched back to the A5. It’s Monday now, I’m sorry I didn’t write more yesterday. I’m short on sleep, which combines with the accumulated stress of the preparation, the desire to succeed, the unknown of coming close to a hurricane, and leaving all my loved ones. I was so very anxious last night that I couldn’t sleep again. The day set me straight by putting to work! You can read about that on the tracker blog. I am doing a much better job of keeping a log this time around (compared with the race to Hawaii, when I kept none). I have a log for the charging of the batteries, a log for position/current condition/sail plan/etc, and a journaling log. It looks like we’re still doing good speed. I do look forward to a quieter ride in the future. This here is like being in a stripped down Porsche racing on backcountry dirt roads.

An attitude of gratitude, Inc.

Here are a few more companies who helped me with advise, good pricing and excellent products. There’s Etienne of ATN, Inc. He provided the mast climbing gear and the sock for the new spinnaker. There’s Sylvain of UK Sailmaker of San Francisco, who provided the new spinnaker. He also came to sail with me in the early days, when I was scared of big headsails. Without him I’m not sure if be flying a spinnaker right now. There’s Cree, Ruben and the whole team at Berkeley Marine Center. At BMC we hauled Changabang out of the water to apply a new bottom coat and most importantly, inspect the keel bolts and repair the keel to hull joint. Cree also provided a fiberglass repair kit and tongue/groove wood boards (to help repair a hull breach). I’m awaiting the invoice from the boatyard so … GFM 🙂 Thank you all for your support! P.S.: why a twofer? Sunday & Monday, two days in one post …

We’re into day 4. As I settle in this new routine, I looked at the video I posted right before sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge. I now see that I was fairly stressed out. In fact I was also tired because of two difficult nights before. I carried on this stress for the first two days. I now feel better, although I also realize how long this voyage will be, if it is to be successful. For now that is okay with me. Of course life on the boat is demanding. It’s always moving always noisy. And there are always risks involved such as hurricane Marie. There will be highs and lows and highs again! Such is life … This morning to help center my mind I did 5 minutes of Tai chi. Similarly I did a few push-ups and squats to keep the body moving. It is well known that sailors have skinny legs. I listen to music often. And I do spend a lot of time on my phone to communicate, run weather routing exercises, look at forecast, and generally check how certain boat systems are working.

A special note

Yes it takes a lot of strength to watch your dad or husband leave for such a crazy adventure as the one I have chosen. I am blessed to have these two wonderful women in my life. Joëlle is having to do some heavy lifting with communication management. And Luna is growing up a fine young woman. So this is just a special note to send my thanks to both of you. And to my mother, for whom this must also be a difficult transition. It’s all worth it.

GFM

I also want to say my thanks to the folks who donated to my GoFundMe campaign over the past few days. I know there are many causes and projects vying for your financial support, and so this is all the more especially meaningful to me. Marc, Daniel, Jacqueline, Keith, Shane, thank you!

Another note

I’m sorry but I do not have access to my regular emails, nor to my website management interface. So I do not see comments to Facebook posts, or to my blog posts, except what Joëlle finds the time to relay to me. The problem is that my communication tool at sea is satellite-based, and it has a very restricted bandwith capability. I cannot allow it to be bogged down with data to download because it plays such a critical role for me.

An attitude of gratitude, Inc.

Besides the help of many individuals, during the preparation of Changabang, I reached out to a few companies to help me with certain aspects of the preparation. I did not get sponsored per se. Most companies charged me for some of their services. But all of these were supportive, and more or less financially attractive. The only exception is APSU, who provides free of charge the necessary multivitamin to support a fully freeze dried nutrition plan. My thanks to Nick! PredictWind is also a great supporter, providing their professional package and the tracking system, free of charge. My thanks to Nick again (not the same). There’s Backpacker’s Pantry, from whom I acquired the freeze dried food at a fair discount. My thanks to Drew! There’s Hammer Nutrition, who provided a fueling plan, electrolytes and fuel drinks at a fair discount. My thanks to Ginger. More to come … There’s no particular order here, just in case your name hasn’t come up yet 😀

Sailing

Ah, right! We’re sailing! I’ve got the big spinnaker up. Forecast was showing 12 kts of wind so I felt confident keeping it up for the night. Well, I’m seeing 16-18 kts! Let’s hope all is good until tomorrow morning. I saw a top speed of 13.5 kts. With swell and increased boat speed we surf often. We’re regaining the westing we lost when I gybed South, quickly! This may be a good thing as there’s a possibility that the remnants of Marie will move more West as ECMWF had forecast. That’s all for now. I’ll try to attach a picture later.