After a 2 year delay due to Covid, we are finally able to gather for a Celebration of Life for Glenn.
Celebration of Life for Glenn Wakefield
Sunday, September 18, 2022
1:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Royal Victoria Yacht Club (indoor and outdoor)
3475 Ripon Road, Victoria, B.C.
Street parking on Ripon Road and Beach Drive
October 5, 2021
Today we mark one year since we said our final goodbyes to our dear Glenn.
The girls and I have received much love and support and generosity over this past year and we know that without a doubt, we would not have made it to today without you. We feel very lucky to have you in our lives.
We still find ourselves in the unfortunate position of not being able to gather together to celebrate Glenn’s life because of Covid-19 restrictions. The girls and I hope that as soon as the situation improves, hopefully by early next spring, we will be able to come together safely to remember him the way he wanted to be remembered – a caring, generous, enthusiastic guy who loved his family and his friends and was determined to live life passionately.
If you have a moment today, remember him in any way that feels right for you.
With love,
Day 1 Sunday, September 6, 2020 @ 11:00 Departing Victoria, BC
I can hear the fog horns blowing as the local sea gull choir announces the sun rising. I slept well and feel good. Today will be the beginning of another adventure. It will be filled with lots of emotion at both ends of the scale. Outwardly it is a celebration. It’s the end of the planning and provisioning stage and time for the overdue departure, casting off the lines. Months and years of planning and hard work.
On the emotional side, my family are torn. They have been here before and many emotions rush back for them, not to be denied, but felt deeply. We talk about them now but it is not easy. It is not easy to show your vulnerability particularly in front of strangers. This is not the day they nor I have been looking forward to because of our love for each other.
Bitter sweet sorrow. My wife MaryLou has a sweet personality and a strength of character that runs as deep as the ocean, and she gave those traits to our two daughters Claire and Nicola and I will miss them just as deeply.
There have been an amazing group of talented and caring people who have had a very large hand in helping me get to this day. Thank you. I hope through the blog postings that I send to MaryLou, which she checks and tweaks and posts on the website, that I will keep you vicariously with me on board West Wind II through our ups and downs over the next thousands of miles. Collectively, I feel you all with me on board. It is the best of women-man kind.
We’re all connected in some way by our feelings. I am a very lucky man and privileged to be setting off this morning to fill a dream to sail single handed around the world.
Welcome aboard and hold on tight!
Cheers Glenn
NOTE: To see Glenn’s latest position on a map, click on Where is Glenn Now? on the home page.
Wednesday Sept. 2 @ 08:48
Starting my voyage from Victoria and sailing out into the Pacific always requires transiting the Straits of Juan de Fuca and inevitably staying up all night to keep watch. Although the moon will now be waning for the rest of the month, it was full last night and on Sunday night it will be full enough to keep me company.
I’m leaving on Sunday morning at 11:00 am from the Visitors Dock at the Royal Victoria Yacht Club in Cadboro Bay. You are very welcome to come down and join us or meet in the bay as part of the escort.
I’ve solved all the problems on the list and the food stores and supplies for the next eight to ten months are finding their way into every nook and cranny on board WW II as her water line slowly disappears below the surface. The next few days will be spent doing last minute things, and making sure everything is in place for MaryLou to maintain our land base while I’m away.
MaryLou has also been busy helping with all the things I need to make it through my voyage. One of them is the tedious, but extremely important job of vacuum packing all the stores of food that will be taken on board so they will still be fresh in month ten when I come back up the Pacific in March, April of next year. And, much to her chagrin, she is the Queen of this job. There is not a trophy big enough on the planet to recognize MaryLou’s incredible contribution to my voyage. Her support and understanding are epic and the most important element in me realizing my dream to finish my circumnavigation.
Many people have expressed interest in coming down to send me off and it is a wonderful feeling to see you all there, but please – keep in mind Bonnie Henry’s rules for social gathering under the current COVID conditions.
Cheers, Glenn
Friday, August 21, 2020
A very important commodity for this voyage is electricity, maybe not as important as water, but still necessary. On my first single handed voyage on Sannu II, a Haida 26, in 1997 from Victoria to the Marquesas, my only electronics were a GPS and a VHF radio and my running lights. The GPS I turned on once a day and the VHF radio only a couples of times in the six weeks it took me to cover the distance of about 4500 nautical miles. This I powered easily with a two foot square solar panel that charged two 6 volt golf cart batteries. There was a 5 hp Mercury outboard motor with 5 gallons of gas that had no generating capabilities. Oh and I had a Discman and a set of speakers, all powered by AA batteries and a few headlights with AAA batteries.
WW II’s thirst for power is much greater. I have a wind generator which, in the southern ocean with its strong winds produces all the electricity I can use. I also have two solar panels, one 80 watts and one 100 watts. They have been checked and a small diode replaced on the 100 watt panel. I have chosen to remount these on the cabin top forward of the dodger, a similar place as before but further apart so I can walk on the deck while tying the reefing lines in the mainsail. I had thought of mounting them on the life lines beside the cockpit as many local cruising boats do, but they are much too vulnerable to the boisterous seas in the southern ocean. In Kim Chow in 2007-8 I had the solar panels on the deck on top of the life raft but during very bad weather near the Falkland Islands these were torn from the deck along with the life raft. On WW II I have had some special brackets made to mount these panels and feel I have done the best I can to mitigate any damage.
I also have the generator on the trusty Perkins, with 50 gallons of fuel to keep it running. My ham radio coupled with the computer to send and receive emails is the biggest draw on my batteries. I have lots of small batteries to charge for things like cameras and recorders. I have an inverter that changes 12 volt power into 110 volt to charge my computer, and from that I can charge my Kindle, cameras and other toys. And, I now have a fridge! That will be a real luxury. In the brochure it boasted that it can make “ice cubes”, we will see how much power that takes. Heat and sunny weather are good ingredients to produce power, hence ice cubes.
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Sea Fever hand-lettered print available at marylouwakefieldart.com
Victoria, B.C. Canada – 2018
A number of years ago, MaryLou created this beautiful piece of artwork, a hand lettered piece featuring the poem Sea Fever by John Masefield.
Through her communications work, she’d met the accomplished Canadian marine artist Harry Heine who saw her work in progress and graciously offered to add a watercolour illustration to his favourite poem. The figure, sitting on the dinghy looking out to sea, is a loose representation of Glenn. Marylou and Harry discussed who was going to work on the blank sheet of paper and who was going to add their work over it.
“I was terrified to mess up an original Heine painting,” says MaryLou so she wanted to go first. Harry it seemed, didn’t want to mess up her calligraphy and in the end, Harry won. He painted the watercolour illustration first and MaryLou did her calligraphy afterwards, with much trepidation. The name Heine appears at the bottom left above the words Sea Fever just below the rocks and grass.
The original hangs in our home and has done since 1992. Signed prints on archival watercolour paper that measure 18″ x 24″ are available for sale.
If you’re interested in purchasing one for yourself or a friend or family member, contact MaryLou at mlwakefield@shaw.ca or you can visit her website at mlwakefieldart.com
Thank you.
May 5, 2017
I believe I have jury rigged a support for the engine. I’ve managed to lift the one corner that has the broken engine bracket sufficiently to allow me to run the engine in gear for short periods of time. That will definitely come in handy as I transit the shipping lane don the Straits. Not a permanent fix but probably enough to get me out of trouble if need be.
We have no shortage of photos of this scenario. Glenn, tools, knee pads, engine covers off.
Big squall going through right now with lots of rain. Even though I’ve shortened sail, we are hard pressed and flying along. It won’t last long but pretty exciting as it passes over us.
If my daily run in the next 24 hrs is the same as today, I will be at the mouth of the Straits at around 04:00 pm local time (tomorrow) with lots of daylight hours so I can see the traffic coming and going.
May 4, 2017 0:100
Position: 46.14 N, 129.09 W
With the horrific motion and noise onboard, sleep is illusive. I’ve been on deck twice to alter course and the seascape under the moonlight is awe inspiring. The waves marching at us are mountainous. Occasionally, one climbs aboard and completely covers us in white water which spills over the cabin and into the scuppers as well as any possible way into the cabin. Whenever we’re lifted up on a big wave, one of the water cans on deck smacks with a loud hollow thud that resonates throughout the boat making sure I don’t sleep.
I’ve just made another cup of tea. My fingers are very cold and the warmth of the tea mug is very welcome. I must just hang on for two more days and we’ll be in the Straits.
We’ve been lucky so far with the weather – this is only 20-25 knots. I’ll be glad when the break of day comes. Till then, I’ll drink my tea and hang on.
May 3, 2017 07:07 am
Position: 45.34 N, 130.25 W
I’m 300 miles off the coast of Oregon State, right in line with Portland. The sea the sky is grey, looking out the port lite. There is a distinct line between the very light grey sky and the greyish green ocean, a line that I could almost reach out and touch. A line that is moving like some great snake on the back of a four meter swell coming from the west. The horizon is very fluid.
We’re moving with the motion of those great determined swells passing under our port side, it’s a bit herky jerky but we are making 6 knots toward the entrance of Juan de Fuca, which lies 309 miles north east. I should be there in a few days if all goes well then make the turn down the Straits and sail home
to Victoria. I will most likely sail around to Cadboro Bay and tie up at the visitors dock at the Royal Victoria Yacht Club.
On reflection, I realized it’s been almost 20 years to the day (May 9, 1997) that I sailed single handed non-stop in my Haida 26′ bound for the Marquesas. Since then, I’ve crossed all the major oceans, and this is my fourth time across the great Pacific Ocean.
I’m sailing on West Wind II, a vintage S&S 42 (Sparkman and Stephens) built by Chris Craft in the 1960s.
Off the coast of Australia near Albany
It’s my third boat since I first left in 1997. In between the Haida, there was Kim Chow a 41′ Rhodes Reliant which I left to King Neptune near Cape Horn.
It will be good to finally sail home after over sixty thousand open ocean miles (60,000) and mostly single handed. A total of 19 months at sea. the longest passage without stopping was Victoria to Cape Horn in 221 days in 2007/08.
Glenn’s 221 day non-stop solo circumnavigation attempt 2007/08.
Home is definitely where the heart is and I will be glad to be home with MaryLou once again.
Editor’s Note: Thanks to Steve and Jonathan at Geeks on the Beach and the folks at Hosting Nation for working on my broken automated email function. Hope to have it back up and running soon. We want to keep you all in the loop for Glenn’s arrival !
Monday, May 1, 2017 05:30
We are rolling along before 15+ knots and have a pretty impressive log to show for it. Looks like another 150 nm day today!
Lots of creaking and groaning going on … almost as much as my old knees. The motion is not too bad and the sound of rushing water as WW II surges homeward fills the cabin.
My little Storm Petrel is gone from the cockpit this morning. I hope (s)he is fine. So difficult to interfere with ‘mother nature’. The sun is trying to break through on the horizon as if it’s under the door of the day. Low grey clouds fill the room. The tea is on the brew and I am dissecting one of my last oranges and savouring the fresh taste.
It is a cool 58 ° in the cabin at the moment but my fleece is keeping me very cozy and warm. Should be well into the sixties by day’s end.
Going on deck to gybe the main and square us off to the waves and bring our heading more to the north.
Hope your day has dawned warm and sunny. ( Actually, not. It’s grey, overcast and a chilly 8° C here in Victoria).
Gybe complete. Actually worked up a sweat. Feels good to do a little surfing (the boat, not him). Now sitting at the nav station with the hatch open, I can hear the waves breaking off our stern. All’s good.
I’ve got the old Perkins humming and vibrating away for the next hour. It’s cloudy and the solar is minimal and because we are running with the wind, the
wind generator isn’t able to spin enough to make any power, so Perkins has stepped up and taken that on this morning. I have the “InReach” and the computer plugged into the inverter to give them both a boost. I’ve just been on deck to give the Fleming some fine tuning.
While I was up there enjoying the ride, my thoughts went to my friend Paul Lim. Paul set out in his small boat from Hawaii to Victoria last September on his way home and never showed up. I’ve watched and spoken out to him many times on this passage. So wherever you are Paul, I hope you have sooth sailing my friend. You are thought of often and warmly. There by the grace of a higher power go we.
What a splendid morning, sun is just up over the edge of the pond. Not a ripple anywhere, the sea is molten mercury, we are waddling in a south west swell which we have been in all night. We have drifted three miles closer to home and by the looks of things, our prospects of going much further could be going only another three by days end. There is nothing to do but give myself up to the fate of the wind gods and “roll” with it!
Having computer problems this morning so hope the gremlins cooperate and I can send out some mail and most importantly receive some.
Cheers from me “rollin in the deep”.
We have a technical glitch at the moment. The result is the program that sends subscribers updates via email is not working.
I’ve been working madly to try to fix it. I reached out to WordPress for help and the best I was offered was to post my problem to a public forum. This was after doing their updates!!! Anyway, that was days ago and I’ve heard nothing so I have enlisted the help of our local tech geeks (their word) who are working on it as we speak and will hopefully get things sorted out today.
I’ll continue to post regular updates from Glenn here so stay tuned.
Thank you.
MaryLou
Monday, April 24, 2017
Tonight, I watched the blazing orb of the sun set for the second night in a row. It slipped quietly into the grey molten sea without a splash as if an act in a magic show.
Without the light of day, night sailing takes on a rather white cane approach. All my senses are piqued and shift into another realm. The humming of the wind generator signals the strength of the wind, the sound of the waves as WW II moves through the water signals our speed. A slight luffing of the sails lets me know we are off course. The movement of the boat as the swells manipulate her keep me abreast of sea conditions. The wind is very light and without WW II’s sizeable tonnage, she would falter in the fickle wind, but during the lulls she presses on against her own inertia. I still have one reef in the main as to let it out would be just too much sail and with the swells she would start to flap maddeningly. Her course, if plotted on a small scale, would reveal a rather drunken stagger but for that weight and clean bottom she recovers easily and keeps a forward motion.
I feel the fine balance and know that Fleming can only steer if the wind blows a certain strength, so I am ready with Ray, the electric auto pilot to
take over at any time. All these parts must work together or the game is up and we are “rollin’ in the deep”.
Fleming under sail
Fleming tied up
Perkins, of course has retired with a broken leg for the rest of the season and can’t be relied upon to take over as the iron sail. For such little wind, I am always amazed at our progress. West Wind has proven to be a more than able world cruiser, from the gales of the Southern Ocean to the equatorial calms and doldrums. She will, without a doubt, make a great coastal cruiser for Marylou and me.
Perkins diesel engine at rest
More common view of Perkins
Cruising the Gulf Islands of British Columbia.
Saturday, April 22, 2017
It’s 8:23 am and I have caught up on some sleep that was donated, to keep us on the best course and move along top speed through the night. We’ve had some fickle winds the last 18 hrs. Either on the nose or just not strong enough to keep us on course.
I spent a bit of brain power debating which tack is best and tried out a few of my theories several times in the middle of the night and suffice it to say, looking back I would have been better to take all sail down and go to bed. Such is the benefit of hindsight. Here in the light of day I am trying not to make the same mistake. The overwhelming consensus is that heading north is the best tack at the moment.
The air is lovely and cool in the evenings and not too warm during the day, which is perfect for life on board.
Today I have been becalmed for hours so going a little crazy even thoughI have been here literally one hundred times before so I know how to do calm. Thanks for your email they are a real life saver. Trying hard to head north and get more wind. Overhead I noticed I’m on the flight path to and from Hawaii so it’s reassuring to know I am headed in the right direction. It’s a beautiful bright day and not too hot. Still feel the effects of my all nighter last night so been trying to nap in between pushing WW II homeward.
Found an interesting problem this morning while checking the engine. The bracket on the motor mount that I had repaired in Gisborne has broken, so no more powering! I can run the engine but can not put it in gear because it is so out of line. That must have happened last night while I was powering. Can’t do much about it and it seems to be stable so I will just keep an eye on it. This old girl needs some TLC when we get home.
I had a great ploughman’s lunch today, cheese and crackers and nice little tomatoes, mmm good.
As usual, we’ve had our fair share of malfunctions but with a great deal of fumbling and perseverance, I’ve managed to keep West Wind II afloat and moving along. Our communications systems have been intermittent. The ham radio works to talk to the Pacific Seafarer’s Net each afternoon with Peter Mott, ZL1 PWM in Russel in the Bay of Islands, Randy KH6 RC and Jane NH7 TZ in Hawaii along with a large group of very dedicated volunteers from around the Pacific Rim help MaryLou keep track of her wayward husband. (Editor’s note: And you’re all doing a fantastic job!) There is an online program that lets her listen to me while I transmit my daily report and facilitates her getting real time audio messages from me. (You can listen in as well here.)
The other capability I have on board is sending email through the ham radio while I’m hooked up to a Pactor Modem using a program called Winlink. This is what I will use to send this blog posting, hopefully. After many tens of thousands of salty ocean miles, we’ve developed a loose connection, for lack of a better excuse, which makes sending my messages a bit like winning the lottery. I think if you could see the expression on my face when I plug in the modem and push the button and a message comes up saying ” Com 4 does not exist on this computer” you’d see crushing disappointment with a small curl of rage. Conversely, when it does connect and the lights flash, well you could probably hear my joyful shouts from where you are.
After a complete failure of the ham radio when I left New Zealand, I had to turn back and get it fixed. After that we decided to purchase an InReach tracker, a devise about the size of a flip top Marlborough cigarette package. This small device sends out a signal every 30 minutes and lets the world know where I am. It also can be used to send text messages, well that’s if the user possessed the ability to do so! At this point, that is not me and do you think I can overcome that little cigarette box full of electronics to send a simple text message? Not a chance. This must be so frustrating for MaryLou, who is a wizzard at such things (Editor’s note: He’s exaggerating), and hasn’t be able to teach me so far. Don’t get me wrong. ML has the patience of a saint, I’m just a bit slow on the
uptake here.
I have been rattling on a bit here and I’m not even half way through my list of challenges so I’ll spare you and save them for a future installment.
First I’ll try to send this blog post. Wish me luck, here goes.
Cheers Glenn at Sea
Friday April 21, 2017
Lat 24.42 N, Long 157.04 W Course: 053 Speed: 6 knots Wind:ESE 10 knots Waves: E 2 metres Cloud: 40% Barometer: 1020 Distance to home: 2098 nm
Bright sunny morning here. Half moon still with us hanging faintly over the port stern quarter. A majestic sooty albatross has been circling us looking curiously for breakfast. I have shaken out the night reefs in the jib and main to catch a ten knot easterly blowing over a slightly calmer sea with a two metre swell from the NE.
It is still warm although cooler than Honolulu …thank goodness. Still a little drowsy and I think breakfast is imminent. Nice motion on board this morning not quiet so life threatening as yesterday.
Our speed over the ground is 6.5 knots and we have a course of 23 T. The entrance to Juan de Fuca is bearing 47 T and is 2130 nm over the eastern horizon.
Wind today will swing around from E to SSE at ten knots as the day wears on. Should be able to lay the mark and fall off the wind a little.
And now for tea and a light breakfast.
Can hear Glenn loud and clear on the Pac Seafarers Net this evening and he reports “All’s well.”
Thursday, April 20, 2017
Position as of approximately 6:30 a.m Glenn’s time 26.90 N, 153.58 W
While I was listening to Glenn last night on the Pacific Seafarers Net roll call for marine mobile operators, I was struck by a couple of things.
First, is the obvious miracle of the technology that lets me listen on my computer at my dining room table in Victoria, BC, to Glenn who is on our boat off the coast of Hawaii and that the person coordinating the call is in the Bay of Islands in New Zealand. So, even though we aren’t able to have a voice to voice conversation, or one over email, at least I can hear his voice (and his report) and know that “all’s well” on board and he knows I’m listening to the call and can send me a short message.
Glenn and I have talked many times about the eventuality of no email. And while we may not like it, and know that it will to some extent impede his ability to prepare for weather, we agree that it’s not the end of the world and we’ll work around it. He’s very experienced and understands the nuance of changing weather conditions and knows instinctively how to prepare and act. We’re working with what we have and hope the email gods might give us a break.
Second, is the generosity of the folks who run this net. Like Peter Mott, in NZ. Peter who runs the call, goes over and above in accommodating our requests to read messages to Glenn at the end of the call which he happily did. Once the roll call was completed, I was able to sneak in a short (and sweet) personal message via email which Peter read to him and, we were able to relay a weather report for the next two days, courtesy of my dedicated brother, Peter (in Regina, Saskatchewan) just to complete the circle.
Third, is the almost instant response from friends and ham operators around the world, who, knowing his email system is down, make time to listen in on the call and relay messages to him. Fantastic. Last night we heard from friends in New Zealand and Australia. An amazing group of people. Others left messages here on the blog. It all makes a difference and is so appreciated. Thank you.
Even though he didn’t say it, I did hear fatigue in his voice and that he wasn’t his usual cheerful self. I think that goes with the territory. I hope he can catch up on sleep in the next couple of days.
I’m particularly enjoying creating these Google maps these days. The best thing is that we can actually see home base in Victoria in the same view as that little blue sailboat icon. And, this probably goes without saying but the sight of that little blue sailboat pointing towards home and getting closer every day, well I have no words for how that makes me feel. Over the moon comes close.
And, last but certainly not least, thanks to @claire_bare3 for suggesting I write a post from my point of view.
Through the miracle of technology, I was able to listen to Glenn online this evening on the Pacific Seafarers Net roll call. This is the image I see on my computer as each participant gives their report amidst the crackles and blips.
Huge thanks to Peter Mott who manages the call from New Zealand and gives marine mobile ham radio operators the opportunity to report their position and give a brief report. I was able to send Peter some weather information to Glenn which Peter read to him over the radio which is a big help to Glenn.
Glenn’s report was his usual “All is well” which I was grateful for and even though we couldn’t speak directly, I could send a short personal message to him over email which Peter read to him.
It was nice to hear Barry Mitchell’s voice on the call as well and mention of Alek in Australia and Cliff in New Zealand, two long time supporters of this project and ham radio gods in their own right.
WordPress is giving me some grief at the moment around the comments function of this blog so for the moment, I’m not receiving any. I will work on fixing that and get them back online as soon as possible.
Thank you all for your ongoing comments which Glenn very much appreciates receiving.
Tuesday, April 18, 2017 5:48 p.m. (Hawaii time) Position: 24.75 N, 157.0 W, Course heading: NE
At the nav station
Through the Pacific Seafarers Net, I learned this evening that Glenn is having some technical difficulties with his computer and is unable to send or receive email which means he isn’t able to provide his usual updates… for now. I’m hoping that miraculously changes of course and we’re back online soon. fingers crossed. For now and in lieu of email, I will be listening in to the ham radio call over the internet which takes place each evening at 0300 utc (8 pm Pacific Daylight Savings time) on 14.300 frequency.
You can listen in as well, if you are so inclined, by going to this link or by typing this address into your browser http://kiwisdr.northlandradio.nz:8073/?f=14300usbhere
Glenn checked in to the Pacific Seafarers Net this evening and asked that they relay a message to me about his current difficulties. Thank you Peter Mott in New Zealand and Jeanne Socrates in Mexico for getting the message to me. Glenn’s eloquent albeit short message for tonight was “All is well.”
We also have the InReach tracker so we can see his daily progress. Here’s a link to that page. Just refresh the page to get the latest update which happens every 4 hours. If you want his exact position, click on the blue arrow head beside his name and select More.
As of 5:48 p.m. his time, his position: 24.75 N, 157.0 W
April 18, 2017
He also managed to get out a brief email yesterday to let me know that he has successfully replaced the bilge pump (thank goodness) and that he was still feeling a little “off the mark” and was hoping to get some food down today.
So …that said, the blog may look a little different for the immediate future and we hope it’s back to normal soon. And, we hope you stay tuned.
Diamond Head, Honolulu, Hawaii
April 17, 2017 Honolulu, Hawaii 8:35 am local 18:35 UTC
Lat. 22 06.9 N, Long 157 35.8 W, Course 003 True, Boat speed 5 knots, Distance to Victoria 2232 nm
Left Honolulu yesterday (April 16) under sunny skies and a warm offshore breeze.
Been resting all day today after a long night. Beating into that NE 20 knots of wind with 2-3 meter seas. Taking it easy at 5 knots. Lots of water on the deck. All is well.
Trying to catch up on my sleep and get my sea legs and tummy settled. Still fairly warm with overcast and grey skies.
Been resting all day, but still yawning and generally feeling tired. Just had a few spoonfuls of “FATSO” and a cracker to tie me over.
Making great headway at the moment, very lively ride and the best place to endure it is in my bunk. The combination of the 20 knots of breeze and the height and breadth of the waves and our sail set is giving us a steady 5-6 knots of boat speed. The electric bilge pump has packed it in so glad I brought a new one with me. We are not making a lot of water but enough to make it something to keep an eye on which is exactly how I found out the pump had packed it in. I have a small hand pump mounted on a board and that is what I have been using for the last little while, til things calm down enough so that when I replace the old for the new I don’t risk falling head first into the bilge. I may have to shorten sail for a bit to make that happen.
There’s lots of those extremely talented sea birds skiing the waves and providing a living element to the vast breaking ocean vista that I am sailing through. Both the ocean and sky are fifty shades of grey, the sky the lighter of the two. The clouds look like a tray of endless croissants floating all at the same level. I think they are only one croissant deep as occasionally you can see the blue tray they float on.
Looking back to yesterday afternoon there is quite a contrast in the scene. I left the Ala Wai Marina channel with bright sunny skies, warm offshore breeze and patches of surfers like a flock of birds waiting for the perfect wave suspended in the azure green water. Watch this short video MaryLou took of the same channel back in January.
The sea was calm with a gentle swell. Diamond Head was picture perfect with a few billowy bright white clouds contrasting its distinct and powerful shape.
I sailed out into the ever increasing wind and waves towards Molokai and then tacked on to starboard as the sun set, to clear Oahu and have been sailing along ever since.
I am in a familiar place and all my senses default to sailing mode, preset after thousands of miles, hundreds of sunsets, thousands of reefs and tacks all adding up to a program deeply set into my genetic makeup and may have been there for generations – passed down from my Dad and my Mom.
There are instinctive movements and decisions made automatically in response to the fluid environment all around me. My mind adjusts to the 2300 nautical mile passage ahead, already breaking it down into bite sized pieces that are easy to fathom. The warm leg, the temperate leg and the cold leg. When will the moon shine full? I have sailed down the Straits of Juan de Fuca in 1973, 1997, 2006, and 2013 all but one single handed, in boats from 55 ft. to 26 ft. always headed out into the Pacific, never home.
So this passage will be very special. It’s the end of an odyssey, a returning home. I long for the smell of the west coast. That mixture of coniferous forest and salty seedy beach.
And home once again to MaryLou who waits ever so patiently. Thanks for waiting MaryLou.
Painting the bottom at Keehi Boat Harbour in Honolulu before setting sail
The short view
The long view
Go to earth.nullschool.net for up to date wind conditions across the north Pacific.
Tuesday, January 17, 2017
I’m here in the legendary and very hospitable Waikiki Yacht Club.
I am happy and very lucky to be here with my MaryLou and to have arrived safely. MaryLou and I have just enjoyed a coffee and fresh breakfast prepared by chef Jasmine.
I’ve been for an early morning swim in the pool, which overlooks the boats and Ala Wai Boat Harbour. I’ve done my poolside yoga lying in the early morning sunshine.
We’ll spend the rest of the day working on West Wind and preparing her for her 6 month stay in Hawaii.
Thanks for all your welcoming comments.
Arrived safe and sound to Honolulu Sunday, January 15th @ 11:30 am Hawaii time. We’ll spend a week here putting West Wind to bed and fly back to Victoria.
Sorry for the wonky looking post. Trying to upload from my cell phone in a harbour with intermittent wifi.!
We’re tied up at the Waikiki Yacht Club and are being treated very well.
Met lovely people since he arrived who have invited us to their beach house.
January 5, 20170 @ 02:40
The blazing red orb sizzles its round face into the western horizon. Clouds form diagonally across it like war paint and the saucer moon hangs above just like the image in the movie with Huck Finn sitting fishing.
Fanning Island rose up from the Eastern horizon not 4 miles off our starboard bow.
I eased our course 10 degrees to give it a wide berth and watched it slide by. Along with the two fish boats I saw this morning it’s getting crowded out here. We are now ready to sail through the starry night, our course and sails set to take us over the waves while I hopefully get some sleep.
Good night and sweet dreams.
Early Morning
Top of the morning to you. Our distance to Honolulu is 999 nm.
All is well. Still making good time. WW II is holding on and I am too.
See you soon.
December 24, 2016 Leg 2 Day 4
4 a.m.
There’s a Hi moving in from the North East and I am on the edge of it now with wind coming from the North, North West at 10 knots. Not a good heading for me to sail into. My course at the moment is 301 at best. I have Perkins on, otherwise our boat speed in this wave condition would not be enough to keep Fleming steering.
Going west would bring us into some wind but our heading would be South of West sailing away from Honolulu. I might have to just bite the bullet and take the jib down and power at 3 knots due north till the hi passes in a day or so. It means powering into the waves which may not work at all. I will stay on this course till daybreak in about an hour when I can see the sea conditions better.
Till then it’s back to my bunk beside Perkins.
Had a difficult afternoon yesterday. Couldn’t upload or download any mail for a few hours.
I’m now on port tack. Came around from starboard tack because we were heading due west. Now wind has shifted to the east and we are headed east. Can’t seem to win here today. Have a triple reefed main and only 1/4 yankee out and we may be overpowered at that. Lots of wind and heavy seas most of the day. Lots of water making its way into the boat in the form of drips which although small, do eventually make things wet. So hard to find the source of these little devils. I have been reading and thought of working on the chain but the motion is just a little too much.
Got it together to boil a few eggs and had a Plowman’s lunch with cheese and crackers, a little sun dried tomato and pickled onion.
The sky has just gotten very dark so probably in for some torrential rain very soon. Thinking of you.
I’ll try get this off later this afternoon when propagation is better and down load faster.
Bye for now love you
4 pm
Merry Xmas to all
Lat. 15.52.82 S Long. 160.25.57 W Course 040 T Speed 5.5 knots Wind NW 10 Knots Waves W 2 M Cloud 100% Baro 1010
Miles in last 24 hrs: 125 NM Range to Honolulu 2239 nm
Motor sailing. Hope to push through this hi in the next day or so. How are things looking for transiting the ITZ’s? And what is above the high?
Trying to stay with a course as close to 160 Longitude as possible, shortest route.
Thanks again for all the wonderful support and hope you enjoy family and friends over the holidays.
All’s well here.
Cheers Glenn
Lat 25.24 Long 159.51 Wind NE 5-10 knots Waves SW 1.5 metres Cloud 100% Baro 1013
Distance in last 24 hrs: 98 nm Range to Rarotonga: 250 nm
Day 18 December 14, 2016
Lovely cool morning here. The sky is filled with change. A very large bank of grey cloud with a ragged front is sliding over from the north east. The sea has just a ruffle of a breeze showing from the east over long rolling swells from both the South West and the East. We’ve had Perkins pushing us along since midnight when, for the very first time there was not a breath of wind. I took all sail down and after drinking up the beauty in the moonlit sky for half an hour, went back to sleep with Perkins snoring beside me. There is just a bit too much swell and not enough wind yet to hoist any sail but it does look from the clouds moving in that we will get wind soon enough from the East.
Last night I witnessed the most spectacular sunset. It was not one of those classic radiating blazes although that element was there. It was the illumination of so many layers of clouds over the entire evening sky from one horizon to the next and one encore after another of those ever changing pastel blues, brilliant reds and flamingo pinks. It didn’t matter where I looked there was a event of galactic proportions as if on an IMAX screen. It started with the billowy clouds on the edge of the opposite horizon which early on showed faint hints of shadow ever darkening underneath them, the blue sky around them fading lighter and lighter.
As the sun sank into the ocean behind, it revealed the dying moments and molten bright red blazed at the edges and a molten silver flame shot out right at the oceans edge. The high sky above this regular sunset event was still very bright robin’s egg blue. It was the texture and variety and the clarity of the high cloud that was so dramatic, bright white against brilliant pale blue. There were long wispy clouds that stretched in over the northern sky and overlapping those in the western sky just above us were paddocks of soft cotton batten balls all very close together. Then in the southern sky high and overlapping the cotton were jagged thin edged bright white wispy streaks. All these sat in a very bright soft blue sky light. Mean while back behind us, opposite the dying sun in the eastern sky was a large foreboding swirling Tsunami of a wave cloud starting to turn a soft pastel red. It was as if in slow motion all these clouds which were moving in different directions over lapping each other crossed the stage while all their sunset pastel colours grew more faint but so very crisp showing all the detail of the thin cloud edges.
I was overcome by what was unfolding before me. Everywhere I looked in the sky, a beautiful scene was taking place. It went on and on, and eventually after a half hour show, a bright star appeared as if to draw the curtain down and signal the coming of the night. I was spellbound.
My description could never come close to explaining what I saw and experienced in the sky last night but hopefully I did it some justice.
Lat 30.31 S Long 160. 37 Course 14 T Speed 6 knots Wind W 15-20 knots Waves 2 metres W Cloud 99% Barometer 1009 steady
Distance in last 24 hrs: 144 nm Range to Rarotonga 558
Day 15 Dceember 11, 2016
Lively morning here this morning. The wind increased last night around 02:37 am to about 15 knots from the west and I was up to find an amazing seascape with the moon bright in the western sky, clouds scudding past it and the moisture in them showing as rainbow colours. The sea was black, tipped with silver from the moonlight catching the wave tops.
I stood straddling the cockpit seats holding on to the hand grip on the top aft edge of the dodger like reins, with one hand as WW II galloped over and through the three metre waves coming on our beam. The cool wind whistled in my ears and the sound of the waves, one after the other being scythed and thrown on the deck filled the scene. WW II’s motion was that of a great stallion. I stood with a broad grin on my face urging her on with affectionate words out loud. Two hours later I was back on deck for another ride, this time the wind had increased to the point that it demanded a third reef in the mainsail. With the decks awash and the wind now screaming and me not quite awake to my surroundings, I made my way, hand over hand up the port side of the boat and clipped my harness to the goose neck (the point where the boom connects to the mast) and started the ritual of reefing the main. There is a great deal of pully haully that goes on and it all has to be done quite smartly and in the right order. Some times it goes better than others, but one thing is for sure, WW II is more than thankful to have the load on her relieved so she can gallop on more freely.
I have been able to go back below after these exhilarating nocturnal rides and put my head down and fall back to a great depth of sleep even if it’s only for a few hours. Today is day 14 in my watery world beneath the galaxy sky. I love it, while up on deck in the saddle of the night I think of all the sailors through all the centuries that have looked in wonder as they sailed passed. I feel their wonder and mine.
How lucky I am to be here and through Marylou, share what I see and feel.
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