Monday, November 30, 2009

Wind Getting Up Again

Today started off with a passing squall giving me a very wet wake-up while reefing down and trying to catch it on camera (see pic below). I'd have thought it was pretty clear that I was wide awake after the first wave but apparently not. To think that some people start their day with a quiet coffee!
As usual the squall was far more bark than bite, looking very dramatic asit approached as a great big dark cloud, but not coming to much more than 30knots of wind and some rain. Although I was a little surprised at how fast a messy chop built up on top of the swell. It's been overcast and drizzly ever since, but at least the wind settled into a steady 18knots this afternoon. Ella's Pink Lady is hard on the wind again but it's life as normal, passing the time reading, doing a little schoolwork or my all time favourite, just standing behind the dodger, wind and spray in my face watching us blast along. I can't see myself ever getting bored of that one!
I've had the charts for French Polynesia out swatting up on what's coming our way in the next while and have been thinking about a few of the jobs that need to be done before we hit the south. I've been a bit lazy with my cooking lately mostly just heating up an Easyfood meal or snacking on crackers. I probably shouldn't be admitting it (I'll ruin my reputation), but I've even resorted to eating two minute noodles when I really don't feel like cooking.

Sorry but that's it from me tonight.
Jesse

Pic: My morning wake up call!

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Another Day

Mostly just the usual out here today, still flying along really nicely, any tips on avoiding speed cameras?! A few squalls have kept me busy reefing in and out and I spent a lot of my down time today catching up on a little sleep after being kept awake last night with a passing boat and a few little squalls.

You've probably noticed on the tracker that we've been passing the odd island but nothing compared to what's coming up next week as we reach French Polynesia, I'm enjoying the sea room while it lasts!

I'm not sure how best to put this but a lot of people have been wondering and asking so here goes; yes, it's definitely me writing these blogs! Having someone blog under my name is a big no go for me. Can you imagine letting your Mum or anyone else describe your feelings to the world under your name? Ouch! Well maybe it's just a teenage thing! But I do have to confess, my updates have to be spell checked before being published. My spelling is, can we just say a little notorious!

While I'm on a roll with these confessions, I've got another one for you too. Sorry everyone, but I don't just blog to satisfy your curiosity, but also because I love writing them!

Oh and yes I did open that can of mangoes and quite a few cans after that! I've been justifying my total mango pig out by telling myself that as a tropical fruit the mangoes need to be eaten while still in the tropics. There's plenty of other treats stashed away for the cooler legs.

Everyone back home is out having fun at the local Christmas lights parade tonight (I'm a little jealous but right here on Ella's Pink Lady is still my first preference). So, not to be outdone, I think I'll have another movie night with plenty of popcorn and chocolate. Anyway the stars out here would easily get first prize in any competition!

Jesse

Friday, November 27, 2009

Flying Along and Mangos

Heeled over, under full sail and throwing water everywhere Ella's Pink Lady has been flying along today. It can't just be me that's busting to get south! The wind has come round to the east a little more, meaning that we've been able to ease off the wind a little, making life a little more comfortable and reach along directly south.

While giving the galley a reorganize today I was pretty thrilled to come across a stash of tinned mangoes! I've been hearing all about how lovely the mangoes are back home at the moment, so finding I had my own supply on board was a lot like Christmas! Sure they are not quite the same as fresh but they're not bad either. I have a feeling that this just isn't something that I'm going to be able to ration! Oh and I think I can safely say that tinned mangoes are every bit as messy to eat, as the fresh ones or maybe that's just me?

Nothing too much else to report out here today so I thought I'd explain a little more about the plan for the next leg to the cape. The distance (5450nm) that I gave yesterday as the distance to Cape Horn is the distance in a straight line but weirdly we're actually going to be sailing a slightly shorter route, I know it sounds really strange but it's all to do with something called the great circle route and the curvature of the earth. I'm probably not the best person to explain it but as an example, if I were to plot out our course directly to South America taking in to account the earth's curvature the fastest way to get there would actually be to sail in an arc to the south. Our great circle route or the fastest way to get to the cape is to sail south and then gently arc over to the east (5130nm). So if we can keep up an average speed of 5 knots, eta (estimated time of arrival) at Cape Horn should be around the first week of January, but who knows there's every chance that we might pick up a little speed down south and get there bit earlier?

That would all be easy enough but then there's all these annoying islands and reefs in the way! And to add to the fun, it's not like the wind ever just lets us go where we want to.

I'm going to finish up by apologizing to all the people my explanation maybe just completely confused!

That's me for the night, Parker's wondering off course a little as the wind is dropping off slightly so I better go set us back on course, then I'm faced with a bit of a tough decision, do I or do I not open another can of mango?


Jesse

P.S Thanks for all the Happy Thanksgiving's from America!

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Washing Machine

It hasn't been the most amazing out here today, overcast, squally and the sea has been a bit of a mess, it must be a lot like the inside of a washing machine! Bob predicted that the swell would become a little uncomfortable with an east going current clashing with the south easterly wind and believe me, he was right! I have to admit my mood was reflecting the grey sky for a while this afternoon so I had to give myself a good talking to, it didn't take much and I'm right back to feeling 100% positive again. No point in wasting a single minute of my time out here feeling miserable! I really don't have anything to complain about because even though the sun hasn't been shining we've made great (and slightly bouncy!) progress south. Oh and even when things were looking a little blue I still couldn't think of anything I'd rather be doing. I'm sure that there's not many people who can say that, so I'm a pretty lucky girl!

It's still such a long way off but I've already started counting down the miles to Cape Horn (5450 nm to go!) it gives me something to stay focused on. Can't wait to see Albatross again and to see what those huge southern ocean swells are really like!

Sounds like there is already Christmas decorations going up on land so there's another thing to look forward to!

Should be plenty more fast sailing over the next few days and plenty of lovely sea room, apart from when we pass quite close to a little island called Starbuck Island. If I wasn't doing this unassisted, I'd put in a stop for coffee!

Time to go find out something for dinner again, I'm thinking something along the lines of Spaghetti Bolognese and then maybe having a good dig in the goodies locker to see what I can find.

Jesse

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

South Again

We crossed back into the southern hemisphere this evening, its nice to be back home! I said a quick hi to Neptune and thanked him for the fish! Still no sign of the big red line though, I'm starting to think that all this water must have washed it away?!

More of a quiet day out here, nothing too exciting just keeping up with all the ins and outs, doing a little school work, reading and napping. Mostly we've made great progress and have had some light squalls come through. The squalls didn't give us any more than gusts of 20 knots of wind but that was just enough to make conditions just a little too wet to have the hatches open, making life pretty hot and sticky. Did I mention I'm looking forward to some cooler weather?

Plenty of open water ahead for the next few days so it will be nice to have some more uninterrupted sleep and I'm itching to put some miles behind us. Bob's latest forecast predicts south easterly winds, so looks like we'll be able to make some good progress south but none east for a while.

Hey guys, loving all the comments and support but please don't worry if I miss a blog now and then, I write when I can and love doing it, but sometimes I have to put the time and energy into something else. Just remember, I'm always in contact with the support team and chances are, if you don't hear from me, I'm just too busy sailing and having fun!

Back to Easyfoods for dinner tonight after that last of the fish for brecky, oh and yes it was really tasty!

Jesse

Monday, November 23, 2009

Finally a Fish!

Yes I'm more than a little pleased and very relieved to report that I finally got a fish! (see pic below). That was starting to get a bit silly. My best guess is that it's a yellow fin tuna, its not huge but I'm sure that there will be plenty for everyone! I can't say that there would be many fisherman who would be proud of the mess I made filleting it. I'm just glad there was no one here to witnesses the whole thing, but practice makes perfect right?!

Turns out that wasn't my last tack last night. The wind and current weren't going to make things easy for us, so it was a particularly sleepless night as we tacked and inched along ever so slowly.

Every time I thought that we'd finally cleared the Island, the wind would change slightly and we'd have to put another tack in. It's all a bit frustrating but as always it's hard not to feel cheerful when the stars are shining and the music's turned up.

I spent a lot of the day on deck enjoying the shade from the sails and trying (without much success!) to give the stainless a polish up. Also I've been noticing quite a bit chafe on the windvane lines (not to worry I've got plenty of spares) so have been playing around trying to stop some of the chafe. It's a good reminder of the way Parker is constantly working. There's always something to keep me busy, whether it's wiping the salt crystals off the solar panels, replying to an email or trying to keep up with the house work (boatwork?!) side of things.

There's been a lot of birds around again and I've really been enjoying listening to them call out to each other as they swoop low around Ella's Pink Lady. It made me think about all the other land noise that I haven't heard for so long and that made me a little home sick. But I know as soon as I do get back to land, that I'll miss the constant noise of the water along the hull and all the little creaks and groans as Ella's Pink Lady sails along.

When I checked my emails this morning I found a very serious email from my clearly worried Mum, telling me to watch out for all those 'boys' - I think they could have seen me rolling my eyes from space!

I'd love to write more but it's time for some fun in the galley and the long awaited fish and chips!

Jesse



Pic: Finally, I caught one!

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Around Kiritimati Island

Winds on the nose and a current against us for the last few days has made for pretty painful progress, we're only just getting close to Kiritimati (Christmas) Island now. All going to plan we should be around and clear by the morning, it'll be a relief to have a bit of sea room and to be making progress south again.

Kiritimati Island sounds pretty interesting so I've added it to the list places to stop off at next time! Apparently it's the world's largest atoll and thanks to a few random changes in direction by the date line its also the worlds eastern most country. From what I've read it sounds pretty picture perfect with white sandy beaches and coral lagoons but don't worry I'm not too tempted to stop, in fact I'll be lucky if I can even see a distant glow of lights as I pass by tonight. Oh and its said to be a good spot for fishing!

We passed a boat (three actually!) for the first time in over a week yesterday, they were big fishing boats but didn't appear to speak English. I also got a bit of a fright yesterday, I was sitting down below at the nav station and heard the horrible nose of something rubbing down the hull, I
climbed outside in time to see a big brown buoy caught up in the windvane, luckily it freed itself before I could do anything and there wasn't any damage. I spotted a few more buoys during the day but have no idea what exactly they are and what they're doing just bobbing about out here?

Plenty of clear and starry nights lately and I've been seeing plenty of them because even thought it seems to have cooled down a little lately it's still much easier to get anything done after the sunsets. I was a little jealous to hear that everyone back home was heading out to the movies last night so I had my own movie night watching a DVD on my Toughbook and making up some
popcorn!

Still plenty of tropical sailing to go yet but I'm already thinking more and more about the south and Cape Horn.

That's going to have to be it from me because its time to go tack over again, fingers crossed this should be the last one to get us round the island!

Jesse

Friday, November 20, 2009

Northern Hemisphere

No change that I can see. The water is still blue, the waves are still rolling and the wind still blowing, but apparently now the water splashing across the deck and slipping away behind Ella's Pink Lady, is northern hemisphere water!

I couldn't have asked for a better day to cross the equator, flat seas,15knots of wind and sunshine. We crossed the line at 2017 utc doing 5 and a half knots and celebrated with the usual toast to Neptune, the traditional dunking in salt water and plenty of excited phone calls. I also had a few presents stashed away, especially to open for the occasion. They were mostly chocolate which turned out to be very melted! Neptune was toasted with fruit juice and plenty of chocolate. I'm not normally one to toss good chocolate into the sea, but I figured that this was my chance to get myself into Neptune's good books. I'd hoped that my generous offering might by rewarded with a fish on my line but no such luck!

I thought that crossing the line would be just like any other day out here, so I surprised myself a little by getting a bit emotional as I juggled three different cameras while counting down the latitude read out on the GPS. It's not so much physically crossing into the northern hemisphere that had me so worked up (you can only get so excited about an invisible line in the water!!) but the fact that it meant the end of the first leg. Sure this has probably been one of the easier legs (call it the shake down!) compared to some of the sailing down south to come. But the distance we've already covered is pretty amazing. Getting this far (and everything that happened before the start line!) has given me the confidence to know that even though we've got some seriously tough times ahead, we're going to be able to have fun tackling whatever comes our way.

Great sailing overnight again so we're well into the northern hemisphere and well on our way to Kiribati Island which we might be rounding by late tomorrow. It's been a slightly eerie feeling with overcast conditions all day but I think it was more my imagination than anything and Ella's Pink Lady has made steady progress, so I can't complain.

After all the celebrating and fun yesterday I got back into a few jobs today (not that jobs and maintenance aren't fun too!). I'm sure keeping on top of even the slightest little potential problem will pay off in the end and keeping busy keeps me more than happy.

We've finally got a bit of a moon out here this evening, I'm not sure about dinner yet but I'm thinking of attempting some kind of apple crumble with stewed fruit for dessert. A bit of ice-cream on top would go down pretty nicely too but maybe it's better not to think about that!

Thanks to everyone for all the congratulations. Sounds like plenty of people had a great time celebrating on my behalf as well! But I still say the credit all goes to Ella's Pink Lady and the amazing team that got her to the start line. I'm just along for the ride!

Jesse

Thursday, November 19, 2009

A Big Day - Pictures Tell a Thousand Words!


Pic 1: "Can you see the line?! Un-tangling it from the keel was quite a challenge!"





Pic 3: “Mostly I celebrated crossing the line with a lot of slightly melted chocolate! You can see the chart plotter behind me displaying our position now in the northern hemisphere.”



Pic 3: “The traditional dunking of salt water of any first time equator crossing, can't say it was all that bad!”

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Shooting Star and Crossing the Line Tomorrow!

I'm not much of an Astronomer but with all this talk of meteor showers last night, I was keeping an extra good eye out and did see the most amazing shooting star. It was so bright and big that I was actually a bit spooked before realizing what it was. But I can't tell you what I wished for though!

Well 'Silly' left us this morning (see pic below) but it was nice to have someone to talk to and have the company for a while. He really did have the most interesting opinions on the subjects of fashion and boys! He wasn't at all interested in any of the food I offered and didn't seem to mind the flash of the camera.

Not a real exciting day out here today, other than the usual chores, sail trimming, HF radio skeds etc. I actually slept through most of it. I'm becoming more and nocturnal lately because it's so much easier to get anything done when it cools down after the sunsets. It was good to get a few extra catnaps in while I've still got plenty of open water and nice conditions.

Dinner tonight was the yummiest omelette with powdered eggs, tinned butter, bacon bits and dried parsley.

I also attended (via a phone call!!) my first equator crossing party tonight, some of my aunties, uncles, cousins, Grandma and Granddad and all their friends got together in Cromwell in the South Island of New Zealand to celebrate Ella's Pink Lady and I crossing the line - but they were a little early!

The winds have been nice and steady all day so we've made good progress and only 50nm to the equator!! Anything could happen but right now it looks like we'll be crossing in about 10 hours which is Thursday morning back home in Australia. So it's a big day tomorrow.
Jesse
Pic: That's "Silly" sitting on top of the sailor 250

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

30 Days at Sea And Company

Tonight I've got company out here, let me introduce you to 'Silly'. He's a little brown sea bird that's landed on the sailor 250 satellite dome on the stern of Ella's Pink Lady. Silly earned his nickname because of his dangerous fascination with the wind generator and his amusing attempts to land on the bendy windvane blade. Even though the wind genny isn't spinning too fast at the moment, watching him fly so close to it again and again was a little nerve racking! Anyway he's been sitting there for well over three hours now and seems to have made himself quite comfortable perched on the dome.

Other than Silly, I've been seeing a lot of birds out here today, mostly little Jesus Petrels and Brown Gannets, (at least that's what I think they are!) which is kind of surprising as the nearest island is about 200nm away. Apart from when some light rain came through this morning it's been pretty close to perfect sailing all day.

It's really hard to believe but as of tomorrow we will have been at sea for 30 days, exactly a month since we left Sydney on 18 October. One down, seven more months to go! Leaving Sydney really does feel just like yesterday, but It's crazy to think that I haven't seen another person for 30 days. I have to say I honestly don't feel any different for it. It's a lot like someone asking whether you feel any different after a birthday. But it's just the same old me!

I pulled out a new food bag today its back to all my favorite treats. I'm planning on having pasta for dinner, I wonder if Silly likes pasta?

It doesn't look like we'll make the equator tomorrow as I'd hoped, but with only about 240nm to go, so it won't be long now. I'll keep you updated as we get closer. Getting pretty excited!

After crossing the line I'll be sailing north another 200nm up around Kiribati Island, my rounding point in the northern hemisphere, then south back across the line and on to Cape Horn.

That's it from Ella's Pink Lady, Silly and myself for tonight. Below is a pic of EPL doing well today.

Jesse




Pic: Ella's Pink Lady 'flying' along earlier today!

Monday, November 16, 2009

Mixed Progress and Dolphins

Progress had been a little on and off over the last few days. When we have a little wind, Ella's Pink Lady flies along the flat water amazingly. But there's also been a few times with not any wind. This afternoon particularly was a little un-exciting, just rolling around not going anywhere in the heat. I started on a bit of school work this morning, thinking that if I couldn't be achieving forward progress, at least I could be achieving something. But I can't say I stuck with it for very long.

Instead, between dunkings of cool salt water and prodding the tiller to at least keep Ella's Pink Lady pointed in the right direction, I ended up giving the little Yanmar engine a full polish up and scrubbed out the bilges. As the sun set I was able to stand back hot and greasy but happy that I'd at least achieved something for the day. I'm sure that after another few months at sea, poor old Ella's Pink Lady wont quite be looking as great as she did sailing out of Sydney, but I'm a least going to do everything possible to try. And its like I'm constantly being told 'look after the boat and she'll look after you'.

When people talk about all the things needed to sail around the world they never seem to mention patience, but I'm fast learning that it's as important as anything.

This afternoon was pretty cool, a pod of dolphins spent a couple of hours hanging around and I had a great time sitting in the shade of the sails on the bow, feet dangling over the side (and yes clipped on!!) watching them play in clear water. I'm not sure what kind they were (small and completly grey) but they hung around for ages, so they can't have thought my music was too bad! I loved the way the dolphins would play around riding and shooting along the swell and can only imagine how much fun they must have in a big sea.

I'm really getting down to the dregs of the latest food bag so have been eating a bit randomly lately (dinner tonight was mince, tinned fruit and noodles!) Funnily enough I'm really looking forward to pulling out the new bag.

I've only just released how late it is. So that's going to have to be it for the night.

Jesse

PS: Thanks to Dad and Bruce over the last few days for being so patient with me over the phone and for understanding that sometimes a girl just doesn't feel like chatting!

PPS: Even with all the slow progress, now only about 370nm until we cross the equator!

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Mum Meeting Bob

Bruce, Suzanne and I met with Bob McDavitt (Jessica's weather adviser) on Monday in Auckland, New Zealand. There he was, all nestled into his office right in the middle of Boatbooks...bit like heaven really. Well certainly Jessica's version of heaven, if she wasn't out there.

It was great to meet Bob, we have worked with him when he did Jessica's weather routing across the Tasman in January. (Wow January just seems so very long ago).

We went over in detail, the forecast for the next week and also what he expected for the next month. He has various sites he looks at and also some computer modeling programs. If you were into weather, you really need to become rather good on the computer, seems the two go hand in hand! Weather and Bob seem to be synonymous. He had a remarkable way of making it all sound quite simple and understandable...although his statement about weather being a mix of pattern and chaos, reminds us that it really is a difficult thing to predict.

We went through some of Bob's charts looking at some specific areas Jessica will go through. He showed us some typical weather patterns in these areas and the currents (if any) she will expect.

Jessica called in while we were there for her regular sked and spoke to Bob about the weather she had right there and then. She had spoken to him at length whilst planning her route prior to her departure. In that preparation time, Jessica prepared some information for Bob about the yachts 'Polars' so that he would know what speeds Ella's Pink Lady can do at particular angles to the wind. This makes his forecasting more accurate.

It is a pleasure to be working with you Bob, thanks for being on the team!

Julie (Mum)



Pic: Bruce Arms, Bob McDavitt and Julie Watson.

Fish, First Aid, 'Parker' and Bread

My resolve to catch a fish was strengthened again yesterday when I called in to have a nice long chat to all the family as they were having Friday night fish and chips. I've got it all worked out now. First there will be sashimi with soy sauce, then steaks lightly fried, maybe with a light batter and lemon juice (not fresh of course) and possibly some kind of fish curry. All depending on the size and type of fish. Sadly it seems to take more than resolve to catch a fish, still nothing!

With all this talk of food I've noticed that a few people have been commenting about having to watch my figure. Not to worry I do! I'm actually proud to report that after years of struggling, in the last few weeks, I've actually put on just a little weight. You must be thinking that really is the strangest thing for a 16 year old girl to be saying but I've spent years being told by all the old salts that I need to bulk up a little and have a little in reserve, as it could be helpful as Ella's Pink Lady heads south and around Cape Horn.

No squalls at all today so I've been able to get plenty of uninterrupted catnaps. Really has been lovely sailing, 'Parker' the windvane has been doing his job amazingly and nothing much has needed attention. (Sorry I don't think I ever properly explained Parkers name for those people who weren't able to guess. Parker is the name of a character out of the TV series Thunderbirds. He drives a transforming pink Rolls Royce for a Lady Penelope!). So a few of you guessed it right.

Last night was something special with so many stars that I could swear that the air felt thicker for them. Also there's been a bit of phosphoresce in the water lately so the wash around Ella's Pink Lady is speckled with glowing lights. I got my first minor injury for the trip today, nothing at all serious just a little burn from the stove on my thumb. Treatment involved sitting out in the cockpit with my hand in a cup of water enjoying the sunset then a little cream and of course, the all helpful Band-Aid! Not exactly anything to write home about and believe me I'm about to regret it because as soon as this blog gets published, the phone's going to start ringing and I'm going to be subjected to several full medical interrogations. Talk about being wrapped in cotton wool! Well actually while today's little mishap really wasn't anything serious, the chance of me giving myself a real injury out here is quite serious. Thanks to Mum, a local Pharmacist and sailor Susie, Mark White and the St John Cadets from Dromona Secondary College and my doctor, Margaret Williams (who sailed solo round Australia a few years back) Pink Lady has a first aid kit to rival any hospital. I've also completed my marine medical course, know the kit inside out and as I mentioned, have plenty of advice ready at hand.

I just baked some lovely fresh bread (see pic below) so I'm off to go nibble at the crusty bits before they cool down. Of course covered with jam and cream, then bread and soup for dinner.

Just one more thing, with all this talk of me being mature, I have to say I had a bit of a giggle as I looked down at my bright pink toe nails!

Now just over 500 nm till the equator!

Jesse


Pic: Covered in flour, kneading bread in my open air galley at sunset.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Squally Sailing

Sorry it's been a little while without an update.

I was told that this has become the most watched blog in Australia and stage fright has left me a bit speechless! No just kidding it's all good. Well actually it's pretty amazing and more than a little hard for me to comprehend out here all alone. Well, physically alone. It really is amazing to be able to share the voyage with so many wonderful people. To me, it is just sharing my journey with you, in what is sometimes a not very exciting life. Plodding along out here, taking whatever is thrown at us, just feels completely normal. I know I'm going to get a million cries of disagreement. But think about it. How strange would it feel to you to be describing to the world all the ins and outs of your everyday life? It is all a bit surreal. That said, thank you all for your support!

And talking of those little ins and outs, Ella's Pink Lady and I have been making good progress for the last few days. The latitude read out now puts us in the single digits - wow!

Conditions have mostly been lovely (steady breeze form the east or south east, sunshine and very gentle sea) but have also been frequently interrupted by squalls. Still nothing too severe but just enough to keep me working hard pulling a sail in and out and constantly keeping a lookout for any partially nasty black clouds. Last night a squall with a lot of lightning passed pretty close. Sitting there waiting for it to pass with all the electrics turned off got a little boring, so I made chocolate cookies in the torch light to pass the time. I suppose I should have been a little scared about all the lightning, but after doing everything I could, I figured there wasn't much point in worrying.

I'm finding it hard to believe how the days are flying. In between getting enough sleep, keeping up with the day to day maintenance and chores, checking that fishing line, feeding myself and keeping in touch with everyone back home, time just flies and I'm constantly wondering what happened to the day.

Even though Ella's Pink Lady is built and set up for strength, endurance and easy handling when the weather is nice, I've really been enjoying playing around, tweaking the sails for a little extra speed. Of course as soon the weather is up it's all about being totally conservative!

Lastly, I've only just heard the news from back home about the proposed Traveston Dam project being aborted. I just wanted to say congratulations to everyone on the Sunshine Coast who worked so hard to prevent the Mary Valley from being flooded. It is a good result for my local community.

600nm till the equator!

Jesse

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Robbed of Dinner!

Exciting news to report today. I pulled the fishing line in to discover that I finally caught a fish! I'd love to tell you what it was, how big it was and how yummy it tasted, only someone (with rather big teeth!) got to it before me. Apart from a few bits of flesh left hanging on the lure, my beautiful fish had been gobbled up by something bigger. I can only keep trying!

Not much sleep last night because I was keeping an eye on a few nasty looking squalls, nothing much came of them though and we spent the first part of the night drifting backward a little, ouch! There were a few jokes about that when I called in this morning.

Steady progress today though, I've been catching up on a little sleep and enjoying the nice sailing. The Southern Ocean certainly isn't going to be like this.

For all those having a guess at when we cross the line, the latest weather forecast from Bob gives us an eta (estimated time of arrival) at the equator of the 18th, in about 7 days time!

Jesse



Pic: Me and what was left of dinner! Can you make out the teeth marks on the lure?

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Slowly But Surely getting to the Equator!

Not much in the way of wind today, so I spent the morning hand steering and tacking to make the most of the few little puffs of wind we did get. All covered up from the sun in a big dorky straw hat, sunscreen (Ella Bache of course!), sunnys and a sarong, sitting at the tiller was the nicest place to be with a light breeze keeping me cool.
The Fleming Windvane 'Parker' does an amazing job steering, much better than me most of the time, but when the wind drops out to under 5knots, even poor old Parker calls it quits. This afternoon the wind dropped right off to the point where I've just aborted the tiller, as there isn't much point in steering a boat that isn't going anywhere!

It's overcast again now with rain squalls (see pic below) sweeping across the ocean and marching along the horizon. I think I'd be finding the lack of progress pretty frustrating if it wasn't for all the moody greys and blues looking so amazing on the glassed out water.

Despite this afternoon's poor progress, we've still only got 950nm until the equator (that is to the actual point where I'm hoping to cross the equator) and I can't wait for that!

Jesse


Pic: Calm and interrupted by towering rain squalls, it's been a pretty typical day for ITCZ (Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone or 'doldrums'). Lucky for me the ITCZ is pretty weak at the moment, so it shouldn't be too long until we pick up a bit more a breeze to take us to the equator.

Monday, November 9, 2009

Busy Day and Water

I've just come back into the cabin after pulling the fishing line in for the day. No fish but the lures are covered in huge big teeth marks, so looks like I've been getting some nibbles! Well maybe nibbles isn't the right word? I've decided not to think too hard about exactly what left the great big teeth marks, but I'm sure it wasn't anything nearly as dramatic as my imagination would like me to think.

Looks like it’s going to be another dark night out here and warmer than ever, but I'm a happy girl after a busy and productive day. The sea and wind finally dropped off (and the sun came out!) this morning so I was out of my bunk bright and early ready to launch into a few jobs on
deck that I'd been putting off due to the bouncy conditions. I got through my little list of maintenance and gave Ella's Pink Lady a really good check over for chafe and wear. Then the wind dropped off even more, to the point where we were left to roll a bit un-comfortably, not making any progress. But before it started getting too frustrating, a great big rain cloud came along and gave us a soaking in fresh water. Rain might not sound like something to get too excited about but I was just about in heaven!

Using the mainsail and the little gutters we strategically built into the dodger, I was able to collect enough water to top the water tanks up, fill a few empty containers and give myself a lovely fresh water scrub down. In fact I ended up with more water than I knew what to do with - even after washing all my clothes. So I decided to get right into it and ended up giving every surface in the cabin a wipe down. With the music up and the air temperature down for a while with the rain, I was really enjoying myself and I never thought I hear myself saying that! I've never exactly been one to enjoy cleaning and washing so maybe I am going a little crazy out here after all? It provided me with some great exercise as well.

Anyway this brings us to one of the questions that I still haven't answered for you all – water.

What am I doing for fresh water? Believe it or not along with all the food, Ella's Pink Lady is pretty much carrying all the fresh water I'll need. It might sound a bit hard to believe but I'm only using fresh water for drinking and cooking and there's only one of me. Also, I'm relying on being able to top up the tanks again in squalls a few times before leaving the tropics and heading south. As an emergency backup Pink Lady's also carrying a little hand desalinater, but judging by the amount of water I was so easily able to collect today, I don't think that I'll ever need it.

Another squall came through this evening, dumping a whole lot more rain and keeping my life interesting with a few grumbles of thunder, a pretty strong gust of wind and some random changes of wind direction. Ella's Pink lady took it all in her stride. Compared to some of the more severe tropical squalls I'm sure we'll soon be getting, this little puff will just look a lot like a fluffy white cloud.

There's not a heap of wind at the moment, just a gentle 13knots. But thanks to the quiet conditions this morning the sea has pretty much flatted right out leaving Pink Lady to fly along on a reach, unstopped by any of those wet, bouncy things - waves!

Just glanced at the speedo and we're doing a very healthy 7knots! I wouldn't say no to more of this, but the wind is predicted to drop off again soon, so I expect the next few days will be hard work trying to keep us moving along.

That's me for today. I'm now off to open a tin of mandarin pieces with a double
dose of cream for dessert!

Jesse

Sunday Blog a little late!

Sunday has been much the same out here. Just had a nice ducking of cool salt water and am running my little fans to try and chase away that sticky humid feeling but I think it's just something I'm going to have to learn to live with.

My sleeping bag has been safely stowed away and I think a singlet and sarong have become my uniform for the next while. Sailing in the tropics!

My breakfasts now have become cereal rather than porridge (still with my extra large helping of cream, dried fruit and honey!).
The wind peaked at 30knots last night so life's still a little bouncy out here as we're sailing upwind. It's a little frustrating every time something goes flying across the cabin or when I discover that something else has somehow become wet and salty, but it only takes a glance at the log ticking away at the miles to keep me more than happy. Only a little over 1200nm till the
equator!

I was talking to my brother Tom who's spent the weekend tramping with some friends and it made me realize how much I'd love to stretch my own legs with a long walk right now. I hadn't realized how much I miss being able to take a walk or jog up the beach. The stretches and few exercises I do most days just aren't the same. It's funny how I never even thought to appreciate something like being able to go for a walk until now when I can't. Made me think of all you lucky people back on land. Hope you're all making the most of your Sunday afternoons to take nice long walks!

Jesse

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Trade Wind Sailing

Really loving the way Ella's been chewing away the miles over the last few days. With the wind sitting on 20-25knots from the south east its good trade wind sailing, even if the sun hasn't been doing too much of that shining business lately.
We're also really starting to make some good progress north. The GPS readout now puts our latitude well into the teens.
The temperature is just starting to get a little warm in the cabin, but with so much water over the deck, having the hatches open is completely out of the question. But I'm sure this is nothing compared to how warm it will get over the over the next few weeks!
With a bit of a headache, plenty of sea room and Ella's Pink Lady not needing much attention from me today, I pretty much just spent the day wedged into a comfy position working away at a book and staying dry. Apart from the odd flying fish and bird there's not really been a lot of wild life around lately and still no luck catching any fish. Then again we have just passed over the Tongan Trench one of the deepest places on earth. I'm not much of a fisherman but maybe it hasn't exactly been the greatest place to catch fish? I'll just have to keep trying!The overcast skies have been making for some dark nights out here.
The sky and sea are completely black with no way of telling them apart. It's completely pot luck whether or not I get a face full of spray when I stick my head out above the dodger for a look around. But even if I do get un-lucky and cop a wave, I can't say it really bothers me. Normally I'll just laugh or squeal, even if I'm half asleep!
So it's all going well and at this pace, we'll be passing Samoa in the next few days and from there it really is a clear run to the equator.

Jesse

Friday, November 6, 2009

A Picture Blog!


Pic: Me and Ella's Pink Lady on another overcast day

Pic: Looking out into the cockpit at sunset

Pic: Ella's Pink Lady getting along nicely with the sun setting and the moon rising

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Wet, Bouncy and Cupcakes!

With a good bouncy sea and water going everywhere today everything's starting to feel pretty salty. Every time I come in from being on deck I seem to bring a lot of water with me. Also, despite all the effort we put into tracking them down before leaving, a few small leaks have made themselves known. The leaks aren't at all dangerous, just aren't much of a help in the war against salt and damp. So I've been playing around with a tube of sealer and (fingers crossed), looks like I might have put a stop to some of them!

We passed close to another boat this morning but couldn't see him through some rain.

I pulled some sail in and out as the wind dropped off, then came back and right now we're doing a nice 6knots with 20knots of wind. Have passed 2000 miles today and my best guess is around 16 days to the equator, but it could be anything as it is all weather dependant over the next few weeks.

This afternoon I decided it was time to have a bit of fun in the galley. I've been making chocolate cupcakes! It's been quite an adventure really with ingredients and mixture going everywhere, as Ella's Pink Lady bounces along. Life would be so much easier with a third arm but I got there in the end with all the mixture, less the stuff all over my face! (Maybe I should consider a career as a juggler when I get home?). Then divided it out into the paper patty pans. Then the fun part, icing and decorating!

They are all cooked now and they smell very good. Better go now and try them out. But I've attached a pic of the cupcakes below for you all to see!

Jesse


Pic: Jessica's Chocolate Cupcakes!

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Rest, Relaxing and Reading

After some pretty interrupted sleep lately, this morning my head felt a lot like it was full of cotton wool. So I've pretty much spent most of the day in my bunk reading and dozing, popping my head out the companionway to keep a look out and to tweak the sails. All the R&R today has left me feeling a lot better, so I'm full of energy again this evening, playing music and sitting up on deck watching all the shades of grey turn to pink and orange.
No sunshine at all today so we're a bit down on power but progress has been reasonable. We've had a pretty consistent of south easterly so Ella's Pink Lady has been slipping along nicely under full sail. A few people have been commenting on how it must be nice to have other yachts around every once and a while but I can't say I really feel like that. Sure it was nice to chat to them over the radio, to find out where they'd come from and where they are heading to, but I can only really be comfortable when Ella's Pink Lady and I have the ocean completely to ourselves. Every time a bit of land pops up on the chart it weighs on my mind and almost feels a little claustrophobic!
The forecast is for more of the same weather for the next few days. Then as we keep heading north we should start seeing some tropical squalls. I'm starting to see more and more flying fish jump out of the water and am really starting to tick off the miles till reaching the equator.
That's it for today because my tummy is telling me that it's time to go cook up something up for dinner. I'm thinking tacos (or maybe I should call them nachos, as they are a bit crushed up!) with freeze dried mince, tinned tomato and tinned capsicum.

Jesse

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Slow Day, Communication and Website

It's been a quieter day today, a bit too quiet actually. For most of the day the wind has been a bit non-existent. Any progress we did make could probably be put down to drift more than anything! But there's a nice breeze again now so off we go again. Rolling about not going anywhere started to get a little frustrating today, so I kept busy doing some school work and I finally put the fishing line out. No luck catching anything but there's always tomorrow. I also didn't have much luck with school work. After completing the first English assignment I sent it off to discover that I'd opened the wrong bag and have been working on next year's assignments, oops!
To cheer myself up I had scrambled eggs for lunch, made with powdered eggs and cream, really yummy! So I'll have to have them more often. Powdered eggs aren't exactly an off the shelf item, but all the effort Mum put into tracking them down was well worth it! Last night I brought my sleeping bag out in the cockpit and managed to get a bit of sleep under the full moon. It was a pretty cool sight with the moonlight making the waves sparkle and lighting up the sails. I have to keep reminding myself to make the most of nights like this as things are certainly going to change when we head back south and into the Southern Ocean.
For everyone who's been curious about how I keep in touch with the rest of the world I thought I'd explain the communications equipment on board Ella's Pink Lady. First off, I'd like to say a huge thanks to Satcom Global, the amazing guys who have provided all the satellite gear for me. To start with, I've got two handheld satellite phones (one lives in the grab bag ready for me to take with me if I ever had to abandon ship). Most days the satellite phone is a completely clear line and it's as if you're right next door to the person you're talking to rather than out in the middle of the ocean! Then I've got internet connection through a small satellite dome on the stern called the sailor 250. This is what enables me to send video clips, pictures, blogs and emails but it can become pretty costly so I can't exactly just browse the internet all the time. Ella's Pink Lady's also got a HF radio which I use for skeds and listening in to see what other yachts are in the area. Other than that there's a tracker which sends back a constant signal to the appropriate people and all my different EPIRBs (emergency position indicating radio beacons - a signaling device in other words), but they come under the rather extensive subject of safety equipment, so I won't got there tonight!
Talking of communication, the other day I was having a major cheese craving and couldn't find the cheese anywhere, so I called Mum to ask whether she knew where it might have been packed. Mum was actually in Melbourne having lunch with Jesse Martin and his Mum Louise at the time. My quick casual call about something as unimportant as cheese really highlighted the difference between my voyage and Jesse's. Back when he sailed around the world satellite phone calls were so costly that they were saved for pretty much only emergencies and Jesse certainly didn't have luxuries like cheese! Anyway they all had a good laugh at my expense and it sounded like they were having a good time.
I hope everyone in Australia had a win on the Melbourne Cup today. I hear some of my shore team picked the winner Shocking, so that was good news. I'm not really sure what I can do to celebrate it out here, any ideas?
Finally, I hope you all like the updated website which now has a tracking map so you can all keep an eye on me.
It's going to be long night out here tacking around another reef but all part of the fun!

Jess

Monday, November 2, 2009

All's Well and a Busy Day

Been a bit of a busy day and time got away from me so I'll keep today's update short. Just wanted to let you know that all's well. More than well really, as we've been getting along so nicely out here. Loving every moment!
The wind’s been sitting on about 15knots from the south east so Ella's Pink Lady is sitting on a close reach plodding along at a steady 6knots. After passing reasonably close to Minerva reef(below Tonga and Fiji) this morning, I've been spotting and passing quite a few yachts so that's kept me vigilante on deck. Other than that, I've been pouring over charts and forecasts again, chatting to a few people on the sat-phone and keeping up with chores and a little maintenance.

Jesse

Sunday, November 1, 2009

New Food Bag, New Chart and Last Orange


Pic: Working away at the nav station, my favorite place to sit!
Well that's it, the last of my fresh fruit. I've just been savoring my last orange and I'm sure going to miss fresh fruit! And on the subject of food today I pulled out my first new food bag. A food bag lasts 14 days. It feels like a bit of a milestone and I'm looking forward to dinner tonight because I get first pick of meals. By the end of the week all the good stuff will be gone and I'll be back to eating all my second favorites.

Progress has been a little slower today with the wind dropping right out to pretty much nothing for a while last night, then coming round on to Pink Lady's nose this morning. But we're still eating away at the miles and getting very close to the edge of the chart. So I pulled out a new chart and spent the afternoon looking over it studying up on areas we're sailing into. It feels
like we're really getting into unfamiliar waters now, I've never sailed this far east before so it's all new and exciting stuff from here.

I'm a bit annoyed with myself at the moment after thinking it was calm enough to open a hatch and being quickly shown otherwise by a wave breaking over the deck and pouring right into the cabin. There's some wet salty clothing hanging up, but it’s all drying quickly now.

Also, sorry about the delay in getting a tracking map up, but the team will have something on the website for you all next week to follow.

Alright I'm going to sign off now because I'm off to do something brave, daring and possibly a little reckless. I'm going to open the bag labeled 'School Work'. OK, so maybe I'm being a bit of a drama queen, but wish me luck on this one!

Hope everyone's having good weekends.

Jesse