To Hawaii

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Delfin

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Jan 20, 2010
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With my intrepid crew - friends Gage Oakley and Jeff Peck - we're setting out for Hawaii on Delfin this morning from Anacortes. First day is just getting out to Neah Bay on the tip of the Olympic Peninsula, where we'll anchor for the night before heading out next morning. We're loaded with 2200 gallons of diesel, so we'll be waddling for a few days until we burn off some fuel. Only 86 miles or so today under cloudy skies.
 

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wasn't cheaper to fly...hahaha

really wish you have a safe and successful passage.
 
Safe travels! How long will you be in Hawaii and where will you moor?
 
Carl
Safe travels. How are you handling weather routing? Best to you and crew.
 
Godspeed Carl,
Send lots of updates

Were all here wishing we were there.
Cheers
Hollywood
 
2200 gallons of diesel, thats close to $10,000. Will you use it all? Will you make the return trip also?

pete
 
2200 gallons of diesel, thats close to $10,000. Will you use it all? Will you make the return trip also?

pete
For context, in 1987, a Willard 36 went from Los Angeles area to Hawaii and burned around 330g of diesel and averaged around 6-kts. Had to be careful of the season however.

Peter
 
Day 2. As happened when Cheryl, Jesse and I sailed to Hawaii years ago, the Strait of Juan de Fuca was so nasty yesterday that we anchored off Port Angeles for the night. My friend Gage has undergone chemotherapy and gets a bit queasy so discretion is required. Plus, no one enjoys bashing into short seas when wind opposes current, recent chemo or not. And, because a low pressure system is building off the Aleutians generating some pretty big seas and gusts of 40 knots, we're going to stop in Neah Bay for a couple of days and go fishing for Ling Cod. It looks like this nasty weather will clear next week. Bummer, but that's boating.
 

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Safe travels! How long will you be in Hawaii and where will you moor?
We'll be there a month or so. Right now the plan is Big Island, Maui, Molokai, Oahu, Kauai, then return. We'll see.
 
Carl
Safe travels. How are you handling weather routing? Best to you and crew.
Tom, I'm using Predictwind to download grib charts. With Internet courtesy of Starlink's new priority data plus AIS it sure is a lot easier to make safe passages now than it was years ago.
 
2200 gallons of diesel, thats close to $10,000. Will you use it all? Will you make the return trip also?

pete
Pete, we only burn 3 gph @ 7 knots, so we'll burn about half our load. After taking on a few hundred gallons in Honolulu, we'll return from Hanalei Bay, likely on a thumb line course.
 
Sounds like an excellent adventure!

Will be following along with much envy.

Safe travels.

Ted
 
Pete, we only burn 3 gph @ 7 knots, so we'll burn about half our load. After taking on a few hundred gallons in Honolulu, we'll return from Hanalei Bay, likely on a thumb line course.
That sounds like a fine trip, though I would find it hard to leave so soon.
I'm guessing spell check changed 'rhumb' to 'thumb'. :)
 
Unfortunately, my friend Gage's stomach won't tolerate much in the way of ocean swells, so we jointly decided that rather than two weeks of misery, he can join us in the islands. He faired well when deep sea fishing, but not with cruising. A fine young man who has endured a lot with some very serious illnesses that he refuses to let defeat him. Sigh.

Let Neah Bay under sunny skies and right now we're ten miles or so off the Washington coast heading south with waves and about 15 knots abaft the beam. Nice motion really but the stabilizers are working overtime.

With two crew, we're using a watch schedule of 06:00 - 12:00, 12:00 - 18:00, 18:00 - 23:00, 23:00 - 03:00 and 03:00 - 06:00 So, every other day you swap watch times. Adds variety and doesn't condemn one person to the dreaded midnight to 4 am watch if watches are fixed to 4 on and 4 off.

Tatoosh Island light house, Cape Flattery, a whale skull on the beach in Neah Bay, and a view from the quarter below.
 

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Much cheaper if you had booked on a cruise ship. And have room service, etcetera. Less worry, more comfort, but less adventure.
 
Much cheaper if you had booked on a cruise ship. And have room service, etcetera. Less worry, more comfort, but less adventure.


If just getting there a first class seat in Boeing's finest is even cheaper


But this is about boating and the journey is a big part of it.


I would rather DIE than step foot on a cruise ship.


Hollywood
 
If just getting there a first class seat in Boeing's finest is even cheaper


But this is about boating and the journey is a big part of it.


I would rather DIE than step foot on a cruise ship.


Hollywood
Where is the 'like' button when you want one? :)
 
If just getting there a first class seat in Boeing's finest is even cheaper


But this is about boating and the journey is a big part of it.


I would rather DIE than step foot on a cruise ship.


Hollywood
If you want the full cruise ship experience even cheaper you can go to the Golden Fork all you can eat buffet, while watching travelogues on your phone, followed by gargling shower water at a public restroom.
 
Delfin,

Thank you for sharing your trip. Please keep posting.

Safe travels…
 
If just getting there a first class seat in Boeing's finest is even cheaper


But this is about boating and the journey is a big part of it.


I would rather DIE than step foot on a cruise ship.


Hollywood
Plus you significantly increase the risk of illness and death from Covid (among other maladies) by boarding one.
 
There was a brief system developing along our course with predicted gusts of 50 knots, and since Homey doesn't do 50 knots if there's an alternative, we camped out in Westport on the coast of Washington for two days. Fishy town, and if you want to catch tuna, salmon, sea bass, halibut, etc. go there.

Starlink decided to change their service plans without warning, so we lost connectivity for six hours. The plan I was paying for - RV/Roam for $150/mo with priority mobile data at $2/gb on the ocean was done away with. Now, that plan only works on land, so now you need the Mobile Priority service plan for $250/mo that comes with ocean coverage, 50gb included and extra gb @ $2 when you exceed 50. No warning or notice, and in the middle of a billing period. Hopefully, this one will stick, but I doubt it.

Currently 50 miles off the Oregon coast in mellow conditions. Below about the only picture of big blue I will need for the next two weeks as the scenery doesn't change a whole lot, and one of a local shop window in Westport. Imagine my disappointment when I found out it was just a tackle shop that also does whale watching tours.
 

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Hawaii

Have a great trip, I will be living vicariously, awaiting your updates. Blue skies and may the wind be always at your back...:)
 
Currently we're about 140 miles off Newport, Oregon, heading 216 in really benign conditions. Waves are beam on so a bit more herky jerky than optimal, but with winds only around 10 knots you can't complain.


Starlink's "RV/Roam" $150/mo service plan with priority data at $2/gig "anywhere in the world, including oceans", was killed off right after I cleared the coast. The service plan dujour is now called the "Mobile Priority" service plan for $250/mo and $2/gig over a prepaid 50. This will probably be replaced by a new one soon, perhaps the "No Really, You Can Use This On the Ocean" plan for $500/mo, but for now it's all working peachy. Interesting, but the lag time from "upgrading" to the $250 a month plan took 5 hours to complete, and now the antenna docks itself in the flat position, just like the antenna they were selling for maritime use that I suspect is the same one I have with just a slightly different form factor. Starlink is pioneering the 'No customer support, not now, not ever' business model as there does not exist that I can find a phone number, message service or email address where you can ask what the heck they're doing. If you can't figure it out from the scanty and constantly changing app or website, you're on your own.


The Grib chart for the next few days looks benign, and as we make further southing, the swells should shift to astern rather than abeam.
 

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The Delfin would have been my first pick of a fine seagoing boat. She will make all that sail on her safe and proud. Fair weather and luck on your trip.
Please keep us posted!
Don Souza
 
What a great adventure!

Good luck, and safe passage.
 

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