Deerfoot II, a longtime member of our family, is ready for a new home. She was launched in 1985 in Denmark, sailed across the Atlantic, via the West Indies, and Panama, to Marina del Rey, where she has been based for these many years.

She has had professional crew aboard since launching, and is in excellent condition considering her mature status. All of the photos that follow below are recent.

Deerfoot II is a 74 foot cutter, with a hull shape optimized for getting her uphill with minimum fuss, either under sail or motorsailing, or just under engine. She can be handled by a competent couple, crew being an option, as will be seen by the travels of her sistership, Interlude, which has recently completed a 55,000 mile circumnavigation with just her owners aboard (Interlude has racked up a total of 150,000 miles and two circumnavigations, with her three sets of owners).

She has a layout which has proven itself time and again with a series of these designs, that have accumulated many hundreds of thousands of miles and numerous trips around the world.

The pilot house has good sight lines, is compact, and efficient at sea. Deerfoot II has a complete set of functioning electronics, albeit a touch dated.

Her saloon is spacious and light.

The photos will give you a sense of what a well built and maintained yacht can look like later in life.

Deerfoot II has an aluminum hull built by the well known Oeland Brothers of Denmark who did a series of boas for us. She was fitted out by the Walsted family in Svenborg. Interior styling was done with our long time associates Anne and Phil Harrill.

The galley has excellent storage and lots of counter area.

The owners suite is lovely with a walk around bunk.

There is a full width head forward.

Deerfoot II’s interior was designed with aesthetics and function in mind. A combination of HPL, beautifully inlaid fiddle rails, Corian, and fabrics have stood the test of time.

There are two double cabins aft. The starboard double is shown here.

Looking forward in this photo.

The starboard cabin has direct access to a large head, which also has a hallway entrance for convenient day use.

The port cabin has upper and lower singles, also with a head attached.

There is a large aft cockpit.

Multi-speed powered winches are close at hand.

And the new bimini can be fully enclosed.

Having been a much loved member of our family for 29 years, Deerfoot II is now seriously for sale. A new suit of sails, some modernized electronics, and she is ready to follow her cousins in the Deerfoot and Sundeer fleets toward new adventures.

For full details contact Sue Grant at Berthons’s, sue.grant@berthon.co.uk, and see their listing at Berthon’s website.

Here in Arizona we’re excited, having received our weekly update of photos from New Zealand. Seeing progress starting to accelerate on the first of three FPB 78s now scheduled, we are leaping for joy. The assembly floor has been laid out, and the tank modules are being dropped into place.

The view from the deck of FPB 64-10 starts to give a sense of scale.

And then the first frame is standing.

A bulkhead is being assembled. The slots are for systems runs and the big cutout for build access now and for future maintenance.

A massive stem bar. We work hard to keep superfluous weight out of the boat so we can put it back where it counts – in the bottom and bow.

Lots of small bits here. Note the thickness. These are for low in the boat where they contribute to strength and stability.

A few days later and this cutting edge bow design is starting to take shape. Combine the stem bar, breast hooks (horizontal stiffeners) with 12mm bottom and 8mm topside plate and you can see where we have some margin for banging into things.

Meanwhile many details are being finished off inside and outside of the FPB 97, such as this Matrix deck docking wing station. The opening in the gate was suggested by the owner’s representative, for use when the boat is alongside a high commercial dock, to make boarding easier.

This large foredeck hatch is operated with a winch handle.

There will be a small jib boom arrangement to hoist and lower heavier items into the forepeak.

Installation of furniture is well along throughout the FPB 97-1.

The aluminum structure on the right is an access port for inspection and maintenance of one of the stabilizer mechanisms.

FPB 64-9 is now undergoing builders trials, which leaves FPB 64-10 as the lone member of this class still in the shop. In the not too distant future, 64-10 will make way for FPB  78-2  to begin its gestation period, to be followed shortly by metal work for FPB 78-3.

It is a gray, overcast, depressing afternoon – something for which residence in the US Southwest does not prepare its citizens. Since we have received a request for info on Beowulf IV from a journalist doing a book for the next “Little America’s Cup”, the scanner has been warmed up and we thought we’d share something different.

Beowulf IV was launched in 1969, when wing masts combined with soft sails were thought to be king, and before the advent of articulated wings for C-cat propulsion. The concept here was to develop a more powerful and lighter rig. The mast was a very thin walled eight inch aluminum tube with two sail tracks and double mainsails. Rik Taylor made the sails.

By over-rotating the mast and using a differential based mainsail clew control, we could create a powerful, relatively low drag asymmetric sail shape.

The daggerboards were 68 series laminar foils, angled to provide lift for the leeward hull.

Construction of the hulls was on the light side – 1/4” balsa core with a single layer of 6 ounce boat cloth for skins. Bob Noble and Alex Kosloff built the hulls and boards, Norm Riise did the daggerboard design on the mainframe computer at JPL.

In the first race of the 1969 Yachting One Of A Kind Regatta she showed promise, running away from the giant A-scow, then the king of the hill speedwise. This being in light conditions we were looking forward to more breeze.

The next day brought a northeaster, with lots of wind and waves, just what we liked to sail in. Coming back into Belmont Harbor with the rig feathered to slow us down we were hit with a major wind shift, the rig attached, we accelerated downwind, then dug the bows in and pitchpoled, cart wheeling several times. In the ensuing rescue the boat was badly damaged, with the rig going to the bottom of Lake Michigan.

We never really learned how to make Beowulf IV go properly. In spurts, the combination of lifting boards and the asymmetric sail was very quick. But her untimely passing put an end to our learning curve.

The passage between New Zealand and French Polynesia is one of the more difficult ocean crossing endeavors. At 2200 miles along the great circle route, it can often be as long as 2600 or more nautical miles depending on weather routing. John and Amanda Neal bill this as a heavy weather passage in their sail training business, and for good reason. FPB 64-6 Grey Wolf is on standby, waiting for a weather scenario that offers decent odds. The chart above is for Friday, March 14th, and is not what you’d call auspicious. This is the first leg in her voyage back to the old world and her new home in UK’s Channel Islands via Panama.

Here is a look at two of the course options. The red line represents trying to minimize headwinds, and then when Tahiti is a fetch, angle wise, making a left.

This is late summer in the Southern Hemisphere, which means several things. One is that the South Pacific high pressure system is in its position furthest away from the equator, which brings the easterly trade wind belt south and directly in Grey Wolf’s path.

To make things more difficult, the cyclone season is just ramping up. The official forecast for El Niño, which gives a higher cyclone probability to French Polynesia, is neutral. But the current activity (see below) suggests something is afoot.

Here is the GFS forecast for next Friday. That’s another tropical event transitioning to extra-tropical, shown halfway along the path to Tahiti.

There are a few things to take into account with all of this.

• Average boat speed is a critical component of planning. Whatever the number might be in smooth water, it is going to be less, possibly a lot less, given the headwinds and confused sea state that is likely to be encountered.
• With the trades blowing strongly in this region, the westerly current flow will rob you of 12 to 24 miles a day of progress.
• Forecasting tropical weather is much more difficult than that of the higher latitudes. The models do not perform as well. In the Atlantic there are more resources focused on hurricane season – satellites, aircraft, ground and ship observation – than in the sparsely populated South Pacific.
• In some situations you can cross an active hurricane area quickly, such as Palmyra in the Line Islands to Hawaii. But between New Zealand and Tahiti the course is parallel.
• Tropical weather can be helpful in that it knocks down the trades – if you are heading against the wind.

We have made a number of passages crossing hurricane belts in season where we had the speed to make use of their benefits. Nuka Hiva in the Marquesas to San Diego, 2700 miles normally uphill, comes to mind. Here hurricanes were beneficial (to see a video on this passage click here), helping us cover the 2700 NM in just 12 days.

We have done the New Zealand-Tahiti run twice. The first time was under sail with the 68-foot Sundeer, leaving ahead of cyclone Bola in summer of 1988 – which hammered New Zealand, arriving in Tahiti a day after a small tropical disturbance created local havoc. The second time was with the 78-foot ketch Beowulf, via the Austral Islands. That was in 1997 and the weather patterns forced us to sit in New Zealand for a month waiting for decent conditions to depart. A video of this passage is here..

FPB 64-3 Iron Lady made the Tahiti passage last year. But she left later in the season (you can see her posts here).

All of which is to say this can be done, but it won’t be easy.

There is another route to be considered. Although the crew would like to experience the attractions of the Society and Marquesas Islands, if they are forced to take the sailing route, they can also look at heading to the Gambier islands at the bottom of the Tuamotus. This keeps them further south, is the same distance as Tahiti via the dog leg course, and has the potential of less exposure to tropical weather issues with reduced headwinds along the way.

When Grey Wolf departs they will be pressing the boat hard to keep speed up. The crew will definitely earn their sea-going stripes. They will want to have a polished hull and prop, and keep the boat light for speed rather than comfort. And they will be getting outside weather routing help. With all of this they are also going to need some luck.

For more data see:

www.passageweather.com

Our books Surviving the Storm and Mariner’s Weather Handbook cover these situations and much more.

Peter Watson and crew will be reporting on their trip on the Berthon website here.

Spring is in the air and our southwestern backyard is filled with color, love songs, nest building, and competition for the attention of the fairer sex. It is the one time of year when we’d rather be ashore than afloat.

Recognizing that much of the Northern Hemisphere has rather different conditions, which at this stage in the weather cycle could be dispiriting, we thought a few photos of the yard might be welcome.

Wildflower season is just beginning in the Sonora Desert. Each week will bring a new wave of blooms.

 And with those blooms come hummingbirds, one of our favorite creatures.

Morning and afternoon the air is filled with song. This young lady is is replying to a suitor a short distance away.

Woodpeckers use the metal cap on the chimney as a private boom box, the better to advertise their prowess.

The gray blue cloudless (boring) skies of winter are occasionally showing a bit of moisture.

Which helps with the sunrises and sunsets.

We are seeing the first lizards, now awakening from their slumber. This means snakes –  including those known as Arizona guard dogs (rattlers)  - are about. It is time to watch where we put our hands and feet when walking.

Each cactus has its own style of flower. This is one of many different agave flowers.

The grandfather cactus residing outside the bedroom window is in bloom

As are the ocotillos, waving gracefully in the breeze.

There is a shortage of prime high perches, so a bit of push and shove goes on. Woodpeckers triumph over cardinals – it is a rule.

Through all of the song and chatter, our resident hummers keep working.

After all, they’ll shortly have a family to feed.

Photographer’s notes:

These photos were taken with a Canon 1DX body mounting the Canon 200-400 zoom (F4) with the 1.4X built in extender. They are all hand held, using available light, typically shooting at ISO 800, at max zoom (560 mm).

If you are looking for a magic elixir to successful cruising it will not be found in the marine hardware catalogs or boat shows. It will not come with state of the art electronics, or a different boat. It is much simpler than that. Of all the things you can do to enhance your cruising experience and safety, having a basic understanding of on board weather forecasting is the most important. The cost is minimal – except for some time – and the rewards huge. These benefits accrue at sea and at anchor alike. Although modern forecasting tools are wonderful, they only take you so far. And the models do miss occasionally.

You may think a professional weather router will save you this trouble. But communications can break down at the wrong time, and weather routers do make mistakes, even the best of them. They are relying on model data as well as instinct. Modern models do a great job of forecasting energy flows on a macro basis, but they are less successful mid-ocean on a micro basis – in other words, in your immediate vicinity.

On the other hand, with an understanding of the basics and logging wind direction, velocity, and barometric pressure, you have a much better chance of figuring out what is going on, and what to do about it, than by just relying on weather faxes or GRIB files.

This is especially important in the tropics, where the model projections are less precise and more prone to error.

Then there are risk scenarios to be weighed before departing and during a passage. The weather forecast services constantly evaluate what their models are telling them. They use numerous weather models, from which they synthesize a forecast. One model may show a gale in three days, another a storm force condition, while three others show a stiff breeze. Odds are the three models deducing more benign conditions are right. But what if they’re wrong?

The forecaster has a conundrum. If he over-forecasts, says there is a storm coming, and then nothing happens, he takes heat. Plus his perspective is different than yours, just based on location. If you are sitting in Las Palmas in the Canary Islands, or Norfolk Virginia, ready to head to the tropics, if someone says there’s a 5% chance – one in 20 – of a strong gale or storm force winds, do you depart, or wait a couple of days and see what happens?

If you understand the basics, in particular the warning signs at the 500mb level, you can see these risk factors, quantify them for yourself, and then make an informed decision on whether or not to go.

Having been desk bound for the past year and a half, we’ve not had much need to think about this subject. But Peter Watson and crew aboard the FPB 64 Grey Wolf are about to embark on a journey that will require significant weather skills – both on board and from shore bound routers – and this has brought the subject to the fore. As we mentioned in our previous post, we made the trip from New Zealand to French Polynesia in 1988 with Sundeer, and again in 1997 with Beowulf. The 1988 trip was just ahead of cyclone Bola’s visit to North New Zealand, and we arrived in Tahiti on the heels of a small but intense tropical system. So we can relate to what Peter and crew are thinking just now. The 1997 trip was easier, but we did have the pleasure of a strong compression gale one evening, with the breeze building to the mid 50-knot range.

Which brings us to part two of this post: heavy weather tactics. The most important tactic is avoiding heavy weather in the first place. But if you spend enough time at sea, occasionally you are going to feel Poseidon’s wrath, in which case understanding the structure of the pressure flow that is causing your grief becomes critical. Once this is known, the appropriate tactics can be employed to minimize risk. Often moving a moderate distance in the correct direction can make a huge difference in the wind and seas encountered. This is particularly important with tropical storms, where as little as 30 miles can mean the difference between a moderate gale and hurricane strength wind.

Dashew Offshore, Beowulf Publishing, and the FPB team have been blessed with the support of the cruising community for many years, and we’d like to return the favor in a small way. We are making two of our books, Mariner’s Weather Handbook and Surviving the Storm, available for free as PDF files. Simply click on the links below to download these publications. We hope the first title helps you avoid the need for the second.

We’ll see you out there cruising in 2016.

Click here to download Mariner’s Weather Handbook

Click here to download Surviving the Storm

It is cyclone season in the South Pacific, the weather is unstable, and Grey Wolf may win the weather lottery. The recent spate of tropical storms is creating the possibility of a very quick, relatively easy trip. The key is her ability to maintain a fast average boat speed. This allows her to take advantage of the good, which includes some fast (and fun) surfing, and minimize the bad.

South Pacific weather guru Bob McDavitt’s – www.metbob.com – comments and weather routing follow:

Situation and comments:

There is a trough lurking off to NE of Northland, throwing showers at Northland and SE winds for starters. 

Thanks to my SKYPE call with Steve last week, I think it a good idea to deviate north of the direct path and, rather than taking those ESE winds at the start almost head-on, put them on starboard around 45deg (another option is to delay to Monday). This will likely take us thru showers for the first day or so, but they are not expected to be squally.

By Monday (NZ date) you should move into the outer perimeter of the remains of TC MIKE– far enough away from it thanks to our delayed start so as NOT to get its 5 metres swells.

We can ride in its tail winds for a quick trip–on Wednesday it is replaced by a southern Ocean Low, and on Thursday UTC/Wednesday local the cold front belonging to that low should cross over us, not much impact on the wind.

This is followed by a W to SW flow on Friday UTC. On Saturday UTC/Friday local you should be encountering the light winds of the subtropical ridge (it is north of its normal position).

After that I run out of data and we need an update.

In the outlook table there may be a Northerly wind at 30S 150W, knocking us NW briefly, then light winds to Papeete, but that’s just a first guess thrown in so an ETA can be guessed.

I am using www.expeditionmarine.com for routing with latest Oceanic and GFS data output. VPP is for motoring using the Polars Steve sent me.

DISCLAIMER: weather is a mix of pattern and chaos. The real world unravels away from the model output shown here. Computer data does NOT do well near a coast or in a trough. In a convergence zone computer gives averaged-out light winds, but occasional squalls can deliver 30 knots for 30 minutes. If your baro strays away from target pressure more than 5 hPa the forecast needs updating.

Background small arrows are surface current (not much).

Blue/green shading is rain.

2 and 3 lines are boundaries of 2 and 3 significant metre wave height.

1012 line is an isobar.

Grid of larger arrows shows coloured wind barbs.

Red arrows along path show winds forecast along the way.

One barb is 10 knots and half is 5. Purple lines are upper air flow.

The first waypoint is a requirement of Peter Watson’s insurance carrier.  What is happening is that the southeast trade winds, which Grey Wolf would normally have to fight as headwinds, are forecast to be blocked by the tropical system, and replaced by favorable westerly quadrant winds from the clockwise low pressure circulation of tropical cyclone Mike’s remnants. Grey Wolf is hoping to surf over the top of the low center (remember, weather goes the opposite direction in the southern hemisphere). There is another low projected to form further south and east with a circulation pattern coincident with Mike’s flow. But that is a long way off timewise. If it does occur, there is a chance – Bob says one in ten – of the two low centers combining to create a major storm system. There are several considerations here:

• The typical path for these systems is southeast, so moving away from the theoretical position of Grey Wolf.
• The “escape” route for Grey Wolf is to keep the wind on her starboard quarter so the winds push her away from the more intense winds of the center. This happens to be the direction they are headed if they go direct to Tahiti.
• Speed, and the ability to surf under control, are a key to minimizing their risks.

Steve asked me to see what a direct voyage to Papeete departing Whangarei around 1pm Sunday may look like without that Insurance waypoint.

Here it is, with surrounding weather as at Friday 28 March 1200UTC.

PROS:  Shorter and faster, saves around 12 hours over 10 days = 5% quicker over all.

CONS:  Goes thru the Southern Cooks,  and they have the highest risk of nasty weather at this time of the year.

Map shows a small low may form in that region on Fri/Sat UTC, so risk increase is around 10%  (as an estimate).

Also this path deviates from the Insurance waypoint, so you might need their prior permission to use it and maintain Insurance cover.

Right now the risk factors favor the easterly route. Bob and the crew of Grey Wolf will be watching weather development carefully. Once they depart, the key issue will be moving quickly. Speed is their friend, reduces risks, and gives them the ability to stay out of trouble, and to take advantage of short term favorable conditions. With a dose of luck, and high average speeds, Grey Wolf and her crew have a ticket that just might win the weather lottery.

After all those thousands of design and engineering hours, innumerable three dimensional images, and years of noodling on this ltest FPB series design, you would think we’d be tired of it. But these photos represent the high point in terms of buzz factor, and it won’t be equaled again until we see this latest FPB sitting on her lines, afloat in the waters of  New Zealand. This is also the point during the construction cycle where we can get a sense of size and shape (that will soon be obscured by the construction process).

You will note that the area to the right in the photo above is missing something. FPB 64-10 has been moved into the construction bay in the next building, recently vacated by FPB 64-9, which has just completed sea trials. That FPB 64-10 space is now in use for FPB 78-1 roof sub assembly. It won’t be long before hull modules for FPB 78-2 will start coming together in this area.

We like our bows strong, the better to push through things like ice and debris. There is also a collision bulkhead a short distance aft of the stem. The horizontal stiffeners on the stem bar are called breast hooks.The stem bar is 40mm thick, and when the bottom plating is added to this it will have a total of 64mm of aluminum, or 2.5”.

We are looking here from the inside the forepeak collision bulkhead aft. Those massive topside stiffeners give us a bit of comfort when we are trying to find our way through a ice. The slots are to facilitate tying gear in this area.

This view is from what we refer to as the “annex” adjacent to the owner’s suite. We are looking forward now.

Turning around and looking aft from the forward end of the owner’s suite, that is the engine room bulkhead all the way aft.

We are standing in what will become the door into the aft starboard stateroom. The hallway separating the after staterooms from the forward owner’s suite is 1.2m/4ft in width.

These two openings in the center of the fuel tank will become a sealed coffer dam for the traction battery bank.

The pipework is for the fuel  tank pickups, returns, and fills.

This will become the watertight door from the starboard head into the engine room (there is another door from the aft end of the boat as well).

Engine bearers will be worked into the longitudinal girders and there is another watertight bulkhead aft of the engine room not yet installed.

Moving to the next bay over, the great room roof is taking shape.

Shifting projects now, the FPB 64-10 is coming along nicely. This photo is looking up at the headliner panels. Note the cutouts to save a bit of weight.

We’ll close with this shot of the engine room on FPB 97-1. The two pumps on the upper shelf are for the autopilot / power steering. These are two totally independent systems, each with its own hydraulic cylinder, pump set, and auto pilot electronics.

The lower shelf are the dual engine room bilge pumps. Each of these has its own float switch and breaker. Of course there is a hydraulically driven damage control pump as well.

We’ve just learned that Hobie Alter has caught the ultimate wave, and left his earthly friends and family behind. We were friends, competitors, and collaborators with this remarkable man, and thought a few anecdotes might be in order.

We originally got to know Hobie through Phil Edwards and Mickey Muñoz, two catamaran racing buddies. Hobie occasionally sailed with Phil on El Gato, a skinny 22-foot cat and he did one of the early Ensenada races with Phil. This was in the mid-1960s when we went down with our 20-foot Shark catamaran, the original Beowulf.  It was in Hussongs Cantina when we had an early discussion about the relative merits of various catamaran designs.

A few years later we were first introduced to Hobie’s new fourteen foot cat. This was at the Pacific Coast Catamaran Association championship regatta. We were sailing Beowulf III, a C-class cat, and dueling with the larger and more powerful 32-foot Wildwind. After the speed trials we had a break and walked over to where there were a couple of Hobie 14s, and had a good laugh.

The boat had no daggerboards, was heavy, held together with a bunch of silly castings, but was so easy to build. And compared to the other cats, it was slow. Except that Hobie could make it fly. We’d occasionally see Hobie 14s at the PMA regattas, with rockstars like Hobie himself, or Wayne Schafer driving. Hobie and his partner, Stanford MBA Art Hendrickson, were selling a few boats, but not setting the world on fire by any means. We and the rest of the competitors thought this was one dumb cat.

Then came the 1969 Yachting One of a Kind regatta. During the second race, when a northeaster turned Lake Michigan into a survival contest (and we pitch-poled the C-Cat we were racing), Hobie put on an exhibition of seamanship with his little fourteen that caught everyone’s attention. There was a great shot of the Hobie 14 airborne, which Art Hendrickson somehow got Life Magazine to run, and then they were off to the races (pun intended).

Hobie was always interested in new things and what others were doing. He was into flying model gliders in the early days of radio control, developed a nice monohull, the Hobie 33, which was radically skinny and fast, and was experimenting with advanced ABS  plastic vacuum forming for dinghy production before anyone else.

He was with us on Beowulf V during the PMA speed trials, in which we upped our previous record for speed under sail to 31.5 knots.

This was Hobie’s first experience with an all crew trapeze setup, we sailed with skipper and both crew on the wire, and he is on the forward trapeze, with Norm Riise in the middle. He took the speed and the trapeze in stride, and in his usual low-key manner said he was going to think about trapezes for a new design.

We had a chance to work with Hobie on the development of the Hobie 18 hull shape. We did a parametric VPP shape analysis using Norm Riise’s VPP code (uploaded with IBM punch cards during quiet times on the main frame computer at JPL, where Norm worked). Once we had the correct prismatic nailed down, Norm produced a set of offsets for us which we sent along to Hobie. Phil Edwards and the crew at Hobie’s prototype shop soon had several prototypes sailing. It was interesting to see how they worked at the development cycle. Someone would have an idea, they’d build some parts, and go sailing to test it in the real world. Eventually through trial and error they would come up with a design compromise that made sense. A formal design process this was not, but it worked.

They sold a bunch of boats. And we earned a fee for the hull design, our first paying gig in the field of yacht design.

One of the keys to the success of the Hobie Cat concept was an innovative social program. Rather than stuffy yacht club affairs, the Hobie fleets sailed off the beach, and had great parties between races. They experimented with the racing rules to make them more user friendly, including such now common innovations as the 360 degree penalty turn.

The Hobie Cat business was eventually sold to Coleman Manufacturing and Hobie moved on to other endeavors, like investing in California beachfront properties in the late 1970s.

Ever the innovator, Hobie created a large power cat with which he and his wife Susan spent many enjoyable hours. When not out on the water Hobie busied himself with real-estate, racing horses, and working at the licensing of the Hobie brand. When we went cruising in 1976 we lost touch.

Then in 2006, on our way to Alaska with Wind Horse, we anchored off Hobie and Susan’s home in the San Juan islands near Seattle and spent a couple of days catching up. That’s Hobie and Susan to the left in the cockpit of their power cat.

Although we had not seen each other in years,that old camaraderie from the early days was immediately in place.

Hobie had a great ride, and leaves the world of sailing behind much the better for his presence. We send our condolences to his family and friends.

We are looking at a barometric pressure trace from the FPB 64 Grey Wolf. This occurred at the edge of the tropics South of Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. As you close with the equator slight pressure gradients create big winds. A change of as little as two mb can indicate the onset of a hurricane. The weather models – all the majors – missed this event.

Bob McDavitt, one of the best routers around, and the resident expert on the S. Pacific, was handling this leg from New Zealand to Tahiti for Peter Watson and crew. After seeing the trace Bob had this to say:

“…good to see that the barometer is reading OK— this verifies that what was happening in the real world was indeed deviating radically from what the computer models were producing, and that the barometer was the FIRST to show this deviation. That’s why, in my voyage forecast, I mention that an update is required when the real barometer deviates more than 2 or 3 hPa from the forecast (even if the wind and waves at that time are still in agreement).
 
That was a real marine adventure, and I put a blog on my web site regarding that squall you experienced near Rarotonga.
http://metbob.wordpress.com/2014/04/01/a-dark-and-stormy-night-at-rarotonga
 
Also the Low that formed those squally clouds got knocked to the west (by the strong High on its south side). This happens occasionally, but in this case it abnormally got knocked west-southwest all the way to NZ. Still raining from that Low over central and eastern NZ today – brought a southerly gale to Cook Strait forcing the Royals inside for the day.”

Grey Wolf and crew had no problems with the event. And this would have been the case for any well found and properly handled yacht. On the other hand, you’d not want to be unfamiliar with reefing, setting storm canvas, or be compromised by something going wrong. When the breeze is blowing 54 knots with steep seas, it is not the time to be worrying about deferred maintenance.

You will note that Bob McDavitt indicates the localized storm system grew a bit, and rotated backwards towards New Zealand, where it generated some breeze. This “unusual” event could have been much worse. When you get a warm, moist tropical system heading away from the equator, if it happens to come into contact with an upper level trough, which will be colder and drier, it is like adding gasoline to a fire. A weather explosion is possible. Examples of this are the Queen’s Birthday Storm and the 1998 Sydney Hobart race blow.

The odds are low, and there are warning signs at the 500mb level, and from the tropics.

The faster you can complete your passage the better your odds of avoiding this sort of thing.

The weather comments of the recent posts deal with the South Pacific, but the same issues exist in the North Pacific and the North Atlantic. Yes, the weather models have a better initialization, but on a long passage the pre-departure forecast only takes you so far. And the weather models are only marginally better at deciphering frontal boundaries, convergence zones, and low centers.

The purpose of these examples is to paint a realistic picture of what can happen. These are rare events, but we see them every cruising season, and people get themselves into trouble by ignoring them, or assuming the weather routing services or checking grib files can eliminate potential trouble. We feel strongly that it is better to acknowledge the risks, so that folks will take the proper steps to mitigate them.

In other words, be prepared.

A final word on risks in general. We live in a world filled with various levels of risk. From falling down and breaking a leg getting out of the bath, to having a drunk driver cross the center divider, to some major land based weather event, nothing in life is risk free. For all our commentary on weather risks we feel safer on a properly found yacht at sea than we do driving down the highway. We feel more in control of our destiny, and we take comfort in knowing that our maintenance procedures are up to snuff and we have at least a basic understanding of weather. We’d like everyone else to feel the same.

In a recent article, we posted a link to download two of our books for free. Simply click the links below to get your copy of Mariner’s Weather Handbook and Surviving the Storm:

Download Mariner’s Weather Handbook

Download Surviving the Storm

We are torn between a love for the tropics and the adrenaline that comes as you venture closer to the poles.

FPB 64-6 Grey Wolf is now in Tahiti, soon to depart for the Tuamotus and Marquesas. FPB 64-5 Tiger, 64-7 Buffalo Nickel, and FPB 64-8 Atlantis are getting ready to resume (or in the case of Atlantis begin) their tropical cruising, while FPB 64-1 Avatar, FPB 64-2 Sarah Sarah, FPB 64-3 Iron Lady are preparing to head for high latitudes (FPB 83-1 Wind Horse, 64-4 Osprey, and 64-9 Orca are all currently cruising the mid-latitudes). Of the ten FPBs listed, eight will have major distances to run to their cruising goals.

Which is the best destination? Read on.

Entering a new pass in the tropics, watching the coral flash by in crystal clear water, all the while feeling that gentle tropical breeze dressing your minimally clad body, is a great pleasure. Sitting at anchor in your private section of a tropical lagoon isn’t too bad either.

And the beaches, in particular those of the fine grain variety, are worthy of a row ashore.

Then there is the morning snorkel, and another in the afternoon.

We can attest to the fact that cruising life in the tropics has its rewards.

But the high latitudes also have a strong pull.

For this type of beauty you have to get closer to the poles.

Of course there are challenges, and you need a stronger hull and detailed preparation.

You can amaze friends with fresh ice that fizzes in their drinks.

One of the big attractions is wildlife.

In many of the high latitude anchorages you don’t need a super telephoto lens.

Which is better?

There is a lot to be said for this view, even on a damp, chilly day.

And when the sun does come out…

On the other hand, we like this too. Maybe the answer is both.

Which do you prefer, and why?

Last week we worked with Peter Watson aboard the FPB 64 Grey Wolf to resolve a stabilizer system issue. We thought the communications regarding this might be of interest since these things do occasionally occur – typically somewhere far from home base.

Saturday, April 12- Received an email from Grey Wolf describing stabilizer problem:

Have developed a problem with stabilizer on Starboard side and returning to Tahiti to effect repairs.
At 12/04/2014 02:48 (utc) our position was 17°24.92′S 149°19.90′W

Steve Dashew to Peter:
What is the problem? Might be able to help

Peter back to Steve:
It’s locked itself in an upright position. Alarm started going on control unit. Starboard fin locked in upright position.
At 12/04/2014 02:53 (utc) our position was 17°24.67′S 149°19.24′

Saturday midday message from Steve Dashew to Don Redding at NAIAD Dynamics:

Hi Don,
Any suggestions? Best to communicate direct with the boat. They are near Tahiti and this is an FPB 64.
Thanks, Steve

Message from Steve Dashew to Grey Wolf:

That’s a new one. Have forwarded to Don Redding for advice.
Have you tried cycling the power?

Peter back to Steve:
Yes we have cycled the power but fin is still locked. Any help you can bring to the matter much appreciated as we have not a clue, but given an hour we will be at anchor. Is there a number I can call you on?
At 12/04/2014 02:57 (utc) our position was 17°24.44′S 149°18.66′W

Saturday-More detailed info to Don Redding from Steve Dashew:

Have now had an Iridium call from Grey Wolf. Starboard fin has a “tracking error” and appears to be not working.
They acknowledge the error, it goes away, and returns. At the time this occurred it was quite rough and they were getting slammed on the starboard side.
They also had a “can bus” error but this has cleared.
They do not have the commissioning codes if this is required. Owner and some of crew are technically savvy and should be able to deal with most issues.
Note that the address for the boat is Sailmail and will not accept attachments.

Message Grey Wolf to Falmouth Coast Guard re change in voyage plan:

Falmouth Coast Guard,
Just to inform you that we are safely anchored in Tahiti and effecting repair.
Many thanks for your assistance.
Peter Watson
Skipper

Message Steve Dashew to Grey Wolf :

Call Don Redding to discuss- if he is out, he will call you back. Leave Iridium phone number.
Try INHIBITING the tracking error warning – one more key stroke. System should function if this is just momentary loss of data.
Do you know if the fin was really not moving? Usually the error message means loss of track info – even if temporary – but fin continues to operate.
Cycle power by turning off breaker.
Determine if truly not moving.
Is there second control at fly bridge?
Could be position sensor, but usually skips over worn spot with a bang.

Saturday afternoon-Message Vic Kuzmovich at NAIAD to Steve Dashew:

Have them inhibit the tracking alarm instead of acknowledging it.
Kind Regards,
Vic Kuzmovich
Naiad Dynamics

Message from Don Redding to NAIAD team and Circa Tech:

I have been on the phone with Peter on board the boat. The fin is hard-over CCW (cylinder fully retracted) and unresponsive. The feedback shaft coupling seems secure. My suspicion is that the starboard servo valve has failed. There is 24vdc present to power the valve amplifier, but the current loop sensor in the valve measures open circuit. That should cause a hard-over command.

I have asked Peter to measure the healthy port servo resistance the same way to confirm that he is looking at the right connections in the right way. If he sees 200 ohms on the port valve, then I believe it is safe to assume that the starboard valve requires replacement.

I’m waiting to hear back from him now.
Don

Later Don Reddng again:

My suspicion about the valve was premature. He was able to measure the port valve current loop sensor as 200 ohms. When he measured starboard again, it also measured 200 ohms. The valve appears to be healthy.
Don

Saturday Aprl 12-Message Grey Wolf to Don Redding:

Thanks for all your help. Do you have any update on any more diagnostics that we should run?

Sunday morning April 13-Communication Don Redding to Grey Wolf:

Were you able to manipulate the fin back to the center position and secure it with the pin? If so, I would like to check the resistance reading between positions 1 and 3, and 1 and 2 in the actuator junction box. Make these measurements with the connecting cable to the controller removed. These pairs should read approximately 5K and 2.5K ohms respectively when the fin is centered. This will check for possible slippage of the shaft connecting the potentiometer and the fin shaft.

Also, check the security of each of the connections inside the junction box (tug each wire gently).

Also, look into the plug end of the cable you removed from the junction box. Each socket inside the connector should be just below the face of the connector — all at the same height within the connector.

It’s 9am here, and I’m available for at least the next four hours.

Peter back to Don:

Crew asleep at present so will check in about an hour. One thing for you is we did manage to center the fin and bolt. The control panel is now reporting that it’s centered so don’t think there is anything wrong with the shaft potentiometer.

Later Peter again to Don:

Refreshed overnight: Values still to come but we were thinking of changing at the datum control module the port and starboard control plugs around to see if the fault moves, can you see any problem with this?

Sunday morning 1130 Washington State time-Don Redding back to Grey Wolf:

What you propose would be a valuable test to perform. I had thought of this earlier but rejected it as too complex and risky. There is an outside chance that you may disable the one fin that is presently operational. The upside is that it would allow us to conclusively point the finger at either the starboard electronic valve or the controller starboard channel
The nine plug sockets and mating plugs on the control module are all intentionally different to prevent accidental transpositions. This “idiot-proof” design makes swapping cables cumbersome if you actually need to do it.
In order to make this swap, you would have to completely remove the eight wires from both plugs P-2 and P-9 and reassemble them. Each wire has a small socket crimped onto the end. The sockets lock into the connector shell via a small releasable tab. The operation can be accomplished with needle nose pliers and a small flat blade screwdriver. Take a closer look and we can discuss this option further.
Do you have the wiring diagrams on board?
I concur with your conclusion regarding the potentiometer shaft position and the helm display. That is good news.

Grey Wolf back to Don Redding:

Readings are:
1&3 4870
1&2 2480

and these would appear to be correct.
We have the wiring diagrams aboard so we could with care do this check. At this point can I place an order for some test leads in case I need them in the future? (Steve, we need these for the 78.) Shall we have a go?

Sunday 1230 PM-Don Redding back to Grey Wolf:

If you are willing to try, this should allow us to figure out what we need to know.
Power off (you can do this by removing P1 from the control module). P2 is the starboard channel, P9 is port.
Pull the orange plastic top piece straight out of the plug with needle nose pliers. By “top” I mean the end opposite where the wires enter. You should now be able to see the small tabs down toward the wire-end of each sleeve. These tabs capture the sleeves into position.
Make notes of wire positions and colors on your electrical drawing. Each plug uses positions 1 thru 8 only. The wire colors and order should be the same on both plugs.
Use the small blade screwdriver to release one tab while GENTLY pulling the corresponding wire completely out through the rubber insert. Repeat until all 8 wires are out. Repeat for the other plug.
Reverse the procedure to reassemble. You should feel each sleeve click into its captured position.
Reinsert the orange plastic top piece. If it doesn’t go back in easily, one or more sleeves may not be seated exactly right. Force is not your friend here.
We should probably switch to phones once you are ready to test.

Sunday 1241 – Grey Wolf back to Don Redding:

OK we will go off and try this.

Sunday 1530 –Grey Wolf to Don Redding:

Just an update on what we have done,
We have changed the plugs over on the Datum control module, so starboard to the port outlet, port to the starboard outlet and it reports as follows:
With the electronics set to control the opposite fin that the display indicates, the helm station monitor shows the port fin, rear end downward and starboard fin centralized. This inversely shows us exactly the same thing as proper wiring. (The starboard fin is locked upward and the port fin is okay). This has indicated to us that the issue is unique to the starboard stabiliser control mechanism and not a generic system fault.
These tests have been done with the engine running and the ram connected as normal
I feel that the problem is at the fin end on the starboard side and looks like it may be hydraulic or hydraulic valves or controls at the fin, what are your thoughts and where do we go now please?

Sunday 1620- Grey Wolf to Don Redding:

First of all many thanks for your help in helping us diagnose the fault on our Naiad system. It’s great to know that the support from your company is so good.

Please can you ship to our agent in Tahiti the following using the fastest delivery means possible:

The replacement:

• Starboard fin servo valve on fin actuator

• Locking pin keeper from the ram to the fin stabiliser

• We would also like to have as spare on the boat:

• 2 x fin Position Potentiometer

• Crossover test cable if possible (do not delay anything if these are not an off the shelf item, just drop them from the order)

I do not have an account, but I am sure I can pay Dashew if this is the easiest way of resolving this.

Pascal,
We have had a few problems with our stabiliser system and I have asked Don to organise delivering to you some replacement parts and spares.

Don,
Pascal’s details are:

Pascal Bredin
General Manager
Tahiti-yacht services

Don,

We used Fedex for some other parts and it worked well.
Kind regards,
Peter

Comments by Steve Dashew:

With nine FPB 64s + plus the FPB 83 in the water and actively racking up the miles, we have had very few problems with our NAIAD stabilizer gear. Aside from known wear items, like the fin position sensor (potentiometer), and hydraulic cylinder seals (we are talking 10,000 NM plus when we talk about needing preventative maintenance), other than this valve block control issue there has only been one other relatively minor problem.

That we can call on technically savvy NAIAD team members on a weekend, and get this sorted out for Peter Watson and crew so that the parts are on their way Monday, speaks volumes about how customer service should work.

With any luck we’ll have Grey Wolf on her way to Panama by the end of the week.

Post Script

Both Todd and Mark on the Dashew Offshore team were away last weekend which is why your correspondent was so involved. This morning Don did a recap to bring them up to speed which may put this somewhat disjointed post in context.

Message from Don Redding to Mark Fritzer at Dashew Offshore:

Hi Mark:
We had a report from the boat that the starboard fin froze in the fully counterclockwise (tail-up) position during a moderately rough passage. They were able to manipulate the fin back to center by disconnecting the cylinder from the torque arm, but all attempts to control it with the DATUM control were unsuccessful.

We had them look for connection problems, check the feedback potentiometer with an ohmmeter, test the electronic servo valve for the presence of 24v power, and confirm the correct resistance reading measuring the current loop sensor in the valve. Everything checked out ok, but the fin would only go fully counterclockwise any time hydraulic pressure was applied.

The port fin was working normally. It will do what it can to stabilize the boat in a situation like this, but overall stabilization is compromised because the port fin is 100% occupied counteracting the runaway starboard fin.

The possibilities were (1) feedback failure, (2) control failure in the control module’s starboard channel, or (3) failure within the electronic servo valve. Those are all the active elements involved in operating the fin actuator. The crew was willing to do some rewiring to try operating the starboard fin using the port channel in the control, and vice versa. When they did this, the problem remained with the starboard fin. That narrows it down to the valve or the feedback potentiometer, but the potentiometer seemed to measure ok. We concluded that the valve had failed in a way that we couldn’t detect by simple measurements. A replacement valve is shipping out to the boat today.

We do offer a cable set to make swapping control channels much easier than physically rewiring. See attached photo. Part number is 7100E0054.

Best regards,
Don

The southern part of the Indian Ocean is one of the few places we have found where the trades blow as advertised… and then some. Intermezzo is shown here departing Christmas Island for Cocos Keeling at the start of a long haul across this boisterous bit of ocean.

This photo was taken by Jimmy Schmidt on the 70-foot motor sailor Windson, after which we did a horizon job on them (what else would you expect).

A typical shot on a relatively calm morning.

After a bouncy, wet, and fast reach, we arrived at first light several days later. We awaited the sun’s ascent for usable light to guide us through the unmarked pass, expecting to have an isolated anchorage.

We were astounded to find a veritable fleet on hand.

The weather patterns tend to bring yachts together in passaging season, and the beach fronting the anchorage off Direction Island was busy with social gatherings.

A few days later the first group moved on, and we and Windson had the bay to ourselves.

One of our all time favorite photos. Linda is reading to Elyse and Sarah, a daily occurrence to which we all looked forward.

Next stop for us was tiny Rodrigues Island. The hand-hewn coral entrance seemed barely wide enough for our 12 foot beam. The entire village turned out to handle our lines.

Here is a shot of Intermezzo rafted alongside a barge in the Rodrigues harbor.

As was the case in many of the places we visited, there was soon a special friend who decided he would look after us. Ah Kee Long took us on a tour of his island, showed us a wonderful hidden cave, and introduced us to a local tailor with a foot operated sewing machine, who helped with repairs to our working jib as we prepared for the next leg to Mauritius.

The rest of this voyage across the Indian ocean will need to await the discovery of another box of slides.

We’ll close with this photo of Windson that we mentioned earlier. This was taken in the Marquesas after we first met.

Of all the passages you could dream up, the most difficult is the 4000NM eastbound run from the Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia to Panama. Panama lies dead upwind, with a westerly setting current to make it more interesting. Read on to find out how FPB 64-6 Grey Wolf, Peter Watson, and crew have set out to do something no motor yacht has ever done.

There are three main aspects to this challenge. The first is the ability to motor those 4000 NM with sufficient reserves of fuel. Next comes weather, then current vs distance run tradeoffs. Finally there is comfort – sometimes a longer route is more comfortable. We’ll start with range. Then have a few brief comments from Peter Watson, and finally get into the weather and routing issues.

The FPB 64s carry 12,000 liters/3170 gallons of usable fuel in their internal tanks. Over a number of passages on various FPB 64s, we’ve seen fuel burn rates between 5.1 and 5.7 US gallons/19.3 to 21.6L per hour, at between 9.5 and 10 knots depending on external factors.

These figures require a polished propeller and clean bottom. Even a thin layer of scale on the prop will substantially degrade performance. There is no allowance for adverse current, or the boat being overloaded. On the other hand, performance will improve as the boat becomes lighter at the end of a long voyage. Then there is the real world aspect where the sea, wind, and current may be against you, and maybe the bottom cleaning job less than perfect. Peter Watson and crew aboard the FPB 64 Grey Wolf are keeping careful records of the ambient conditions and auxiliary loads (genset, air conditioning, heating). As Grey Wolf topped off her tanks in Nuku Hiva, and will do so again in Panama, we’ll have a very accurate count on fuel burn and average speed. It should prove interesting.

Right now, two days after departing, we have received the first report from Grey Wolf. This includes data on everything: from alternator amp output, to what high electrical load devices have been run, to the sea state and wind, fuel consumption, speed and distance covered, plus maintenance notes. As gensets are rarely used at sea on FPBs (they have 8kW of power available from their alternator/inverter setup and hot water is served up via waste heat from the engine) there is little added fuel required for these functions.

What we know so far is that after the first two days, Grey Wolf has burned 964 liters of her 12,000L of fuel. She is averaging a speed over ground of a little over 8.5 knots. These numbers are less efficient than indicated by her NZ/Tahiti data and in comparison to the other FPB 64s.

As Grey Wolf had her bottom cleaned and prop re-coated with anti-fouling prior to departing New Zealand, we can be fairly certain the lack of speed over ground is due to  .75-1 knot of westerly flowing current.

Now a few comments by Peter Watson:

“We are looking at a combination of the shortest route (by going as east as possible), but taking into account wind, current, and comfort. Our speed at present is mainly governed by fuel rate until we are confident we have sufficient reserve for the trip all the way to Panama. Our target is a reserve of 2000 liters. Right now this stands at 2300 liters. So we are a little ahead.”

At 900 nautical miles from Panama there is a refueling point, if needed, in the form of the Galapagos Islands. But we suspect Peter and crew like a nice even number – and even though the Galapagos are closer, four thousand miles does sound a lot better than three. Going direct without stopping also allows a more favorable approach to the Gulf of Panama in terms of wind and current.

Peter added the following note to his e-mail:

“It’s not till you travel across oceans that you realise how big they really are. It’s wonderful to be at sea away from ‘civilisation’. Grey Wolf is a lovely ocean crossing motor yacht in which I have a fantastic amount of confidence.”

An Eastbound passage to Panama presents tactical challenges. While the easterly trades are right on the nose, and the westerly flowing current costs valuable distance to windward, the ITCZ – aka the Doldrums – lies a few degrees to the north, with lighter winds and possibly a counter current. So a route, like the one shown above (prepared for Grey Wolf by Bob McDavitt), that takes Grey Wolf to the south side of the ITCZ has potential benefits. Here are Bob’s comments:

Here is a map plot of the table for your voyage showing expected weather at Sun 4 May 1800UTC.

Expected position at that time is shown by small red circle (ignore the time code label):

• Showing the surrounding weather when you turn the corner
• Background small arrows are surface current
• Blue/green shading is rain
• 2 line is boundary of 2 significant metre wave height
• 1012 line is an isobar
• Grid of larger arrows shows coloured wind barbs
• Red arrows along path show winds forecast along the way
• One barb is 10 knots and half is 5 knots

Situation and comments:

• So it is agreed that we go NNE at first to get around a zone of counter (adverse) current.
• Turn right at about 01S and head for a zone where the current is with us, but the wind may be a headwind , and we might make more comfortable program by falling off to the north a bit
• Table below keeps us south of ITCZ for as long as possible
• ITCZ is north of 4N
• I’ll email updates or weather quickies when you email me position reports

I am using www.expeditionmarine.com for routing with latest Oceanic and GFS data output. Using VVP file for FPB 64s.

DISCLAIMER: weather is a mix of pattern and chaos. The real world unravels away from the model output shown here. Computer data does NOT do well near a coast or in a trough. In a convergence zone computer gives averaged-out light winds, but occasional squalls can deliver 30 knots for 30 minutes. If your baro strays away from target pressure more than 5 hPa the forecast needs updating.

DECODE:   Time HH:MM is hours and minutes in UTC.  Lat and Long are in degrees and minutes. hPa is barometer in hPa, wind is compass octant coming FROM and lull~avg~gust is speed range in knots. Crs-Bsp is boat course to in degrees TRUE and speed in knots. TWA is the angle between the wind and the boat course, minus for wind on port. Waves are significant wave height in metres=average of top third, or are exceeded around once in 7 waves or once a minute. Add 50% to get the occasional wave which occurs or is exceeded around once every 10 minutes.

Each turning point or way point is introduced with a line of text; the other lines are extras to fill in the in-betweens.

Departing Nuku Hiva around 5:30pm Thursday= 02 0300 UTC
Timestamp        POSITION         | Air  |WIND             |BOAT
|current | waves
UTC- HH:MM|   Lat:/ Long:       | hPa
|lull~avg~gust|crs-Bsp|TWA|Set-Drift|Sig~ocnl

02-May-03:00|08:57S/140:02W|1010|-E-10~13~19|024-10.0|065|208ー-0.3|1.4~2.0m
02-May-09:00|08:03S/139:38W|1011|-E-10~12~19|024-10.0|064|280ー-0.3|1.4~2.2m
02-May-15:00|07:10S/139:14W|1011|-E-10~13~19|024-10.0|065|278ー-0.6|1.5~2.3m
02-May-21:00|06:16S/138:50W|1012|-E-10~13~19|024-10.0|066|270ー-1.0|1.6~2.4m
03-May-03:00|05:24S/138:27W|1011|-E-10~12~18|024-10.0|067|277ー-1.2|1.5~2.3m
03-May-09:00|04:31S/138:03W|1010|-E-09~11~17|024-10.0|068|282ー-0.9|1.5~2.3m
03-May-15:00|03:37S/137:39W|1010|-E-08~11~16|024-10.0|067|300ー-0.6|1.5~2.3m
03-May-21:00|02:41S/137:14W|1011|-E-09~11~17|024-09.9|059|339ー-0.7|1.4~2.2m
04-May-03:00|01:43S/136:48W|1011|-E-08~11~16|024-09.1|020|012ー-0.7|1.4~2.2m

Around 1dge 30min S turn to ENE (OK to turn slowly)

04-May-04:16|01:30S/136:43W|1011|-E-08~11~16|075-09.0|12|018-0.8|1.4~2.2m
04-May-09:00|01:19S/136:02W|1011|-E-08~10~15|075-09.0|018|029ー-0.6|1.4~2.2m
04-May-15:00|01:05S/135:10W|1011|-E-08~10~15|075-09.1|025|053ー-0.4|1.4~2.2m
04-May-21:00|00:51S/134:17W|1012|ESE08~10~15|075-09.1|033|091ー-0.4|1.4~2.2m
05-May-03:00|00:35S/133:20W|1011|ESE08~11~16|075-09.3|037|109ー-0.7|1.5~2.3m
05-May-09:00|00:19S/132:22W|1011|ESE09~11~17|075-09.5|041|116ー-1.0|1.5~2.3m
05-May-15:00|00:03S/131:23W|1011|ESE09~12~18|075-09.5|042|115ー-1.1|1.5~2.3m
05-May-21:00|00:13N/130:23W|1011|ESE10~12~18|075-09.2|036|104ー-0.8|1.5~2.3m
06-May-03:00|00:29N/129:23W|1011|ESE10~12~18|075-09.0|031|081ー-0.6|1.5~2.3m

And now go almost E

06-May-03:25|00:30N/129:18W|1011|ESE10~12~18|086-09.0|31|079-0.5|1.5~2.3m
06-May-09:00|00:34N/128:26W|1011|ESE09~12~17|086-09.0|031|076ー-0.5|1.5~2.3m
06-May-15:00|00:38N/127:30W|1011|ESE09~11~17|086-09.0|032|073ー-0.5|1.5~2.3m
06-May-21:00|00:42N/126:33W|1010|ESE08~10~15|086-09.0|030|063ー-0.5|1.5~2.3m
07-May-03:00|00:46N/125:36W|1010|ESE07~08~13|086-09.1|028|050ー-0.4|1.5~2.3m
07-May-09:00|00:50N/124:41W|1010|ESE06~08~11|086-09.2|030|057ー-0.4|1.5~2.3m
07-May-15:00|00:54N/123:46W|1010|ESE06~07~11|086-09.3|033|072ー-0.5|1.6~2.4m
07-May-21:00|00:58N/122:48W|1010|-SE06~07~11|086-09.5|038|078ー-0.6|1.7~2.6m
08-May-03:00|01:02N/121:46W|1011|-SE06~08~12|086-09.8|047|074ー-0.6|1.8~2.7m
08-May-09:00|01:06N/120:44W|1011|-SE06~08~12|086-09.9|056|059ー-0.5|1.8~2.7m
08-May-15:00|01:11N/119:43W|1011|SSE07~09~13|086-10.0|067|359ー-0.3|1.8~2.7m

Remainder of table is just an outlook and needs updating

08-May-21:00|01:15N/118:43W|0000|SSE07~09~14|086-10.0|075|333ー-0.4|
09-May-03:00|01:19N/117:44W|0000|-S-08~10~15|086-10.0|082|338ー-0.4|
10-May-03:00|01:35N/113:38W|0000|-S-10~12~18|086-10.1|100|044ー-0.6|
11-May-03:00|01:51N/109:33W|0000|SSW10~12~18|086-10.1|112|331ー-0.2|
12-May-03:00|02:07N/105:28W|0000|SSW09~11~16|086-10.1|121|035ー-0.4|
13-May-03:00|02:21N/101:19W|0000|SSW09~11~16|087-10.1|118|084ー-0.3|
14-May-03:00|02:36N/097:12W|0000|-SW08~10~15|087-10.1|141|211ー-0.1|
15-May-03:00|02:49N/093:08W|0000|-SW09~12~17|087-10.1|124|326ー-0.8|
16-May-03:00|03:01N/089:15W|0000|-S-11~14~21|087-10.1|101|240ー-0.5|
17-May-03:00|03:12N/085:13W|0000|-S-11~14~20|087-10.0|089|095ー-0.9|

By here we need to turn north

17-May-16:39|03:19N/082:39W|0000|-S-08~10~15|036-10.1|160|096-1.7
17-May-21:00|03:56N/082:12W|0000|SSW07~08~13|036-10.1|171|093ー-0.9|
18-May-03:00|04:46N/081:36W|0000|-SW06~07~11|036-10.0|-175|343ー-0.1|
19-May-03:00|08:05N/079:44W|0000|-S-05~06~10|012-09.9|174|174ー-0.4|
19-May-09:00|08:41N/079:36W|0000|-S-01~02~03|012-03.8|-141|062ー-0.3|
19-May-11:36|08:55N/079:33W|0000|WSW00~00~00|ETA Panama

Route distance 4143.20nm, route time 17d 08h 36m

Post Script:

Peter and crew are managing this leg like you would if you were sailing. They are playing a long range VMG (Velocity Made Good) game, changing course depending on local current, sea state, and wind. Check back to see how this is working out.

FPB 78-1 is now framed, deck plating is on, and hull plating begins soon. Which is good because we are depressed with this enforced stay on land.

While we are toiling, nose to computer, the FPBs are out cruising. FPB 64-1, currently in Eureka, California is journeying up the Pacific Coast towards British Columbia and Alaska. FPB 64-2  Sarah Sarah is getting ready to cruise the same waters, while FPB 64-3, Iron Lady, is in Hawaii, soon to depart for British Columbia. Party in the northwest anyone?

Meanwhile FPB 64-5 Tiger is preparing to cross to Fiji or Tonga from New Zealand, FPB 64-6  Grey Wolf is mid-way on her 4000+ NM trip from the Marquesas Islands to Panama. Then there is FPB 64-7 Buffalo Nickel that just came down to New Zealand through a series of gales, and FPB 64-8 Atlantis which will shortly depart for New Caledonia. Finally, FPB 64-9 is now at sea heading for Fiji and the start of the tropical South Pacific cruising season.

If you too are depressed with being stuck on land the least we can do is share a few construction photos.

The Great Room roof /Matrix deck sub-assembly is coming together. The openings in the forward section of the coaming are for the passive ventilation system. That 325mm/13” pipe is of four Dorades bringing fresh air into the the Great room. The welder is in the forward part of what will become the Matrix deck.

Looking at the roof from aft. The projection closest to the camera will become an awning and solar panel framework.

Trailing edge of one of the masts, with the lugs for the port boom gooseneck (articulating joint) in place.

The slots in the frames are for systems – plumbing and wiring.

The slots in the frames are reinforced with doublers, shown here along with stabilizer bosses.

The first survey has taken place on the structure. The red is the residue from a penetrating die test checking for weld porosity.

Meanwhile the cabinet shop is in full swing. This is the carcass for the locker at the aft end of the galley.

A small part of the sub assemblies for FPB 78-2, patiently waiting their turn in the bay next to FPB 78-1, once the great room roof is completed.

Moving over to FPB 97-1, this is a look into the systems locker adjacent to the engine room. The devices below the bench top are a part of the N2K data system.

A mundane but important detail mid-ships in the FPB 97-1. This is the starboard stabilizer fin coffer dam access, under the stairs. The lid is easily opened for inspection and minor maintenance. Major projects, should they occur, the stairs come out.

Upper rudder bearing for the FPB 97-1, hydraulic steering ram. and rudder stop.

Wall coverings are now going up, and are quickly protected.

Headliner panels for the FPB 97-1 being sealed prior to upholstery.

Switching boats, the non-skid is being applied to the deck of FPB 64-10.

Passaging season is upon us and the FPB fleet is on the move. While FPB 64-6 Grey Wolf nears the end of a quick 4000 NM hop, FPB 64-3 Iron Lady is on her way from Hawaii to British Columbia. The majority of the rest of the FPB feet is getting ready for or have recently completed their offshore passages.

A few weeks ago FPB 64-7 Buffalo Nickel crossed from Fiji to New Zealand. They had a variety of weather – not unusual  for this time of year. Stan Creighton comments:

The boat did fine. We were 3/4 full with fuel, 600 gallons of water in the forward tank, aft water empty. Averaged our usual 9.7 knots.

The conditions established with my own weather planning were confirmed by Bob McDavitt, whom I used again as a router. Nothing odd in the forecast, with the strongest winds on Day 1 up to 25 knots from the SE, then gradually shifting to the W and moderating as we approached NZ.

Except for Day 4, the winds were a steady 30 knots from the E, gusts to 42 knots and the seas were extremely confused, probably the most confused I can remember in a long time. By Day 5 the winds were a steady 30 knots from the W-N/W. Wave size was 8-10 feet with an average “period” of about 4 seconds, and coming from all directions except aft.

All in all an uncomfortable trip, but not awful and a pretty typical Tasman Thrashing. My greatest joy on the trip was realizing that I didn’t have to slow down in the crappy weather. Aboard our last boat I would have been slowed to 6 knots and that would have extended the discomfort by at least two more days. This, to me, is one of the great advantages of the FPB.

Last week FPB 64-9 Orca made the trip from New Zealand to Fiji with a stop at Minerva reef. This is Orca‘s first ocean passage.

As this is being written, FPB 64-3 Iron Lady is on a 2400 NM passage across the North Pacific. Pete Rossin has been sending us performance data:

I was scheduled to leave Pittsburgh on May 13 (should have known better).  Left for the airport at 0430 and after 6 hours of creeping delays, US Scare canceled the flight. No other flights on the 13th so left on the 14th. After a 20 hour slog, made Honolulu and Iron Lady at 10 PM local.  Rick’s forecast looked good for departure on the 15th so we made the call to go.

On board for this trip are Capt Steve Parsons and Capt Roger Girvin – both Kiwis, captains and good mates at sea. Roger was with Steve and me for the NZ to Tahiti passage last year.

I tried to sleep but finally gave up at 0400 local and went about unpacking 2 large duffels of mostly boat stuff and doing some boat stuff along with some boat chores.

Steve and Rog were up at 0700 and after coffee, Steve was off to take the rental car to the barn while Rog and I prepared for departure. We threw the lines at 0910 and at 0800 today (the 16th) Ko Olina is 182 miles in the rearview mirror.

The passage up the lee shore of Oahu was delightful but mother nature reminded us who was boss when we cleared the north end. NE trades were blowing 15 to 20 right on our nose along with 2 meter seas – not bad sounding but the relative period (period noted as the boat moves thru the water) was just 2.5 to 3 seconds – lots of pounding so we pulled the throttle back 100 RPM to keep things sensible. That lasted until the wee hours of May 16 and accounts for our low average speed of just over 8 knots.

Winds and seas died overnight and we are now back to our normal cruise of 10 knots with about .5 knots of adverse current.

Log entry at 0800 shows a position of 23 57 N and 156 24 W. COG is 029 degrees M, speed is 9.6 kts, seas are NE at 1 meter, winds are light and variable and the barometer is 1021 and rising slowly.
More tomorrow

Seas slight. Wind direction and strength variable.  1650 RPM – 5.7 GPH, 1700 RPM – 6.5 GPH. Looks like we are fighting about .75 knots current. At 1650 we should be at least 9.7 knots and at 1700, we should be over 10 knots. Right now seeing 9.3 at 1700. Bottom and prop done just before leaving. Alternator loads about 150 amps for some air con and normal underway boat loads.

May 17th

Winds holding steady SSE at 10 knots and barometer is rising – 1023 now. Sounds like high is building and we are motoring into the center of it. Hope it holds true – it is lovely. To hell with 35 knots on the nose – 20 with short period 2 meter seas was bad enough. Lots of crashing – boat couldn’t find her footing. That is why we bore off a bit and slowed down. Holding around 10 knots at present.

0800 position is 27 degrees 0 N, 153 degrees 43 W. Course 028 M, speed 10 plus a bit. Winds SE at 15, seas SE at .5. Barometer 1024 and rising.  till appear to be tracking toward/along with the high but some evidence of high clouds to the west. Total distance traveled is 398 NM, 216 NM since 8 AM yesterday, so average is picking up.

Fuel burn is 22 liters per hour average at 1700 RPM, engine loading is 60%, alternator output around 100 amps at present.

Beautiful day in the neighborhood, unfortunately Shabby (our favorite lure) has come up short on fish. Was scared out of the water yesterday by a 6 foot shark.

Strange thing – we have seen 5 free floating buoys over the last 2 hours, all parallel to our course in the same position to port – some orange, some white. Have altered course a bit to starboard to get clear of them.

FPB 64-6 Grey Wolf is a day out of Panama, having traveled almost 4000NM since leaving Nuku Hiva 17 days ago and more than 7500NM in the two months since departing New Zealand in late March.

Peter Watson answers a series of questions from on board, which you can see on the Berthon’s website. A few quotes from the interviews follow:

11/05/2014 13:36 UTCPosition – 05°04′N 112°45′WCourse – 090TSpeed – 9.8knTrue Wind Direction – 191°T
True Wind Speed – 17.3kn

Tom asks – How is the experience of the GREY WOLF trip affecting your views on the specification of your new FPB 78?

Peter responds – It’s made for a far deeper understanding of Steve Dashew’s design principles. Steve has been great to work with and is very open to ideas that will improve the design, but it’s crystal clear that, fundamentally, his concepts are right for the type of boat this is. Appreciating the difference between ‘things that are nice to have’ and ‘what is essential’ is critical for any owner. All I can add for the new boat are small refinements that fall into the ‘nice to have’ category.

05°05′N 119°00′W
Course 082T
Speed 10.5kn
True Wind Direction 202T
True Wind Speed 3.7kn

Thinking for a moment about weather, how we are receiving forecasts and any routing advice.

We are in touch with Weather Bob every couple of days. On this long leg he just advises us of any slight changes as he sees them coming, but he’s always there to answer questions. Having him on hand helping us is of huge value because he can keep a more precise view of a far larger area than we ever could. Being ashore, he is in a position to use a solid internet connection to acquire all manner of data. We don’t have anything like that level of downloading power. All that having been said, weather models for the Pacific at the present time are not as good as their Atlantic equivalents, so it’s reassuring that we have some sound, basic weather knowledge on board. Between us, we can still make sense of things when what is predicted isn’t what really happens.

What do I like best about GREY WOLF?

What I really love is the boat’s comfort in the sort of seas into which I would not normally consider taking a motor boat. She glides happily through a force 6 as if it were a force 2, and her broad spectrum of backup systems gives the crew total confidence that if any problem develops out at sea there is always an alternative waiting for deployment. The original issue can then be set on one side, to deal with at one’s ease in the next safe harbour.

The boat does exactly what Steve Dashew says it does: Long Range Motor Cruising in comfort.

In the next few weeks FPB 64-5 Tiger will head back to Fiji and then further west to explore new territory. FPB 64-8 Atlantis will head for New Caledonia. Meanwhile the much traveled  FPB 64-1 Avatar has arrived Neah Bay at the entrance to the Straits of Juan de Fuca. Carol Parker writes:

Arrived Neah Bay. 31 hours nonstop from Coos Bay, southerly the whole way – nice ride, fast trip.

Overnighting tonight at anchor, fishing tournament so no marina space plus a waiting line at fuel dock so no cheap fuel!  Tomorrow going to Port Townsend and spending 2 nites there. Leaving Pt. Townsend early Monday morning arriving at the locks about 11 a.m.

Watching AIS looks like Sarah Sarah is in Pt. Townsend as well!

Carol has a post up on the first part of their trip with her usual stunning photos.

Completing what will be a trio of FPB 64s in the Northwest this season, FPB 64-2 Sarah Sarah is currently at Shilshole Marina in Seattle.

Life on the water is such a perfect metaphor for the uncertain adventure of opening ourselves up to what we yearn for…We have to navigate carefully, watch the changing weather patterns, think about where and how we want to go, and then, ultimately, at some point a few will untie themselves and sail off into the great unknown horizon.

It stands to reason, being a child of the ocean, that elements of weather and being at sea would make their way into my songwriting.

From Italy to New Zealand, the Pacific Northwest to Texas, I’ve enjoyed meeting fellow cruisers at my shows. SetSailors have been asking when I would be performing on the east coast, and I’m pleased to announce two full band shows in the New York area coming up in the next three weeks: 54 Below in New York City on June 17th, and the Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett on June 19th. If you are in the New York area and want to come say hello, we’re going to have a fine old time! Tickets are available at 54below.com and stephentalkhouse.com.

The video above is for the title track off my new EP, Something in the Weather. The song is about that metaphor–navigating and immersing yourself in life. (Forgive the fact that it wasn’t shot on board an FPB. I was in Miami with no FPBs on hand.) It was a fun, crazy day–replete with steering down the bay at 25 knots while navigating and simultaneously singing along to a sync track. You never know how the skills you acquire during a childhood at sea will serve you later in life!

If you’d like to hear more, the EP is available on iTunes.

To read a review of the new EP and my live performances, click here.

Fair winds and smooth seas…

With the FPB 64 Grey Wolf covering an average of a thousand or more nautical miles per week on her voyage home, we have in effect an accelerated maintenance test to observe. Experienced cruisers and marine professionals will be surprised by the data accumulated since her departure from New Zealand the last week of March.Peter Watson had one of the apprentices aboard write up the engineering log and forward it to us via Sailmail. The data following covers the Grey Wolf Voyage from New Zealand to Tahiti, Tuomotus, Marquesas Islands, Panama, and Bermuda.

Grey Wolf long voyage home engineering service record:

Depart Whangarei: 23/3/14

•         John Deere hours: 379.6
•         Water maker hours: 118.3
•         Genset hours: 236.0
•         John Deere fuel used guage reading 6117.5L
•         Aprox 10500L Diesel on board

Tahiti: 5/4/14

•        John Deere hours: 638.9 (259.3 hrs since New Zealand)
•         Genset hours: 258
•         John Deere fuel used guage reading 11202.5 (5085 consumed – 19.6 L/hour)

Take on 5646L (6/4/14) of Diesel + 914L (17/4/14)–top up

•      John deere oil and filter change
•      Air filter cleaned
•      Raw water pump impellor changed, old one kept in good condition
•      Belts changed, old ones kept in okay condiition
•     Gearbox oil fine
•      Genset water pump changed, old one only had one tooth left.

Tahiti 22/4/14

•         John Deere hours: 674
•         Water maker hours: 152.3
•         Genset hours: 386.2
•        John Deere fuel used guage reading 11823.5

Nuku Hiva 29/4/14

•         John Deere hours: 772.6 (88.6 hours since leaving Tahiti)
•         Water maker hours: 163.9
•         Genset hours: 432.5
•         John Deere fuel used guage reading 13788.5 (1956L consumed since leaving Tahiti – 22.14L/hour)
•         Take on 2386L diesel
•         Genset, oil and oil filter changed

Panama 20/5/14

•         John Deere hours: 1201.8 (429.5 hours since Nuka Hiva)
•         Water maker hours: 188.8
•         Genset hours: 477
•        John Deere fuel used guage reading 22594.5 (8802.7 L consumed this leg – 20.5L/hour)
•        Take on 8424L dieselJohn Deere gearbox oil change, magnet filter cleaned
•        John Deere oil + filter changed
•         Bolts and fittings tested to be tight.

Bermuda 2/6/14

•        John Deere hours:1421 (219.2 hours from Panama)
•        Water maker hours:201.8
•        Genset hours:552
•        John Deere fuel used guage reading 26689 (4094 L consumed since Panama – 18.7L/hour)
•        Take on 3000L diesel
•       Replace prop anode underwater
•       Check raw water anodes, replace 2 john deere
•       Remove oil cooler, cleaned tubes, precautionary not required john deere
•       Remove end cap of intercooler, clean tubes, precautionary not required. john deere
•       Clean air filter john Deere
•      Check oil levels, fine
•      Clean engine
•      Check belts, fine

At 09/06/2014our position was 35°26.59′N 051°16.48′W course 079T speed 9.4 True Wind Direction 224T True Wind Speed29.8

As owners and cruisers, there is nothing we hate more than maintenance brought on by poor design or equipment. Of course we have the odd problem, but in general, we do not consider the Grey Wolf experience to be exceptional. Staying ahead of maintenance, carefully checking equipment before during, and after passages, means small issues can be detected, and corrected, before they become big problems. For this approach to work you have to have easy access, and this takes valuable interior volume. And it means not hiding systems behind nice looking panels that restrict access.

When Grey Wolf is back in her home waters, the yard crew at Berthons will give her a thorough check up. It will be interesting to see what they find.

The first of the FPB 78 series now has all of its bottom plate in place, a major milestone.

A beautifully fair plating job. Minimum bottom thickness throughout the bottom of the hull, to within two meters of the stern, is 12mm (1/2”) going up to as thick as 24mm (one inch) in the grounding flat down the centerline.

One of the last pieces of the bottom. We know of no other yard that can “wheel” this complex shape into a piece of plate this thick.

Last piece of the bottom going on.

Now several interior details. Looking here at the great room sole support. The notch out on the left is for the stairs between decks.

Although the deck opening is engineered as if it were unreinforced the framing system acts as a deck web to add extra stiffness to the opening.

A detail shot of the great room sole supporting system.

A sign of rapid progress on the FPB 78-1. The masts are being assembled onto the Matrix deck.

And here the start of the deck assembly for the second FPB 78.

Moving to the carpentry shop the master bunk base is almost ready for finish work.

Finally the drawer stack which goes at the foot of the bunk in the forward suite.

Next week we will bring you up to date on FPB 97-1 and 64-10 as they near launch date.

Having traveled halfway around the world in three months, Peter Watson and crew have brought FPB 64-6 Grey Wolf to anchor in the Channel Islands.

We don’t have a voyage recap yet, but what we do know is that Grey Wolf has crossed 189 degrees on longitude and traveled more than 12,500 nautical miles since leaving New Zealand in late March. Their average speed will be in excess of nine knots, and average fuel burn between 20 and 21 liters per hour.

In the weeks that come we will have more details. For now, join us in a hearty ”well done” to Peter Watson and crew.