Month: May 2019

Dear all,
The last 48 hours have been really slow. We are down to noon runs in the 140ties and that is slow for us. But a wind of 8-10 knots from behind jumping regularly 30 deg and sailing wing on wing is not a great sail for North Star or our buddy boat Greyhound.
So this morning with 830 nm left to Marquesa we put up our light weather sail the BLUE WATER RUNNER. And for about six hours we were running at 6 knots in 9 knots of wind – really good. But all good things come to an end and mid afternoon the halyard broke just outside the mast and 150 kvm2 sail was in the water! It is a normal house in the Denmark – so read alot of sail. But we were lucky that quickly we had all hands on deck – even Emil who was in the shower came up with shampoo still in his hair…Within and an hour or so we got it back on deck and lashed down. Hopefully nothing has happened except for the broken halyard.
For the first time since we started from Galapagos we are now running under engine and will probably do that through the night as we expect very light winds.
But now it is afternoon tea and banana cake and I believe the “kids” are going to watch another episode of Matador. So life is good and the weatherman has promised more wind in 30 hours – so we will be patient.
All from North Star on the 26-05-19 23:01 UTC
Still going strong,
The Crew

Dear all,
Last 24 hour was a 165 nm run which was a little short in spite of the wind we have had, but we sail for comfort not for speed. We have out sailed 1336 nm here at UTC 19:28 and local time 12:00. Tomorrow I am sure we will celebrate the halfway mark and instead of sailing up hill it will be down hill towards Marquesa!!
We are solidly in the southern trade wind belt and I am thinking about all the books I have been reading about exactly this. It is the dream for most sailors and here we are. Privileged to actually be able to live the dream. I am so much looking forward to see the towering Marquesa islands come out of the ocean and feel the same, as the sailors who have been here before us. Anchor up in Bay of Virgins, and just be able to feel – we actually did it and now we are here.
I very much think about the Danish adventure sailor Troels Kløvedal, who in so many ways showed our generation that it is possible to just go out there and live a life integrated with the cultures you meet. Spent look periods on distant islands and become a part of the daily life for a time. You should read one or two of his books, if you haven’t already.
It is reading time for all of us, so many books have been passing through and it is very enjoyable to have time to read. Different styles and different focus and you can leisurely choose, what ever fits the moment. Because there will be another day to a different title.
I have just finished Master and Commander by Patrick O’Brian, which is the first book in a long serie about the english navy in the 18th hundreds. Something I would only read, now that I have the time. Before that I read Puk Damsgård, Ser du månen, Daniel and before that Bernard Moltessier’s, The Long Way. I also stumled through Stephen Hawkins, A brief history of time. And this is only during the last ten days, it is really wonderful to have time and nothing interfere the solitude except the occasional squall and of course meal time!! Marie, Laura and Emil have their own list and we exchange and discuss, as we have our own literature club here isolated, in the middle of nowhere. Or here right in the center of the universe – where we are right now.
Greetings from North Star on 06 55.486S and 112 31.567W nearly as far away as you can come

 

We have now been underway in seven days or is it six days or…We have stopped counting and the miles just tick away under North Stars keel. We have sailed 1000 nm today and that is merely one third of the nearly 3000 nm this crossing over the great Pacific is.
The weather have so far been with us. One day of rain to clean the salt of the boat and us, but else sunshine and a very nice wind from between 95 to 145. For the non-sailors that means wind from East to South East and as we sail a course of 252 degree, nearly due West, it is wonderful and comfortable sailing.
We expect a bit more wind than the 12-13 knots we have seen recently over the next few days, but nothing which is not welcome, so far so very good.
The crew have found into the watch schedule. As we are four onboard this time we only have 2 watches of three hours, every 24 hours – so it is very easy and much easier than when we sail double handed.
The kitchen is open 24 hours a day, as we sleep on different times, but standing ovation comes from Emil and I to Marie and Laura for Carrot cake, freshly baked scones, chicken in curry, Mahi Mahi in sesame and so on. We live really well as the conditions mostly allow for these creations. We have afternoon tea every day at 1600 local and normally dinner together with the setting sun and maybe watch some dolphins, who makes everything even more beautiful.
Emil is a keen fisher and have caught several fish, but only one made the dinner table. A very nice Mahi Mahi fresh out of the water and enough for 4 people for two dinners. We still have fruit and vegetables as Marie bought plenty and have made preservation of these outside a refrigerator, into an art. But now the whole stock of bananas and the papayas and many more start to ripe and we eat – as we know the last ten days, we will have to escape down into the tin cans.
We talk about what we do. It seems that the time just roll on. Of course we read, play games and sail the boat and somehow the days just glide away and we sail through the moonlit nights into the next day. So no, we are not restless or feel it is long trip. The experience in itself is fantastic, because how many times in your life do you spend 20 days or more together with your self and three other people on little space and with little privacy? You cannot escape and the entertainment is only of your own creation. You are depending on these other people, the weather and the boat. No correct, not very often will anyone of us be exposed to this. So it also great just to be in it and live it.
North Star is behaving really well and tracking along with mostly 7-8 knots and we are not spending much time in the engine room as the engine have only been running the first three hours out of Galapagos. Unusual, as the first 2-3 days down to the trade winds at 04S, are normally becalmed – but we had wonderful sailing.
This is it from North Star at 05 deg 46’030S and 106 deg 33’775W
Enjoy your Sunday