Hi 6th graders!
Sorry I haven't replied earlier - I sent my first e-mail from the canoe Hikianalia, which will be coming with us to Tahiti. Until we leave, this address is the best address to reach me at. I tried to forward your e-mail to myself but it didn't seem to work, so I'll try and remember the questions you asked. We're looking at departing here on October 8th, although we may have to wait until the 9th for one more crew member to arrive. Somehow, members of the crew have been dropping out, so we're really short in people, and are scrambling a bit to find people. Any of you want to go? It is very cold here, and where the canoes are, the wind is very strong. It was so cold that it hailed on us briefly the other day. The winds today were near gale force...about 35 mph. I have been wearing 3 layers of clothing constantly...and I look forward to a very HOT shower at night, although I know we won't be showering for a while once we get going. Our current plan is to head straight to an island called Rapa (not Rapa Nui or Easter Island) which is directly south of Tahiti. As we approach, we'll turn to the north and swing up. By then we ought to be showering regularly!!!
Our navigation will primarily be done by GPS on this trip, as the goal is to get to Tahiti as soon as possible. However, we will be using stars on each watch to hold course. On Faafaite (the canoe I will be on), the watches are 3 hours long, so you get 6 hours sleep in between. The hard part about this system is that you don't have regular sleep hours. ON the others canoes I have sailed, we had 4 hour watches. I liked that better. The navigators will be holding course at night using stars. It's a little confusing here because we're so far south. The stars seem almost upside down from what we're used to at home. We will use the Southern Cross, navigator's triangle and Maui's fishhook early in the night, and likely use Orion later on. During the day, we can use the sunrise and sunset, and moonrise or moonset if there is one. Otherwise we'll use swells and the wind direction. We should be getting a few storms, so we'll have to watch changes in the wind direction carefully.
The canoe is about 72 feet long and has two masts (two sails). The hulls are pretty big and our bunks are inside and protected. Food and water storage is inside, under the bunks. I'll send a couple pictures from yesterday when our masts were put up again. We've been working really hard to get ready: attaching safety nets, putting sails on, inventorying food and making shopping lists, sanding and varnishing. Tomorrow we fill water bottle and start food shopping. We'll also have to purchase some necessary equipment...like more eating utensils! Somehow, those always seem to go overboard...
It's been difficult to work because of the weather. Most chores that need to be done are on deck, and it rains about every 20 minutes. Usually it's not too bad, but sometimes we have to go somewhere sheltered. However, the rain means we can't varnish or paint because the air is too moist. I have been wearing rain pants most of the time so I can sit on the wet deck. When it gets really bad, I have rubber boots to wear.
It has been nice to see some of the friends I sailed with over the summer. Some have come to help us get ready, and some come down just to hang out. The Hikianalia crew has also been very helpful - they're all my sailing buddies from home, so they ought to be helping us! We are all one family out on the ocean, and as we discussed one night, the voyage has already begun.
With a small crew, each watch will not only have to steer and change sails, but cook as well. I'm not looking forward to that - I'm not an experienced cook. we're trying to plan simple meals like pasta and pancakes, but if the weather gets bad, we'll pretty much exist on saimin.
I think that's all I remember for now -
take care and behave!
Ms. Fuller
Sorry I haven't replied earlier - I sent my first e-mail from the canoe Hikianalia, which will be coming with us to Tahiti. Until we leave, this address is the best address to reach me at. I tried to forward your e-mail to myself but it didn't seem to work, so I'll try and remember the questions you asked. We're looking at departing here on October 8th, although we may have to wait until the 9th for one more crew member to arrive. Somehow, members of the crew have been dropping out, so we're really short in people, and are scrambling a bit to find people. Any of you want to go? It is very cold here, and where the canoes are, the wind is very strong. It was so cold that it hailed on us briefly the other day. The winds today were near gale force...about 35 mph. I have been wearing 3 layers of clothing constantly...and I look forward to a very HOT shower at night, although I know we won't be showering for a while once we get going. Our current plan is to head straight to an island called Rapa (not Rapa Nui or Easter Island) which is directly south of Tahiti. As we approach, we'll turn to the north and swing up. By then we ought to be showering regularly!!!
Our navigation will primarily be done by GPS on this trip, as the goal is to get to Tahiti as soon as possible. However, we will be using stars on each watch to hold course. On Faafaite (the canoe I will be on), the watches are 3 hours long, so you get 6 hours sleep in between. The hard part about this system is that you don't have regular sleep hours. ON the others canoes I have sailed, we had 4 hour watches. I liked that better. The navigators will be holding course at night using stars. It's a little confusing here because we're so far south. The stars seem almost upside down from what we're used to at home. We will use the Southern Cross, navigator's triangle and Maui's fishhook early in the night, and likely use Orion later on. During the day, we can use the sunrise and sunset, and moonrise or moonset if there is one. Otherwise we'll use swells and the wind direction. We should be getting a few storms, so we'll have to watch changes in the wind direction carefully.
The canoe is about 72 feet long and has two masts (two sails). The hulls are pretty big and our bunks are inside and protected. Food and water storage is inside, under the bunks. I'll send a couple pictures from yesterday when our masts were put up again. We've been working really hard to get ready: attaching safety nets, putting sails on, inventorying food and making shopping lists, sanding and varnishing. Tomorrow we fill water bottle and start food shopping. We'll also have to purchase some necessary equipment...like more eating utensils! Somehow, those always seem to go overboard...
It's been difficult to work because of the weather. Most chores that need to be done are on deck, and it rains about every 20 minutes. Usually it's not too bad, but sometimes we have to go somewhere sheltered. However, the rain means we can't varnish or paint because the air is too moist. I have been wearing rain pants most of the time so I can sit on the wet deck. When it gets really bad, I have rubber boots to wear.
It has been nice to see some of the friends I sailed with over the summer. Some have come to help us get ready, and some come down just to hang out. The Hikianalia crew has also been very helpful - they're all my sailing buddies from home, so they ought to be helping us! We are all one family out on the ocean, and as we discussed one night, the voyage has already begun.
With a small crew, each watch will not only have to steer and change sails, but cook as well. I'm not looking forward to that - I'm not an experienced cook. we're trying to plan simple meals like pasta and pancakes, but if the weather gets bad, we'll pretty much exist on saimin.
I think that's all I remember for now -
take care and behave!
Ms. Fuller
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