TRANSPAC 2
Week 2
Running from the storm
 |
| This is definitely NOT Alaska! Aloha Waikiki! |
Day 8 - June 11 - Dang! This storm is not going away! Instead of weakening, it’s gaining strength and dipping south, forgetting to turn north. The NOAA report is transmitting yet another PAN PAN and the edge of the storm is bearing southeasst, in our direction. The two highs to the NE of us were supposed to give this huge front the boot, but they are quickly vanishing. Meanwhile, the monster is gobbling a couple of small disorganized lows, gaining in strength and scope, bearing down on us. Our guardian angel, Peter Mott of Northland Radio in New Zealand, shoots us an email, urging us to dip south, as low as 25N, four degrees south of where we are.
 |
| June 11 GRIB - We are at the green marker... 31* North - planning on going SE |
Easily said but not really possible since the entire area to the south is restricted, from Midway to the French Frigate Shoals near Kauai. That’s right! Midway atolls is under the control of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services, and my inquiries as to whether or not we could seek refuge in case of Force Majeure were answered sternly; do not attempt to enter the Midway Wildlife Refuge or any part pf the Papahānaumokuākea Reserve or you will be fined heavily.
 |
| Plan A: Run south and double back to the west Plan B: Run south, wait, and run back north A&B impossible, of course! Plan C: Stick to the northern border of the reserve |
Fortunately, DOMINO’s range of speed and her fuel capacity give us options. For now, we’ll just go as south as possible, trailing towards 27 degrees N, along the northern border of the Papahānaumokuākea Refuge Zone until the next weather report, as slow as we can on 1 engine: 7.5 KTs.
If the storm decides to dip even more south, we’ll be left with only one option: hightail it to Kauai, 760 NM away, steaming at 15 kts, a 50-hour trip. Refuel, wait for weather to improve, and resume to Sitka!
In anticipation of some rocky seas, I’m taking advantage of the smooth ride (8 days of smooth ride!) to bake a turkey-and-leek quiche.
Miles today: 166NM
 |
| When in doubt, cook! |
TURKEY and LEEK Quiche
- 2 leeks, steamed, sliced thinly, sautéed with onions and ginger (see Wahoo recipe in Week 1)
- 6 slices of turkey or ham (sliced or cubes)
- 6 eggs
- 1/4 Cup milk or light cream
- 1 Cup grated Swiss or Cheddar cheese
- Salt, pepper.
- Herbed Pie crust for 9” pie (250g flour, 120g margarine, pinch of salt, 1 Tbsp thyme or Herbes de Provence, 1/4c water)
Pre-heat over 375F - Roll out dough to form circle wide enough for 9” pan, and line the pan with herbed crust.
Prick the bottom, place waxed paper at the bottom, line with baking weights, bake at 375 for 12 minutes.
In a bowl, whisk together, the eggs, milk, salt, pepper. Fold in the meat and grated cheese.
Take the crust out of the oven, remove weights and paper, pour egg-meat-cheese mixture, bake at 350F for 25 minutes or until golden. Insert a toothpick in center to check cooking: it should come out just moist.
 |
| June 12 GRIB |
Day 9 - June 12 - The wind is still SSW, but starting to ramp up in the 18-20Kt range, the barometer has fallen 5 points overnight, and I wake up to an obstructed horizon, the air thick with mist, the ceiling so low it seems to crush us. Bad signs. We fire up the Iridium and download an updated PredictWind GRIB. The southernmost bands of the storm are on us, and we are getting into the squash zone, the low to the west, the high to the east, and we know it’s not a good place to be.
 |
| June 13 - We gotta get out! |
This is as much as we want to wait. Time to make our exit. Escaping hurricanes isn’t new to us: Thomas in the Caribbean, Irene in New York, we wait as long as we can to see where these unpredictable beasts will decide to go then we zoom out.
By mid-morning, we are zooming at 15 kts toward Kauai. I’m amazed to see how squeezed we are, the wind at times from the SSW, at other times out of the SSE, trying to make up its mind, sometimes in the teens, sometimes in the 20s, the seas small but incredibly confused.
By mid-morning, we are zooming at 15 kts toward Kauai. I’m amazed to see how squeezed we are, the wind at times from the SSW, at other times out of the SSE, trying to make up its mind, sometimes in the teens, sometimes in the 20s, the seas small but incredibly confused.
By evening, JP announces that we have used almost half of our fuel and going to Alaska is no longer an option anyways. We’re only 500 miles from Hawaii and that’s where we are going!
 |
| Our final course |
The rest of the trip is uneventful. The Coast Guards inform us that Kauai is a port of entry but there is no customs office and must divert to Honolulu (still trying to figure that one out!)
 |
| June 14 GRIB forecast... need to be as far as possible |
Of course, there is always a mechanical challenge. This time, the STB high-pressure fuel pump starts leaking a bit of diesel as we rev-up the engines to hold our 15kt speed. Hot fuel is the diagnosis. But if we keep the RPM below 1200, no problem. JP figures we eventually will have to install a fuel cooling system, and fix that fuel pump anyways.
 |
| Glad to be safe in Honolulu and not on our way to Alaska! |
It took us 10 days 10 hours to travel 2827 NM. This was definitely NOT the Transpac we expected, and was a very long detour since Majuro to Hawaii is only about 2000 miles. Of course, we are disappointed not to have made it to Alaska. Of course, finding a place for DOMINO in Honolulu is a nightmare. But here we are. We had a beautiful cruise, dodged another major storm, learned a lot more about our boat, and live to play another day!
 |
| Four days later: should we go now? |
Till next time
 |
| Nah... let's play! |
dominomarie