72. The Big Blue

I’m getting ready to go in a couple of days. I have already checked out of Panamá so technically I guess I’m an illegal alien here in the anchorage. But I have no more need to go ashore. I’ll spend the next couple of days cleaning Saoirse’s bottom from shells and growth that has accumulated below the waterline during my three rather static months in Panamá. All while looking out for crocodiles. I haven’t actually seen any yet but I’m told that they are here. It has to be done though. My next crossing is all the way to Marquesas in French Polynesia. A fifth of the way around the equator. And, indeed, across the equator. Based on the 6.2 knot average that we had across the Atlantic, I hope to get there in a month. If I lose a knot due to growth under the boat, I would have to add almost six days to the crossing so I think I’ll spend a few hours under Saoirse. Even if there are crocodiles here. I don’t think I look that tasty to them.

Coincidentally, 6.2 knots is also my average cruising speed by engine. I’m bringing diesel that should allow me to maintain that speed for up to six days. The problem though is that parts of the Pacific offer very light winds this time of year. Particularly around the equator. I may have to conserve diesel. Either by going slower or by using my gennaker more than I usually do on my own. The gennaker is a light-wind sail that can easily get overpowered in a gust. It is also quite a lot to handle for a solo sailor. Particularly if a squall sneaks up on you at night and you have to bring it down quickly.

So I’m not expecting a challenging sail in terms of wind and waves. But I’m not getting complacent. The sheer size of the Pacific is daunting enough. It makes up a third of the planet and is larger than its combined land mass. French Polynesia alone, with its five island groups, is apparently as large as Europe. And it is 4,000 Nm miles to get there. As the crow flies. If they can fly that far. I’m expecting a 4,500 Nm crossing so it is quite unlikely that any rescue services would be around the corner if you end up in trouble. But we are a number of boats that will use this weather window and leave at the same time. We are not going to be within eyesight or radio distance for more than a day or two as it only takes a small difference in speed or heading to lose that contact. But we all track each other and can communicate via satellites. In fact, there was a boat that left here a month ago, SV Raindancer, that hit a whale and sank a week away from Marquesas. They were picked out by fellow cruisers less than a day after the Mayday call went out. I’m not mentioning this rare incident to scare anyone that may be concerned for my wellbeing. I’m merely trying to let you know that I will not be entirely alone out there. Even if it may feel that way at times.

Finally, I would like to encourage anyone that feel like it to send me a message every now and then. It’s always nice to have some connection with the ‘normal’ world when circumstances are far from normal. In return, I promise to post regular updates on my GPS tracker. As usual though, I want to remind any reader that I am relying on some fancy electronics to be able to stay in contact. In an environment that can be particularly harsh on fancy electronics. So please do not start to worry if I go AWOL on the way. That does not necessarily mean that I am in any sort of trouble.

You can send regular SMS messages to me. That appears to work better for people responding to my messages rather than to initiate the conversation. It possibly also comes at the cost of sending an international text message. There is an alternative to this that is free of charge and works really well. To use the Iridium messaging service using your email address. The only two things to keep in mind is that the messages can’t be too long and that your email programme may route my responses to junk mail. That may very well be where they belong but it would be a shame if you actually wanted to read it. So please keep an eye on that.

The link to the messaging service is:

https://messaging.iridium.com

My satellite phone number is  881651403156.

And the link to my GPS tracker is:

https://forecast.predictwind.com/tracking/display/SV_Saoirse_1