The average wind speed for the last 24 hours has been over 20 knots. We have reduced the mainsail to 80%, furled the Genoa, and are using the staysail. Our staysail is our heavy weather foresail. In higher wind conditions we we can point higher into the wind and the bottom of the sail is lifted 6 feet from the deck using a pennant to prevent waves from catching the bottom edges. We have not experienced anything close to Sara’s first Alaska experience when she was in the Navy, which was 20 to 30 foot waves and 60 to 70 knot winds. The high pressure system that was protecting us from hard sailing is moving south and we are still making our way north, so we are between three isobars that are fairly close together which in turn creates higher winds and bigger waves.
When sailing the most power we use is to charge our phones, a laptop to pull weather, a Fusion stereo, and power navigation equipment i.e. radar, chart-plotter, navigation lights, etc. The days have been cloudy and overcast. As we have reduced our solar power input from 5,200 watt’s to 1,740 we hardly fill our batteries each day. For an hour each of the last two days we have run the generator to get the batteries almost full then let the afternoon solar top them off with a trickle charge. In the south pacific we would never run the generator for power because we always had ample solar, so Wade would complain about the giant Phaser generator and enclosure box. He proclaimed if he had to outfit another boat he would get a portable Honda generator just to save space and weight. For this trip we thank the stars we have an inboard diesel generator because the convenience and comfort of just starting the generator up by the push of a button and filling our batteries is priceless. We laugh about trying to think of where we would even run a portable generator with our high winds, big waves splashing across our deck, and enclosed cockpit.
Since last noon we have traveled 108 nautical miles good to our destination, and 481 nautical miles to go.
Cheers,
Wade and Sara
**Due to possibly weak SSB transmission, game details are limited to vessel position. Math Be Hard For Sailors – Alaska
Ves. Pos. 46°55.095N, 172°44.737’W
