October 29, 6 PM: Crew Training continues off Mo‘orea; planning for departure Nov. 1, pending readiness, weather, and supplies
Today we ventured further out to sea, hoping to experience stronger winds and higher seas in order to advance our crew training. We were not disappointed. We spent all day training in good winds and moderate seas – raising and lowering sails, changing headsails, reefing sails (reducing their size in case of high winds), tacking, stopping the canoe, etc.
The highlight of the day was a full-blown Man Overboard drill that caught us all by surprise – we expected the drill, but Captain Bob Perkins activated the drill at a surprising time and in a stealthy manner. The crew, our procedures and our equipment all performed quite well. Overall, the crew received top marks.
A crew member overboard swims to the life-saving ring tossed in their direction. (Crew training off Honolulu, Aug. 2012)
A crew member on board pulls in the crew member overboard, using the line attached to the life-saving ring. (Crew training off Honolulu, Aug. 2012)
Despite many younger members who are on their first open ocean, blue water voyage, the leg two crew is showing their potential very well in the several training days we had available to us. Tomorrow, we will awaken at 3 am to prepare for a 4 am departure so as to conduct night training. We will spend most of the day tacking upwind to Papeete. We need to go back tomorrow to get “Admiral” Magnus Danbolt back for his flight to New Zealand. We will miss this wonderful sailor and consummate gentleman who has taught us so much. He has become much more than a teacher and mentor to us – he is truly ‘Ohana. We are also returning to Papeete so we can provision Hikianalia with fresh produce and needed supplies for a departure for Hawai’i – currently planned for Thursday, November 1st.
Sail Data
- position: 17 degrees 29.5 minutes S 149 degrees 52.3 minutes W; at anchor, calm in sheltered lee of Moorea
- weather: absolutely perfect
- wind: ENE 10 knots
- vessel and crew condition: all ok
Education Data
- Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: Sun only Today, we steered by coastal navigation.
- Animal Life: We saw cetaceans in the distance, we’re not sure if they were a pod of pilot whales or large dolphins
- Sea Birds and Sea Life: We sailed twice through a bird pile of hard-working birds who were diving and diving into the sea. We sure thought we would catch a fish, but sadly came up empty today. Maybe tomorrow!
- Marine Debris: None seen today.
