| Hikianalia last reported position (select icon on map for time/position/blog) |
| Hikianalia twice daily position report (select dot on map for time/position/blog) Because positions are only available about 2 times a day (sunrise and sunset), there are not enough data points to show the exact path. That sometimes causes the path to appear to be over land or reef. |
| Waypoint - Location Hikianalia is planning to approach, probably to execute a course change (select dot on map for position/description) |
| Aimpoint - Location Hikianalia is headed toward to define her course. Will turn before reaching the aimpoint (select dot on map for position/description) |
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The thin gray line connects the scheduled Ports of Call and navigation waypoints. The blue east-west lines are the Equator, Tropic of Cancer, Tropic of Capricorn, Arctic Circle and Antarctic Circle. The blue north-south lines are at 0, 90E, 90W and 180E/W degrees longitude. |
report# yyyy-mm-ddThh:mmUTC latitude longitude course speed(knots) distance-course-speed-traveled-since-last-report
1 2012-09-28T06:48UTC -36.83580 175.19120 0.0 0.0
2 2012-09-29T06:22UTC -36.80360 174.94080 0.0 0.0 12nm 279° 0.5kt (23 hours 34 minutes ago)
3 2012-09-29T20:30UTC -36.83310 175.16550 0.0 0.0 10nm 099° 0.8kt (14 hours 8 minutes ago)
4 2012-09-30T06:11UTC -36.63220 174.91270 354.0 7.5 17nm 314° 1.8kt ( 9 hours 41 minutes ago)
5 2012-10-09T00:30UTC -36.77011 174.66355 0.0 0.0 14nm 235° 0.1kt ( 8 days 18 hours 19 minutes ago)
6 2012-10-09T07:30UTC -36.65280 174.91180 50.0 2.5 13nm 059° 2.0kt ( 7 hours 0 minutes ago)
7 2012-10-09T17:42UTC -36.43690 175.20680 55.0 3.0 19nm 047° 1.9kt (10 hours 12 minutes ago)
8 2012-10-10T06:30UTC -36.30060 176.06350 80.0 6.0 42nm 079° 3.3kt (12 hours 48 minutes ago)
9 2012-10-10T17:35UTC -36.10760 177.03970 75.0 8.0 48nm 076° 4.4kt (11 hours 5 minutes ago)
10 2012-10-11T06:13UTC -35.78110 178.95530 75.0 9.0 95nm 078° 7.5kt (12 hours 38 minutes ago)
11 2012-10-11T17:35UTC -35.64540 179.94280 75.0 3.0 48nm 080° 4.3kt (11 hours 22 minutes ago)
12 2012-10-12T06:05UTC -35.25750 -179.12340 65.0 4.0 51nm 063° 4.1kt (12 hours 30 minutes ago)
13 2012-10-12T17:13UTC -34.94000 -177.78000 75.0 9.0 68nm 074° 6.2kt (11 hours 8 minutes ago)
14 2012-10-13T05:38UTC -34.51500 -175.69500 90.0 8.0 106nm 076° 8.6kt (12 hours 25 minutes ago)
15 2012-10-13T17:10UTC -34.31167 -174.18167 75.0 5.0 76nm 081° 6.6kt (11 hours 32 minutes ago)
16 2012-10-14T05:40UTC -34.19000 -172.54167 90.0 6.0 81nm 085° 6.6kt (12 hours 30 minutes ago)
17 2012-10-14T16:44UTC -34.12167 -171.12667 90.0 7.0 70nm 087° 6.4kt (11 hours 4 minutes ago)
18 2012-10-15T05:20UTC -33.92500 -169.38167 75.0 7.5 87nm 082° 7.0kt (12 hours 36 minutes ago)
19 2012-10-15T16:30UTC -33.60333 -168.03333 75.0 9.0 70nm 074° 6.3kt (11 hours 10 minutes ago)
20 2012-10-16T05:15UTC -32.98333 -166.28333 75.0 8.5 95nm 067° 7.5kt (12 hours 45 minutes ago)
21 2012-10-16T16:00UTC -32.46833 -164.63000 75.0 8.0 89nm 070° 8.3kt (10 hours 45 minutes ago)
22 2012-10-17T05:00UTC -32.20167 -162.96500 90.0 5.0 86nm 079° 6.6kt (13 hours 0 minutes ago)
23 2012-10-17T16:00UTC -32.20833 -161.93333 90.0 4.0 52nm 090° 4.8kt (11 hours 0 minutes ago)
24 2012-10-18T04:00UTC -32.35833 -160.80500 90.0 5.0 58nm 099° 4.8kt (12 hours 0 minutes ago)
25 2012-10-18T16:05UTC -31.99000 -159.43833 75.0 7.0 73nm 072° 6.0kt (12 hours 5 minutes ago)
26 2012-10-19T04:00UTC -31.61667 -157.52333 75.0 7.5 100nm 077° 8.4kt (11 hours 55 minutes ago)
27 2012-10-19T15:50UTC -31.21000 -156.05500 70.0 7.5 79nm 072° 6.7kt (11 hours 50 minutes ago)
28 2012-10-20T04:00UTC -30.73667 -154.87833 55.0 5.0 66nm 065° 5.5kt (12 hours 10 minutes ago)
29 2012-10-20T16:33UTC -30.42000 -154.34833 60.0 4.0 33nm 055° 2.7kt (12 hours 33 minutes ago)
30 2012-10-21T04:00UTC -29.70500 -153.61833 35.0 6.0 57nm 041° 5.0kt (11 hours 27 minutes ago)
31 2012-10-21T16:03UTC -28.54333 -152.90000 25.0 9.0 79nm 028° 6.6kt (12 hours 3 minutes ago)
32 2012-10-22T04:00UTC -26.97167 -152.52000 25.0 10.0 96nm 012° 8.0kt (11 hours 57 minutes ago)
33 2012-10-22T16:30UTC -25.48667 -151.97500 25.0 7.0 93nm 018° 7.5kt (12 hours 30 minutes ago)
34 2012-10-23T04:00UTC -23.85000 -151.67000 5.0 8.0 99nm 009° 8.6kt (11 hours 30 minutes ago)
35 2012-10-23T16:03UTC -22.28000 -151.37333 20.0 9.0 95nm 009° 7.9kt (12 hours 3 minutes ago)
36 2012-10-24T04:00UTC -20.91500 -150.80167 25.0 6.0 87nm 021° 7.3kt (11 hours 57 minutes ago)
37 2012-10-24T16:04UTC -19.67667 -150.41500 24.0 7.0 77nm 016° 6.4kt (12 hours 4 minutes ago)
38 2012-10-25T04:00UTC -17.93833 -149.82000 25.0 8.0 109nm 018° 9.2kt (11 hours 56 minutes ago)
39 2012-10-25T18:00UTC -17.49833 -149.49500 0.0 0.0 32nm 035° 2.3kt (14 hours 0 minutes ago)
40 2012-10-26T04:00UTC -17.54000 -149.57000 0.0 0.0 4nm 239° 0.5kt (10 hours 0 minutes ago)
41 2012-10-29T04:00UTC -17.49167 -149.91333 0.0 0.0 19nm 278° 0.3kt ( 3 days 0 hours 0 minutes ago)
42 2012-10-30T04:00UTC -17.49167 -149.87167 0.0 0.0 2nm 090° 0.1kt ( 1 days 0 hours 0 minutes ago)
43 2012-10-31T04:00UTC -17.54000 -149.57000 0.0 0.0 17nm 099° 0.7kt ( 1 days 0 hours 0 minutes ago)
44 2012-11-02T04:00UTC -17.13667 -149.60500 14.0 7.0 24nm 355° 0.5kt ( 2 days 0 hours 0 minutes ago)
45 2012-11-02T16:00UTC -16.08833 -149.67667 356.0 7.0 62nm 356° 5.2kt (12 hours 0 minutes ago)
46 2012-11-03T04:00UTC -14.90000 -149.75167 5.0 7.0 71nm 356° 5.9kt (12 hours 0 minutes ago)
47 2012-11-03T16:00UTC -13.76500 -149.74333 15.0 7.0 67nm 000° 5.7kt (12 hours 0 minutes ago)
48 2012-11-04T04:00UTC -12.51000 -149.82333 350.0 6.0 75nm 356° 6.3kt (12 hours 0 minutes ago)
49 2012-11-04T16:00UTC -11.39667 -149.69167 7.0 6.0 66nm 006° 5.6kt (12 hours 0 minutes ago)
50 2012-11-05T04:00UTC -10.89833 -149.56500 10.0 3.5 30nm 014° 2.6kt (12 hours 0 minutes ago)
51 2012-11-05T16:00UTC -10.46500 -149.40000 5.0 4.0 27nm 020° 2.3kt (12 hours 0 minutes ago)
52 2012-11-06T04:00UTC -9.51500 -149.32667 5.0 3.0 56nm 004° 4.7kt (12 hours 0 minutes ago)
53 2012-11-06T16:00UTC -8.98333 -149.16500 5.0 5.0 33nm 016° 2.8kt (12 hours 0 minutes ago)
54 2012-11-07T04:00UTC -7.99833 -149.54833 339.0 5.0 63nm 338° 5.3kt (12 hours 0 minutes ago)
55 2012-11-07T16:00UTC -6.89833 -149.46833 5.0 5.0 65nm 004° 5.5kt (12 hours 0 minutes ago)
56 2012-11-08T04:00UTC -5.73167 -149.71667 348.0 5.0 71nm 347° 5.9kt (12 hours 0 minutes ago)
57 2012-11-08T16:00UTC -5.02333 -149.60500 0.0 7.0 42nm 008° 3.6kt (12 hours 0 minutes ago)
58 2012-11-09T04:00UTC -3.51333 -149.65333 1.0 6.0 90nm 358° 7.5kt (12 hours 0 minutes ago)
59 2012-11-09T16:00UTC -2.02000 -149.35500 20.0 7.0 90nm 011° 7.6kt (12 hours 0 minutes ago)
60 2012-11-10T04:00UTC -0.63167 -148.95167 15.0 7.5 86nm 016° 7.2kt (12 hours 0 minutes ago)
61 2012-11-10T16:00UTC 0.84000 -148.55333 35.0 9.0 91nm 015° 7.6kt (12 hours 0 minutes ago)
62 2012-11-11T04:00UTC 2.38167 -148.07000 16.0 8.0 96nm 017° 8.0kt (12 hours 0 minutes ago)
63 2012-11-11T16:00UTC 3.77833 -147.69000 12.0 9.0 86nm 015° 7.2kt (12 hours 0 minutes ago)
64 2012-11-12T04:00UTC 5.14333 -147.85833 353.0 8.0 82nm 352° 6.8kt (12 hours 0 minutes ago)
65 2012-11-12T16:00UTC 6.13500 -147.97000 353.0 5.0 59nm 353° 5.0kt (12 hours 0 minutes ago)
66 2012-11-13T04:00UTC 6.97000 -148.04667 355.0 4.0 50nm 354° 4.2kt (12 hours 0 minutes ago)
67 2012-11-13T16:00UTC 7.19000 -148.34167 333.0 4.0 21nm 306° 1.8kt (12 hours 0 minutes ago)
68 2012-11-14T04:00UTC 8.62333 -148.70667 346.0 7.0 88nm 345° 7.4kt (12 hours 0 minutes ago)
69 2012-11-14T16:00UTC 9.59333 -149.05333 340.0 4.0 61nm 340° 5.1kt (12 hours 0 minutes ago)
70 2012-11-15T04:00UTC 10.53667 -149.47333 337.0 7.0 61nm 336° 5.1kt (12 hours 0 minutes ago)
71 2012-11-15T16:00UTC 11.97500 -149.89833 343.0 10.0 89nm 343° 7.5kt (12 hours 0 minutes ago)
72 2012-11-16T04:00UTC 13.54500 -150.51167 339.0 4.0 100nm 339° 8.4kt (12 hours 0 minutes ago)
73 2012-11-16T16:00UTC 14.44833 -150.97500 333.0 7.0 60nm 333° 5.0kt (12 hours 0 minutes ago)
74 2012-11-17T04:00UTC 15.85967 -151.63833 335.0 11.0 92nm 335° 7.7kt (12 hours 0 minutes ago)
75 2012-11-17T16:00UTC 17.52333 -152.59833 330.0 10.0 113nm 331° 9.5kt (12 hours 0 minutes ago)
76 2012-11-18T04:00UTC 19.17833 -153.67833 328.0 10.0 116nm 328° 9.7kt (12 hours 0 minutes ago)
77 2012-11-18T16:00UTC 19.72833 -154.86333 297.0 6.0 74nm 296° 6.2kt (12 hours 0 minutes ago)
78 2012-11-18T19:30UTC 19.73167 -155.05167 0.0 0.0 10nm 271° 3.0kt ( 3 hours 30 minutes ago)
Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is essentially the same as Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)
Hawaiʻi Standard Time (HST) is 10 hours behind UTC, i.e. 17:00:00 UTC is 07:00:00 HST
Latitude: + is north, - is south
Longitude: + is east, - is west
Hikianalia last reported position of latitude: 19.73167, longitude: -155.05167 is:
147.48 nm ( 273.12 km) 101° to waypoint - East of Cape Kumukahi
1.51 nm ( 2.79 km) 268° to Hilo, Hawai`i
1.51 nm ( 2.79 km) 268° to Hilo, Hawai`i
# latitude longitude nm-to-next az-to-next port
1: -36.77082 174.66314 2218 068 Salthouse Boatbuilders, Auckland, NZ
2: -17.50000 -149.50000 4 240 Matavai Bay
3: -17.53839 -149.57197 19 278 Papeete, Tahiti
4: -17.49067 -149.91233 19 098 MPA Tiahura, Moorea
5: -17.53678 -149.57394 2249 351 Papeete, Tahiti
6: 19.73110 -155.07830 184 301 Hilo, Hawai`i
7: 21.31321 -157.88865 Marine Education and Training Center (METC)
"nm-to-next" and "az-to-next" are the distance in nautical miles and the azimuth(direction clockwise from North) in degrees.to the next port/waypoint
# latitude longitude nm-to-next az-to-next port/waypoint
1: -36.77082 174.66314 1569 083 Salthouse Boatbuilders, Auckland, NZ
2: -30.00000 -155.00000 806 023 waypoint in the direction of Rapa iti (from Auckland)
3: -17.50000 -149.50000 4 240 Matavai Bay
4: -17.53839 -149.57197 19 278 Papeete, Tahiti
5: -17.49067 -149.91233 19 098 MPA Tiahura, Moorea
6: -17.53678 -149.57394 1239 008 Papeete, Tahiti
7: 3.00000 -146.50000 358 000 waypoint - North of Tahiti
8: 9.00000 -146.50000 704 330 waypoint - North of Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) doldrums
9: 19.25000 -152.50000 148 281 waypoint - East of Cape Kumukahi
10: 19.73110 -155.07830 184 301 Hilo, Hawai`i
11: 21.31321 -157.88865 Marine Education and Training Center (METC)
"nm-to-next" and "az-to-next" are the distance in nautical miles and the azimuth(direction clockwise from North) in degrees.to the next port/waypoint
Points of Interest:
# latitude longitude port/waypoint
1: -27.60480 -144.34650 Rapa iti - initial aimpoint after departing Auckland
2: -23.37360 -149.47300 Tubuai - aimpoint after turning north at 155W
3: -22.47160 -151.34190 Rurutu - First island Hikianalia drew out of the sea
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Report number: 78 time: 2012-11-18 19:30 UTC/GMT (Sun Nov 18 09:30 HST) position: 19 degrees 43.9 minutes N 155 degrees 03.1 minutes W course: 0 speed: 0 weather: wind: sea state: dockside vessel and crew condition: Vessel and crew are fine. Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: Animal Life: Sea Birds: Marine Debris: Distance, course and speed traveled since last report ( 3 hours 30 minutes ago): 10nm 271° 3.0kt Distance and direction to Hilo, Hawai`i: 1.51 nm (2.79 km) 268° Distance and direction to Hilo, Hawai`i: 1.51 nm (2.79 km) 268° |
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Report number: 77 time: 2012-11-18 16:00 UTC/GMT (Sun Nov 18 06:00 HST) position: 19 degrees 43.7 minutes N 154 degrees 51.8 minutes W course: What we accomplished last night: north of west, heading 297 degrees True (Aina Noio Ho’olua). What we’re trying for now – get around the corner and cover the last 6 nautical miles to Hilo Bay! speed: 6 knots weather: Cumulous clouds dominate (5/8 coverage). No high-level clouds visible. wind: East, 10 knots sea state: East 5 feet predominant, southeast 4 feet. Mellow. vessel and crew condition: all ok – delighted to be home Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: Too busy with arrival preparations for typing a long paragraph! Animal Life: None observed last night. Sea Birds: None observed last night. Marine Debris: Much more man-made plastic debris in the water as we approach civilization Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (12 hours 0 minutes ago): 74nm 296° 6.2kt |
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Report number: 76 time: 2012-11-18 04:00 UTC/GMT (Sat Nov 17 18:00 HST) position: 19 degrees 10.7 minutes N 153 degrees 40.7 minutes W course: What we accomplished today – west of north, heading 328 degrees True, (Na Lani Ho’olua). What we’re trying for now – the same, but 315 degrees True (Manu Ho’olua). speed: 10 knots weather: Cumulous (3/8 coverage). High cirrus. No rain showers throughout the day. wind: Northeast 20 to 25 knots sea state: North-northeast predominant 7 to 8 feet, Northeast 5 to 6 feet, East 5 to 6 feet. Wind waves and chop. vessel and crew condition: all ok Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: Saw more of the sun today – and even quite a few blue patches of sky. Today, we steered by the wind and swells. Animal Life: Nothing seen today Sea Birds and Sea Life: Very few seen today, but significantly, we did see manu o ku (white terns or fairy terns), important wayfinding birds. Marine Debris: Nothing seen today, neither manmade debris, nor natural flotsam.. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (12 hours 0 minutes ago): 116nm 328° 9.7kt |
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Report number: 75 time: 2012-11-17 16:00 UTC/GMT (Sat Nov 17 06:00 HST) position: 17 degrees 31.4 minutes N 152 degrees 35.9 minutes W course: What we accomplished last night: west of North, heading 330 degrees True (Nalani Ho’olua). What we’re trying for now – 130 more nautical miles on this heading, then turn for the last 77 nautical miles to Hilo Bay. speed: 10 knots weather: Cumulous clouds dominate (7/8 coverage), but they are clearing in the direction of the flame-orange, fluorescent sunrise. Mackerel skies off the stern. No high-level clouds visible. wind: northeast, 20 knots gusting to 25 knots sea state: Northeast 6 to 8 feet predominant, North-northeast 6 to 8 feet, Southeast 4 to 5 feet. Wind waves and chop. vessel and crew condition: all ok Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: 6 pm to 10 pm watch - A few stars showed briefly, disappeared and reappeared – over and over - including Makali’i (Pleiades), A’a (Sirius), and Hokulei (Capella); as well as the planet Jupiter. 10 pm to 2 am watch - Round 2: Navigation Bootcamp. Cloud cover: 70-80%, 25-30 knots of wind out of the NE. Tonight’s navigation practice was more challenging because of the heavy cloud cover. What we discovered is that the way sails are set make a big difference on the steersman’s ability to maintain a course, especially when celestial marks disappear. We were steering the canoe downwind and allowing her to come back upwind just with her sails, however, the sails didn’t bring her back up as quickly as we were steering her down. Because of this, we were hitting the low side of our mark more often than dead center or high. However, with the horizon spanning 360 degrees, no one in tonight’s exercise was more than 6 degrees off of their estimated heading, and no more than 8 degrees off of the Captain’s given heading. Good job crew! 2 am to 6 am watch - We picked up watch on a warmer, drier night; although, complete cloud cover remained for most of our watch. We marked our course off the wind and the swell using a spotter on the GPS to ensure we were on course. We continued on a course of 330 degrees (Na Lani Ho’olua). Our sails remained set as on the previous watch, so that Hikianalia would come gently upwind when left to her own devices, requiring us to steer her downwind a bit to keep her on course. Animal Life: None observed last night. Sea Birds: None observed last night. Marine Debris: None seen today – neither man-made nor natural flotsam. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (12 hours 0 minutes ago): 113nm 331° 9.5kt |
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Report number: 74 time: 2012-11-17 04:00 UTC/GMT (Fri Nov 16 18:00 HST) position: 15 degrees 51.58 minutes N 151 degrees 38.3 minutes W course: What we accomplished today – west of north, heading 335 degrees True, Na Leo Ho’olua. What we’re trying for now – the same, but 330 degrees True. speed: 11 knots weather: Cumulous overcast breaking up (3/8 coverage). Many clear blue areas, no rain showers throughout the day. wind: Northeast 20 to 25 knots sea state: North-northeast predominant 7 to 8 feet, Northeast 5 to 6 feet, East 5 to 6 feet. Wind waves and chop. vessel and crew condition: all ok Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: Saw more of the sun today – and even quite a few blue patches of sky. Today, we steered by the wind and swells. Animal Life: Caught a mahimahi. Sea Birds and Sea Life: Very few seen today. Marine Debris: Nothing seen today. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (12 hours 0 minutes ago): 92nm 335° 7.7kt |
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Report number: 73 time: 2012-11-16 16:00 UTC/GMT (Fri Nov 16 06:00 HST) position: 14 degrees 26.9 minutes N 150 degrees 58.5 minutes W course: What we accomplished last night: west of North, heading 333 degrees True (Nalani Ho’olua). What we’re trying for now – west of North, 350 degrees True (Haka Ho’olua). speed: 7 knots weather: More clear areas (what’s that blue stuff in the sky?) Cumulous clouds dominate (3/8 coverage). No high- or mid-level clouds visible. wind: northeast, 20 knots gusting to 25 knots sea state: Northeast 6 to 8 feet predominant, North-northeast 6 to 8 feet, Southeast 4 to 5 feet. Wind waves and chop. vessel and crew condition: all ok Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: 6 pm to 10 pm watch - A few stars showed briefly, disappeared and reappeared – over and over - including Makali’i (Pleiades), A’a (Sirius), and Hokulei (Capella); as well as the planet Jupiter. 10 pm to 2 am watch – Complete cloud cover throughout our entire watch required us to sail by the wind and verify by GPS. Good winds allowed us to maintain 7 knots in the direction of Na Leo Ho’ olua. It’s getting cooler as we get closer to Hawai’i. 2 am to 6 am watch - Stars! After almost a week of not seeing anything in the sky except dark clouds and covered skies, the sky finally opened up around 4:30 am and we could steer by Hoku Pa’a (Polaris, North Star) for the first time making it easy for us to hold course the rest of the watch. We could also see Hokule’a (Arcturus) well for the first time and it’s looking a little more like home in the night skies now. Animal Life: Tiny bioluminescent life continues to amaze us with their abundance – they glitter in each breaking wave and along the hulls as we move through the water. Sea Birds: None observed last night. Marine Debris: None seen today – neither man-made nor natural flotsam. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (12 hours 0 minutes ago): 60nm 333° 5.0kt |
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Report number: 72 time: 2012-11-16 04:00 UTC/GMT (Thu Nov 15 18:00 HST) position: 13 degrees 32.7 minutes N 150 degrees 30.7 minutes W course: What we accomplished today – west of north, heading 339 degrees True, Na Leo Ho’olua. What we’re trying for now – the same. speed: 4 knots weather: Cumulous overcast breaking up (6/8 coverage). Fewer rain showers throughout the day - not very hard. wind: Northeast 20 knots sea state: North-northeast predominant 7 to 8 feet, Northeast 5 to 6 feet, East 5 to 6 feet. Wind waves and chop. vessel and crew condition: all ok Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: Saw more of the sun today – and even a few blue patches of sky. Today, we steered by the wind and swells. Animal Life: Nothing seen today. Sea Birds and Sea Life: Very few seen today. Marine Debris: Nothing seen today. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (12 hours 0 minutes ago): 100nm 339° 8.4kt |
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Report number: 71 time: 2012-11-15 16:00 UTC/GMT (Thu Nov 15 06:00 HST) position: 11 degrees 58.5 minutes N 149 degrees 53.9 minutes W course: What we accomplished last night: west of North, heading 343 degrees True (Na Leo Ho’olua). What we’re trying for now – more of the same. speed:10 knots weather: Complete cumulous overcast (8/8 coverage). No clear patches. No high- or mid-level clouds visible through the lower level. Frequent rain, very humid. wind: northeast, 20 knots gusting to 25 knots sea state: Northeast 6 to 8 feet predominant, north-northeast 4 to 5 feet, (NE and NNE sometimes “stack up” to make impressive “speed bumps”, southeast 4 to 5 feet. Wind waves and chop. vessel and crew condition: all ok Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: All watches – rain and overcast, except for the lucky 10 pm to 2 am watch who had their first dry watch in 3 days! They were all decked out in foul-weather gear, ready for the downpours, but for them, none came. The other two watches got full use out of their rain gear! Beautiful, consistent winds blew out of the East-Northeast at 15-20 knots all night. Unfortunately, 100% cloud cover remained for all watches, with only a few stars spotted briefly, including Makali’i (Pleiades), A’a (Sirius), and Hokulei (Capella); as well as the planet Jupiter. Animal Life: One poor malalo (flying fish) that flew onto our deck and flopped around was quickly returned to the sea. Tiny bioluminescent life continues to glitter in each breaking wave and along the hulls as we move through the water. Finally, we say aloha a hui hou to the glowing jellyfish-like creatures (that lit up as they bumped off our hulls last night) since they were nowhere to be found tonight. Sea Birds: None observed last night. Marine Debris: None seen today – neither man-made nor natural flotsam. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (12 hours 0 minutes ago): 89nm 343° 7.5kt |
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Report number: 70 time: 2012-11-15 04:00 UTC/GMT (Wed Nov 14 18:00 HST) position: 010 degrees 32.2 minutes N 149 degrees 28.4 minutes W course: What we accomplished today – west of north, heading 337 degrees True, Na Leo Ho’olua. What we’re trying for now – the same. speed: 7 to 8 knots weather: Complete cumulous overcast (8/8 coverage). Rain showers throughout the day, not very hard. wind: northeast 20 knots sea state: East 6 to 8 feet predominant, northeast 5 to 6 feet, southeast 4 to 5 feet. Wind waves and chop. vessel and crew condition: all ok Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: Saw little of the sun today. Today, we steered by the wind and swells. Animal Life: Nothing seen today. Sea Birds and Sea Life: Very few seen today. Marine Debris: One piece of Styrofoam or plastic seen floating by. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (12 hours 0 minutes ago): 61nm 336° 5.1kt |
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Report number: 69 time: 2012-11-14 16:00 UTC/GMT (Wed Nov 14 06:00 HST) position: 09 degrees 35.6 minutes N 149 degrees 03.2 minutes W course: What we accomplished last night: west of North, heading 340 degrees True (Na Leo Ho’olua), na). What we’re trying for now – more of the same. speed: 4 knots weather: Complete cumulous overcast (8/8 coverage). No clear patches. No high- or mid-level clouds visible through the lower level. Constant rain, making it very humid and limiting visibility to less than a mile. wind: northeast, 25 knots gusting to 30 knots sea state: East 6 to 8 feet predominant, northeast 4 to 5 feet, southeast 4 to 5 feet. Wind waves and chop. vessel and crew condition: all ok Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: 6 pm to 10 pm watch - Our watch had only a few steering stars to the north and northeast - Jupiter, Iwakeli’i (Cassiopeia), Makali’i (Pleiades); and the stars of Ke Ka O Makali’i (Orion). We even had Hoku Pa’a (Polaris, the North Star) toward the end of our watch. We sailed on a single reefed mizzen, double reefed main, and single reefed jib tonight because of the on and off squally conditions. 10 pm to 2 am watch - We had about 75% cloud cover for most of the night, and even the stars that did peek through were veiled by a misty haze. It was a slow night at about 4-5 knots. 2 am to 6 am watch – Rain, rain, rain! Extremely shifty winds due to many squalls. No stars to steer by so we steered mainly by using the “telltales”. Telltales are streamers of light material that are attached to several shrouds (rigging that holds up the mast). They stream with the wind and show the direction of the wind relative to the heading of the canoe. You can steer by keeping the angle of the telltales constant when you have no other clues. It was so dark; we rigged a headlamp to shine on the telltales. Animal Life: None observed last night. Sea Birds: None observed last night. Marine Debris: None seen today – neither man-made nor natural flotsam. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (12 hours 0 minutes ago): 61nm 340° 5.1kt |
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Report number: 68 time: 2012-11-14 04:00 UTC/GMT (Tue Nov 13 18:00 HST) position: 008 degrees 37.4 minutes N 148 degrees 42.4 minutes W course: What we accomplished today – west of north, heading 346 degrees True, Haka Ho’olua. What we’re trying for now – the same. speed: 7 to 8 knots weather: Almost complete cumulous overcast (7/8 coverage). A few clear patches. Some wind-torn, mackarel mid-level clouds. Every kind of mid- and high- level clouds stacking up – very interesting stuff, this ITCZ! Rain showers throughout the day, sometimes very hard. Raining extremely hard right now. wind: northeast 25 knots sea state: East 6 to 8 feet predominant, northeast 4 to 5 feet, southeast 4 to 5 feet. Wind waves and chop. vessel and crew condition: all ok Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: Saw little of the sun today. Today, we steered by the wind and swells. Animal Life: Caught a nice mahimahi, the first of this species on this leg. Sea Birds and Sea Life: the usual terns and boobies, often diving for malolo, which are plentiful. Marine Debris: None seen today – neither man-made nor natural flotsam. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (12 hours 0 minutes ago): 88nm 345° 7.4kt |
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Report number: 67 time: 2012-11-13 16:00 UTC/GMT (Tue Nov 13 06:00 HST) position: 07 degrees 11.4 minutes N 148 degrees 20.5 minutes W course: What we accomplished last night: under sail west of North, heading 333 degrees True (Na Leo/Nalani Ho’olua), drifting while hove to (explained below) south of West, heading 263 degrees True, (La Kona). What we’re trying for now – west of North, heading 340 degrees True (Na Leo Ho’olua) speed: 4 knots weather: Almost complete cumulous overcast (7/8 coverage). A few clear patches. Some wind-torn, mackarel mid-level clouds. No high clouds visible. Rain nearby, humid. wind: northeast 25 knots sea state: East 6 to 8 feet predominant, northeast 4 to 5 feet, southeast 4 to 5 feet. Wind waves and chop. vessel and crew condition: all ok Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: 6 pm to 10 pm watch - Our watch had no steering stars. Our heading at the beginning of the shift was Nalani Ho’olua (340 degrees True, west of North). We were moving slowly in light airs, which then began to shift around forcing us to sail a course of 270 degrees True. As we prepared to tack, the winds again allowed us to resume our heading of 340 degrees True. Then, the squall described below struck suddenly and we closed all the sails. The 10 pm to 2 am and 2 am to 6 am watches drifted, hove to, under bare poles until 6 am. Animal Life: None observed last night. Sea Birds: None observed last night. Marine Debris: None seen today – neither man-made nor natural flotsam. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (12 hours 0 minutes ago): 21nm 306° 1.8kt |
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Report number: 66 time: 2012-11-13 04:00 UTC/GMT (Mon Nov 12 18:00 HST) position: 006 degrees 58.2 minutes N 148 degrees 02.8 minutes W course: What we accomplished today – west of north, heading 355 degrees True, Haka Ho’olua. What we’re trying for now – fluky winds are forcing us slightly east of north, trying for 10 degrees True, Haka Ko’olau. speed: 4 to 5 knots, assisted by one of the two electric motors weather: 100% gray overcast with cumulous all around the sky and horizon (8/8 coverage). Squalls all around the horizon. No high clouds visible due to overcast. wind: East of South, 5 knots, higher near and in passing squalls sea state: Southeast 4 to 5 , well developed vessel and crew condition: all ok Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: Saw little of the sun today. Today, we steered by the wind and swells. Animal Life: None seen. Did not fish today. Sea Birds and Sea Life: the usual terns and boobies, often diving for malolo, which are plentiful. Marine Debris: None seen today – neither man-made nor natural flotsam. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (12 hours 0 minutes ago): 50nm 354° 4.2kt |
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Report number: 65 time: 2012-11-12 16:00 UTC/GMT (Mon Nov 12 06:00 HST) position: 06 degrees 08.1 minutes N 147 degrees 58.2 minutes W course: west of North, heading 353 degrees True, Haka Ho’olua speed: 5 knots weather: Abundant cumulous (5/8 coverage). Some sunny clear patches. Some wind-torn mid-level clouds streaming slowly in from southeast. No high clouds. Dry and warm. wind: south of East, 5 to 10 knots sea state: Southeast 4 to 5, well established. Northeast 1 to 2 feet. vessel and crew condition: all ok Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: 6 pm to 10 pm watch - Our heading at the beginning of the night was Haka Ho’olua (west of North). Our watch had good steering stars, particularly to the northeast. We used primarily Jupiter, Iwakeli’i (Cassiopeia), Makali’i (Pleiades); the Navigator’s Triangle of Piraetea, Keoe and Humu; and the stars of Ke Ka O Makali’i (Orion). We had our first glimpses of Hoku Pa’a (Polaris, the North Star), a welcome sight meaning home is near. 10 pm to 2 am watch - Clouds, clouds, clouds, that’s what we were working with tonight. For our entire watch we had <90% cloud cover and light winds of about 10 knots out of the southeast. The winds combined with our movement in the same direction of the swells allowed Hikianalia to swim between 4-5 knots. It can be a lonely thing in the dark night to have few and shifting celestial cues. Because of this we decided to rotate short pieces on the steering hoe, with everybody pitching in to locate, identify, and help hold us on track. The constant rotation on the hoe kept everybody alert and moving, which can be a challenge as the light weather and gentle rocking tries to lull you to sleep. “Good job” goes out to the crew, since our desired heading tonight was Haka Ho’olua, and the digital mapping of our course on the AIS/GPS thankfully confirmed that that was the heading we held despite the clouds. 2 am to 6 am watch - Our watch began with 90% cloud cover but, within the hour, began to clear. We at first had a bit of a game of ‘name that star’ and needed to constantly change our useful steering pointers in order to maintain our desired heading of 350 degrees (Haka Ho’olua, erring preferably towards Akau [North]). Venus rose in Hikina (East), making our steering much easier as we kept it approximately one house aft of the beam. This was followed by Hikupau (Alkaid), the last star in the handle of Na Hiku (the Big Dipper), which we kept in the forward starboard shrouds. Hikianalia (Spica) on the eastern horizon once again led us to daylight. We even caught a glimpse or two of Hokule’a (Arcturus) between the clouds affirming our position and our ever-northward migration. Saki chose tonight to begin her long hours of sleepless navigator training, staying up all night and helping us to keep our course. We are all enjoying the downwind smooth sailing, and are even able to surf the canoe at times. Even with the light winds, we were able to maintain a speed of 4.5 to 5 knots. Animal Life: None last night. Sea Birds: None observed last night. Marine Debris: None seen today – neither man-made nor natural flotsam. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (12 hours 0 minutes ago): 59nm 353° 5.0kt |
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Report number: 64 time: 2012-11-12 04:00 UTC/GMT (Sun Nov 11 18:00 HST) position: 005 degrees 08.6 minutes N 147 degrees 51.5 minutes W course: What we accomplished today – west of north, heading 353 degrees True, Haka Ho’olua. What we’re trying for now – west of north, 350 degrees True, Haka Ho’olua. speed: 8 to 9 knots, faster in winds associated with squalls weather: Gray overcast with cumulous all around the sky and horizon (7/8 coverage). Squalls all around the horizon. No high clouds visible due to overcast. wind: south of East, 10 to 15 knots, higher near and in passing squalls sea state: East 5 to 6 feet, southeast 4 to 5 , both well established vessel and crew condition: all ok Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: sun only. Today, we steered by the wind and swells. Animal Life: None seen. Did not fish today – still eating yesterday’s 20-pound aku. Sea Birds and Sea Life: the usual terns and boobies. Marine Debris: None seen today – neither man-made nor natural flotsam. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (12 hours 0 minutes ago): 82nm 352° 6.8kt |
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Report number: 63 time: 2012-11-11 16:00 UTC/GMT (Sun Nov 11 06:00 HST) position: 03 degrees 46.7 minutes N 147 degrees 41.4 minutes W course: overnight - east of North, heading 012 degrees True, Haka Ko’olau. At 0600 we changed course to west of North, 350 degrees True, Haka Ko’olau speed: 9 knots weather: Gray overcast at sunrise clearing to cumulous (6/8 coverage). No high clouds. wind: south of East, 10 to 15 knots sea state: East 5 to 6 feet, southeast 4 to 5 , both well established vessel and crew condition: all ok Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: 6 pm to 10 pm watch - Our heading at the beginning of the night was Haka Ko’olau. Again, our watch had good stars all around the compass available for steering, but we had to play hide and seek with them as they hid behind dark black clouds, then uncovered for brief periods. It was great training, maintaining two or three steering stars at a time and switching off often as they disappeared. We used primarily Jupiter, Iwakeli’i (Cassiopeia), Makali’i (Pleiades); the Navigator’s Triangle of Piraetea, Keoe and Humu; and the stars of Ke Ka O Makali’i (Orion). 10 pm to 2 am watch - From our post-equator-crossing reflections we found that our watch really wanted to step up our navigation training, so tonight with starry, clear skies, we went to Navigation Bootcamp.. We divided our four person watch into four stations: Navigator, Steersman, Speed, and Rest. The stations are rotated every 30min. Here are the kuleana of each position: Navigator – set the course and give the steersman his/her mark. Requires knowledge of star declinations and calculation of our desired heading based on the known star declination. Steersman – hold true to the course set by the Navigator. Requires a good feel for the movement of the canoe. A good steersperson can anticipate the swing of the wa’a and steer accordingly to keep right on target. Speed – this person is estimating our speed based on the time it takes bubbles to pass from our first iako to our last (about 40ft). Speed is distance divided by time. Rest – this person kind of gets to take a break, but they are also responsible for using the computer’s AIS system to place a waypoint at the start of each rotation. The crew did a phenomenal job and honed some really important voyaging skills. Stay tuned for tomorrow’s Bootcamp Part 2. 2 am to 6 am watch - We picked up the watch maintaining a steady course of 15-20 degrees (Haka Ko’olau) with speeds of 7-9 knots. We started out with Achernar behind us in Nalani Kona and the northern meridian pointers of Hokulei aligned with Naleo Ho’olua. And for the first time we were able to briefly visualize Polaris, the North Star, just above the horizon. As we moved further into the northern hemisphere, now well above 3 degrees of latitude, the cloud cover became thicker, obscuring most of our stars, and swell motion diminished. For a short time we were able to follow the moon, which rose just after 3:30 in La Ko’olau but we eventually lost that too as the sky clouded over completely. From then on we followed the motion of the swells and wind direction with its apparent speed to guide us, along with the help of the GPS to ensure we were on our correct course. Animal Life: None last night. Sea Birds: None observed last night. Marine Debris: None seen today – neither man-made nor natural flotsam. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (12 hours 0 minutes ago): 86nm 015° 7.2kt |
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Report number: 62 time: 2012-11-11 04:00 UTC/GMT (Sat Nov 10 18:00 HST) position: 002 degrees 22.9 minutes N 148 degrees 04.2 minutes W course: What we accomplished today – east of north, heading 016 degrees True, Haka/Na Leo Koʻolau. What weʻre trying for now – east of north as much as possible, 15 degrees True, Haka/ Na Leo Koʻolau. speed: 8 knots weather: mostly clear during the day, 3/8 cumulous coverage, small clouds. Now, thinning overcast with stars peeking through. Cumulous on 360-degree horizon. Cooler, humid, no rain. wind: East 15 to 18 knots sea state: North-East 3 to 4 feet, East 1 to 2 feet, South 1 to 2 feet, very gentle rollers – easy steering. vessel and crew condition: all ok Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: sun only. Today, we steered by the wind and swells. Animal Life: Caught two aku, the first one small and the second nearly twenty pounds – one for lunch and one for dinner – both delicious. Saw a lot more malolo (flying fish). Sea Birds and Sea Life: the usual terns and boobies. Marine Debris: None seen today – neither man-made nor natural flotsam. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (12 hours 0 minutes ago): 96nm 017° 8.0kt |
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Report number: 61 time: 2012-11-10 16:00 UTC/GMT (Sat Nov 10 06:00 HST) position: 00 degrees 50.4 minutes N 148 degrees 33.2 minutes W course: east of north, heading 035 degrees True, Nalani Ko’olau speed: 9 knots weather: Clear overhead, small puffy cumulous (1/8 coverage). No high clouds. wind: North of East, 15-18 knots sea state: North-East 3-4 feet (subsided a little more this morning), East 1 to 2 feet, South 1 to 2 feet, small rollers, very gentle. vessel and crew condition: all ok Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: 6 pm to 10 pm watch - Our heading at the beginning of the night was Haka Ko’olau. Again, our watch had good stars available for steering to the north and east of us, the rest were covered by clouds. We used primarily Jupiter, Iwakeli’i (Cassiopeia), Makali’i (Pleiades); the Navigator’s Triangle of Piraetea, Keoe and Humu; and the stars of Ke Ka O Makali’i (Orion). 10 pm to 2 am watch - We crossed ka Piko a Wakea!!!! (Equator!!!) Welcome to the northern hemisphere everyone. 2 am to 6 am watch - The moon rose in Virgo just after our watch began, followed shortly by Venus and then Hikianalia (Spica). These stars, rising in Hikina (East) and La Malanai (south of East) were the backbone of our steering. We had intermittent cloud cover, so also used other stars and constellations tonight, especially Makali’i (Pleiades), Na Hiku (Big Dipper) and Me’e (Corvus) to keep us oriented and on track. We have come to really appreciate how quickly the stars travel overhead, allowing us to adapt our course as steered by them more easily and keep a more consistent heading. We are quite excited to have good winds continuing, enabling us to keep up 7-9 knots through the night while also gaining a bit of ground eastward. The eastern sky begins to lighten around 4:30 am, and most of our stars are no longer visible after 5 am. Animal Life: None today. Sea Birds: None observed last night. Marine Debris: None seen today – neither man-made nor natural flotsam. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (12 hours 0 minutes ago): 91nm 015° 7.6kt |
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Report number: 60 time: 2012-11-10 04:00 UTC/GMT (Fri Nov 09 18:00 HST) position: 000 degrees 37.9 minutes S 148 degrees 57.1 minutes W course: What we accomplished today – east of north, heading 015 degrees True, Haka/Na Leo Ko’olau. What we’re trying for now – east of north as much as possible, 20 degrees True, Na Leo Ko’olau. speed: 7.5 knots weather: mostly clear during the day, 2/8 cumulous coverage. Now, thinning overcast with stars peeking through. Cumulous on 360-degree horizon. Warm, humid, no rain. wind: East 15 knots sea state: North-East 4 to 5 feet, East 1 to 2 feet, South 1 to 2 feet, very gentle rollers – easy steering. vessel and crew condition: all ok Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: sun only. Today, we steered by the wind and swells. Animal Life: Caught two chubby aku – one for lunch and one for dinner – both delicious. Saw a lot more malolo (flying fish). Sea Birds and Sea Life: the usual terns and boobies. One tropicbird. Marine Debris: None seen today – neither man-made nor natural flotsam. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (12 hours 0 minutes ago): 86nm 016° 7.2kt |
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Report number: 59 time: 2012-11-09 16:00 UTC/GMT (Fri Nov 09 06:00 HST) position: 002 degrees 01.2 minutes S 149 degrees 21.3 minutes W course: east of north, heading 020 degrees True, Na Leo Ko’olau speed: 7 to 8 knots weather: Clear overhead, some cumulous (2/8 -3/8 coverage). No high clouds. wind: North of East, 15-18 knots sea state: North-East 3-4 feet (subsided a little this morning), East 1 to 2 feet, South 1 to 2 feet, small rollers, very gentle. vessel and crew condition: all ok Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: 6 pm to 10 pm watch - Our heading at the beginning of the night was Haka Ko’olau. Again, our watch had good stars available for steering. We used primarily Iwakeli’i (Cassiopeia), Makali’i (Pleiades); the Navigator’s Triangle of Piraetea, Keoe and Humu; and the stars of Ke Ka O Makali’i (Orion). There was no “autopilot”. We all worked hard at steering to a tight course using only the stars, while the rest of the watch “spotted” for the helmsman, and one person monitored the GPS to see how we were doing. It was great training, going fast (9 to 10 knots) in slightly bumpy seas. 10 pm to 2 am watch - Tonight’s Mission, if you choose to accept it: “Sail Hikianalia, using sails only, in the heading Haka Ko’olau for the next half hour all by yourself (holler if you need help hauling sails). Mission result: Success. Each of our watch members took turns tonight learning how to manipulate sails to head the wa’a on the assigned heading. Up until this point, we’ve been doing this as a group, led mostly by the watch captain. This exercise, which they each performed really well, increased each person’s knowledge and confidence in their ability to bring the wa’a up into the wind, and back downwind, by themselves. This is important, not only from a safety perspective, because understanding the most efficient ways to release wind and drive from the canoe’s sails is critical in the event of a man overboard situation, but also because balanced sails even out the wind load on the canoe and allow her the freedom to “swim” freely. And when, Hikianalia starts swimming, she finds her way over and around waves faster, and with much less pounding (which is really nice if you’re off watching sleeping down below). 2 am to 6 am watch - We picked up watch from the previous crew with Hikianalia beautifully balanced in Haka Ko’olau flying along between 8-9 knots under a clear sky of stars. We carried on, following the rising moon (transiting between Leo and Virgo) in Aina Ko’olau with Namahoe (Gemini) to port of the mast. As the moon rose higher in the sky, we used Venus in Aina Ko’ olau and Me’e (Corvus), just aft of our starboard beam, as our guides. Finally, the star Hikianalia (Spica), which appears just before sunrise, was used at starboard beam, making it the first time this wa’a could be steered by her namesake. Venus continued to serve us well until sunrise, after which we held the sun in Hikina-La Ko’olau (east). The wind picked up again just after daybreak so we rounded out our watch traveling 8-9 knots with another beautiful day on the horizon. Animal Life: None today. Sea Birds: None observed last night. Marine Debris: None seen today – neither man-made nor natural flotsam. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (12 hours 0 minutes ago): 90nm 011° 7.6kt |
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Report number: 58 time: 2012-11-09 04:00 UTC/GMT (Thu Nov 08 18:00 HST) position: 003 degrees 30.8 minutes S 149 degrees 39.2 minutes W course: What we accomplished today - north, heading 001 degrees True, Akau. What we’re trying for now – east of north as much as possible, 20 degrees True, Na Leo Ko’olau speed: 6 to 7 knots weather: mostly clear during the day, 2/8 cumulous coverage. Now, clear overhead with stars emerging. Cumulous on 360 degree horizon. Very few streaky high clouds today from the southeast, warm, humid wind: East 10 to 15 knots sea state: North-East 4 to 5 feet (built to 6 feet then receded during the day), East 1 to 2 feet, South 1 to 2 feet, very gentle rollers – easy steering, sometimes tying down the hoe and letting Hikianalia swim with balanced sails. vessel and crew condition: all ok Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: sun only. Today, we steered by the wind and swells. Animal Life: None today. Sea Birds and Sea Life: the usual terns and boobies. Marine Debris: None seen today – neither man-made nor natural flotsam. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (12 hours 0 minutes ago): 90nm 358° 7.5kt |
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Report number: 57 time: 2012-11-08 16:00 UTC/GMT (Thu Nov 08 06:00 HST) position: 05 degrees 01.4 minutes S 149 degrees 36.3 minutes W course: north, heading 000 degrees True, Akau speed: 7 to 8 knots weather: Clear overhead, some cumulous (2/8 -3/8 coverage). No high clouds. wind: North of East, 15-18 knots sea state: North-East 5-6 feet (built a little overnight, slight white-capping), East 1 to 2 feet, South 1 to 2 feet, rollers less gentle. vessel and crew condition: all ok Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: 6 pm to 10 pm watch - Our heading at the beginning of the night was Haka Ko’olau. For a change, our watch had good stars available for steering. We used primarily Iwakelii (Cassiopeia), Makali’i (Pleiades); the Navigator’s Triangle of Piraetea, Keoe and Humu; and the stars of Ke Ka O Makali’i (Orion). One word describes tonight’s watch – autopilot. The mizzen and working jib were working in perfect balance to get us maximum available easting while Hikianalia swam unimpeded by human steering. The hoe was tied down all watch for us and the 10 pm to 2 am watch who continued to use the familiar constellations of the northern hemisphere to verify our heading and Hikianalia’s awesome tracking. Early in the night they could hold Hokulei (Capella) off our bow, and then, as she moved across the sky, they moved to the setting Iwakelii (Cassiopeia) that was off the port railing. The moon rose like a happy-face smile at 1:15am. 2-6 Watch – We continued on from the watch before us cruising at 3-5 knots Haka Ko’olau and Haka Ho’olua (NNE to NNW) with only our working jib and mizzen. In the early hours we followed the same friendly stars and planets as on previous watches: Makali’i (Pleiades), other stars of Ke Ka O Makali’i (Orion), Jupiter, Hokulei (Capella), Gemini, and Hanaiakamalama (the Southern Cross). Later in the watch, cloud cover became with 40-75% high cumulous and some dark, ominous regions. We managed to stay dry however, with the exception of the occasional salt water dousing over the rail (which we are getting better at dodging). Venus marked Hikina (east) later in the watch, however we weren’t able to spot Hikianalia (Spica) or see the sun rise over the horizon due to cloud cover. Animal Life: Three malolo (flying fish) were found on deck this morning. Sea Birds: None observed last night. Marine Debris: None seen today – neither man-made nor natural flotsam. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (12 hours 0 minutes ago): 42nm 008° 3.6kt |
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Report number: 56 time: 2012-11-08 04:00 UTC/GMT (Wed Nov 07 18:00 HST) position: 005 degrees 43.9 minutes S 149 degrees 43.0 minutes W course: What we accomplished today - west of north, heading 348 degrees True, Haka Ho’olua. What we’re trying for now – east of north as much as possible, 10 degrees True Haka Ko’olau speed: 5 to 6 knots weather: partially clear during the day with passing squalls not hitting us. Now, clear overhead with stars emerging. Cumulous on 360 degree horizon. No high clouds, warm, humid wind: East 10 to 15 knots sea state: North-East 4 to 5 feet (built to 6 feet then receded during the day), East 1 to 2 feet, South 1 to 2 feet, very gentle rollers – easy steering, sometimes tying down the hoe and letting Hikianalia swim with balanced sails. vessel and crew condition: all ok Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: sun only. Today, we steered by the wind and swells. Animal Life: Caught two ono on a double strike – one for lunch and one for supper. Sea Birds and Sea Life: the usual terns and boobies. Highlight of the day was a beautiful white-tailed tropicbird very close to the canoe for several minutes. Marine Debris: None seen today – neither man-made nor natural flotsam. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (12 hours 0 minutes ago): 71nm 347° 5.9kt |
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Report number: 55 time: 2012-11-07 16:00 UTC/GMT (Wed Nov 07 06:00 HST) position: 06 degrees 53.9 minutes S 149 degrees 28.1 minutes W course: east of north, heading 005 degrees True, Haka Ko’olau speed: 5 to 6 knots weather: Cumulous overcast covers most of the sky overhead (7/8 coverage). Squalls in the area. Rain on the NE horizon. Still no high clouds. wind: North of East, 15 knots; some localized high winds associated with passing squalls. sea state: North-East 5-6 feet (building a little), East 1 to 2 feet, South 1 to 2 feet, rollers less gentle. vessel and crew condition: all ok Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: 6 pm to 10 pm watch - Our heading at the beginning of the night was Haka/Na Leo Ko’olau. There were no stars available, so we were steering by staying as high into the wind as we could without luffing in order to make easting. Just as we got off watch, the skies of the northeast horizon began to open up and steering stars became available. 10 pm to 2 am watch - We came on deck to a single- reefed main sail, storm jib and full mizzen. The squally winds were intensified by the night, and for our first two hours we sped along at 8 knots heading in Haka Ko’olau. At 1230, Captain Bob called us to drop the main to give an easier ride to our sleeping crew. Great teamwork had it down and furled quickly, and from then on we balanced out our sails and were able to sail at about 4 knots. 2-6 Watch - The beginning of our watch was as described above: small jib and mizzen only. We continued to keep the sails balanced and averaged 4.5 knots on a heading varying between Haka Ko’olau and Haka Ho’olua (NNE to NNW). The wind unfortunately did not allow us to maintain a more easterly course, as any attempt to steer up caused our speed to decrease markedly. All the usual stars and planets we have grown accustomed to seeing and using to steer were visible between thin clouds: Makali’i, other stars of Ke Ka O Makali’i (Orion), Jupiter, Hokulei (Capella), Gemini, and Hanaiakamalama (the Southern Cross). Later towards dawn, we used Venus and our namesake, Hikianalia (Spica). This watch marked the first appearance of Na Hiku (the big dipper) when we saw Hikukahi (Dubhe) and Hikulua (Merak), two stars the apu (cup). We know for sure that the Northern Hemisphere cannot be far away now! Animal Life: None observed last night. Sea Birds: None observed last night. Marine Debris: None seen today – neither man-made nor natural flotsam. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (12 hours 0 minutes ago): 65nm 004° 5.5kt |
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Report number: 54 time: 2012-11-07 04:00 UTC/GMT (Tue Nov 06 18:00 HST) position: 007 degrees 59.9 minutes S 149 degrees 32.9 minutes W course: What we accomplished today - west of north, heading 339 degrees True, Na Leo Ho’olua. What we’re trying for now – east of north as much as possible, Haka/Na Leo Ko’olau speed: 5 to 6 knots weather: partially clear during the day with passing squalls not hitting us. Now, completely overcast with dark gray cumulous clouds all around, raining heavily on us now. No high clouds, warm, humid wind: East 10 knots sea state: North-East 4 to 5 feet, East 1 to 2 feet, South 1 to 2 feet, very gentle rollers – easy steering except when wind gets shifty. vessel and crew condition: all ok Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: sun only. Today, we steered by the wind and swells. Animal Life: Nothing seen – and no fish caught. Sea Birds and Sea Life: A few terns and boobies, one manu o ku and one iwa. Marine Debris: None seen today – neither man-made nor natural flotsam. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (12 hours 0 minutes ago): 63nm 338° 5.3kt |
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Report number: 53 time: 2012-11-06 16:00 UTC/GMT (Tue Nov 06 06:00 HST) position: 08 degrees 59.0 minutes S 149 degrees 09.9 minutes W course: east of north, heading 005 degrees True, Haka Ko’olau speed: 5 to 6 knots weather: changing. Overcast cover most of the sky overhead (7/8 coverage). Families of squalls all around. Still no high clouds. wind: North of East, 10 knots; some light and variable periods; some localized high winds associated with passing squalls. sea state: North-East 4 to 5 feet, East 1 to 2 feet, South 1 to 2 feet, very gentle rollers – easy steering. vessel and crew condition: all ok Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: 6 pm to 10 pm watch - Our heading at the beginning of the night was Haka Ko’olau. Just as we assumed watch, the first heavy squall of this leg hit suddenly. We experienced winds in excess of 40 knots and a heavy downpour of rain for about half an hour. Our largely inexperienced crew did a terrific job of quickly and safely dropping the jib (foresail), dropping the mizzen (back sail) and reefing (reducing in size) the main. The wind mellowed after the passing of the squall and we shook out the sails and were making 4 knots toward Na Leo Ko’olau. There were no stars available, so we were steering by staying as high into the wind as we could in order to make easting. 10 pm to 2 am watch - We got on watch with the wa’a riding with only the mizzen and working jib. Immediately after taking the helm we got hit by another squall. Winds picked up and so did the sea chop, putting a good amount of strain on the hoe, and tossing us around a bit as the short swells pushed the hoe around. We balanced out the sails – easing the mizzen and pulling in the jib – and the incredible wa’a Hikianalia was soon riding smoothly through the turbulence. Conditions improved through the rest of the watch, and by the time the next watch came on, a beautiful starry night and great sailing winds prevailed. 2 am to 6 am watch - We picked up the helm with a beautiful sky of stars above and maintained a course of Naleo/Nalani Ko’olau. In the early hours we were able to follow Nanamua and Nanahope in Namahoe (Gemini) once again, as well as the Olekulua moon in Cancer off our starboard beam and Kalanikauleleaiwi (Achernar) to the south. These became quickly obscured as we passed under an “arch of doom” - a dark arc of cloud and its accompanying squall - but they emerged again once this passed. Later in the morning we followed Venus rising in Hikina, and for the first time laid eyes on our namesake star, Hikianalia, which rose in La Malanai just before dawn. After sunrise we were able to raise the main sail once again and gain some speed, however, true to the pattern of our previous mornings, our course has fallen off a bit to Haka Ko’olau. Animal Life: None observed last night. Sea Birds: None observed last night. Marine Debris: None seen today – neither man-made nor natural flotsam. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (12 hours 0 minutes ago): 33nm 016° 2.8kt |
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Report number: 52 time: 2012-11-06 04:00 UTC/GMT (Mon Nov 05 18:00 HST) position: 9 degrees 30.9 minutes S 149 degrees 19.6 minutes W course: What we accomplished today - east of north, heading 005 degrees True, Haka Ko'olau. What we’re trying for now – east of north, 020 degrees True, Na Leo Ko’olau speed: 3 knots at 6 pm, 4 knots now (8 pm) weather: increasingly overcast with dark gray cumulous clouds all around, one small shower today – watching squalls all around all afternoon, then the big one hit us right at 6 pm. No high clouds, warm, humid wind: East 5-10 knots sea state: North-East 4 to 5 feet, East 1 to 2 feet, South 1 to 2 feet, very gentle rollers – easy steering. vessel and crew condition: all ok Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: sun only. Today, we steered by the wind and swells. Animal Life: We caught another aku – this one a nice fatty, maybe 25 pounds. Sea Birds and Sea Life: A few terns and boobies, one manu o ku and one iwa. Marine Debris: None seen today – neither man-made nor natural flotsam. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (12 hours 0 minutes ago): 56nm 004° 4.7kt |
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Report number: 51 time: 2012-11-05 16:00 UTC/GMT (Mon Nov 05 06:00 HST) position: 10 degrees 27.9 minutes S 149 degrees 24.0 minutes W course: east of north, heading 005 degrees True, Haka Ko’olau speed: 4 knots weather: changing. Overcast spreading to cover more of the sky overhead. Families of squalls all around. Still no high clouds. wind: North of East, 10 knots; some light and variable periods; some localized high winds associated with passing squalls sea state: North-East 4 to 5 feet, East 1 to 2 feet, South 1 to 2 feet, very gentle rollers – easy steering. vessel and crew condition: all ok Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: Our heading at the beginning of the night was Haka Ko’olau. On the 6 to 10 pm watch, we used Makali’i; the Navigator’s Triangle of Piraetea, Keoe and Humu; the stars of Ke Ka O Makali’i, Ke Alii Kona I ka Lewa (Canopus) and the moon to steer by. We were able to hold course and a reasonable speed as the wind was constant during our watch. During the 10 pm to 2 am watch the mahina moon, which appears to be la’au pau, rose just before 11 pm in Aina Ko’olau. The watch used it and several other star groups to gauge how high they could steer up into the newly clocking more-easterly winds. They were delighted to be able to hold Nalani Ko’olau at a decent 3 knots. Over the course of the night, Nalani turned into Manu Ko’olau (even better since we are trying to gain easting). By the end of the watch they were able to hold a solid 4.5 to 5.5 knots. To determine their heading, the trailing edge of Kalupe O Kawelo (great square of Pegasus) was lined up with the leading star in Iwakelii (Cassiopeia) to point to north, then they used their hands (calibrated to one house) to count the houses east until they aligned with the canoe’s heading. This gave us Nalani Ko’olau, and then later in the night, Manu Ko’olau. During the 2 am to 6 am watch, the first two hours were relatively uneventful. They continued steering Manu/Nalani Ko’olau at 4-5 knots. The shifting cloud cover of 50-80% meant they were often steering by the moon. They were also able to use meridian pointers of the constellation Hokulei to maintain their course, keeping the stars Nanamua and Nanahope of Namahoe (Gemini) to port of the mast, and Kalanikauleleaiwi (Achernar) to the stern, depending on which star they could see through the clouds. At approximately 4 am, they met a squall with sudden wind shifts to the west that forced them to tack. This was followed by a long lull in the wind that left us adrift, sails flapping for an hour or more. Winds then visited us from nearly every house for the remainder of their shift so the crew of that watch got a good view of the full spectrum of the horizon. They finally picked up a steady course to Haka Ko’olau at 5-6 knots after sunrise and were rewarded with a rainbow poking through the clouds to Komohana. Animal Life: None observed last night. Sea Birds: None observed last night. Marine Debris: None seen today – neither man-made nor natural flotsam. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (12 hours 0 minutes ago): 27nm 020° 2.3kt |
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Report number: 50 time: 2012-11-05 04:00 UTC/GMT (Sun Nov 04 18:00 HST) position: 10 degrees 53.9 minutes S 149 degrees 33.9 minutes W course: east of north, heading 10 to 15 degrees True, Haka Ko'olau speed: 3.5 knots weather: mostly clear overhead with puffy cumulous clouds all around the horizon, no showers today, no high clouds, warm, humid wind: East 10-15 knots, at sunset we had a period of light and variable winds making steering difficult sea state: North-East 4 to 5 feet, East 1 to 2 feet, South 1 to 2 feet, very gentle rollers – easy steering. vessel and crew condition: all ok Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: sun only. Today, we steered by the wind and swells. Animal Life: None observed today. Sea Birds and Sea Life: Only a few terns and boobies at sea. One bird pile was working on our course but no strikes when we sailed through it. Marine Debris: None seen today – neither man-made nor natural flotsam. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (12 hours 0 minutes ago): 30nm 014° 2.6kt |
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Report number: 49 time: 2012-11-04 16:00 UTC/GMT (Sun Nov 04 06:00 HST) position: 11 degrees 23.8 minutes S 149 degrees 41.5 minutes W course: east of north, heading 007 degrees True, Haka Ko’olau speed: 6 to 7 knots weather: about half the sky is scattered with low puffy cumulus clouds with no vertical stratification. They do not contain much moisture. No high clouds. wind: North of East, 10 to 15 knots sea state: North-East 4 to 5 feet, East 1 to 2 feet, South 1 to 2 feet, very gentle rollers – easy steering. vessel and crew condition: all ok Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: Our heading for the night has been Haka Ko’olau. On the 6 to 10 pm watch, we used Makali’i; the Navigator’s Triangle of Piraetea, Keoe and Humu; the stars of Ke Ka O Makali’i, Ke Alii Kona I ka Lewa (Canopus) and the moon to steer by. As the night went on, we used Ke Alii Kona I ka Lewa (Canopus) in the south and the stars of Hokulei in the north - keeping them just right of the mainsail early in the night and then just left of it later in the night as they moved west across the sky. We also steered by the moon, which rose in Namahoe (nana mua and nana hope). As always, the rising sun is always our best steering guide and directional reorientation each morning. Animal Life: We caught an aku this morning – poke tonight! Sea Birds: One iwa accompanies us now and again, eyeing the lures on our fishing lines. There are only a few terns and boobies this far out at sea. One bird pile was working on our course but no strikes when we sailed through it. Marine Debris: None seen today – neither man-made nor natural flotsam. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (12 hours 0 minutes ago): 66nm 006° 5.6kt |
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Report number: 48 time: 2012-11-04 04:00 UTC/GMT (Sat Nov 03 18:00 HST) position: 12 degrees 30.6 minutes S 149 degrees 49.4 minutes W course: west of north, heading 350 degrees True, Haka Ho'olua speed: 6 knots weather: mostly clear overhead with puffy cumulous clouds all around, no showers today, no high clouds, warm, humid wind: East 10-15 knots sea state: North-East 4 to 5 feet, East 1 to 2 feet, South 1 to 2 feet, very gentle rollers – easy steering. vessel and crew condition: all ok Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: sun only. Today, we steered by the wind and swells. Animal Life: We caught another ono – like his brother, he also tasted ono. Sea Birds and Sea Life: Only a few terns and boobies at sea. One bird pile was working on our course but no strikes when we sailed through it. Marine Debris: None seen today – neither man-made nor natural flotsam. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (12 hours 0 minutes ago): 75nm 356° 6.3kt |
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Report number: 47 time: 2012-11-03 16:00 UTC/GMT (Sat Nov 03 06:00 HST) position: 13 degrees 45.9 minutes S 149 degrees 44.6 minutes W course: 15 degrees True speed: 7 to 8 knots weather: about half the sky is scattered with small cumulous clouds, some reaching up into tall pillars. They do not contain much moisture. No high clouds. wind: North of East, 10 to 15 knots sea state: North-East 4 to 5 feet, more established and prominent; East 1 to 2 feet, South 1 to 2 feet, very gentle rollers – easy steering. vessel and crew condition: all ok Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: Our heading for the night has been Haka, trying for Na Leo Koolau. We used Makali’i; the Navigator’s Triangle of Pireatea, Keoe and Humu; the stars of Ke Ka O Makali’i and the moon to steer by. As the night went on, we continued to use the moon and various stars as they showed and hid. The rising sun is always our best steering guide and directional reorientation each morning. Animal Life: Flying malolo observed. Sea Birds: Terns and boobies – not many. Marine Debris: None observed overnight. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (12 hours 0 minutes ago): 67nm 000° 5.7kt |
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Report number: 46 time: 2012-11-03 04:00 UTC/GMT (Fri Nov 02 18:00 HST) position: 14 degrees 54.0 minutes S 149 degrees 45.1 minutes W course: 005 degrees True speed: 7 knots weather: mostly clear overhead now but large families of puffy, moisture-bearing cumulous clouds have been pass in from east to west all day – we are now between two bands of these clouds to our east and west, several gentle showers bathed us today, no high clouds, warm wind: East 10-15 knots sea state: North-East 4 to 5 feet, more established and prominent; East 1 to 2 feet, South 1 to 2 feet, very gentle rollers – easy steering. vessel and crew condition: all ok Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: sun only. Today, we steered by the wind and swells. Animal Life: We caught an ono – which also tasted ono. Sea Birds and Sea Life: Only a few terns and boobies at sea. One bird pile was working hard but they were off our course. Marine Debris: None seen today – neither man-made nor natural flotsam. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (12 hours 0 minutes ago): 71nm 356° 5.9kt |
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Report number: 45 time: 2012-11-02 16:00 UTC/GMT (Fri Nov 02 06:00 HST) position: 16 degrees 05.3 minutes S 149 degrees 40.6 minutes W course: 356 degrees True overnight, trying for 015 degrees True this morning speed: 7 to 8 knots weather: some cumulous clouds, plenty stars where clear wind: North of East, 10 to 15 knots sea state: mellow; ENE swell 4 to 6 feet; E swell of 2-3 feet vessel and crew condition: all ok Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: Our heading for the night has been Haka, trying for Na Leo Koolau, The 6 to 10 watch used Makali’i, Keoe and the moon to steer by. As the night went on, we continued to use the moon and various stars as they showed and hid. The rising sun is always our best steering guide and directional reorientation each morning. Animal Life: Flying malolo observed. Sea Birds: Terns and boobies – not many. Marine Debris: None observed overnight. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (12 hours 0 minutes ago): 62nm 356° 5.2kt |
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Report number: 44 time: 2012-11-02 04:00 UTC/GMT (Thu Nov 01 18:00 HST) position: 17 degrees 08.2 minutes S 149 degrees 36.3 minutes W course: 014 degrees True speed: 7 knots weather: mostly clear, warm wind: East 10-15 knots sea state: East 3 to 4 feet, North 1 to 2 feet, very gentle rollers – easy steering. vessel and crew condition: all ok Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: sun only. Today, we initially navigated by coastal navigation, back-sighting as we sailed away from Tahiti. Then, we steered by the wind and swells until we saw Tetiaroa Atoll, an outlier of the Tuamotus. We again used coastal navigation to safely skirt around the atoll, and then were able to steer by the stars through a beautiful night. The six to ten p.m. watch steered using Keoe, Makaliʻi, Jupiter, and a gorgeous tangerine-red rising moon. Animal Life: None seen today. Sea Birds and Sea Life: Only a few terns and boobies at sea; but, during our departure ceremony at Hokuleʻa Beach Park in Papeete, two Hokuleʻa-related birds served as hoailona (omens) that our departure was happening at an auspicious time. Very light winds had been predicted for today. But, today was blessed with a 10 to 15 knot east wind that is perfect for our first leg. Our feelings that today was a good day for our departure were reinforced when two manu-o-ku (white terns or fairy terns) flew low and slow right through the crowd assembled for our ceremony. Manu-o-ku are important signs in traditional Polynesian non-instrument wayfinding. Then an Iwa (frigate bird) circled the ceremony for several circuits. Hokuleʻa crewmember Kamaki Worthington told us a story of a previous voyage when Hokuleʻa spent a long time in Tautira, Tahiti, waiting for wind. Day after day, there was none. The morning they were finally able to sail, crewmembers awoke to find an Iwa circling the canoe. The birds today were reinforcement to our already strong desire to voyage toward home. Marine Debris: None seen today. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report ( 2 days 0 hours 0 minutes ago): 24nm 355° 0.5kt |
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Report number: 43 time: 2012-10-31 04:00 UTC/GMT (Tue Oct 30 18:00 HST) position: 17 degrees 32.4 minutes S 149 degrees 34.2 minutes W course: at anchor speed: at anchor weather: absolutely perfect wind: sheltered in Papeete harbor sea state: calm in Papeete harbor vessel and crew condition: all ok Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: sun only. Today, we navigated by coastal navigation and steered by the winds. Animal Life: None seen today. Sea Birds and Sea Life: Only a few terns and boobies Marine Debris: None seen today. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report ( 1 days 0 hours 0 minutes ago): 17nm 099° 0.7kt |
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Report number: 42 time: 2012-10-30 04:00 UTC/GMT (Mon Oct 29 18:00 HST) position: 17 degrees 29.5 minutes S 149 degrees 52.3 minutes W course: at anchor speed: at anchor weather: absolutely perfect wind: ENE 10 knots sea state: calm in sheltered lee of Moorea vessel and crew condition: all ok Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: sun only. Today, we steered by coastal navigation. Animal Life: We saw cetaceans in the distance, weʻre 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. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report ( 1 days 0 hours 0 minutes ago): 2nm 090° 0.1kt |
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Report number: 41 time: 2012-10-29 04:00 UTC/GMT (Sun Oct 28 18:00 HST) position: 17 degrees 29.5 minutes S 149 degrees 54.8 minutes W course: at anchor speed: at anchor weather: absolutely perfect wind: ENE 5 knots sea state: calm in sheltered lee of Moorea vessel and crew condition: all ok Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: sun only. Today, we steered by coastal navigation. Animal Life: Swam with stingrays, black-tip reef sharks, humuhumunukunukuapua’a, snappers, papio, etc. Sea Birds and Sea Life: Lots of wonderful sea birds observed today including manu o ku, sooty terns and lots more. Marine Debris: No manmade debris, but signs of land all around like limu, tree branches, etc. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report ( 3 days 0 hours 0 minutes ago): 19nm 278° 0.3kt |
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Report number: 40 time: 2012-10-26 04:00 UTC/GMT (Thu Oct 25 18:00 HST) position: 17 degrees 32.4 minutes S 149 degrees 34.2 minutes W course: 0 degrees speed: 0 knots at anchor weather: wind: sea state: vessel and crew condition: Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: Animal Life: Sea Birds and Sea Life: Marine Debris: Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (10 hours 0 minutes ago): 4nm 239° 0.5kt |
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Report number: 39 time: 2012-10-25 18:00 UTC/GMT (Thu Oct 25 08:00 HST) position: 17 degrees 29.9 minutes S 149 degrees 29.7 minutes W course: 0 degrees speed: 0.0 knots at anchor weather: wind: sea state: vessel and crew condition: Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: Animal Life: Sea Birds and Sea Life: Marine Debris: Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (14 hours 0 minutes ago): 32nm 035° 2.3kt |
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Report number: 38 time: 2012-10-25 04:00 UTC/GMT (Wed Oct 24 18:00 HST) position: 17 degrees 56.3 minutes S 149 degrees 49.2 minutes W course: 025 degrees True speed: 8 to 9 knots weather: clear, only a few clouds wind: E 20 to 25 knots with higher gusts sea state: ESE 10 to 15 feet, SSE swells 8 to 10 feet, wind chop, less confused and moderate seas vessel and crew condition: all ok (Faafaite also) Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: sun only. Today, we again steered principally by the wind and swells. Animal Life: Caught a 15 to 20 pound ono, had a double hook-up but the other bit through the line and got away Sea Birds and Sea Life: A few more birds observed today including manu o ku. Marine Debris: No manmade debris, but signs of land ahead like limu, tree branches, etc. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (11 hours 56 minutes ago): 109nm 018° 9.2kt |
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Report number: 37 time: 2012-10-24 16:04 UTC/GMT (Wed Oct 24 06:04 HST) position: 19 degrees 40.6 minutes S 150 degrees 24.9 minutes W course: 024 degrees True speed: 7.0 knots weather: beautiful tradewind weather from the east; dry and warm wind: down to 15-20 knots out of the East sea state: settled; E swell 6-8 feet; NE swell of 2-4 feet crossing it vessel and crew condition: all ok (Faafaite also) Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: Our heading for the night has been Na Leo Koolau, The 6 to 10 watch used Kealiikonaikalewa, the stars of Kalupeokawelo, Makalii, Aldeberan and Orion to help steer. We saw lightning off the starboard bow and experienced one brief rainsquall. As the night went on, we used the setting ole kukolu moon over the end of our port railing. We also kept Puana (procyon) in the starboard shrouds, and Sirius over the end of one of our benches on the starboard side. Cloud cover built throughout the night, until the 2 am to 6 am watch was only using the wind and sails to steer. We watched Venus rise in the East, however, as the sky both lightened and cleared. Animal Life: We just caught a big ono for breakfast. Sea Birds and Sea Life: None observed. Marine Debris: None observed overnight. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (12 hours 4 minutes ago): 77nm 016° 6.4kt |
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Report number: 36 time: 2012-10-24 04:00 UTC/GMT (Tue Oct 23 18:00 HST) position: 20 degrees 54.9 minutes S 150 degrees 48.1 minutes W course: 025 degrees True speed: 6 knots weather: mostly cloudy, some clearing, will have some stars to steer by wind: ESE 20 to 30 knots with higher gusts, backing to more easterly sea state: ESE 10 to 15 feet and choppy, SSE swells 8 to 10 feet, wind chop, confused but moderate seas vessel and crew condition: all ok (Faafaite also) Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: sun only. Today, we again steered principally by the wind and swells. Animal Life: We are seeing more malolo. One infant landed on deck, returned to the sea. Caught a 25 to 30 pound mahimahi Sea Birds and Sea Life: A few more birds observed today including manu o ku. Marine Debris: None observed today. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (11 hours 57 minutes ago): 87nm 021° 7.3kt |
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Report number: 35 time: 2012-10-23 16:03 UTC/GMT (Tue Oct 23 06:03 HST) position: 22 degrees 16.8 minutes S 151 degrees 22.4 minutes W course: 020 degrees True speed: 9.0 to 10.0 knots weather: 50 percent cloud cover with only low-level cumulous, air dry and salty from a nice layer of salt spray from all the high wind wind: ESE 30 knots sea state: SSE swell 15-20 feet; moderate and has somewhat sorted itself out from yesterday; still shipping occasional wave and spray vessel and crew condition: all ok (Faafaite also) Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: clear night with tons of stars. Still enjoying looking at the South celestial pole area and getting to know it better (doing transects). Since the E horizon was really clear, we could see Regulus come up in the early morning. This helps those learning about navigation to learn about the elliptic: the path that stars follow as they rise and set across the sky. The new crew are learning the northern pointers to the northern pole, which is at this point below the horizon by 22.5 degrees. Animal Life: None noted. Sea Birds and Sea Life: None observed. Marine Debris: None observed overnight. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (12 hours 3 minutes ago): 95nm 009° 7.9kt |
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Report number: 34 time: 2012-10-23 04:00 UTC/GMT (Mon Oct 22 18:00 HST) position: 23 degrees 51.0 minutes S 151 degrees 40.2 minutes W course: 005 degrees True speed: 8 knots weather: mostly cloudy, low-level cumulous, 75% cloud cover, will have a few stars to steer by wind: ESE 20 to 30 knots with a steady pulse of gusts sea state: ESE 10 to 15 feet and choppy, SSE swells 8 to 10 feet, wind chop, confused seas vessel and crew condition: all ok (Faafaite also) Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: sun only. Today, we again steered principally by the wind and swells. Animal Life: None observed today. Sea Birds and Sea Life: Almost none observed today. Marine Debris: None observed today. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (11 hours 30 minutes ago): 99nm 009° 8.6kt |
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Report number: 33 time: 2012-10-22 16:30 UTC/GMT (Mon Oct 22 06:30 HST) position: 25 degrees 29.2 minutes S 151 degrees 58.5 minutes W course: 025 degrees True speed: varied between 7.0 and 9.0 knots weather: 60 percent cloud cover with only cumulous wind: SE 15-25 knots sea state: SE swell built to 10-15 feet; E swell building and currently at 4-6 feet; with wind chop from the E vessel and crew condition: all ok (Faafaite also) Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: 6 to 10 pm watch steered by Kealiikonaikalewa (Canopus) Jupiter and Lehuakona (Antares) despite 75% cloud cover. 10 pm to 2 am watch steered by wind and sails because of strong winds and almost complete cloud cover. The 2 am to 6 am watch mimicked the previous watch, although the southern and ceiling skies opened intermittently to clear stars. Animal Life: None noted. Sea Birds and Sea Life: None observed. Marine Debris: None observed overnight. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (12 hours 30 minutes ago): 93nm 018° 7.5kt |
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Report number: 32 time: 2012-10-22 04:00 UTC/GMT (Sun Oct 21 18:00 HST) position: 26 degrees 58.3 minutes S 152 degrees 31.2 minutes W course: 025 degrees True speed: 10 knots weather: clearing skies with low-level cumulous, 75% cloud cover, will have stars to steer by wind: SSE 15 to 25 knots sea state: SSW swells 10 to 15 feet, SE swells 6 to 8 feet, SW swells 6 to 8 feet (diminishing), wind chop, confused but moderate seas vessel and crew condition: all ok (Faafaite also) Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: sun only. Today, we again steered principally by the wind and swells. Animal Life: None observed today. Sea Birds and Sea Life: Almost none observed today. Marine Debris: None observed today. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (11 hours 57 minutes ago): 96nm 012° 8.0kt |
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Report number: 31 time: 2012-10-21 16:03 UTC/GMT (Sun Oct 21 06:03 HST) position: 28 degrees 32.6 minutes S 152 degrees 54.0 minutes W course: 025 degrees True speed: average 9.0 knots weather: 95 percent cloud cover with mid-level sheet and low-level cumulous; air is dry and cool wind: SSE 20-25 knots sea state: moderate, with a following sea: SW swell (10-15 feet), with a SSE swell of 6-8 feet, and a S swell of 6-8 feet vessel and crew condition: all ok (Faafaite also) Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: During the 6 pm to 10 pm watch, we steered by the wind and with the sails. Again, due to complete overcast, there were no stars to steer by and only occasional glimpses of the moon through the cloud cover. The same was true for the 10 pm to 2 am watch. During the 2 am to 6 am watch, some stars came through, like Orion, Jupiter and Sirious, but not for long periods. Animal Life: None noted. Sea Birds and Sea Life: None observed. Marine Debris: None observed overnight. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (12 hours 3 minutes ago): 79nm 028° 6.6kt |
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Report number: 30 time: 2012-10-21 04:00 UTC/GMT (Sat Oct 20 18:00 HST) position: 29 degrees 42.3 minutes S 153 degrees 37.1 minutes W course: 035 degrees True speed: 6 knots weather: overcast, cool wind: South 10 to 15 knots sea state: SW swells 6 to 8 feet, W wind swells 2 to 4 feet, seas mellow and comfortable vessel and crew condition: all ok (Faafaite also) Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: sun only. Today, we again steered principally by the wind and swells. Animal Life: When we scooped a bucket of seawater to wash dishes, we caught the smallest fish you can imagine – too small to identify. We returned him to the sea. Sea Birds and Sea Life: Few today. Marine Debris: A plastic milk carton with some monofilament fishing line attached floated by the canoe. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (11 hours 27 minutes ago): 57nm 041° 5.0kt |
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Report number: 29 time: 2012-10-20 16:33 UTC/GMT (Sat Oct 20 06:33 HST) position: 30 degrees 25.2 minutes S 154 degrees 20.9 minutes W course: 060 degrees True, currently speed: 4.0 knots weather: currently clearing, 40 percent scattered cloud cover with some high cirrus and low cumulous clouds on the horizon wind: SW 3-8 knots and slowly increasing sea state: SW swell 8-10 feet, NW swell is 2-4 feet, and a wind chop of 1 feet and building vessel and crew condition: all ok (Faafaite also) Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: During the 6 pm to 10 pm watch, we were able to steer mainly with the sails. The rig was balanced very nicely after we shook the reefs out of the main and mizzen sails and replaced the working jib with the genoa. There were absolutely no stars to steer by and only the faintest glimpse of the moon now and again. During the 10 pm to 2 am, and the 2 am to 6 am watch, we also had stars to steer by, and very little to no wind. Animal Life: None noted. Sea Birds and Sea Life: None observed. Marine Debris: None observed overnight. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (12 hours 33 minutes ago): 33nm 055° 2.7kt |
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Report number: 28 time: 2012-10-20 04:00 UTC/GMT (Fri Oct 19 18:00 HST) position: 30 degrees 44.2 minutes S 154 degrees 52.7 minutes W course: 055 degrees True (backing winds from NNW to NW are allowing us to pinch a little more northward, as we had hoped) speed: 5 knots weather: overcast, light rain wind: backing to NW, 10 to 15 knots, comes and goes sea state: NW swells 6 to 8 feet, SE swells 6 to 8 feet, NE swells 2 to 4 feet, wind chop N and NW vessel and crew condition: all ok (Faafaite also) Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: Sun only. Today, we again steered principally by the wind and swells. Animal Life: None observed today. Sea Birds and Sea Life: Few today. Marine Debris: None seen today. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (12 hours 10 minutes ago): 66nm 065° 5.5kt |
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Report number: 27 time: 2012-10-19 15:50 UTC/GMT (Fri Oct 19 05:50 HST) position: 31 degrees 12.6 minutes S 156 degrees 03.3 minutes W course: 070 degrees True through the night speed: Average 7.5 knots weather: clear half of the night,10 -2 watch, clouded with passing cumulous clouds, air dry and cool wind: NW 15 to 25 knots sea state: SW swell diminished to 6-8 feet, NW swell is also 6-8 feet, and more of a northerly wind chop vessel and crew condition: all ok (Faafaite also) Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: Our heading for much of the night was Aina Koolau. – The 6 to 10 watch steered toward the east almost exclusively while facing back towards the west. – Most of our steering was done using the setting Moon and Lehuakona (Antares) in Kamakaunuiamaui (Scorpio). – When clouds obscured that part of the sky, we looked over the starboard beam and steered by Kealiiokonaikalewa (Canopus). We also used the ku moon, which was shining bright for the beginning part of the night in the constellation Scorpio. – At times, clouds covered the moon, but the glow could still be seen on the water. – Orion was once again used as it rose for much of the 10pm-2am watch. Patchy clouds kept covering our steering stars during the 2 am to 6 am watch, so we alternated between using Kamaile Mua and Kamaile Hope to the south, Venus to the east, and Aries to the north. Animal Life: None noted. Sea Birds and Sea Life: An albatross greeted the bow of the canoe at sunrise. Marine Debris: None observed overnight. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (11 hours 50 minutes ago): 79nm 072° 6.7kt |
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Report number: 26 time: 2012-10-19 04:00 UTC/GMT (Thu Oct 18 18:00 HST) position: 31 degrees 37.0 minutes S 157 degrees 31.4 minutes W course: 075 degrees True (favorable wind shift has allowed us to parallel our reference course) speed: 7.5 knots weather: mostly clear, dry, cold, will be clear tonight for stars, local cumulous wind: NW 10 to 15 knots sea state: SW swells 10 feet (diminishing), NW swells 6 to 8 feet (building) vessel and crew condition: all ok (Faafaite also) Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: sun only. Today, we again steered principally by the wind and swells. Animal Life: None observed today. Sea Birds and Sea Life: Albatross, the piebald shearwater-like bird and other hunting seabirds continue to fish near the canoe. Marine Debris: None seen today. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (11 hours 55 minutes ago): 100nm 077° 8.4kt |
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Report number: 25 time: 2012-10-18 16:05 UTC/GMT (Thu Oct 18 06:05 HST) position: 31 degrees 59.4 minutes S 159 degrees 26.3 minutes W course: 075 degrees True through the night speed: 7.0 knots weather: air dry and cold, beautiful wind: NW 10 to 15 knots sea state: SW swell down a bit to 10-15 feet, and a NW swell at 3-4 feet vessel and crew condition: all ok (Faafaite also) Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: The 6 to 10 watch steered by the setting Moon, Lehuakona (Antares) in Kamakaunuiamaui (Scorpio) and Kealiiokonaikalewa (Canopus). From the 10 to 2 watch, most of our steering for the first few hours of the watch was done while facing back towards the west. Our heading for the night was near the border of La/Aina Koolau. We used the star Kaus Australis within the constellation Sagittarius keeping it down the middle of our canoe. After a while, Bruce had us use the star Nunki, also in Sagittarius, keeping it in the middle, as the constellation began to set. We then used the southern cross, (which we can no longer see the full constellation upside down anymore as we are heading more north) keeping it just to the aft of our beam for the rest of the watch. Orion was also in a perfect position at this time to steer by. From 2 am to about 5 am, the sky steadily filled with clouds, opening up again just before sunrise. We used Puana, then Regulus, and then Venus to the East, Kamaile Mua and Kamaile Hope to the South, Jupiter to the North, and K hut to the West. The sun rose beautifully at the end of our watch, providing us with a clear mark as Venus began to fade. Sea Birds and Sea Life: At the end of the 10pm-2am watch, Bruce was telling a story about dolphins he had seen on a different voyage. Right after that and just as we were about to break into the 159° Longitude from the 160ʻs, a pod of dolphins appeared alongside the canoe. A nice welcoming hoailona. At the end of the 2 to 6 watch, a black seabird – perhaps a shearwater – crossed our bow, headed toward the sunrise. Marine Debris: None observed overnight. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (12 hours 5 minutes ago): 73nm 072° 6.0kt |
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Report number: 24 time: 2012-10-18 04:00 UTC/GMT (Wed Oct 17 18:00 HST) position: 32 degrees 21.5 minutes S 160 degrees 48.3 minutes W course: 090-095 degrees True (winds have driven us down from the reference course a little) speed: 5 knots weather: mostly clear, dry, cold, will be clear tonight for stars, local cumulous wind: south of west, 5 to 10 knots, shifting slowly to north of west sea state: SW swells 15 to 20 feet (appear to be diminishing), W swells 4 to 6 feet, NW swells 6 to 8 feet vessel and crew condition: all ok (Faafaite also) Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: sun only. Today, we again steered principally by the wind. The wind stayed south of west, causing our course to drop down to due east or even 095 degrees True. Animal Life: A large shark fin stayed near the starboard hull a few minutes this morning and another, a little smaller, was seen this afternoon. Sea Birds and Sea Life: Albatross, the beautiful piebald shearwater-like bird and other hunting seabirds continue to cruise in arcs around the canoe. Marine Debris: None seen today. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (12 hours 0 minutes ago): 58nm 099° 4.8kt |
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Report number: 23 time: 2012-10-17 16:00 UTC/GMT (Wed Oct 17 06:00 HST) position: 32 degrees 12.5 minutes S 161 degrees 56.0 minutes W course: 090 degrees True through the night speed: 4.0 knots weather: air dry and cool wind: SW 5 to 10 knots sea state: swells from the SW built slowly to 15-20 feet vessel and crew condition: all ok (Faafaite also) Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: Last night was the best opportunity to steer by the stars that the 6 to10 pm watch has had on this voyage. We have had mostly cloudy evenings, but last night was open and clear, especially behind us to Komohana (the west). To our southwest were Kamakaunuiamaui (Scorpius), which currently surrounds the transient planet Mars, and Pimoe (Sagittarius). To our northwest was the Navigatorʻs Triangle of Piraetea (Deneb), Keoe (Vega) and Humu (Altair). We had so many stars to steer by, any course errors were clearly our own fault! The Hilo moon was the merest possible sliver, but the dark side of the moon was clearly visible. We had several long lasting, strong, bright shooting stars. Kaleo Wong pointed out Corona Australis to us. For the 10 pm to 2 am watch, our heading for the night was due east towards Hikina. Canopus was on our port side to the south, and we used it off of one of our benches again. Orion was used putting the belt on the side of the mast. As clouds passed through, the glow of Jupiter on the water was extremely bright, so we used that for a while as well. Finally the north pointers Sheratan and Mothallah were kept on our beam when they stood upright indicating north. The 2 am to 6 am watch started very clear, with the Milky Way and Magellican clouds clearly visible. We kept the due east heading, with A‘a directly to the starboard of the mast. After less than an hour, the clouds came in and swallowed the sky. Animal Life: Nothing sighted overnight. Sea Birds and Sea Life: None noted. Marine Debris: None observed overnight. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (11 hours 0 minutes ago): 52nm 090° 4.8kt |
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Report number: 22 time: 2012-10-17 05:00 UTC/GMT (Tue Oct 16 19:00 HST) position: 32 degrees 12.1 minutes S 162 degrees 57.9 minutes W course: 090 degrees True (backing winds have driven us down from the reference course a little) speed: 5 to 6 knots weather: dry, cold, will be clear tonight for stars, mid-level clouds burning off, local cumulous wind: south of west, 10 to 15 knots sea state: SW swells building to 8 to 10 feet, W swells 8 to 10 feet, N swells down to 2 to 3 feet vessel and crew condition: all ok (Faafaite also) Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: sun only. Today, we again steered principally by the wind. The wind backed south of west, causing our course to drop down to due east. This is fine as we need to stay south to avoid a large high pressure area to our north that could slow us dramatically or even stall us out. Animal Life: Nothing to report today. Sea Birds and Sea Life: Albatross, the beautiful piebald shearwater-like bird and other hunting seabirds continue to cruise in arcs around the canoe. Marine Debris: None seen today. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (13 hours 0 minutes ago): 86nm 079° 6.6kt |
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Report number: 21 time: 2012-10-16 16:00 UTC/GMT (Tue Oct 16 06:00 HST) position: 32 degrees 28.1 minutes S 164 degrees 37.8 minutes W course: 075 degrees True through the night speed: 8.0 knots weather: clear most of the night with passing cumulous clouds, air dry and cool wind: W 10 to 20 knots sea state: W swell 8 to 10 feet, NW swell 6 to 8 feet, N swell 4 to 6 feet vessel and crew condition: all ok (Faafaite also) Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: Lots of stars throughout the night making it easy to steer. Our heading for the night was the border of Aina/La Koolau. Early on, Alpha and Beta centauri were used off of our man overboard pole. Then we used the star Menkar off the port manu and Canopus (Ke alii o kona I ka lewa) off the front of the bench on the starboard side. As the 10pm-2am watch went on, Hamal was used off of one of the shrouds and different stars were used off the port manu and also the mast as the sky moved in a northerly direction. Those stars included Makalii, Kapuahi (Aldeberan), the planet Jupiter, and finally all the stars in the constellation Orion. From 2 to 6 am, we steered by Puana, A‘a Kahiki, Regulus, Venus to the east; Kamaile Mua and Kamaile Hope to the south; Fomalhaut and Grus in the west; and Jupiter and Makali‘i to the north. Animal Life: A squid was found on the back ama side of canoe. Sea Birds and Sea Life: Fewer are seen this far out to sea in this area. Marine Debris: None observed overnight. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (10 hours 45 minutes ago): 89nm 070° 8.3kt |
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Report number: 20 time: 2012-10-16 05:15 UTC/GMT (Mon Oct 15 19:15 HST) position: 32 degrees 59.0 minutes S 166 degrees 17.0 minutes W course: 075 degrees True speed: 8.5 knots weather: mostly clear, with thin mid-level veil of clouds wind: west, 10 to 20 knots, has lightened through the afternoon sea state: sea has diminished to W swells 6 to 8 feet, NW swells 4 to 6 feet, N swells 4 to 6 feet vessel and crew condition: all ok (Faafaite also) Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: sun only. Today, we again steered principally by the wind. The wind backed to the west a little allowing us to return to our desired course of 075 degrees True. Animal Life: Nothing after the wonderful fin whale encounter reported this morning. Sea Birds and Sea Life: An albatross is soaring around near us as this is being typed. Marine Debris: None seen today. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (12 hours 45 minutes ago): 95nm 067° 7.5kt |
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Report number: 19 time: 2012-10-15 16:30 UTC/GMT (Mon Oct 15 06:30 HST) position: 33 degrees 36.2 minutes S 168 degrees 02.0 minutes W course: 075 degrees True through the night, change to 060 degrees True at sunrise speed: 9.0 knots weather: partially overcast, medium and high clouds, patches trying to clear wind: W 10 to 20 knots sea state: W swell 8 to 10 feet, NW swell 6 to 8 feet, N swell 4 to 6 feet vessel and crew condition: all ok (Faafaite also) Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: To start off the night, we headed in the direction of La Koolau. On the 6 pm to 10 pm watch, no stars were useful, so we steered primarily by the wind and swells, but also were aided by the Global Positioning System (GPS). This voyage is being navigated using a combination of traditional and modern methods. There are several concerns that cause us to supplement traditional with modern techniques: we are delivering a new vessel, crew members must return to jobs within a reasonable time and there is no primary objective to prove academic theories on this particular trip. We are doing lots of star training, but when no stars are available, we do use GPS to aid in keeping the best course. The 10 pm – 2 am watch had more stars to work with. Antares (Lehua Kona) was used early in the watch, keeping it on one of the shrouds. Alpha Centauri (Kamaile Hope) was also used on the clew of the mizzen for a short while. At our current position of 33 degrees south, Jupiter rises at a steep angle heading northward, so we used it on various points off of our port side when it rose later in the watch. Orion and the stars of Ka Hei Hei O Na Keiki was the last constellation we used over the last hour of the watch, keeping it mostly in front of us or a little to the left of the mast. On the 2 am to 6 am watch, we continued to use GPS to confirm our heading, because the clouds continued to fill the sky. We were able to use Puana at the start of the watch to keep us headed East, and later we alternated between Jupiter on the port (to the North) and Kamaile Nui and Kamaile Hope (Alpha and Beta Centauri) on the starboard (to the South). By the last quarter of the watch, only Jupiter to the North continued to occasionally be visible. Animal Life: Another tiny ika (squid) was found on deck this morning. But the highlight of the morning was a large baleen whale that spent several minutes cruising with Hikianalia. It first showed itself by a “blow” off the starboard bow, followed by a great “tail shot” as it dived only about 10 meters in front of the bow. Then it (or a companion?) seemed to tail us off the port quarter for a while, showing several nice “blows” near the stern. Sea Birds and Sea Life: Fewer are seen this far out to sea in this area. There is one beautiful bird, a great low-level soarer that we would love to identify. It is a striking piebald black and white on both the top and under sides. It looks like a type of shearwater Marine Debris: None observed overnight. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (11 hours 10 minutes ago): 70nm 074° 6.3kt |
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Report number: 18 time: 2012-10-15 05:20 UTC/GMT (Sun Oct 14 19:20 HST) position: 33 degrees 55.5 minutes S 169 degrees 22.9 minutes W course: 075 degrees True speed: 7.5 knots weather: mostly overcast, mid-level veil (remains of a low pressure system south of us), light rain squalls nearby – not threatening wind: west, 15 to 20 knots, has lightened through the afternoon sea state: W swells 8 to 12 feet, SW swells 8 to12 feet, NW swells 6 to 8 feet vessel and crew condition: all ok (Faafaite also) Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: sun only. Today, we steered principally by the wind, which determined our course. Because of the wind, our best course was 090 degrees True rather than 075 degrees True, which we had been holding for days. Animal Life: None observed. No fish today. Sea Birds and Sea Life: Only a few birds today, some flying and some bobbing around on the sea. Marine Debris: None seen today. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (12 hours 36 minutes ago): 87nm 082° 7.0kt |
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Report number: 17 time: 2012-10-14 16:44 UTC/GMT (Sun Oct 14 06:44 HST) position: 34 degrees 07.3 minutes S 171 degrees 07.6 minutes W course: 090 degrees True speed: 7.0 knots weather: mostly low overcast, patches trying to clear; light squalls in the area wind: N of W, 15 to 20 knots sea state: NW swell 6 to 8 feet, W swell 4 to 6 feet, NE swell 3 to 4 feet vessel and crew condition: all ok (Faafaite also) Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: To help keep our course on Hikina (east), the 6 pm to10 pm watch steered by keeping Hanaiakamalama (the Southern Cross) and Kamailehope and Kamailemua (Alpha and Beta Centauri) on the back edge of the mizzen boom. The 10 pm-2 am watch, used various stars throughout the night. The main stars and constellations used were Hanaiakamalama as it pointed straight up and down showing us south. Kakuhihewa (Scheat) and Keawe (Markab), part of Ka Lupe O Kawelo (the great square of Pegasus), were to our north and showed us north when they pointed straight up and down. We also used the other two main stars in Ka Lupe O Kawelo, Manokalanipo (Alpheratz) and Pi’ilani (Algenib). As Orion (in Ka Hei Hei O Na Keiki) was rising, we used Mintaka and most of the whole constellation to maintain course as clouds covered the sky from time to time. The 2 –6 am watch used those same stars as well as A’a (Sirius) and the planet Jupiter. Animal Life: A tiny ika (squid) was found on deck this morning. Sea Birds and Sea Life: Fewer are seen this far out to sea in this area. Marine Debris: None observed overnight. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (11 hours 4 minutes ago): 70nm 087° 6.4kt |
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Report number: 16 time: 2012-10-14 05:40 UTC/GMT (Sat Oct 13 19:40 HST) position: 34 degrees 11.4 minutes S 172 degrees 32.5 minutes W course: 090 degrees True speed: 6 to 7 knots weather: mostly cloudy, some clear patches wind: just north of west, 12 to 18 knots sea state: NW swells 6 to 8 feet, N swells 3 to 4 feet, wind chop W 2 to 4 feet vessel and crew condition: all ok (Faafaite also) Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: sun only Animal Life: Bruce saw a large whale pass underwater near the hoe. It didnʻt surface so we donʻt know the species. We caught a nice big eye tuna today and turned it into sashimi and fish curry. Mahalo Kanaloa. Sea Birds and Sea Life: We saw an albatross and a petrel. Marine Debris: None seen today. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (12 hours 30 minutes ago): 81nm 085° 6.6kt |
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Report number: 15 time: 2012-10-13 17:10 UTC/GMT (Sat Oct 13 07:10 HST) position: 34 degrees 18.7 minutes S 174 degrees 10.9 minutes W course: 075 degrees True speed: 5.0 knots weather: almost solid overcast, patches trying to clear wind: N and a little W of N, 20 to 30 knots sea state: developed seas, N swell 8 to 12 feet, wind chop 3 to 4 feet vessel and crew condition: all ok (Faafaite also) Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: overnight only a few stars peeked out of the overcast, nothing consistent Animal Life: None observed overnight. Sea Birds and Sea Life: Gulls, Boobies, etc. Marine Debris: None observed overnight. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (11 hours 32 minutes ago): 76nm 081° 6.6kt |
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Report number: 14 time: 2012-10-13 05:38 UTC/GMT (Fri Oct 12 19:38 HST) position: 34 degrees 30.9 minutes S 175 degrees 41.7 minutes W course: 090 degrees True speed: 8 to 9 knots weather: solid overcast, light rain wind: just east of north, 20 to 30 knots sea state: NW swells 8-10 feet vessel and crew condition: all ok (Faafaite also) Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: too cloudy even to see the sun Animal Life: Naia (common dolphins) frolicking near the manu. Whale spouts were seen in the distance (possibly sperm whales in the Kermadec Trench?) This is the same area where Hokule’a saw sperm whales on a previous voyage. Sea Birds and Sea Life: Still quite a few sea birds fishing in this area. Marine Debris: None seen today; but, we had the interesting experience of sailing through a field of pumice stones floating on the sea. We believe these gray, buoyant stones emerge on the sea floor due to volcanic activity. They ranged from pea-sized to the size of a man’s head. Some had barnacles aboard. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (12 hours 25 minutes ago): 106nm 076° 8.6kt |
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Report number: 13 time: 2012-10-12 17:13 UTC/GMT (Fri Oct 12 07:13 HST) position: 34 degrees 56.4 minutes S 177 degrees 46.8 minutes W course: 075 degrees True speed: 9.0 knots weather: clear patches with an interesting mixture of clouds all around – from patchy stratocumulus up to some streaky high cirrus, portending stronger weather wind: began building and filling in about 1 am, now NNE 20-25 knots with more forecast for about noon sea state: SW swell 6-7 feet. N wind swell building 2-3 feet vessel and crew condition: all ok (Faafaite also) Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: Good navigation stars overnight in the north and the east. Clouds washed out stars in the south and west. A beautiful red sunrise this morning made us think of: “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky in morning, sailor, take warning.” Animal Life: None observed overnight. Sea Birds and Sea Life: Gulls, Boobies, etc. Marine Debris: None observed overnight. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (11 hours 8 minutes ago): 68nm 074° 6.2kt |
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Report number: 12 time: 2012-10-12 06:05 UTC/GMT (Thu Oct 11 20:05 HST) position: 35.2575 degrees S 179.1234 degrees W course: 065 degrees True speed: most of the day 4 to 5 knots, reduced to about 2 to 3 knots at 5 pm to allow Faafaite to close with us for night sailing weather: clear sky all day but gathering clouds in the evening, especially ao nua and ao manu high clouds, foretelling stronger winds or a possible system approaching. wind: SW winds have clocked to NW but very light, about 10 knots sea state: predominant SW swell 6-8 feet, NW swell 4 feet vessel and crew condition: all ok (Faafaite also) Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: Still too bright for stars. Animal Life: None observed today. Sea Birds and Sea Life: Another albatross flew near us for a while. Marine Debris: One piece of Styrofoam and a bottle were seen. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (12 hours 30 minutes ago): 51nm 063° 4.1kt |
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Report number: 11 time: 2012-10-11 17:35 UTC/GMT (Thu Oct 11 07:35 HST) position: 35.6454 degrees S 179.9428 degrees E course: 075 degrees True speed: 3.0 knots weather: clear all night, some clouds developing overhead wind: light and variable sea state: SW swell 3-5 feet vessel and crew condition: all ok (Faafaite also) Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: A beautiful clear night with amny good stars for navigation and education. Animal Life: None observed overnight. Sea Birds and Sea Life: Gulls, Boobies, etc. Marine Debris: None observed overnight. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (11 hours 22 minutes ago): 48nm 080° 4.3kt |
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Report number: 10 time: 2012-10-11 06:13 UTC/GMT (Wed Oct 10 20:13 HST) position: 35.7811 degrees S 178.9553 degrees E course: 075 degrees True speed: 9 to 10 knots weather: clear sky above us wind: S winds have clocked to SW 15-20 knots and lightening sea state: SW swells 8-10 feet vessel and crew condition: all ok (Faafaite also) Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: Stars just beginning to emerge. Hanaiakamalama and Ke Makau Nui o Maui are already bright overhead as this is written almost two hours after sunset. With this clear sky, the star show will be amazing tonight. Animal Life: A small shark (estimated 3-feet long) cruised by on the surface with dorsal fin above the waterline. Sea Birds and Sea Life: More sea birds are fishing in this area. An albatross accompanied us for about half an hour. Weʻre not sure of the species, but its size and coloration were very similar to the Laysan albatross we see in Hawaiʻi. We know they cruise from Hawaiʻi up toward Alaska. Do they roam the Southern Pacific as well? Marine Debris: One small piece of plastic was seen. Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (12 hours 38 minutes ago): 95nm 078° 7.5kt |
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Report number: 9 time: 2012-10-10 17:35 UTC/GMT (Wed Oct 10 07:35 HST) position: 36.1076 degrees S 177.0397 degrees E course: 075 degrees True speed: 8.0 to 9.0 knots weather: clear overhead, some clouds on horizon wind: SSW 15-20 sea state: NW swell 6 to 8 feet, SW swell 3-5 feet with wind chop vessel and crew condition: all ok (Faafaite also) Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: See progress report below. Animal Life: None observed overnight. Sea Birds and Sea Life: Gulls, Boobies, etc. Marine Debris: None observed Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (11 hours 5 minutes ago): 48nm 076° 4.4kt |
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Report number: 8 time: 2012-10-10 06:30 UTC/GMT (Tue Oct 09 20:30 HST) position: 36.3006 degrees S 176.0635 degrees E course: 080 degrees True speed: 6 knots weather: scattered low clouds beginning to spread across the sky above us wind: N 10 to 15 knots, lightening up and varying somewhat sea state: NE swells 6 feet vessel and crew condition: all ok (Faafaite also) Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: Stars just beginning to emerge. Animal Life: A large brown jellyfish floated down our waterline. It looked a lot like a human brain. Sea Birds and Sea Life: Gulls, Boobies, etc. Marine Debris: None observed Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (12 hours 48 minutes ago): 42nm 079° 3.3kt |
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Report number: 7 time: 2012-10-09 17:42 UTC/GMT (Tue Oct 09 07:42 HST) position: 36.4369 degrees S 175.2068 degrees E course: 055 degrees True speed: 3.0 knots weather: slight overcast wind: light and variable sea state: calm vessel and crew condition: all ok (Faafaite also) Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: Lots of stars through the night. Bruce taught us pointer stars for the cardinal directions. Visible last night: Mars, Saturn, Ke Makau Nui O Maui (Scorpius), Hanaiakamalama (Southern Cross), the Navigatorʻs Triangle and plenty more. Beautiful sunrise happening now. Animal Life: A good number of common dolphins swam with Hikianalia for about half and hour last night. Their loud exhalations alerted us to their presence and we enjoyed watching them swim with us. Sea Birds and Sea Life: Gulls, Boobies, etc. Marine Debris: None observed Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (10 hours 12 minutes ago): 19nm 047° 1.9kt |
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Report number: 6 time: 2012-10-09 07:30 UTC/GMT (Mon Oct 08 21:30 HST) position: 36.6528 degrees S 174.9118 degrees E course: 050 degrees True speed: 2.5 knots weather: clear wind: NNE 0 to 5 knots sea state: calm vessel and crew condition: all ok (Faafaite also) Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases: Lots of stars, Bruce is teaching us pointer stars for the cardinal directions. Visible now: Mars, Saturn, Ke Makau Nui O Maui (Scorpius), Hanaiakamalama (Southern Cross), the Navigator’s Triangle and plenty more. Animal Life: Dolphins Sea Birds and Sea Life: Gulls, Boobies, etc. A manu landed on our manu. Marine Debris: None observed Distance, course and speed traveled since last report ( 7 hours 0 minutes ago): 13nm 059° 2.0kt |
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Report number: 5 time: 2012-10-09 00:30 UTC/GMT (Mon Oct 08 14:30 HST) position: 36.77011 degrees S 174.66355 degrees E course: 0 degrees speed: 0 knots weather: wind: sea state: vessel and crew condition: Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets & Moon Phases: Animal Life: Sea Birds & Sea Life: Marine Debris: Distance, course and speed traveled since last report ( 8 days 18 hours 19 minutes ago): 14nm 235° 0.1kt |
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Report number: 4 time: 2012-09-30 06:11 UTC/GMT (Sat Sep 29 20:11 HST) position: 36.6322 degrees S 174.9127 degrees E course: 354 degrees True (at the moment - we are doing lots of maneuvering) speed: 7.5 knots weather: slight overcast wind: variable 10 knots, predicted to shift to west 15 knots during the day sea state: calm in Hauraki Gulf vessel and crew condition: all ok Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets & Moon Phases: beautiful stars - Ke Ka O Makali’i, Hanaiakamalama, Ke Makau o Maui and Jupiter. Akua moon. Animal Life: none overnight Sea Birds & Sea Life: numerous sea birds, mostly sea gulls Marine Debris: none overnight Distance, course and speed traveled since last report ( 9 hours 41 minutes ago): 17nm 314° 1.8kt |
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Report number: 3 time: 2012-09-29 20:30 UTC/GMT (Sat Sep 29 10:30 HST) position: 36.8331 degrees S 175.1655 degrees E course: 280 degrees speed: 3.5 knots (at anchor) weather: slight overcast wind: SE 5-10 knots sea state: calm in Waiheke Channel vessel and crew condition: all ok Education: Celestial Observations: nice stars emerged in the S and SE as the clouds thinned. Saw Ke Ka O Makaliʻi and Jupiter. Kamailemua and Kamailehope do not set at this latitude, they are circumpolar. Navigation Stars, Planets & Moon Phases: moon is Hua Animal Life: lots of sheep on shore, turkeys gobbling in the morning Sea Birds & Sea Life: numerous sea birds, mostly sea gulls Marine Debris: large fender or buoy washed up on the beach Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (14 hours 8 minutes ago): 10nm 099° 0.8kt |
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Report number: 2 time: 2012-09-29 06:22 UTC/GMT (Fri Sep 28 20:22 HST) position: 36.8036 degrees S 174.9408 degrees E course: 000 degrees (at anchor) speed: 0 knots (at anchor) weather: after a sunny afternoon, overcast building wind: SE winds this morning and noon clocked around to SE 15 knots sea state: calm in Takutairaroa Bay vessel and crew condition: all ok Education: Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets & Moon Phases: Akua Moon Animal Life: lots of bird life, including a penguin, in nature sanctuary on shore Sea Birds & Sea Life: numerous sea birds, mostly sea gulls; local opihi Marine Debris: another large ship fender was washed up on the beach Distance, course and speed traveled since last report (23 hours 34 minutes ago): 12nm 279° 0.5kt |
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Report number: 1 time: 2012-09-28 06:48 UTC/GMT (Thu Sep 27 20:48 HST) position: 36.8358 degrees S 175.1912 degrees E course: 000 degrees (at anchor) speed: 0 knots (at anchor) weather: overcast, occasional showers wind: SE 15 knots sea state: calm in Chamberlains Bay vessel and crew condition: all ok Celestial Observations: cloudy, only moon visible Navigation Stars, Planets & Moon Phases: moon is Mohalu Animal Life: lots of sheep on shore Sea Birds & Sea Life: numerous sea birds, mostly sea gulls Marine Debris: none observed |
Major circles of latitude Arctic Circle ( 66:33:44 N = 66.56222222 ) Tropic of Cancer ( 23:26:16 N = 23.43777778 ) Equator ( 00:00:00 = 0.0 ) Tropic of Capricorn ( 23:26:16 S = -23.43777778 ) Antarctic Circle ( 66:33:44 S = -66.56222222 )