The Voyage of Lone Wolf

Lone Wolf has been sold....

2011-07-06T07:38:00.000-07:00

Lone Wolf has been sold. This is good. This is sad. Sniff. Hooray. Sob. Phew. Thanks for following.
Goodbye.

Anybody want to buy a boat?

2011-01-06T04:12:00.000-08:00

I am getting married and my time and money must regrettably be channelled in other directions. Lone Wolf is therefore now for sale. To the boat buying public, I would say that I am getting everything fixed up and serviced, she is in fine fettle and ready for more adventures.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMoxXGd6qOs

We have reached Whangarei, New Zealand.

2010-11-20T22:27:00.000-08:00

Apologies for the downbeat nature of the last post, and thanks to all who commented positively.

I am getting some repairs done here. Great place for that; all minor ones really, apart from the generator which needs an overhaul.

Little things go wrong, not big ones. There is nothing as reliable as the Lugger main engine., which is as rugged as ever. Lone Wolf is still floating after 5000 miles, and I have a lot of respect for her.

The New Zealand Airforce came and checked us out 500 miles out. Ch. 16- "do you have any animals or weapons? (see pic) Quite hardcore- I hope for the sake of the NZ taxpayer, they didn't come all that way just for us...

The passage was calm, which is almost unheard of. It was rough just before we left, and just after we arrived. Thanks be to Neptune.

It's quite cold here, goodbye tropics. The customs guy was nice. I think the Kiwis are probably a pretty reasonable bunch, but I don't suppose one wants to take the piss with them.

It took five days and we were three, Aidrian, myself, and A Tongan called Tevita. He would have been really good in a crisis if we had had one, which we didn't, apart from some dirty dishes.

Tonga

2010-11-13T19:29:00.000-08:00

We reached Tonga at Vava'u, then we went to Haapai and now we are in Tongatapu.

1. A Pacific island paradise full of friendly people, amazing beaches, coral reefs and exotic species of fish.

2. A depressing little third-world country, where everybody is overweight, and there is nothing available in the shops except corned beef.

Which of these two statements is true?

Tomorrow we set sail (except we have no sails) for New Zealand. The weather forecast isn't too good. Edo and Marina have gone home. Yes I'm becoming slightly jaded.

No I'm not

Yes I am

Who really cares?

Is anybody even reading this?

I'm not sure.

A few photos, as promised.

2010-11-03T21:27:00.000-07:00

We have been to Nuie, and are now in Tonga. In Nuie, a man said to me:
"We were made by the aliens, but they reckoned they had messed up, so they moved on. It's all in the Bible"

Aitutaki to Palmerston Island and onwards to Niue

2010-10-29T05:29:00.000-07:00

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Unfortunately(for me) it is also worth about a thousand dollars to Stratos (KVH), the f***ers who bill me for my oh-so-pricey at sea satellite internet service. It takes an age to upload, so no photos until the next blog entry which will hopefully be via wifi at Niue.

We visited Aitutaki, which may well have been a beautiful spot. Trouble is, the weather was dire, so I was not really given to exploring it. It was only possible to anchor outside the reef, but we saw some whales there, which was most edifying.

Then on 200 miles west to Palmerston Atoll, which as you may have guessed, was named after the British prime minister, Lord Atoll.

This is inhabited by 70 people, who are all descended from one man, William Marsters. There is no airstrip, and a supply ship only visits once every eight months.
It is a beautiful place, a paradise if you will, but remote in the extreme. The people are ultra-friendly and charming, and not the inbred morons one might expect. There is a church, a school, and the Cook Islands government have just installed trlephones. “This used to be a peaceful place”, one inhabitant told me, “but now these blasted phones won’t stop ringing”

Marina says this trip is easy and presents little challenge. It is the hope of all of us that she is correct.

Voyage to new Zealand

2010-10-28T07:00:00.000-07:00

1st leg. Tahiti to Aitutaki, Cook Islands- October 20-25th 2010

Marina Hanbury, Edo Flisi, new Captain Adrian Midwood and myself, have completed this leg of Lone Wolf’s voyage. First, we stopped for the night at Bora Bora. There, I met a Polynesian transvestite, who said to me: “ I grew up in Mayfair. The realization that the other kids I knew did not have a butler, a cook and servants, really came as quite a shock.”

We then proceeded to Maupiti. Unlike last time, when we failed to enter the Maupiti pass, due to breakers at the entrance, it was calm, and we entered without hindrance. What a beautiful and enchanting place Maupiti is! It is said to resemble Bora Bora, but without the crowds, and that is fairly apt. It contains one sleepy village, no banks, and not much in the way of stores. It is wonderfully green, fertile and mountainous, and the sea is an incredible shade of turquoise. It is a truly amazing place to visit. If I had to live there, I would probably shoot myself.

After leaving Maupiti, we embarked on a 48 hour trip to Aitutaki, in the Cook Islands. For the first 36 hours, the ocean was glassy smooth, like a lake. It was not to last. We approach Aitutaki as I write, and the waves have grown in intensity during the night, making it uncomfortable for all. Lone is now getting tossed around a fair bit, but is about to receive a well earned rest for a couple of days (as are her crew!) in the lee of the island, until the weather improves, We cannot enter the lagoon, due to our 7 foot draught .

The Cook Islands are administered by New Zealand. Apparently the authorities are about to seize our fresh fruit and vegetables, and spray the boat with DDT. Or maybe not, I will keep you posted. If they don’t check us out, we will not be checking in, daring outlaws that we are…

Trip to NZ

2010-10-11T16:09:00.000-07:00

I am going back to Tahiti on th 14th October. The Plan is to continue the journey on to New Zealand.

This Blog will resume in October.

2010-07-31T13:59:00.000-07:00

Cruising the Society islands

2010-05-31T16:14:00.000-07:00

A vicious hailstorm broke my camera
I have had a very poor internet connection and so have not been able to update until now.
Marina Hanbury has joined us.
We have been to Moorea, Huahine, Raiatea, Tahaa, and Bora Bora.
I am leaving Lone Wolf in Raiatea until October, when the voyage will continue on, to New Zealand.
The whole area is incredibly beautiful but incredibly expensive

pic1: (New pic at top of blog) Lone Wolf at anchor in Moorea
pic2: Captain Ned likes the wine selection at the supermarket on Huahine
pic 3: Justin lands a sailfish between Moorea and Huahine. (we let it go.)

We have arrived safely in Tahiti

2010-05-06T22:00:00.000-07:00

After a trip totaling about 3500 miles we have arrived safely in Tahiti, and we are now at a berth at marina Taina, Papeete. The very last day was the worst weather, with some of the waves approaching 20 feet. We anchored last night in Moorea (Photo 1 and 2) before proceeding in the morning to to Papeete, Tahiti (photo 3, bottom) On my next post I will upload some better pics. Thank you to everybody that followed our long journey, and thank you to Lone Wolf who has proved herself to be a really great boat.

I am a moron (technical post, insomnia cure)

2010-05-05T16:56:00.000-07:00

There is a little light bulb that has failed and this is the light bulb that tells me whether the main hydraulic pump is operating, but since it is always unlit (because it is broken) it is not always easy to tell whether the pump is operating or not. There may be a spare bulb on board, and it indeed has been alleged that there is one under Captain Mike's bed, but I have been unable to locate it, mainly because I haven't bothered to look.

Anyway, I should be able to tell when the pump is operating because it makes a high pitch whine. It operates the stabilizers, or at least provides the hydraulic pressure for them, and the boat was rolling something rotten last night, despite the stabizers appearing to be on. Just heavy 12ft seas, we thought, as furniture and foodstuffs flew around the room.

At 4am this morning the stabilizer control panel started beeping with the alarm message 'Trouble with port fin-insert locking pin' At that point Dave appeared for some reason, and suggested that I reset the system. Now obviously I have no idea how to do that, so I thought that turning on and off the hydraulic pump might do it. When I pressed the hydraulic pump button a remarkable thing happened. The familiar whine started up (why hadn't I noticed its absence before?) and the stabilizers started functioning correctly, and (relative) peace and calm was restored, rather than bloody chaos, which had very nearly tipped me out of bed earlier. The pump had been off...

You live and learn. All seems good now (seems) Now where was that light bulb?

We anchor in Cook's bay, Moorea, tonight, as we will reach Tahiti in the dead of night, then we will proceed to our berth in Marina Taina in the morning. Papeete. Civilization. Yay!

Manihi Atoll and pearl farm.

2010-05-04T21:26:00.000-07:00

A bit of land; a bit of life; most welcome. Lovely tranquil lagoon. We've set off again for Papeete.
It's f*****g rough!

Onward to Manihi, Moorea, and Tahiti.

2010-05-02T13:53:00.000-07:00

We have left the mysterious and beautiful Nuku Hiva, after taking on 9000 litres of diesel. We are now heading in the direction of Tahiti, where I hope to hire an army of cleaners. My crew are very proficient at the practical stuff but they have made Lone Wolf resemble a municipal rubbish dump. I got on the internet at last, (142 51W) Immarsat, I forgive you. ( crossing the ocean has given me the inner peace and wisdom of the ancient Zen masters)

Oso Blanco at Nuku Hiva, a Nordhavn 64, owned by Eric Bloomquist.

We have arrived in the Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia!

2010-04-29T02:31:00.000-07:00

Lone Wolf at anchor in Taiohae Bay, Nuku Hiva.

28/4 11,30.pm
We have made it acoss the Pacific!
It's dark, so I can't tell you what Nuku Hiva is like, but it looked very dramatic in the moonlight. We are now anchored, bow and stern, in Taiohae bay. I am on a local wireless internet service. Well done to Lone Wolf and her crew.

28/4

We are at last, approaching Nuku Hiva, where we will anchor in Taiohae bay for the night (It’s getting dark now) and go ashore to complete the entry formalities in the morning.

27/4

We have had problems with the internet, as we are too far West to receive the Immarsat Atlantic West satellite, but seemingly not far enough West to receive the Pacific one. We called them, about this, ages ago, and they said it would work after 135 degrees longditude. They lied, like George Bush and his WMDs, for we are at 138 degrees at the time of writing, and it still doesn’t work.(Or did he say 140, it was so long ago now, I can’t remember) The voice is fine, and works well, but the internet, no. I am thinking positively and writing this now, so I can cut and paste it when it starts to work, in a little while!

Apart from that, all is good. We have 18 hours to go before we reach the Marquesas, The weather has been patchy, but generally fine, We have now increased our speed to 10 knots, as we have enough fuel, and we are all looking forward to seeing land. I have developed great respect for the Lugger engine, which just keeps on going and going (so far, touch wood!) through thick and thin. Lone Wolf’s hull is great, too, and has taken all in its stride, while keeping us comfortable, although some waves have literally made the whole structure of the boat shudder…We have had no injuries, but occasionally we had to hold on tight. We made 2700 miles in 14 days, which is good going. Next stop Tahiti...

I will upload some photos, if this infernal technology will allow it.

SATELLITE PROBLEMS NORMAL SERVICE WILL BE RESUMED ASAP

2010-04-25T12:44:00.001-07:00

"These waves are getting annoying"

2010-04-24T03:59:00.000-07:00

said first mate Justin huggins as I took over the helm for my 2am-6am watch. he was't wrong.
We do four hour watches, and there are four of us, so it ends up beig fair. My next one therefore will be 6-10 pm. It's 2.30am now and Dave has just joined me. I'm glad of the company, but he must be crazy. I'd be tucked up in bed!
We are making good speed now. Consistently over 8 knots, while still burning under 6 gallons per hour.

With no aircon, we open all the hatches, but then it rains. so the choice is too hot or get wet- the sequence being- sleep open- wake up wet - close sleep- wake up too hot- open again sleep again- wake up wet again- close-give up -sweat -curse- get up grumpy. We saw a tanker and a rainbow yesterday. The tanker was heading straight at us, and captain Mike got on the VHF and politely asked them to change course by 5 degrees which they did, as did we. I think it was their right of way but I'm not too hot when it comes to the rules of the road.

We are getting thrown around a bit and I just stubbed my toe . @#$%^&* Billions of blue blistering barnacles in a thundering typhoon!

Will check the weather site now. These waves are getting annoying!

PS. Thanks for the support Julian- videos v. tricky.

There have been eight days to go for the past three days.

2010-04-22T20:52:00.000-07:00

Dave caught a seagull with a fishing rod

I saw a whale

It's getting hotter

Our turnips rotted

We can make only 6.7 knots, conserving fuel, with weather on the nose.

I still have some mangoes left.

We saw another ship. they talked to us on the radio.

Tonight the sky caught fire.

Lone Wolf handles rough weather well.

The stars are our friends.

We will get there eventually.

Feel like a good grumble!

2010-04-22T03:14:00.000-07:00

3am, 22/04/10.
We are now exactly halfway. The hydraulic alternator has made my cabin sound like a factory that tests chainsaws.
We have entered the ITCZ (Intertropical Convergence Zone), and there there are squalls that make the radar screen look as if we are being attacked by several small nations.
It has become stiflingly hot as we get nearer to the equator, just as we can't use the aircon. ARRGHH!
The weather could be worse-the furniture is not being thrown around...yet!
On the plus side, we are now consuming under 6 gallons per hour, as opposed to over 7, which was the case, back in those lone gone days of comfort and luxury. This is the difference between success and failure.

I'm going to make a cup of tea now. I don't care if it makes the alternator explode...
Captain Ned,
Graveyard Watch,
Lone Wolf,
Middle of Nowhere.

Almost half way. Concerns about fuel consumption.

2010-04-21T18:03:00.000-07:00

We have now gone 1250 miles, with another 1450 to go until we reach Nuku Hiva, Marquesas. The problem is that the figure we were given for the fuel consumption of the generator of 0.8 gallons per hour has turned out to be wildly inaccurate. We have calculated that the actual consumption is at least 2 gallons per hour, possibly a little more. This means that if we carry on at our present rate, with the generator running 24 hours, we will arrive in the Marquesas running on vapour, or if we encounter bad weather, then we will quite possibly run out of fuel.

What we have done to rectify the situation is to switch off the generator and turn on the hydraulic alternator instead, which uses 1.2 gallons per hour, and is capable of running all the essential systems, and is now happily charging the batteries too. We will have to go without air conditioning and the oven but so what, frankly.
We have also switched the water heater off, but the engine room is too hot (another problem) so as the water tank is in there, I think my shower will be hot anyway.
I am now very happy that I had work done on the hydraulic alternator in California, because the fact that it uses less fuel than the generator is making all the difference on this trip, which is long, the longest I will ever do... Hello to Fred and to Molly.

What do we see? We see the sea!

2010-04-19T15:47:00.000-07:00

Two gulls have moved aboard and nothing we can do, short of wringing their necks, will make them go away. They are crapping all over the deck. Everything is good on Lone Wolf. The sea is eerily calm and deep blue, and all systems are go. We have covered 900 miles, with another 1800 to go. The fishing has been less successful, but we live in hope. We can catch the buggers ok, but they keep escaping off the hook just as we are trying to land them. I just saw a pod of dolphins, it was most edifying. So much so, in fact, that I was inspired to attack the gulls with a broom. I don’t think they’ll be back.

Stop press- Dave just caught and landed a dorado- IT’S A MIRACLE!

Making good progress

2010-04-18T03:39:00.000-07:00

The generator stopped again on Friday. We were a bit panicked, although as we had the hydraulic alternator online, we were ok, although the batteries did appear to be getting depleted for some reason. Anyhow, we were on the phone a good deal to the guru, Bob Senter, aka 'Lugger Bob', the saviour of all Nordhavn owners. We managed to email him this photo (expertly labelled by Dave) of the wires that we thought had come loose, and he explained what to do, and Justin spent six hours in the 110 degree engine room, and fixed it! Justin is a hero.

It will need a more permanent fix when we reach Papeete, but for now, all is well, and we are making good progress. The sea is calmer than expected, and we are enjoying the spaciousness and freedom of this vast and seemingly empty ocean. Seagulls follow us. Eric Cantona knows why.

All is well

2010-04-16T15:58:00.000-07:00

We are now 300 miles out to sea, and heading in the general direction of Tahiti. It's a little rougher than before, but things are good. Flying fish and squid jump out of the sea onto the deck. The sea is becoming bluer. The internet is very intermittent. I will update when I am able. It may be possible to track our position online at
http://www.pangolin.co.nz/yotreps/tracker.php?ident=N6HXT
or here (Look for Lone Wolf)
http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/

2nd attempt to cross the Pacific

2010-04-14T21:33:00.000-07:00

The generator is now fixed. It is an unfortunate and complicated sequence of events that led to our problem. It is also miund-numbingly dull, and so even if I fully understood it, I would not relate it here.

We are off again first thing tomorrow morning; into rougher weather this time, coming at us. Fret not, followers- I went 800 miles last week, 300 of them without stabilizers. I'm an old sea dog now!

I bought a lot of broccoli and frozen veg and apples and potatoes, onions, turnips, limes and mangoes.

We have a great deal of food on board. We are confident. The boat is complex, but the systems are reliable for the most part, and we really don't anticipate any more major problems.

May these words not come back to haunt me

Paradise Village Marina, Puerto Vallarta.

2010-04-08T23:25:00.001-07:00

GOOD NEWS

The generator only needed a simple part and that is being sent and should arrive tomorrow(Sat) or monday, so then we can be off again. Without going into detail, there appear to be no other electrical problems. We will top up the fuel tanks, and as its such a long trip, we will change the oil on the main and genset and maybe buy some cauliflowers and then we can set off again, sooner than we dared hope...

We noticed the main engine had an oil leak at the turbocharger, but it turned out not to be serious. Lugger Bob (guru) says it's because the revs are too low and we should run it at 1500 rpm, but that would use too much fuel so we will just max it for 5 or so minutes or so each day.

Mission aborted (for the moment)

2010-04-07T21:30:00.000-07:00

It is sad for me to report that we have had serious electrical problems and have been forced to turn around and head back to Mexico. Basically what happened was that the ‘black box’ on the generator literally went up in smoke, leaving us with no no AC power, and this led to (or was caused by) problems with the two 24 volt inverters leaving us with very little electrical power at all. It is a complicated (or perhaps simple) problem, not even understood by the experts we summoned on the phone,(the Iridium handheld has been a godsend) so the chances of understanding it myself ,are nil.

What I do understand is that without power to the refrigeration, cooking, navigation, communications and radar equipment, as well as the stabilizing fins, lighting, and the water pump, we are unable to continue. We had gone around 400 miles and had another 2300 miles to go before reaching the Marquesas.

Something called the hydraulic alternator is supposed to act as as a spare generator, but that won’t work either, because of the problem with the inverters.

On the positive side, our engine is running well and we are in no danger, and will certainly make it back to Puerto Vallarta, from where I will upload this post (the internet is out too, but we have a limited amount of 12 volt power from the engine alternator.)

WE ARE NOT GIVING UP.

UPDATE. Situation somewhat improved.

Having talked on the Iridium to a man called with the curious name of Melt, from a company recommended by PAE (Nordhavn) called Raven Marine (British Columbia), Mike was able to at least get the hydraulic alternator online. We now have stabilization, (makes a big difference to our comfort level.) limited AC power, internet (always intermittent at best, which is how I am able to post these last two updates), navigation, and lighting, which is crucial to our safety as our navigation lights would probably have failed before we reached the shipping lanes tonight.

We don’t dare to use some of the higher demand items such as the oven or the aircon, but at least we now can make tea and we have radar. Our generator certainly still needs to be fixed and alarmingly the batteries continue to be depleted due to a cause that seems as yet, to be lost on everybody, including Melt, but we are able to return to Vallarta (14 hours to go) in comfort and good spirits. We think that the generator and the other possible electrical repairs will take 8-10 days, as we will have to find out what parts are required, then order them, and then have them fitted. All four of us are very keen to continue as soon as possible.

It seems to me that this is the time to quote Robert the Bruce:

“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again”

Reporting from 350 miles West of Mexico.

2010-04-05T13:21:00.000-07:00

We have had a few problems, but the boat is still floating, still running, and we haven't hit anything!

The internet and satphone have been down for a couple of days, but Dave, who is very tech-savvy, called a guy from KVH (on the emergency irridium handheld, which is working well) who explained in detail, a techno-fix, which was basically to switch the system off and on again, which required strength and dexterity because of the crazy location of the switch.

There was a potential serious problem yesterday when Justin noticed that the sea chest (where seawater is sucked into the boat and then distributed to various systems that require it) had air in the top of it, which is not what you want at all. A quick call to Jeff Merill From PAE, who explained that you can loosen the top, 'burping' the air out, and it was fine again. Air continues to appear, and we continue to burp. We can't be certain where the air is coming from (bubbles in the water? hole in the hose?) but it is not serious enough to prevent us from continuing on our way.

The third issue is the watermaker. It won't make water. Justin and Captain Mike (help I've gone informal!) are changing the membranes as I speak, and we all hope this will do the trick because while we have enough water to drink, unless we fix the watermaker, we don't have enough to shower, and the drawback of that requires no further explanation.

Each person seems to have their skills. Dave is really pulling his weight with his understanding of the onboard computer systems, Justin, who is only 29, knows who to fix the mechanical stuff and can be seen emerging from the hot engine room literally dripping with sweat. Mike is the man of experience, master of the SSB radio and the big picture, and I, um, can make tasty mango smoothies.

The weather so far is amazing, with little in the way of wind or waves.

We are starting to settle into a rhythm of four hour watches, and I can't quite put my finger on it, but there is something inherently hilarious about the journey. Dolphins come and say good morning although I haven't seen them yet, although I wish I had, it would give the trip more porpoise.

If anyone wants to call us for any reason, at great expense to themselves, we are available on

00 870 764 951 492 or 00 881 622 414 828. The last number can receive SMS texts.

We are underway!

2010-04-03T14:12:00.000-07:00

We left Puerto Vallarta at 8am this morning. It is now 20.34 GMT, which we decided to use for the trip. We have been going around 5 hours. It is just like Star Trek! Aboard are Mr Ryan, Mr Huggins, myself, and Captain Cregan. He wanted to be called Captain Mike, but I refuse to have anything to do with that type of Tony Blair-esque informality.

As you can see the internet is working, although slow, but it's getting the signal from something called the Atlantic West satellite, and won't work from the Pacific one, despite that one having a good signal, and working for the phone. What this means is that it may not work for long, I don't know.

It is fairly calm at the moment, thank goodness, and we are making 7.8 knots at 1100 rpm with a rate of fuel burn of 3.3 (US) gallons per hour. which is excellent. The sky is blue, and so far so good. The mountains of the Mexican coast are just about out of sight now, and it should be around 14-15 days until we see land again.

I am on watch, Mr Huggins is fishing, Mr Ryan is playing the guitar, and Captain Cregan is on his laptop structuring the arrival at Nuku Hiva.(that's what he told me, but I'm unsure what it means)`

Most importantly, we all get along well.

Lone Wolf is full of food, full of fuel and overflowing with hope and enthusiasm.

Update coming shortly. Here is a quick preview of where we're going (!).

2010-03-30T20:14:00.000-07:00

Article from Nordhavn website

here

Lone Wolf has reached Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

2010-03-24T08:57:00.000-07:00

This from Donna en route:

"I love the night watches when there are millions of stars and occasionally you can hear whales or dolphins blowing nearby, but today was best as we passed Cabo San Lucas. There were whales breaching and dolphin jumping all around us. Several dolphins swam over to ride our bow and played and spun around under water and seemed to wink at us watching them from the bow rail. The water is now very clear and an azure blue and land is disappearing behind us and soon there will be nothing but the sea and the sky.

We arrived yesterday and the trip down from Ensenada went well! I did great on my watches which we divvied up as every two hours all night and every three hours during daytime, so I’d be at the helm for two and then could sleep for four then up for another two. Sleeping was no problem with the constant drone of the engine (and my sea-sick prevention meds) and during watches I stayed awake by spending a lot of time on the outside bridge deck watching stars. Once I thought I was seeing a star-set. Like a sunset, but at night. There was just a sliver of a moon so the stars were very bright and there was a glow on the western horizon but the glow remained and when I went in to the wheel house to check instruments my radar and AIS indicated a cruise ship at that spot.

We left Ensenada at 6a.m and soon after, our new deck hand, Justin, caught two tuna trolling at our fast speed of 9 knots. Try as he might that was all the fish caught on our trip down. It took us till noon of the following day to get to Turtle Bay. We stayed a night at anchor in Bahia de Tortuga and the boys went to shore on Enriques water taxi while I did some cooking for the next leg of the journey. We planned our departure for a next morning arrival in Bahia Santa Maria and were immediately greeted by Marco and his son Alex in their panga which pulled up along side as soon as we dropped anchor and asked if we wanted to buy langostinas (lobster). With my broken Spanish and their much better English we managed to agree on $2.00 each and some barter stuff. Marco asked if we could spare some fresh water. He lives with his family in a little one-room shack on the beach. They have no running water and their only power is provided by some solar power which, yep…..runs their television. He soon returned with two 50 gallon barrels and we set up a hose from our aft spigot and started up the water-maker. This time Pedro came along and since he had spent 7 years working in the U.S. his English was great and he explained to us how Marcos’ father had just died a couple years earlier at the age of 89 after working all those years from the same fish camp catching lobster and octopus but with no engine he had to row everywhere

We decided to keep going on our journey south, so after giving me time to cook the lobster and prep some more grub (Justin is just 29 and eats a lot!) we pulled anchor around 4:20p.m. and headed out to see once again. Passing Cabo San Lucas around 10a.m. the next morning we were surrounded by dolphins and whales. The water was an azure blue and very clear so that when several dolphins charged over to ride our bow we could lean over the rail and enjoy watching all their antics. We had to increase our speed a bit to make sure we would get to Puerto Vallarta before dark the following day and sure enough…we pulled into Banderas Bay about 4p.m. in plenty of time to have a cerveza and dinner at Fajita Banana Restaurant overlooking the harbor . It feels very good to be here. The air is soft and warm. I didn’t sleep as well last night. Too quiet I guess. “Louis” will be here at 7:30 this morning to help wash the boat so I’ll go make my cup of tea now and get dressed and get out the hoses and buckets and brushes”

And here is some technical stuff from Oleg:

“The boat is running well. It has been a very good shake down cruise for the boat prior to the long voyage still ahead. The following are a few issues to be resolved in Puerto Vallarta:

1. The steering rams that Nordhavn replaced in Dana Point are seeping a bit at the hose connection point of both rams.
2. Pilothouse helm pump seeps a bit of hydraulic fluid from the back of the housing. The fitting is as tight as I dare make it. So, it may need to be replaced and bleed the system again.
3. The battery combiner relay (the noisy one in your stateroom cabinet) is the cause of such high amperage demands on the main engine alternator (90 to 100 amps). As soon as I disconnect the unit from the system all returns to normal. I will check to see if we can get a replacement coming.
4. We will need more water-maker pre filters than anticipated. We’ve used 3 since leaving Dana Point. We have picked-up some algae along the way and it loaded up the filter shutting down the water-maker.
5. I will have a diver check the boat bottom for any “Cling-ons”.
6. Salon A/C unit shut down showing an error code “Hi PS Inlet Pressure”. This indicates low cooling water circulation, overcharge of refrigerant or dirty condenser. I will check to see if we need someone in Puerto Vallarta to come and look at the system.
7. I spoke to the service manager, Russell, at Nordhavn regarding the use of the used oil tank for reserve fuel. He informed me that these electronic diesel engines have “0” tolerance for residue oil mixed into the diesel fuel. That would mean pumping out all of the engine oil that is left in the tank and then having the tank cleaned out. Don’t know if we have the time for this. We do have the 300 gallon bladder tank we can deploy, giving us 2875 gallons of total usable fuel. From the information I received from the owner of N6230 we should burn fuel at the following rates:

1100 RPM Engine & Gen = 4.3 GPH or .66 total fuel burn per mile

1200 RPM Engine & Gen = 5.1 GPH or .71 total fuel burn per mile

So, it appears that you should have plenty of fuel for the 2714 nm crossing between the main fuel tanks and bladder.

I will contact Nordhavn to see if they can warranty the steering arm seepage with a local technician and if needed a local tech to look in on the A/C unit as well."

SAD NEWS: The excellent Oleg and Donna are unable to make the trip to Tahiti, due to unforeseen medical reasons.

The plan is still to leave Puerto Vallarta on or around April 1st with the following four crew:

1.Captain Mike Cregan.

Experience:
I am a licensed USCG NC 100 Ton Master with Auxiliary Sail and Towing endorsements (USA000035207); a Certified American Sailing Association instructor and Director of Power and Sail Training with Anacortes Yacht Charters.
My experience includes 23 years as sail and power vessel owner/operator. Most recently I have accumulated 29,000 plus open ocean miles as captain and owner to include the west coast of North America, Hawaii, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. I have made two Pacific crossings from Mexico to French Polynesia in 2002 an 2003 as crew and captain respectively. During 2003 and 2004 I sailed my own 42ft. ketch down the Mexican coast to Bahia del Sol, El Salvador and then onto the Galapagos; thence to French Polynesia, the Cooks, Samoa, Tonga, New Caledonia and on into Brisbane, Australia and sailed the eastern coastal waters northbound to Townsville and the Great Barrier Reef. .

I served as the designated Captain and operator for Wild Dolphin Adventures tour vessel the "Coral Reefer" of Key West Florida (Dec 2004 thru April 2, 2005); delivery captain for the 60 ft catamaran "Mystic Wind" from Tampa, Florida to Bocas del Toro, Panama (May, 2005); Delivery skipper and/or mate aboard multiple power and sailing yachts of 55' to 93' in length to/from Puget Sound Washington to California. In 2006, I completed delivery of a 46' Nordhavn (MV Silver Girl) from San Francisco to San Diego and onto Honolulu, Hawaii. In July 2006, delivered a 55' Nordhavn (MV Honu Kai) from Honolulu to San Diego. In 2007 I delivered the 45' sloop "SV Tequila" from Cabo San Lucas to Honolulu; A Hans Christian 48'SV ( Ana Purna) from Mazatlan to San Diego. In 2009, I served as delivery captain for a 44' Hylas to San Francisco; 42 Krogen to Portland; Mate for a 58' Ocean Alexander from San Francisco to Seattle. I also captained a 106' Westport (Dulcinea) from Roche Harbor to Puerto Vallarta, Mx. with intermediate stops in the San Fran Bay area.
I hold a SSI certificate as a trained scuba diver; a HAM radio license (N6HXT) and a graduate degree from Oregon State University.

2 . 1st Mate Justin Huggins.

Experience:

Background
Experience has been gained from a cross section of maritime experience. Having sailed the world for six years, I understand the importance of teamwork.
• Crane Operator/ and hydraulic opp.
• Skiff Man
• Deck boss
• Rigging, knot tying and splicing • Navigation/ Helmsman
• Engineering assistant
• Welding
• Net Building
Licenses and Endorsements
• Piney Point Maryland /ordinary seaman
• Piney Point Maryland /able body
• STCW
• Zenith Maritime- 100 Ton Captains License
• Commercial Assistance Towing Endorsement
Alaska Fishing
Long line for Black Cod and Halibut
Salmon Purse Seine, Hand Seine
Herring, Roe on Kelp
Shrimping pots
Construction School
• Metal Working
• Welding
• House Construction/ framing, cement, cabinetry… ext.

• Construction and Design

3. Me.(Captain Ned)

Experience:

Er…I’ve done a bit of island hopping in the Philippines.

4. My mate Dave Ryan from Dublin.

Experience:

Don’t know, didn’t ask him, but he is good with computers, and there are certainly a few of those on board...

That’s all for now, folks.

Something is happening at last!

2010-02-27T04:39:00.000-08:00

Hello all,
The reason that I have written nothing for a long time is that nothing has been happening. I need to be in the Philippines until the end of March, and Oleg and Donna had been waiting for the elusive 'weather window' that they needed to travel South.
The plan is that I will meet them in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, at the end of March and then the three of us will cross the Pacific to Tahiti, via the Marquesas, together with Mike Cregan, a fellow with considerable ocean crossing experience.
Lone Wolf is currently residing with PAE (Nordhavn) in Dana point, California, where she is having some work done, some of it under warranty, which is very decent of them, since the boat is no longer under warranty.
This is part of Captain Oleg's email to me, about the journey, undertaken with Galen Tyler and Mike Cregan. I haven't asked his permission to reproduce this, but I'm sure he won't mind.

"We departed Anacortes on Tuesday February 17^th at about 2:30 pm and arrived at Dana Point California on Monday February 22^nd at about 5:30 pm.

We ran the boat at a steady 1600 rpm doing 9.5 to10.0 kts and burning about 9.5 gph on the main only. The generator added about 1.5 gph to the overall usage. Overall we ran 124 hours, burned 1393 gallons of fuel.

The following is a list of major discrepancies we encountered along the way:

Furuno and B&G depth sounder erratic and sometimes unreliable
Aft cockipit scupper drain door blew out by large quartering seas
Pressure indicator gauge on fuel transfer Racor filter incorrect
Moderate bilge water accumulation in forward bilge battery compartment
Anchor drain check valve and seacock leaking in battery compartment
Some sea water accumulation in lazarette
Diesel odor in the boat. Fuel hoses weeping at manifold in step locker
Main Simrad auto pilot blew fuses and became inoperative last part of trip. Had to use back-up system last 8 hours of trip. Boat would become very difficult to hand steer in a rough seaway without the aid of an autopilot
Holding tank pumpout system only operates when primed manually at first. Sometimes only manual pumpout is possible for entire 100 gallon tank.
Main Sealand M-24 toilet pump periodically pumps non-stop for long periods before shutting off.
Steering fluid leak at pilot house helm pump
Strong engine room odor in master stateroom while underway. Galen became a bit queasy
Erratic temperature fluctuations throughout the boat from the heating and air conditioning blower units. Sensors must be placed closer to ambient air in the region that it is trying to control.
Should have diver check under the boat. We traveled through many areas at night containing crab traps.
Change oil and fluids. Nordhavn recommends we change all the fluids before embarking on a lengthy voyage. The boat has not been run this hard for a very long time and this would be a prudent precautionary step.
The 24V hydraulic alternator repair will be done free of charge as a warranty issue by Nordhavn

The boat handled well except when we had large following or quartering seas. Since the boat has a bustle installed, it essentially squares off the transom stern. As the sea wells-up behind the boat and throws the stern in one direction or another. That starts a process where the stabilizers act to correct the roll and pitch, then the rudder comes into play to counteract the yaw or heading. So, you generally fishtail your way along your course with all the systems working hard to maintain a strait course.

I’ve attached the estimate for labor costs, not including parts if needed, to do some of the inspections and repairs.

Donna and I have been washing the boat and removing the massive salt deposits from the trip south…it’s nice to be in a warmer climate that allows us to really get many of the outside chores taken care of properly."

So there you have it...So far so good. Updates will be posted here as they happen.

Nothing is as dull as nothing.

2009-11-09T20:24:00.000-08:00

I am acutely aware that just as this blog is gaining more followers, there is less to report, and less is happening. Never having written a blog before, I am feeling that I have some sort of duty to be entertaining, a concept that, for me, is caught just about midway between the benevolent and the egotistical. I can only hope, that writing about the technical things that are going on will not prove to be excruciatingly dull, but the fact is there is little else to write about at the moment, and I don't want to stray too far from my subject and start on say, politics or religion...

I know some of my friends who look at this, want to hear about such things the blue skies over Tahiti, and the company of affectionate dolphins, but that's just not the way it is right now, and I can only take comfort in knowing that this blog is not compulsory reading.

I am happy to report that I do not need to fit a Floscan meter because the Murphy Powerview display will give an accurate real-time read out of the fuel burn of the main engine, so that's quite a bit of money saved, and one advantage of the new(ish) breed of electronic engines.

La Conner Maritime have fitted the Wing PSS shaft seal, so I'm happy about that too. They found the wing shaft was pitted (the main one was so bad it had to be replaced) but I decided to keep it. The steel is AQ17, and while strong, it rusts if the boat is not used a lot. AQ22HS is a far superior grade of metal, but it also is far more expensive. At least I now have that on the main shaft.

I have the SSB radio now, and I look forward to talking to complete strangers in the middle of nowhere. I'm sure they will be full of useful info. It can also be used for email.

If a cellphone has more computing power than it took the Saturn V rocket to reach the moon, then I have enough computing power on board to get to the next galaxy... A powerful computer just for the Sonar, of which I will write more in the future, another for the Nobletec navigation system, and a laptop for the internet and communications from the Fleet 55 satellite system from KVH. This is not the very latest equipment, but it will do. The laptop can get a virus, the other ones won't get the chance- I consider them too important.

The sanitation system is sorted now, and I have refuelled the boat, which takes 2500 gallons of diesel. That is so expensive it got me thinking I should have had a sail. Storm follows storm out in the ocean, and I have no oportunity to move. This is the worst month, say the locals, so as painful as it is to be stuck, it is far less painful than sinking. Best Fishes to you all.

One step forward, two steps back.

2009-11-03T18:42:00.000-08:00

Dear oh dear... major problems with the holding tank system. Effluent leaking everywhere. From the piping in the lazarette, from the vented loop in the stack and down into the engine room, and when we opened the cap, the tank was obviously extremely pressurized because...Yuck, you don't want to know! The crazy thing is that I've been here before, and have had the system overhauled because of it. With hindsight, it's now easy to see what went wrong both times. A faulty sensor said the tank was empty when in fact it was so full that the man from Marine Sanitation of Seattle said that I was lucky it had not literally exploded!

LaConner Maritime have been very good about this and are happy to rectify all the problems, at a greatly reduced cost. I suppose we are all at fault for believing the sensor, because I knew it wasn't empty, I just thought the tank must be extra huge.

So It's back to LaConner on Thursday, where they have no space at the dock, and so Lone Wolf will be hauled out again, which they are not going to charge for. I'll take the opportunity while she's out of the water to replace the incessantly dripping wing shaft stuffing box with a PSS (pack-less shaft seal) by PYI. I have one on the main shaft, and by all accounts they are marvelous. They will also put in a Floscan meter for accurate real-time fuel consumption readings. (important on long trips) I've also had an SSB radio installed.

I saw the man from ABT. He knew everything about hydraulics that is known, and then some. I couldn't understand much of what he said, but I think Oleg did. He reset the stabilizer parameters, so they should be ok now.

One day, this blog will live up to its name, and there will be a voyage, but not today, Captain; or tomorrow for that matter. My family motto is 'Le jour viendra' (the day will come)

I hope it viendras soon, verily I do.

Friday Harbor, San Juan Island.

2009-10-27T23:34:00.000-07:00

The shakedown cruise is going pretty well, and we are happy campers. There have been a few problems, but this was only to be expected as Lone wolf has been out of the water for so long. This morning in Echo Bay on Sucia Island where we spent the night at anchor,(see pic) the 20kw Northern Lights genset would not run. After much head scratching, and a call to Scott Blair, the 'diesel whisperer' at La Conner Maritime, it turned out that one of the relays had worked itself loose through vibration and had actually fallen out!

The powerful hydraulic anchor wash system, worked a treat, pumping vast quantities of salt water from the sea and spraying the anchor with great force. We have tested almost all the systems on board; There are still a few problems with the stabilizers, but they are starting to behave themselves. I will still see the American Bow Thruster rep when he's around, because they are not yet perfect...

There are some minor problems with the electronics, and the stove top, and there doesn't appear to be any way of easily de-misting the pilothouse windows. More seriously, it was not really possible to deploy the flopperstoppers (only for use at anchor on the 62) correctly, because they couldn't be lowered to the correct angle with the support cables taut, without the rigging coming into contact with and chafing the sides of the (optional) canvas sunshade. I will put this to the owners website, but there can be no answer except an engineering fix.

Here in Friday Harbor there is another 62, Undine, and back in Anacortes, yet another, Autumn Wind. I also spotted another last year, Giraffe, from Vancouver. There are only around 37 of them so I'm quite surprised to have seen three others, but I suppose this is trawler country. Friday Harbor is just a stone's throw from the Canadian border, and is worth a wander, but it looks a bit dead at this time of year, and the nightlife in Bangkok is possibly better.

View Larger Map

Preparations continue...

2009-10-24T18:23:00.000-07:00

Lone Wolf is now ensconced in Cap Sante marina, Anacortes. Great town, everything one could need , including a West Marine store, and a Japanese restaurant (I like Japanese) and all within walking distance. I am stocking up on essential gadgets such as binoculars, tools, spare parts, storage containers, walkie-talkies, sandpaper, and machine guns. I met Alaskan Dave today, who photographed the boat for his website (link in earlier post) and who looks at this blog. Dave, I liked the look of your huge camera- see photo above, taken today.

I have a flag now. Lone wolf is registered in the Cayman Islands, and the flag is a British red ensign, with a Cayman islands coat of arms on it, the motto of which reads: "He hath founded it upon the seas" How cool is that?

I am getting some help from a fellow called Bill Brodie, a well known local 'old salt' who really knows his stuff. he spends a lot of time in the engine room, and has so far fixed my wing shaft stuffing box, that was dripping at a too fast a rate (this is hard to reach) and installed a wonderful contraption that holds tools, and is made of canvas and is bolted to the wall, using space that would otherwise have been wasted. He has also bolted on a vice, (they call it a vise round here) and the engine room now looks to contain a professional workshop.

I am loving living on board, but it could be a different story when we are in the open ocean! The excellent Oleg and Donna are coming down to California with me, but after that, I am not too sure what they will do. Oleg is keen to cross the Pacific, but Donna has serious reservations about that, because she suffers badly from seasickness. They are a couple, and both qualified captains. Donna is also an accomplished cook, and seems to love cleaning (!) and will not allow even the smallest speck of dirt on board. Wow. All being well, we will go for a shakedown cruise in the San Juan islands on Monday, to make sure everything is working properly.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

2009-10-21T22:12:00.000-07:00

Lone travelled from La Conner to Anacortes today with myself, Oleg Korbyn, and Donna Wright on board. Only one technical problem remains now, the hydraulic stabilizers. They seem to have a mind of their own and despite attempting a straight course, our wake looked like the trail of a snake, and at one point, we veered to port in a most alarming and unplanned- for way, almost executing an unintentional U-turn! An issue with a small but important hydraulic oil pump has now been resolved, but this only partially fixed the problem, and since this is a fairly critical fault, a call will be made tomorrow to American Bow Thruster, makers of the TRAC stabilizing fins. They are designed to significantly reduce rolling in a seaway, which basically can make the difference between feeling relaxed, and puking your guts out.

I am waiting now, for a 'weather window' to get down to San Diego, California, and from there I will head across the Pacific ocean, as far as the Marquesas Islands, a journey of around 3000 miles. This is the longest passage I will attempt during my entire planned circumnavigation-Talk about jumping in at the deep end!

Lone wolf has been buffed and polished, and looks absolutely beautiful!

Be yourself, even if you are tortured and pretentious!

2009-10-19T19:02:00.000-07:00

It's my 48th birthday today. I've been running around for many years, never really staying in the same place, for reasons that are not completely clear to me. I don't need to know them, however, and I think we all do exactly what we do, for precise reasons, whether we understand the reasons or not; I feel a sense of relief that having moved aboard Lone Wolf, I'll now stay in the same place for enough time to get some necessary things done. The place itself will not stay in the same place, although I will, in relation to it. Where I go now and how it goes, is another story. It is this story. To me, the destination is less important than the technical detail of having enough fuel to get there, and the weather en route. I'm not a masochist; Im trying to have fun. What I'm doing, and where and when I'm doing it, will soon become clear. Clear to me, and to anyone who may wish to know, via this site. The 'why', is more obvious to me this time - It's an adventure...

2009-10-17T19:49:00.000-07:00

I have a long way to go and so there has been much preparation, that is now finally completed. I am now back with Lone Wolf, and heading South from WA any minute, before it is too late, and will post updates here.

2009-02-06T03:01:00.000-08:00

This is the blog for the Voyage of Lone Wolf, a Nordhavn 62, hull no 31, long range powerboat. She is presently being fitted out at LaConner maritime in WA, USA. Pics are available at

http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/6551955_KNzvb/1/416890250_mPEzj#416890250_mPEzj

Updates to follow.