The wind has to be right and the wave has to come from the right direction. If both are perfect, the trip is also perfect. Unfortunately, things are usually different in practice and the conditions change quickly. Especially in the sea area we are currently in. Together with SV Tuvalu, we plan our departure for Fiji. A low-pressure trough postpones our departure day by two days. During this time we almost don't get off the boat. Heavy rain, with gusts of around 40 knots, tugs at the anchor gear.
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| On the way to Fiji |
As expected, clearing out is a bit tricky again, as the immigration door is of course locked during opening hours. Somewhat perplexed, we turn to reception, who just smiles at us and says “later”. Nothing is happening at the customs counter either. A lady sees us standing around looking a bit grumpy and asks what we want. When we say that we want to go to immigration, she looks a little irritated and tries to see if the door is actually locked. Once she realizes that it is, she doesn't let herself be dissuaded from demanding entry and starts knocking. She stubbornly sticks to this tactic and, lo and behold, the door opens after around two minutes. So that's how it works here. The entire team is sitting in the small room. We clear out and when we step outside the door, customs is also open. Everything goes smoothly here too, so we can set sail the next day. Gottfried, the skipper of the Tuvalu, has ordered a weather routing from Wetterwelt in Kiel, which promises moderate winds with a maximum wave of two meters. As I have a weather subscription with Wetterwelt, I'm curious to see how big the difference is between the professional routing and the subscription. Maybe it's due to the simple weather conditions, but apart from the fact that the three-hour routing is more finely tuned, the subscription with a six-hour interval is not as detailed, but otherwise just as consistent or not. The wind is just right for the first two days, apart from the squalls, which are considered a weather phenomenon. With squalls, it always depends on how they hit you. It can range from strong to zero wind. Once the squall has passed, the previous weather conditions usually return after a quarter of an hour. Unless another squall follows. So the wind is fine and we make good progress.
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| Katinka Enjoy under Gross and Genoa |
The advantage of a mono over a catamaran is clearly its wave compatibility. If you ignore the wave directly from the front (every sailor will probably avoid this type of wave), the mono can cope with many wave directions. With a catamaran, only waves from diagonally aft or directly aft are actually okay. What a catamaran doesn't like at all is a wave from the side. And that's exactly the kind of wave we have right now. If the wave frequency is also significantly below the specified frequency, the chaos is perfect. The waves keep slapping against the bridge deck, causing the whole hull to vibrate. Quite apart from the fact that the crawling motion is the safest in such conditions. Ultimately, your entire will to exist is reduced to the miles you have covered or how many miles lie ahead of you.
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| Plotter with miles indication |
In Gaby's case, there's also the battle against seasickness. All activities are reduced to a minimum. The prospect that the waves will subside over the course of the trip gives us hope, but is no guarantee that this will actually happen. The spray has left a fine film of salt over the boat. Everything you touch sticks. The instruments have to be wiped down regularly, otherwise you can no longer read them. The important thing, as you can guess, is the mileage counter, which continuously counts down the miles. At night, when you are overtired, you can no longer read the numbers properly. You're happy that it's not that far away and at the same time disappointed when you find out that you've misread the figure of eight as three.
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| A guest on the Katinka Enjoy |
Anyway, we hop the almost 600 nautical miles from Tuvalu to Fiji and count every mile we leave behind as a success. You'll find out how we survived the crossing in the same place next week. Until then, keep fair winds and keep a stiff upper lip.
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