Delorme inReach | The Rigneys' Great Adventure

This post is a little out of order (late) and perhaps a bit redundant, but it’s a new category that we’re introducing since Eric recently figured out how to save our Delorme In Reach Satellite texts posted while sailing open ocean without wifi. Good luck deciphering the shorthand!

Avoiding a splash, Eric Rigney saves his dry clothes!

July 2, 2017 – Had a few probs yesterday. Water thru aft port lt, indoor fruit hammock ripped ceiling panel in half (too much fruit), engine won’t start, engine sips coolant (heat exchanger leak? $3k?), engine won’t start (fuel issue somewhere), and prop shaft leaks after 24 hrs of use. Have to tighten packing gland weekly. Might have to replace in Darwin. Always something.

But we’re hauling ass at 7kts on a broad reach with mostly clear skies, ok seas, & the crew is in relatively pos. spirits.

L worried we’re screwing up the boys’ education & social culture. No proms for either. I say they’ll be motivated to catch up & so far no bullying, peer pressure, consumerism, drugs, alcohol, or sex. Their resumes will state: High School “sailed around the world.” That alone might get them the interview. It’s what tipped Nick’s job application w/ Disney over 300 other applicants.

July 4, 2017 – Ships have been passing us every night these past 3 nights. Glad to have AIS transponder. One even radioed us to confirm our course.

July 8, 2017 – E wind last few days inhibited N progress, adding mileage (1/2d) to trip. Trying to balance btwn course & comfort/spd. SE forecast not yet valid.

July 9, 2017 – B caught 20″ albacore! Fresh tuna for lunch & dinner. Wind direction changed. No more calm sailing. Rolly Polly.
Once we get our refurbished pactor modem reinstalled in Darwin, we’ll be able to email while at sea along with sending Delorme text messages. While at sea we’d use our sail mail email addresses…small attachments can be sent too if our pactor modem were working! I’m looking forward to reading emails.

A Taiwanese fishing trawler snuck up 50 yd behind us. No AIS (required by maritime law). Guess they were curious. Woke me up!

We’ll be halfway to Darwin by midnight tonight our time (6.5hrs dif). Pleased w/our progress. Moderately comfortable seas.

18d psg. Won’t sleep much thru Torres Strait. Navigated between natural obstacles while in major int’l shipping corridor. Good practice 4 the Red Sea.

July 10, 2017 – Fulllest of moons. Makes for a bright night watch. Guys all watched first. Mine started at 5:00 am – very unusual. Good to change it up. I enjoyed the sleep.

Hard to believe we still have 8 days to go. This passage seems interminable esp. following the shorter ones to Samoa, Fiji n Vanuatu. We’re only 55 miles off the Papua New Guinea coastline. We’re approaching now the Torres Straights but not yet traveling along the shipping lanes. We’re traveling in the Coral Sea rt now.

Watched movie “Australia” last night. Features Darwin just before and during WWII. All of us ready to get off rocking boat. Rocks esp side-to-side when running.

July 11, 2017 – Stormy wx as we enter Torres gauntlet. 30-35mph wind. Running w/staysail & furled main. Rockiest night last night. Boobies tried landing aboard last night. 1 broke neck on poop deck, 1 hit wind generator blades, 1 landed on boom, 4th on poop deck. Scared live ones away. Asked Trent to throw dead boobie off deck, did he want gloves? He said, “If I’m grabbing a boobie, I ain’t gonna wear a glove!”

July 14, 2017 – We had to stop sailing & hide behind an island in the Torres Strait to escape the 30-35 knot winds that were pounding us. Things were breaking making it an expensive xing. We’re safe. Plan to sail tomorrow am. ETA Darwin on the 21st.

July 15, 2017 11:13 am – Beautiful sailing conditions. Hoping to clear Torres Strait b4 midnight, then hazard free for 4 days until we approach Darwin. Bryce prepping to catch fish again. Getting back on track. So glad we stopped. Border Patrol helicopter questioned us via radio. Normal.

July 15, 2017 17:20 – Beautiful sailing. Should clear Strait by 11pm. O Happy Day. B caught 2 fish..bam-bam. Tuna (20″) & wahoo (40″). Done 4 the trip! B cast 2 lines, one lure floats, the other slightly submerged while sailing the shallows of Torres Strait btwn 2 small islands. With setting sun, a tuna strikes. As we drag the fight out of him, Trent goes to pull in the 2nd line before sun disappears–then bam….a Wahoo strikes. Quelle chance!

We drag em til no more fight, pull them in, then bleed & drag em by tail, then gut & behead over the water. Rinse once more b4 filleting in cockpit. Minimal mess, although clothes get a little bloody. After this, we will remove our shirts and shorts to avoid difficult laundry….

Fresh fish if not frozen & then thawed, is rubber-like, not very good to eat. We’ve learned all good sushi is quick frozen ASAP. Leslie finishes filleting fish & skinnin em. Cuts, packages, & freezes the fresh catch. We’ll eat fish tomorrow!

July 20, 2017 – Should arrive Darwin Tomorrow. What a passage! Thank goodness the boys are growing up. They have assumed much responsibility since our first passages sailing the large Pacific Ocn: now Trent age 13, Bryce age 15. What a difference a couple years make!

GAL Thunderhead — Thunderheads surround and engulf Kandu on way to Galapagos

Since arriving in La Cruz, Bandaras Bay, the push for me has been to get Kandu going and to keep her so. Several unexpected problems of significant proportion required my undivided attention and complete effort: physically, mentally, and emotionally. Delays were compounded by the pressures of the upcoming hurricane season, the French Polynesian visa requirement that we arrive in June, and the disappointment of having to cross so many desirous locations off our list. These demands left little time for visiting Mexico or writing. I went to bed exhausted around 8pm and woke around 5am. The pressure was non-stop. We knew that once we left Mexico, any chance of getting parts would be very difficult, time constraining, and costly. It felt like “now or never.”

Eric on evening watch off Mexican coast aboard Kandu

At one point, it looked like the lack of supportive wind would force us to cross Galapagos off our itinerary, a magical place I really didn’t want to miss. Realizing that the wind would not be dangerous, but variable, light, and rain-riddened, we made the decision to suck it up, spend the fuel, and go for it.

Red marks on RADAR heavy rain and Kandu in the midst.

The sail to the Galapagos was uncomfortable and discouraging. Sailing in confused seas (again), motor sailing often, having to dodge thunderstorms and squalls day and night, all as we passed under the latitude of the sun and its intense tropical heat (sea temp 89^oF), against the southeast trades and current, placed in jeopardy the whole idea of sailing around the world. Rain forced us to close all hatches and portlights, cutting off ventilation. Were it not for the portable 12-volt fans throughout the boat, we would have drowned in our own sweat. I often sleep in the cockpit so Bryce and Trent have easy access to me should they have any question. The last 4 days were the worst, as we tacked back and forth against ever-changing winds, through wet thunderheads, rocking in all directions, while discovering that our alternator charging system (the engine powers the alternator that makes electricity to charge the ship’s batteries) had failed for some unknown reason.

Land Ho! After 17 days, Isla Isabela — Land Ho! After 17 days, rain clouds shroud Isla Isabela at sunrise just below the equator.

Arriving in Puerto Villamil at the southern tip of Isla Isabela, the largest of the Galapagos islands, 17 days after leaving Mexico, we focus on meeting the complex entry requirements. Were it not for the help of our agent, JC DeSoto, we’d not have done so well. Entry permitted, and although many more standard issues beckon, I apply intense focus on resolving the alternator problem. It takes 8 days, more than half of our intended stay. In between the other boat maintenance requirement and preparing for the next, and longest crossing, I visit Galapagos with the family, taking several half-day excursions, land and sea.

Time constraints of the Galapagos and of French Polynesia require we leave now. Instead of sailing to Gambier, a less comfortable sail, we’ve opted for sailing directly to the Marquesas, a more favorable direction with regard to wind and sea. I can’t very much afford another uncomfortable crossing if I want to keep morale up for a 25-day crossing. In Gambier, we’d have to leave after a week or two. In the Marquesas, we can stay a month or longer, providing the rest and stability we all crave. Off to the Marquesas we go.

Marina Iguana Yoga — Marina Iguana yoga position

The intensity of effort to prepare Kandu for the Galapagos and beyond, combined with the power issue that developed along the way, prevented me from blogging. Although I have many stories to share, I’m going to have to wait until we settle into the Marquesas before I can publish. Appreciating that such breaks from regular posting are the death of a blog-site, I hope you’ll bear with us and reap the reward once we are able to share once again on a more regular basis. In the meantime, for those on Facebook and/or Twitter, we have been posting regularly to these sites via our satellite texting device, Delorme inReach SE, which provides not only the text, but a link back to our current position. The same device provides the tracking and map location of Kandu, a link to which is provided on this site’s front page. So if you’re needing your RigneyKandu fix, look for us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/rigneyskandu or me up on Facebook (Eric Rigney) or on Twitter@RigneysKandu until we can get back to delivering more in-depth writing.

Thanks for sticking with us!!!

Eric Rigney

The Rigneys' Great Adventure

Tag Archives: Delorme inReach

Delorme log Vanuatu to Darwin 2017 posted by Eric

Remiss

Sailing Kandu Around the World