Quid Sea Pacific Crossing – Week 2

David continues to be very diligent with his daily updates and we are so grateful! Good news that nobody has abandoned ship and all is well with the crew.

Quid Sea Pacific Crossing 2025 – Day #8 ~ Noon, April 3-4

Captain’s Log, after day#8

VESSEL: Quid Sea
DATE: 4-Apr-2025
TIME: 1200 (GMT-7)
LATITUDE: 12° 19.0′ N
LONGITUDE: 121° 26′ W

We have reached the same longitude as The Dalles, Oregon,  on our way west to Hood River. 
COURSE: 235 T
SPEED: 6.5 kts
WIND DIRECTION: 045 T
WIND SPEED: 18 Kts
SWELL: 6-9 ft
COMMENTS: Noon to Noon distance (24hr) 139 nm. Total Distance: 1086 nm.

Dinner: What do you get when you combine bell peppers on their last legs, rice, and canned chicken? An off-the-grid gourmet masterpiece made on a stove riding the rollercoaster swells. Minimal clean-up, maximum satisfaction.

Sunset – An end to another beautiful day. 

Autopilot vs. Hydrovane

Yesterday, Hydrovane got a standing ovation. Today, we honor the autopilot. 

We were trying for a broad reach (apparent wind angle >120 degrees), but the best we were able to tune the Hydrovane to was ~110 degrees, oscillating +/- 20-30 degrees, due to rolling in the rough seas.  Anything larger and the head sail would luff in an extreme angle.

Enter the autopilot! But not the boring compass-locked version. No, this was the useful “follow the apparent wind angle” mode. Suddenly, we were smooth sailing, gliding at 130-135 degrees off the wind with far fewer tantrums from the sails. Hydrovane is taking a well-deserved break, and I am sure we will return to it when the conditions are more favorable.

Sail slides

Two of our mainsail slides decided they’d had enough and broke free. Lucky for us, Tracy was prepared with the right materials. Armed with spare slides and a sewing kit to attach them to the original webbing, he made the repairs while we were charging through 6-foot swells in 18-22 knot winds. Just another day at sea.

Quid Sea Pacific Crossing 2025 – Day #9 ~ Noon, April 4-5

Captain’s Log, after day#9

VESSEL: Quid Sea
DATE: 5-Apr-2025
TIME: 1200 (GMT-8)
LATITUDE: 11° 07′ N
LONGITUDE: 123° 40′ W

Approaching the same longitude as Astoria, OR. 
COURSE: 250 T
SPEED: 7 kts
WIND DIRECTION: 045 T
WIND SPEED: 20 Kts
SWELL: 6 ft
COMMENTS: Ship’s clocks changed from GMT-7 to GMT-8. Noon to Noon distance (25hr) 150 nm. Total Distance: 1236 nm.

We were surfing the waves and admiring the view all night long.

Time check

At sea, time zones shift every 15 degrees of longitude. To ease into the change, we adjust by adding 20 minutes per watch until we’re synced with the new zone. On Friday, this looked like: Tracy’s watch ran from noon–4:20PM, Erik’s from 4:20–8:40PM, and mine from 8:40PM–1:00AM. Then we reset the clock back to midnight for Tracy’s next watch. Now we’re officially one hour behind Portland—even though, longitude-wise, we haven’t crossed the Columbia River Bar. Must be the scenic route.

1923, Season 2, Episode 2, Spoiler alert!

After my watch ended at midnight, I kicked back with a dram of Scotch (prescribed by my doctor—thanks, Eddie!). I was watching a dramatic ship-crossing scene in 1923, where a massive wave crashes through a portlight window, frightening the passengers. Just as the water burst onto the screen — a real wave slammed into Quid Sea. Captain Tracy checked below for casualties (both human and snack-based). Hats off to the director, Ed Sheridan, and Captain Tracy for their perfectly choreographed special effects. 

From the helm

Today’s view.  😊

Hunting season has opened

Previously, a Red-Legged Booby used our starboard solar panel as its personal restroom, cutting power output by 40%. Cleaning it while hanging onto the boat in rolling seas? Tricky. So, when it returned today, Tracy loaded a syringe with water and mounted a defense of the ship. 

Next up: Man vs. Fruit Fly. High-voltage tennis, but with more buzz and less sportsmanship.

Quid Sea Pacific Crossing 2025 – Day #10 ~ Noon, April 4-5

Captain’s Log, after day#10

VESSEL: Quid Sea
DATE: 6-Apr-2025
TIME: 1200 (GMT-8)
LATITUDE: 09° 43′ N
LONGITUDE: 125° 45′ W

If we were in Oregon, we crossed the Columbia River bar!
COURSE: 255 T
SPEED: 8 kts
WIND DIRECTION: 055 T
WIND SPEED: 20 Kts
SWELL: 6-9 ft
COMMENTS: Noon to Noon distance (24hr) 149 nm. Total Distance: 1385 nm.

Plan: 2847nm total = 49% of the way there. 

Estimated date of arrival: April 18^th.  Or 19^th 😊

Dolphins at sunset

We recovered solar production to match the other.  Yay, for small victories!

Quid Sea Pacific Crossing 2025 – Day #11 ~ Noon, April 6-7

Captain’s Log, after day#11

VESSEL: Quid Sea
DATE: 7-Apr-2025
TIME: 1200 (GMT-8)
LATITUDE: 08° 27′ N
LONGITUDE: 127° 56′ W
COURSE: 200 T
SPEED: 6 kts
WIND DIRECTION: 055 T
WIND SPEED: 17 Kts
SWELL: 6-9 ft
COMMENTS: Noon to Noon distance (24hr) 172 nm. Total Distance: 1557 nm.

Motoring and recharging

Turns out, autopilot, Starlink, refrigeration, and all our other gadgets have an appetite for power that outpaces our solar panels—especially on overcast days when the sun decides to ghost us. So, we fired up the engine for four hours of motoring, which allowed us to motor sail and gave the reverse osmosis watermaker a chance to shine (and fill the tanks). Redundancy: because relying on one system is for landlubbers.

Sunset Series

It looks better and better with each successive photo.

Solar Security

During my 8PM–Midnight watch, guess who came flapping back like a feathery freeloader? Yep, the red-legged booby. Once again, he tried to roost on our aft solar panel—and by “roost,” I mean settle in and then proceed to defile it.

He wasn’t phased by yelling (my sternest “Hey you!”), and a syringe full of water didn’t even make him blink. So, I upped my game: grabbed the saltwater deck wash hose and opened the floodgates. He clung on stubbornly at first—respect for the grip strength—but after a minute-long aquatic eviction notice, he finally flew off, soggy and (hopefully) reconsidering his life choices.

Twice more during my shift, he returned. Twice more, he met the wrath of Neptune’s garden hose. I felt like a member of the Night’s Watch from Game of Thrones, standing guard over the realm of clean solar panels. My watch has ended—for now.

SV Quid Sea PacVoy Sea Shanty 

We created this a few days ago but have yet to post it to YouTube.  I am sure that my family is cringing just thinking about it.  Ahh, the anticipation.  

The Ballad of the Booby and the Flying Fish
(Verse 1)
Oh, the wind was high and the seas were bold,
As we sailed through the night so dark and cold.
But when dawn arose with a golden light,
Seventeen fish gave us quite the sight!

(Chorus)
Way, hey! The ocean’s wide!
Flying fish and the rolling tide!
A booby bold in the rigging high,
Stowed away for a free ride!

(Verse 2)
Now the deck was slick with silver scales,
As the morning sun caught their shining tails.
They leapt in the night and they found no sea,
Just a wooden plank and the likes of me!

(Chorus)
Way, hey! The ocean’s wide!
Flying fish and the rolling tide!
A booby bold in the rigging high,
Stowed away for a free ride!

(Verse 3)
From the mast above came a squawk and cry,
A red-footed booby with a watchful eye.
He hitched a ride on the midnight gale,
Now he rides our ship ‘til we set new sail!

(Chorus)
Way, hey! The ocean’s wide!
Flying fish and the rolling tide!
A booby bold in the rigging high,
Stowed away for a free ride!

(Verse 4)
So we’ll let him stay for a spell or two,
For a bird like that, well, what can you do?
With the fish for breakfast and the wind so free,
There’s no better life on the endless sea!

(Final Chorus – Twice as Loud!)
Way, hey! The ocean’s wide!
Flying fish and the rolling tide!
A booby bold in the rigging high,
Stowed away for a free ride!

Fishing

Not catching, yet.

Quid Sea Pacific Crossing 2025 – Day #12 ~ Noon, April 7-8

Captain’s Log, after day#12, reported on WhatsApp, PacVoy 2025 (by invitation only)

VESSEL: Quid Sea
DATE: 8-Apr-2025
TIME: 1200 (GMT-8)
LATITUDE: 06° 26′ N
LONGITUDE: 128° 35′ W
COURSE: 200 T
SPEED: 6 kts
WIND DIRECTION: 055 T
WIND SPEED: 15 Kts
SWELL: 6 ft
COMMENTS: Noon to Noon distance (24hr) 128 nm. Total Distance: 1685 nm.

Dinner

Taco night.  Messy, but yummy.

Water Temperature

86.3 degrees F water temperature.  That seems like a nice bath or a hot tub, not the Pacific Ocean that we know in Oregon.

Fishing & Catching

We reported yesterday that we were fishing, not catching.  Our luck changed today. A small skipjack tuna.  Or as we like to describe it, dinner on the BBQ.

Quid Sea Pacific Crossing 2025 – Day #13 ~ Noon, April 9-10

Captain’s Log, after day#13

VESSEL: Quid Sea
DATE: 10-Apr-2025
TIME: 1200 (GMT-8)
LATITUDE: 02° 14′ N
LONGITUDE: 129° 28′ W

Yes, we traveled slightly east
COURSE: 214 T
SPEED: 5 kts
WIND DIRECTION: 110 T
WIND SPEED: 8 Kts
SWELL: 9 ft
COMMENTS: Noon to Noon distance (24hr) 107 nm. Total Distance: 1943 nm. 

Detoured a bit for squalls that never got too bad.  A little over 20 kts in one.  Sailed through the night reefed just in case.  Sailing now with full sails but light wind, 6-10 kts. 

Dinner

Grilled catch-of-the-day skipjack tuna fish tacos, ceviche style thanks to a suggestion from a frequent e-mail correspondent James, and a beer 😊.

Sunset

Half sunset and half a squall that we avoided.  Yes, a sunset off the STB aft quarter indicates that we were heading ~SE.  Not ideal, but the meteorologist service suggested this course out an abundance of caution.   This region is called the ITCZ (Inter Tropical Convergence Zone) and is known for unstable weather.  It seems that we will run into more of it on Monday.  In the meantime, we expect to cross the equator Friday night or Saturday morning!

Radar watch

There was a system to our SW that we avoided.  Nothing else developed overnight.

Moon Set – Credit: Erik

Sun Rise – Credit Erik

Quid Sea Pacific Crossing 2025 – Day #14 ~ Noon, April 10-11

Captain’s Log, after day#14

VESSEL: Quid Sea
DATE: 11-Apr-2025
TIME: 1200 (GMT-8)
LATITUDE: 00° 59’N

1 degree from the equator.  We should cross on Saturday morning at ~3AM local time, 4AM Pacific. 
LONGITUDE: 130° 12′ W
COURSE: 195 T
SPEED: 4 kts
WIND DIRECTION: 65 T
WIND SPEED: 8 Kts
SWELL: 6 ft
COMMENTS: Noon to Noon distance (24hr) 87 nm. Total Distance: 2030 nm. Made slow but steady progress through the night in 4-6 kt winds. Passed a pod of Pilot Whales as we crossed 1° N.

Free light show

Twice daily, until further notice. 

Red Legged Boobie

Erik successfully repelled three landings with an Acoustic Deterrent System (ARS), a.k.a., yelling.

Avoiding squalls on radar 

Also known as the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) edition of Frogger.
We expertly navigated a clear path, dodging squalls left and right like seasoned arcade champions.

Spinnaker

The spinnaker was twisted in the sock, but eventually Tracy was able to let it fly.  Due to artistic differences with the rigging and wind conditions, we quickly returned our normally scheduled genoa. 

Whales

A pod of pilot whales at 1° N!  

I realize that this looks like an artist’s rendition of a pod of whales, painted with water colors, but it is a real photo.  The original low magnification image is below, so that you know its real, not AI. 

I’m closing out for now. We may only have another week to share before they reach the Marquesas. More to come!