sy Timoneer

SATURDAY 6TH JANUARY – Underway from La Paz towards Panama.

Well, we finally managed to extricate ourselves from La Paz at 0700 this
morning and are now on our way south. For the month of December we have been
cruising in the Sea of Cortez which is the inside of the Baja California
peninsula and is quite spectacular. The shore is very rugged desert with
lots of cactus and pastel coloured mountains with amazing rock formations.
The sea teams with life – whales, dolphin and fish – and the local Mexicans
are very friendly and helpful. We are sad to be leaving and hope to be back
one day.
As we left the marina we motored into stiff Norhterly head winds, but after
an hour we were able to turn around the point of land and head south. As
soon as we got clear of the bay we set a reefed main and full genoa, shut
down the engine and under sail making over 12 knots. There is a big sea
running on our port quarter but the sun is shining and it is a great day for
sailing.
We have not put out the fishing lines due to the conditions but we are quite
happy to just settle in and get more comfortable before we have to deal with
any monsters from the deep. The forecast is for the wind to go down so we
may as well make the best of it while we can.
If you are interested, Mike the mate on board Timoneer, has set up his own
website with numerous great photos of our travels over the years. You can
check these out on www.usemypics.com There are photos not only from here in
Mexico but also from our summer up in Alaska and previous trips to the San
Blas, Caribbean and the Med.
Our next stop will be at Puesta del Sol Marina in Nicaragua where we intend
to stay for a couple of days to break up the trip down to Panama. From La
Paz to the Panama Canal is 2,300 miles, about the same as crossing the
Atlantic.
All is well on board
PHil

Wednesday 3rd January 2007

Everyone from Timoneer wishes you a very Happy and Prosperous New Year filled with health and Happiness. We will be leaving La Paz in the Sea of Cortez (Mexico) on January 5th and will then resume the daily logs while on passage.

Best wishes from the crew of Timoneer.

Saturday 2nd December 2006

Timoneer arrived all safe and sound in La Paz, Mexico (West Coast) at 1700 on Friday 1st. Unfortunately the Satcom connection went down so the reports were not able to be sent but we are now safely tied to the dock at Costa Baja Marina and back on the air.

The trip down took 4.25 days and was good with a mixture of weather, ranging from 30 plus knots on the nose, to flat calm. At one time the boat speed was down to 7 knots bashing into head seas.

When the weather was co-operating we managed to catch some fish, a nice 25lb dorado (mahi mahi) and a couple of 10lb tuna and we saw quite a bit of sea life which is always enjoyable.

We will be cruising in the Sea of Cortez for the next month or so and then head south towards Panama, hopefully to transit the canal in February before proceeding to Grenada.

Once we are on passage again we will start the daily logs again.
Happy Christmas and a Prosperous New Year to you all.

Captain and Crew of Timoneer.

Tuesday 28th November
Noon Position:
Lat: 32* 23.9′ N,
Long: 117* 12.0′ W
Crs: 160*
Speed: 12 Kts.
Log: 3079
Wind: 18 knots, westerly

Timoneer got underway this morning, leaving San Diego at 10:00 PST. With good visibility, and light traffic, we had cleared the sea bouy one hour later. Now motor sailing SSE with one reef in the main, and one in the jib.

All on board is well.

Best regards,
Robert Wilhelm

Thursday, Sept 28th Time: 0900 Pacific Time (1800 UTC)
Position: 32’43 N 117’14 W
Docked Kona Kai Marina, San Diego Days run: 178 miles (20hrs 25 mins, noon – 0835)
Weather: Overcast, fog Wind: 7 kts out of 310’T

News:

Timoneer arrived in San Diego safe and sound docking at Kona Kai Marina at 0835 this morning. The first day of the trip we covered a lot of ground so as the Northerly breeze filled in we were able to sail most of the night and into the early morning averaging 8-10kts. This morning 15 miles off the San Diego sea buoy we caught our first and only fish a 15lb Eastern Pacific Bonito. As we approached the channel into San Diego the fog thickened until we were completely shrouded in it. In the end there wasn’t much traffic and we crossed astern of the ship “Industrial Cape” on our way into the Kona Kai marina behind Shelter Island. Timoneer will remain in San Diego for the next two months carrying out maintenance work and do sail trials before heading to Baja Mexico after hurricane season.

John

Wednesday, Sept 27th Time: 1200 Pacific Time (2100 UTC)
Position: 34’12 N 120’06 W
10 miles North Santa Rosa Island Days run: 293 miles (26hrs 1000-noon)
Boat speed: 9.0 kts Course 113 T
Weather: Overcast Wind: 14 kts out of 340’T

News:

Timoneer is at sea again, departing San Francisco 1000 Tuesday morning for the 466 mile trip to San Diego. The weather was overcast and hazy with the tops of the Golden Gate bridge towers obscured by fog. At sea level we had about 6 miles of visibility and light winds out of the South West. After exiting the San Francisco traffic scheme Timoneer motored through the evening in the light headwinds. By 0900 this morning the wind had picked up from the North, as we turned more Easterly to enter Santa Barbara Channel we rolled out the sails. At the moment we are sailing with the main and genoa making 9 knots, the wind is slowly dying as we get closer to Los Angeles.

John

Tuesday, Sept 19th Time: 0930 Local Time (1830 UTC)
Position: 37’46 N 122’23 W
Docked Pier 40 San Francisco Days run: 167 miles (21-1/2 hours)
Weather: Clear and sunny Wind: 5 kts out of 270’T

News:

Timoneer arrived at Pier 40 Marina San Francisco at 0915 local time completing the 1247 mile trip from Ketchikan in 4 days 18 hours and 15minutes. We had some nice sailing last night with the reefed main and genoa pushing 13kts. As we reached Pt Arena the Northwesterly really started to kick in gusting to 35kts. The wind tapered off nicely as we turned toward the Traffic Separation Scheme in San Francisco Bay and although there were patches of fog we lucked out passing under the Golden Gate Bridge in hazy sunshine.

John

Monday, Sept 18th Time: 1200 Alaska Time (2200 UTC)
Position: 39’43 N 124’23 W
15 miles North West of Laguna Point, California Days run: 293 miles (noon – noon)
Boat speed:12.0 kts Course 163 T
Weather: Overcast, fog Wind: 20 kts out of 330’T

News:

Sunday after lunch the Southerly headwinds we were experiencing dropped to light and variable. Over the course of the next few hours the sea state flattened to a glassy calm with a long swell from the South West. Pleasant motoring conditions with the night watch hours spent going in and out of fog banks. One minute it was completely clear, ten minutes later you couldn’t see the bow. By 0500 the fog was here to stay and continues as I write this noon report. On the wildlife side of things we still see the occasional whale and there was an enormous pod of Pacific White-sided Dolphins that stayed with the boat for 25 minutes playing in the wake. Weather permitting we should be entering San Francisco harbor early Tuesday morning.

John

Sunday, Sept 17th Time: 1200 Alaska Time (2200 UTC)
Position: 44’22 N 124’36 W
15 miles West Cape Foulweather, Oregon Days run: 260 miles (noon – noon)
Boat speed: 11.8 kts Course 140 T
Weather: Overcast Wind: 13 kts out of 140’T

News:

The Southerly winds filled in reaching 25kts as Timoneer motored through the night on a course of 140T. The breeze seemed noticeably lighter as we approached the Oregon coast although we were still 15+ miles offshore. The waves were also better although our boat speed was hurt by a combination of the rig windage and the pitching of the boat. All and all it is still a pretty comfortable motion. Good news on the fishing front, during dinner last night we landed a 25lb Albacore Tuna. This morning at first light right as we put the lines in we had a double strike with 23lb and 28lb Albacores. Due to rapidly shrinking freezer space we have declared a moratorium on fishing until we get closer to San Francisco.

John

Saturday, Sept 16th Time: 1200 local (2200 UTC)
Position: 48’00 N 127’41 W
110 West Strait of Juan De Fuca (to Seattle) Days run: 290 miles (noon – noon)
Boat speed: 11.3 kts Course 140 T
Weather: Overcast Wind: 14 kts out of 140’T

News:

Timoneer motor sailed throughout the evening averaging over 12kts for the 24 hour period. The northerly breeze gave out at 0300 and by 0500 the Southerlies began filling in. We altered our course to port by 15 degrees and headed towards the Washington coast in hope that the headwinds would be lighter over there. The sea state remains fairly settled and the boys had no problem doing a few odd jobs on deck while Penny made what can only be described as left over casserole for lunch. All on board are well.

John