Nearly There.

2 hours out.

Finally we lose the sea on the beam. at 4m it has had us rolling for a while, Well about 2 weeks. Looks to be Smooth seas until we are docked.

Chilean Landfall!

CHILE!!

Landfall in Chile after 16 days at sea and 4,500 NM Through the morning Mists we spot Volcan Corcovado, 2200m. Boat and the Crew have done really well. We even have 15% of our fuel left..We hope to be anchored off PT Montt by 0100 GMT when we will be clearing formalities. Then to the dock, tomorrow Friday, hopefully before the large low(at 965mb) we have been trying to keep ahead of passes. We will be happy to be secure alongside. Forecast where We have been looks Awful..

Hmmm Wind Coming..

Wind to follow.

looking at that sky, we can not get in to the shelter of the Patagonian channels quick enough. we should round I Chile on the South side by mid morning Thursday. We are too tall to go in the normal entrance. 58m clearance to our 60 height. Therefore we decided not to chance the tide with high tension power lines.. so 160nm more distance.and South entrance We hope to be docked on Friday before a very powerful low of 965mb roars through supposedly carrying gusts in the fifties. If that works out we will indeed have been very fortunate with the weather on this trip

Photo by Brian carver

Closer to Easter

We actually passed only 4nm off the corner of easter Island and for sure on this day there was no likely chance of landing but as we were running from a low pressure it did not make sense to have a pit stop anyway. We had at one point thought of stopping here for a sip of fuel, Well 10,000l is not a sip but we brought fuel bladders instead..Good call..Sad to see the Famous EI and yet not stop. next time when we have time and can visit properly. 

photo by Brian Carver.

Easter to Starboard.

Easter Island on the Horizon
We have been out here now for 10 days and only now We are passing Easter Island. Actually We should have been 250nm further south than this on our planned route. However there is a nasty little Low on our old track that we really did not need to get mixed up in. so here we are seeing but not stopping Sadly at Easter Island. We also passed to the South of Pitcairn..Both places however we could not physically have anchored safely and gone ashore due to the weather conditions. But We got close.
Photo by Brian Carver..

Easter Island on the Horizon

Easter Island on the Horizon

We have been out here now for 10 days and only now We are passing Easter Island. Actually We should have been 250nm further south than this on our planned route. However there is a nasty little Low on our old track that we really did not need to get mixed up in. so here we are seeing but not stopping Sadly at Easter Island. We also passed to the South of Pitcairn..Both places however we could not physically have anchored safely and gone ashore due to the weather conditions. But We got close.

Photo by Brian Carver

Watches

As we transit across the Oceans, which at this point looks pretty large.. We run a 24 hour watch system in both Deck and Engineering departments. 4 hours on and 4 hours off for the Watch keepers on deck and 6 hours on and 6 hours off for the engineering department. On deck we are monitoring weather, sea state, radars and position as well as any radio traffic. Out here there is little of that..in fact there is almost no vessels out here in this part of the Ocean. The Engineers as we are always in on mode are monitoring all our mechanicals and doing routine servicing as we go along. galley is cooking for us 3 times a day and cookies or cake to boot.. The Interior Dept has it a bit easier as the boat stays pretty clean out here, but there is always laundry..

1000 down and 3,500 to Go!

We are , frankly enjoying the calm weather so far. The trades are light and from 030. So this is giving us a sailable wind angle just ahead of the beam albeit with light winds around 10 knots. With one engine ticking over to keep the average up we are making a bout 250nm a day and keeping the fuel burn low. We can not motor the whole way in any event.. The Weather is cooler each day and we expect it to get much cooler in the days to come. We have a front due to pass in the next 36 hours and while ,moderate (we hope) it will bring in the colder Southerly winds but again we should be able to continue to motor sail efficiently to the Southeast. This is actually very unusual as 90% of the time the winds here should be 18-20 kts from 120t with a 2m wind wave.. or directly on the nose. Even the large period Southerly Swell of 3m has died off tonight leaving us rolling along gently. A good moon to light the way. We must enjoy this time.. The crew are all doing well and settled in to the routine Brian and I monitoring every weather report and watch following watch. As mentioned we now only have 3,500nm to go. And posting will be difficult. Not even sure how this one got out… But this excellent Photo by John “ dikus” Shearsonreflects the look tonight of sailing in the moonlight

Rosehearty on the Move

We left Papeete for Pt Montt in Chile. The weather is good for the 1st part of the trip but the trip is long at 4,500nm. We hope for 17 days but we will need some help from the weather to get there. Pilot boarded at 0900 after immigration had left and with More in the foreground it was time to head on out. Tahiti has as it has for centuries been a great stop over. The people are so friendly. Communications will be spotty as we will have no internet for much of the trip but we will post when we can..

Sunset Sailing

Well we are back in Marina Tania in Papeete Tahiti. Lots of work going on turning the boat back into Cold Water and Cold weather cruising mode. Off with Jet Skis, SeaBobs and the expertise bile and on with Extra fuel storage, Another Engineer bed, boot racks and Survival suits etc.

We also took down the staysail and the Genoa to adjust there size as they have grown a little and we could not get the correct tension on the luff or the right sheet angle for them. however they are back and rolled up in place.

In among all this preparation there are a few holidays for crew to be taken and in the Evenings for the others a little Sailing…

Bouncy Much!!

Not all our trips are idyllic, well most are but sometimes you need to pay the Piper. After waiting 4 or 5 days there was a chink in the weather and as life is much better the further East you go..Off We went. seas were big at 4m or 14' every 6-8 seconds.. Winds gusting in the mid 30's  and as the sea was  short  Rosehearty did not fit well. At times we were down to 4-5 its SOG and in fact had the worst total milage covered in 24 hours maybe Ever.. at a paltry 110nm.. But as said the further East you go the better it gets. It has been 3  tough days for the crew, Especially in the Galley.. ! Well done to everyone. Docking tomorrow is due at 0800 for pilot. Everyone will sleep well on Thursday night...

Photo by Hugo "10 Men" Thomas

Stuck in the Moment and we can't get out of it...

Aitutaki is going to become familiar. We looked at heading back in to tahiti 600nm up wind..

But after a bit it made more sense to go back and re anchor as poor an anchorage as it is behind the Island. We could be here a good few days as a very high pressure squeezes the isobars and we end up with winds in the 30's and gusting higher and the seas are about 18' or 5m Too for now we wait behind this tropical paradise.. You can see the wind in the sky...

Photo by  RDS

Manauae

And this is all we Found. After drifting through dinner we set the staysail and headed back to Aitutaki to an early Guest drop off. 

Aitutaki to Manuae

The charter has gone well and as we enter in to the last day we are seeing the winds increase. We are planning a trip to another , almost never visited and uninhabited fish...Island  called Manuae. It is a marine Sanctuary. After a nice sail and with less than favorable direction  on went the motors so the guest could spend a little time there. You can not anchor so Rosehearty drifted while all were ashore.

Photo by "Dronemaster" Smith

Aitutaki Sunset..

Says it all really.

Humpbacks by the boat!

Right beside the boat....

Photo by Richard Smith

Anchorage

Another Great photo by  Richard Smith.

Aitutaki

Landfall was made early and We anchored off Aitutaki. There is only a tiny Shelf here to Anchor on and we have been careful to get it in the right place. We are ready for our new Guests who arrive later today. 

Photo by the Drone Master Richard smith

Back to Sea

It does not take long to re adapt to the rhythm of Watches and life on board. As long as you are not going upwind! We had some strong gusts in the 30's passing in the Acceleration Zone between and South of Tahiti and Moorea. But by end of the day it was down in the 20s with a more regular sea. But in these conditions we do roll. So Today we are about 1/2 way there.

Photo by Richard Smith

Aitutaki Bound

We are off to Aitutaki, part of the Southern Cook Islands. It lies about 600nm  WSW of Tahiti.

It was a nice morning to get under way but soon we were out of the lee of the big Island and Back "in it". It will not be too much fun coming back. However More looked beautiful as We passed to its South

Photo by Richard Smith