From 25 kts in > 3 m waves to dead calm in one week: everything is possible. Key is to accept what nature offers you. Be prepared and enjoy a week’s fossil free sailing experience on the Pacific, on board of Ya. In fossil-free awe!
Prepared
Sun Sep 07 2025 06:32:00 GMT+0200 (Midden-Europese zomertijd)
Since we left one day later (check the blog ‘Bureaucracy’) we knew already that we would be in 25 knots of wind with 3.3 meter waves.
Well, we’re in it now.
That is the beauty of PredictWind. You know exactly what the weather will do. So we prepared everything. An extra line here a strong fix there, the second and even the third reef in the mainsail.
Most important preparation: the food. We cooked for two days, so we only need to heat it up the next days, till Monday.
We go downwind now. The third reef in the main was not necessary, we lowered that sail. we prepared too much, just the 20 m2 staysail gives us enough speed when it is blowing.
And it is! The wind generator has stopped and the thing is set to stop not before it runs in 35 knots of wind…
No worries, we are well prepared.
Balance
Mon Sep 08 2025 04:49:00 GMT+0200 (Midden-Europese zomertijd)
Brent referred to a Japanese painting style where everything is so much balanced. He looks at the wave crests and when the sunlight gets through you see this vulnerable transparant green color. That balance e so special with the waves that can be black and blue, with the sky now having various types from white to grey, and patches of light blue. This is the balance of nature!
About the food, Peter is glad that he can heat up the prepared food. Makes him feel he balances a bit with Brent.
The battery bank is full. Not because of the solar panels, because there is not much sun. The autoprops charged it and now it is so fully charged, the Battery Management system asked to start the last stage, the so-called Balancing Stage.
It is that you hear the wind wistling throug the rigging, or you would not believe we are in 20-25 knots of wind. The Ya sails calm. Calm in motion, but the speed is still high. So the waves come slowly onto the stern. We sail a running course, close to dead down the wind, but just enough running to prevent the rolling motion. The working staysail does its work, the centerboard is lifted. Our faithful windvane steering needs to give only light corrections.
Ya sails in perfect balance.
Cool
Tue Sep 09 2025 04:38:00 GMT+0200 (Midden-Europese zomertijd)
Our problems.
Before we left the fridge broke down. so just before we left we filled it with 10 kilo of ice and, yes it shrinks every day but so far so good the problem will pop up later.
The battery bank is full,we cannot charge more and the generators make us very energy positive. So how to solve this problem?
Now we make ice cubes with our ice cube machine and fill the fridge with it.
Now last night one of us must have hit the switch to the fridge and we discovered it works again.
We have more solutions than problems. isn’t it cool?
Wed Sep 10 2025 07:49:00 GMT+0200 (Midden-Europese zomertijd)
Shower
Peters night watch was one with showers. The rain is not the problem, but the wind. Depending from where the shower comes from, the wind slows down to nearly nothing and then suddenly starts blowing a lot. Or vice versa, coming from the other side, you get the blow all at once. So the mainsail is reefed preventively but before every squall the outerjib has to be furled in. And out. Et cetera. Ok, it keeps Peter fresh.
Well, fresh? Peter asks himself., Do I smell myself or is it Brent?
Time for a shower.
Calm
Thu Sep 11 2025 05:56:00 GMT+0200 (Midden-Europese zomertijd)
Yesterday we sailed into a calm and PredictWind predicted we would sail till about 6 pm and the calm would leave us today at 6 PM. But, we could sail till midnight. Not because PredictWind was wrong, but Ya could continue sailing in these light winds. When the wind becomes light, most sailboats turn the nose away to the wrong course so one lowers the sails (and starts the engine nowadays). But the Ya has a mizzen on, is very aft ship, preventing the nose bearing away. In light weather we can sail on. At midnight there was no wind at all and only then we lowered the sails. This morning at 10 the first light breeze came and there we sail again. Still the breeze is light, and we can’t sail the downwind course we have to for Samoa, but we get close.
We enjoy what nature gives and stay calm.
Decisions
Fri Sep 12 2025 06:06:00 GMT+0200 (Midden-Europese zomertijd)
Generally, our course is as the wind direction, so we have to gybe so now and then. When, depends on the wind changes we expect always difficult.
However, we let our thoughts go when eating a piece of fruit. And we have pretty much, . We stille have apples, papayas, pomplemouses, mangos, bananas, oranges, and some more I forgot now.
And every time you have to choose.
You understand, here on board the Ya are tough decisions to be made.
Fossil free awe
Sat Sep 13 2025 07:08:00 GMT+0200 (Midden-Europese zomertijd)
Again we are in a calm. We try to avoid it but each model -PredictWind can deliver us no less than seven- shows different areas, so we just took the most probable course to avoid it, but no success.
Other boats start the diesel then and motor many hours, but we are fossilfree and kept on sailing this afternoon with nearly no wind and we enjoyed it. For miles. During dinner the wind died out completely. We enjoy the silence.
Brent starts contemplating and says:
“It is quiet. It peaceful. It is simple: the sky, the clouds, the sea and the boat.
What do we see:
The clouds, the colors in the sky, the glassy water, a lonely white tropical bird flying into the orange sunset.”
Brent is in awe.