South by Southwest
Saturday, June 28, 2008

June 28th, Somewhere....southwest

In fact, the images below show more or less exactly where JUNK was 2 days ago, according to the NOAA tracking buoy on board.....

Our bearing is consistently between 190 and 210 degrees, at about 1knot of speed. Averaging 25-30 mile days, we are clawing our way away from North America. The wind and current want to send us to Panama, which wouldn’t be all that bad, but we have other plans. Maybe we should ask nicely.
A few days ago, on June 25th, we had a very close encounter off the coast of Guadalupe.

The morning breeze was sending us down the eastern side of the Island. Then at the southeastern point the wind died. A few minutes later, the wind quickly turned around and began blowing us toward the island. For the next 8 hours we performed a 4-mile diameter loop, returning to the same dreadful spot close to the jagged coastline. As dusk approached, we picked up speed and began rushing toward land. “This could be the end of JUNK!” we said, as we packed our dry bags with essential gear, like radios, GPS, satellite phones, sleeping bags and a handheld water-maker. The next few hours we sat on pins and needles watching the coastline come closer and the wind teasingly bend south. Eventually, we skirted south and picked up speed to two knots.

We asked for an adventure.....

We’re now three days beyond Guadalupe, heading South-southwest. The trade winds are ahead to pull us west, rather than the coastal current to pull us east. Either way, JUNK will sail for another month or two in an effort to bring plastic trash in the sea to a broader audience. Hope you’re enjoying the ride as much as we are. Read more!

Beans, corn, or peas?
Its a good thing Joel's a creative chef...

Keeping the canned goods in a milk crate in a gap between the pontoons was perhaps a mistake. Waves ripped the labels right off! So now meal prep has become a guessing game. Seems the majority of them are: BEANS!

And more beans.....good thing they're starting to catch more fish! This morning a nice sized group of Mahi Mahi were following the boat, with Joel hanging over the edge trying hard to catch a non-bean protein source.

Heading for open water
Thursday, June 26, 2008

Often the coastal zones present the biggest challenges for sailors....so JUNK is thrilled to leave Guadalupe behind and head for open waters.

Clearing Guadalupe, record speeds last night!
Wednesday, June 25, 2008

June 25, 2008

We’ve just turned a new corner – the south point of Guadalupe Island. To celebrate, we're eating a sample from our first batch of fish jerky, washed down with a celebratory shot of Patron gifted by our friends at the Sundiver 2. The flying fish taste a bit better than the Catalina Island Blue Perch - much better fresh.

We'll be making lots of jerky from now on to supplement our dwindling cache - photo here shows our first batch, drying in the saline wind. All of our greens are gone, as expected. We’re down to our "mystery cans" (more about this later), dry goods, and lots of cheese. We’ve got four massive blocks of cheddar. Two are in a mesh bag floating in the cool ocean behind us.

Guadalupe Island is roughly 15 miles long and 4 miles wide. For the last 200 miles we’ve drifted practically due south toward it. Yesterday we were five miles and bearing down on the north point. “Which way do we go?” we asked each other. Going west meant faster traveling, but the risk of being pushed ashore was greater. Going east meant a safe trip, but unexpected wind and currents. We flipped a coin, “East it is!”

Steep slopes of brown sand and rubble cascade into deep blue water. The island’s tall mountains create an imposing silhouette against the setting sun. We give a 4-mile buffer between Guadalupe and JUNK. The wind shifts to the northwest, giving us the joy of downwind sailing and a record 2.9 knots. We will skirt around this island in no time. At 1:00am Joel wakes me up, “Can you give me a hand with this spinnaker?” There’s no wind. It fell from 2.5 to .3 in the blink of an eye. The mountain, even at 4 miles, blocks the 20 knots of wind we need. It would now be up to the current.

At .3 knots we would clear the island in a couple of days, as opposed to tomorrow morning as we'd hoped - another example of humility at sea. The ocean does what it wishes. We are largely along for the ride....

Soon, the wind picks up again, and we’re making south point a few hours after sun up. As land fades behind our stern, we look ahead to the next rock rising above the water. Where that is, we don’t really know.