Author Archives: Bill Kinney

For the past couple of days it has been a very empty ocean. After two days without a single contact, today we did have a cargo ship make his presence known on our plotter. Not coming any closer than 16 … Continue reading →

When a sailboat is running before the wind, with the wind from behind, it is a very different feel than when sailing upwind. The wind across the deck is lighter, and it is warmer because the boat’s speed is subtracted … Continue reading →

The wind did finally slow a bit, and has start to clock around toward the northeast, the normal direction for the tradewinds in the eastern Pacific. I took the time today to rig the whisker pole and set our sails … Continue reading →

The wind continues to blow at the upper end of what is “comfortable”, 20 to 25 knots. The longer the wind blows, the bigger the waves get, and they have got big! Nothing scary, more impressive. I’d guess they are … Continue reading →

We sailed through a cold front this afternoon that saw winds gusting over 40 knots. Since then we have been skirting the southern edge of a zone of strong winds that occasionally reach down and smack us. At night we … Continue reading →

I started the day with a minor sinus headache. Not a huge deal, I get them from time to time. What I haven’t had is a sinus headache while sailing in boisterous tradewind seas. By the end of the day … Continue reading →

Yesterday at this time we were sitting, rolling, waiting for wind. In fact, at this time yesterday, we still had almost 18 hours more to wait! But about 2 this afternoon things vastly improved, and they have stayed good. A … Continue reading →

We are off again! A day or two of waiting for the weather to settle, and we found a good time to get out of San Diego on Thursday, Oct 30. It was a breezy afternoon, and we made good … Continue reading →

San Diego is such a big Navy port, there is all kinds of activity involving the big gray ships that is it best to stay far away from. When I sailed in San Francisco Bay, I would have my VHF … Continue reading →