Boat speed and instrument readings during an open ocean passage to False Pass
During the offshore leg to False Pass, the cockpit instruments showed a boat speed of 4.8 knots with a secondary reading of 23.6, captured against the backdrop of a low ocean rainbow on the horizon. After running the engine, Lauren Landers Sailing targets holding 4 knots under sail and notes the wind speed is likely to oscillate, meaning conditions will keep shifting rather than settle into a steady state. This kind of realistic speed expectation under a reefed setup in variable conditions is part of how she manages the passage.
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What it feels like to transit an atoll for the first time without it being too sketchy
After completing the pass entry, Lauren reflects that the conditions were relatively flat, which made for a good first experience. The key takeaway is that if the waves had been bigger, waiting for them to settle would have been the right c
Slowing down deliberately to time a reef pass arrival correctly
As Lauren Landers Sailing closed within range of the atoll, she reefed her jib intentionally to reduce boat speed. She was on track to arrive too early, and entering a reef pass at the wrong time, before the light is good or the current is
Deciding not to fish offshore when the likely catch would be unmanageably large
Lauren Landers Sailing made a deliberate choice not to fish during this particular offshore passage. Her reasoning was practical: anything she hooked out there would almost certainly be very large, a big tuna for example, and dealing with l