Current Position: 17 39.893’N 112 46.422’W; Course: 222; SOG: 6.1 kt; TWS: 19.1 kt; TWD: 005; TWA: 117; Distance to waypoint (Hiva Oa): 2268 nm;
Comments: I ran most of the night on the wind vane, but I was woken at 4:00 because the boat had headed up and was heeled over and was being battered by waves on the beam. I tried to reset the wind vane but had trouble trimming the sails, so I engaged the TillerPilot. Up until then, I had been getting up every 90 minutes to check the course and the AIS. No vessels have been within 60 miles since I left San Benedicto. In contrast to the stretch through the shipping lanes, the VHF was also quiet last night, so I got a relatively good night’s rest. I have arbitrarily picked 9:00 each day to measure my progress to the Marquesas. I was 110 nm closer at 9:00 today. The weather patterns have been similar each day. The winds veer to the N during the day a back to the NW at night. The winds blow relatively light in the morning, 11-15 kt, strengthen to 20-22 by late afternoon. The building of the winds and their backing usually causes problems with the wind vane in the early morning hours, often causing the boat to round up. Waves build as the winds do. The swells tend to be from the N and usually large, 7-9’, but the seas become confused at night, which is one of the reasons the wind vane may have problems then. I should clear Isla Clarion tomorrow to the S, then I may try to keep the boat on a westerly path for a while because it looks like lighter wind may be following me in a couple of days. Also, the winds will gradually shift from the NW to the NE over the next five days or so.
Comments: I ran most of the night on the wind vane, but I was woken at 4:00 because the boat had headed up and was heeled over and was being battered by waves on the beam. I tried to reset the wind vane but had trouble trimming the sails, so I engaged the TillerPilot. Up until then, I had been getting up every 90 minutes to check the course and the AIS. No vessels have been within 60 miles since I left San Benedicto. In contrast to the stretch through the shipping lanes, the VHF was also quiet last night, so I got a relatively good night’s rest. I have arbitrarily picked 9:00 each day to measure my progress to the Marquesas. I was 110 nm closer at 9:00 today. The weather patterns have been similar each day. The winds veer to the N during the day a back to the NW at night. The winds blow relatively light in the morning, 11-15 kt, strengthen to 20-22 by late afternoon. The building of the winds and their backing usually causes problems with the wind vane in the early morning hours, often causing the boat to round up. Waves build as the winds do. The swells tend to be from the N and usually large, 7-9’, but the seas become confused at night, which is one of the reasons the wind vane may have problems then. I should clear Isla Clarion tomorrow to the S, then I may try to keep the boat on a westerly path for a while because it looks like lighter wind may be following me in a couple of days. Also, the winds will gradually shift from the NW to the NE over the next five days or so.