Current Position: 7 15.730’N 128 57.777’W; Course: 191; SOG: 5.1 kt; TWS: 17.5 kt; TWD: 035; TWA: 133; Distance to Waypoint (Hiva Oa): 1188 nm; Total Miles Sailed: 2142 nm;
Comments: At 23:00, I was awaken “because the boat did not feel right. The wind has shifted from the northeast to almost due north. Since I was using the wind vane, the course had shifted from 185 to 150, more than 50 degrees east from the waypoint. Since I had planned to change course in the morning anyway, I jibed to 230, 27 degrees west of the waypoint. Rather than reset the preventer, I hauled in the main sheet and relied on the 230-180=50 degrees to prevent an accidental jib. The boat was riding better because the waves were still being driven by the earlier northeasterly winds. When I got back into the berth, I felt something slick on the floor. A bottle of shampoo had fallen, the cap broken, and several cups had been deposited on the floor. Fortunately, it was cornered by the heeling of the boat and the only thing it got in was one of the floor mats (which I tossed in the cockpit to clean with seawater in the morning. I checked the weather, but there was no indication the wind was going to shift as much as it did. The wind shifted again at 4:00, now nearly due east. I jibed and set a course of 202, directly at the Marquesas. The TillerPilot struggled so I used the wind vane. I downloaded all the weather models (not just the ECMWF), but none predicted easterly wind thus far north. Given the instability of the wind, I set alarms at 30m to monitor the course. By 5:00 it started to drizzle and the wind had shifted back to the north. As I suspected, the variability of the wind was a local effect … a small squall. I set the wind vane to a TWA of about 140 and decided to let the wind take me where it may. When it was light enough I could see I was surrounded by disturbances. At 7:30, I jibed again and put the boat on a good heading of 250. It was raining and it looked like a bigger squall might be developing behind me, although it was too dark to be sure. The sun came up almost directly astern and peeked through the clouds to produce a rainbow that I sailed through. There are fewer cargo ships/tankers at this latitude, but many more fishing trawlers. I count 6 on my course, but all days away. The 9:00 checked showed (1343-1217) 126 nm progress to the waypoint. Given the gyrations of last night, that is not too bad. There are two large squalls to my stern, but I believe they will pass to either side of me. Nonetheless, I can anticipate a day of shifting winds. Winds are steady in the low 20s propelling the boat on average 6.5 kt, and with expected morning veering, I expect to see a more favorable course. At 10:00, all navigational and autopilot electronics when dead. I was in the middle of rigging the boat for wing-on-wing and the TillerPilot was controlling the boat. It took me an hour to hunt down what went wrong. It was an in-line fuse for the NEMA 2000 network. The fuse that protected the circuit apparently came with the connectors (I did not supply it) because it was unmarked. I could tell from the diameter of the wire approximately what the fuse capacity was, but I had to experiment, starting low, all while the boat flopped around. I got a fuse that worked, but it blew when I turned on the TillerPilot (which draws energy from the NEMA 2000 network. Finally, I found that 10 amp was about right (the entire circuit is protected by a 15 amp breaker). By this time, everything was a mess. I had access panels open, the tools then electronic equipment were out, and stuff was tossed aside to gain access to what I needed, so I didn’t rerig the sails and instead put the stuff away, made myself a cup of tea, and laid down in the cockpit to cool off. By the way, I don’t absolutely need the electronics to get where I am going. I have the GPS devices onboard and a compass … which is how I got back to San Carlos last year without an engine. I can’t express more strongly how important it is that I have either built or rebuilt almost everything in the boat. “Everything on a boat is already broken, you just don’t know it.” As dreary as it was this morning, I was surprised how bright and sunny it was in the afternoon. I had plenty of energy to make water. The clouds have started rolling in, I imagine for another night of squalls.
Comments: At 23:00, I was awaken “because the boat did not feel right. The wind has shifted from the northeast to almost due north. Since I was using the wind vane, the course had shifted from 185 to 150, more than 50 degrees east from the waypoint. Since I had planned to change course in the morning anyway, I jibed to 230, 27 degrees west of the waypoint. Rather than reset the preventer, I hauled in the main sheet and relied on the 230-180=50 degrees to prevent an accidental jib. The boat was riding better because the waves were still being driven by the earlier northeasterly winds. When I got back into the berth, I felt something slick on the floor. A bottle of shampoo had fallen, the cap broken, and several cups had been deposited on the floor. Fortunately, it was cornered by the heeling of the boat and the only thing it got in was one of the floor mats (which I tossed in the cockpit to clean with seawater in the morning. I checked the weather, but there was no indication the wind was going to shift as much as it did. The wind shifted again at 4:00, now nearly due east. I jibed and set a course of 202, directly at the Marquesas. The TillerPilot struggled so I used the wind vane. I downloaded all the weather models (not just the ECMWF), but none predicted easterly wind thus far north. Given the instability of the wind, I set alarms at 30m to monitor the course. By 5:00 it started to drizzle and the wind had shifted back to the north. As I suspected, the variability of the wind was a local effect … a small squall. I set the wind vane to a TWA of about 140 and decided to let the wind take me where it may. When it was light enough I could see I was surrounded by disturbances. At 7:30, I jibed again and put the boat on a good heading of 250. It was raining and it looked like a bigger squall might be developing behind me, although it was too dark to be sure. The sun came up almost directly astern and peeked through the clouds to produce a rainbow that I sailed through. There are fewer cargo ships/tankers at this latitude, but many more fishing trawlers. I count 6 on my course, but all days away. The 9:00 checked showed (1343-1217) 126 nm progress to the waypoint. Given the gyrations of last night, that is not too bad. There are two large squalls to my stern, but I believe they will pass to either side of me. Nonetheless, I can anticipate a day of shifting winds. Winds are steady in the low 20s propelling the boat on average 6.5 kt, and with expected morning veering, I expect to see a more favorable course. At 10:00, all navigational and autopilot electronics when dead. I was in the middle of rigging the boat for wing-on-wing and the TillerPilot was controlling the boat. It took me an hour to hunt down what went wrong. It was an in-line fuse for the NEMA 2000 network. The fuse that protected the circuit apparently came with the connectors (I did not supply it) because it was unmarked. I could tell from the diameter of the wire approximately what the fuse capacity was, but I had to experiment, starting low, all while the boat flopped around. I got a fuse that worked, but it blew when I turned on the TillerPilot (which draws energy from the NEMA 2000 network. Finally, I found that 10 amp was about right (the entire circuit is protected by a 15 amp breaker). By this time, everything was a mess. I had access panels open, the tools then electronic equipment were out, and stuff was tossed aside to gain access to what I needed, so I didn’t rerig the sails and instead put the stuff away, made myself a cup of tea, and laid down in the cockpit to cool off. By the way, I don’t absolutely need the electronics to get where I am going. I have the GPS devices onboard and a compass … which is how I got back to San Carlos last year without an engine. I can’t express more strongly how important it is that I have either built or rebuilt almost everything in the boat. “Everything on a boat is already broken, you just don’t know it.” As dreary as it was this morning, I was surprised how bright and sunny it was in the afternoon. I had plenty of energy to make water. The clouds have started rolling in, I imagine for another night of squalls.