Current Position: 3 21.194’N 129 48.055’W; HDG: 179; COG: 185; SOG: 4.5 kt; TWS: 11.4 kt; TWD: 035; TWA: 147; Distance to Waypoint (Hiva Oa): 963 nm; Total Miles Sailed: 2389 nm;
Comments: After examining the weather forecast and seeing no clouds windward, I decided to take advantage of the last of the wind and use the full Yankee and unreefed main overnight, setting the wind vane for 185. The boat speed was 5-5.5 in 12 kt wind with gusts to 15. I set 2h alarms. At 1:45, an hour into a two-hour alarm, I was awaken because “the boat didn’t feel right.” The control lines for the wind vane had come free and unguided, the boat had adopted a natural beam reach easterly. It must have just happened because the log (recorded every 15m) did not show a deviation from my 185 course. I was awake about an hour. The moon-lit sky was partly cloudy but did not show any threats, so I went back to sleep. I woke up about 6:30 with the flagging of the jib. The winds had backed to the north like they have been in the morning and the winds were less, 10 kt with gusts of 14. I was able to get 4.5 kt on a course of 165 without the waves causing the sails to flag. Sunrise was about 7:35. I believe I am still in the UTC-8 time zone (same as the west coast), but I should be crossing into the UTC-9 zone soon. I suppose I will know when the sunrise is an hour earlier. It’s going to be a good day for making water. The solar panels are already producing 5 Ah, I’m in the black, and it’s only 8:15. I ate the last of the Dorado last night, so I’m trailing a fishing line today. The 9:00 checked showed (1116-1000) 116 nm progress to the waypoint. I am surprised given how relatively light the wind has been in the last 24h. It was a good call to use all the sails last night. The boat never felt overpowered. I don’t expect to make that much progress today. I am approaching the doldrums (about +/- 3 degrees). It is strangely satisfying to look at the distance to the waypoint and have it be three digits (and now it shows 1/10 nm increments!!!!). By mid morning, the wind had veered more easterly (45) allowing me to make better progress towards the waypoint (185). It’s been the same pattern for several days. The wind vane is perfect for these variable winds because you can trim the sails for a particular wind angle (130) and the course is adjusted automatically. Some heavy clouds developed windward mid morning too. Perhaps the pattern will be broken and it will be sunny this morning and cloudy this afternoon (the opposite of what it has been). I will hold off making water until the batteries are fully charged and the fridge is cold. It is incredible how quickly the cloud cover came in, and it looks like nasty weather windward. I checked on the radar but I don’t see anything worrisome within 36 nm. It seems that the paddle wheel detector is not calibrated correctly. I used a three-point correction curve (0, 4 and 8kt). I changed the middle correction to be closer to the SOG. There was some drizzle about noon, but no significant rain. The wind in the afternoon was variable, largely driven by the storms, gusting to 17 as they passed, and then backing off to as low at 10 after they passed. I left the sails fully deployed to take advantage of the last of the wind. The boat never felt overpowered. After the storm passed, the wind dropped to 7-9 kt with an angle of 40-50 and a boat speed of less than 3 kt. The sails were unstable to the waves, so I changed the course to 160 and gained speed to 3.9 kt. If the wind shifts to 70 as predicted, I will be put back on a southerly course. As I was hoping, once well-clear of the backside of the storm, the wind picked up again to 10-12 kt and I was able to steer 180 at 4.5 kt. By 14:00 it was sunny, the batteries were 98%, and I had plenty of energy to run all the electronics, fridge, and make water. At 15:00 I was unexpectedly hit by sustained 25 kt winds for 30m. The skies were sunny, but I could see in the distance a large squall that was going to pass in the distance in front of me. I thought it was much too far away to impact me, but I was apparently wrong. I was able to furl half the jib and put the first reef in the main. “Bandit”, a boat that left Cabo a day and half before me, sent me a message this morning that they were hit hard by a squall last night. Although the winds have backed down to 13 kt, it is close enough to dusk that I am going to leave the sails reduced overnight. I note I am now including Course Over Ground (COG) as it is a better measure than the Heading Over Ground (HDG) for the direction of the boat.
Comments: After examining the weather forecast and seeing no clouds windward, I decided to take advantage of the last of the wind and use the full Yankee and unreefed main overnight, setting the wind vane for 185. The boat speed was 5-5.5 in 12 kt wind with gusts to 15. I set 2h alarms. At 1:45, an hour into a two-hour alarm, I was awaken because “the boat didn’t feel right.” The control lines for the wind vane had come free and unguided, the boat had adopted a natural beam reach easterly. It must have just happened because the log (recorded every 15m) did not show a deviation from my 185 course. I was awake about an hour. The moon-lit sky was partly cloudy but did not show any threats, so I went back to sleep. I woke up about 6:30 with the flagging of the jib. The winds had backed to the north like they have been in the morning and the winds were less, 10 kt with gusts of 14. I was able to get 4.5 kt on a course of 165 without the waves causing the sails to flag. Sunrise was about 7:35. I believe I am still in the UTC-8 time zone (same as the west coast), but I should be crossing into the UTC-9 zone soon. I suppose I will know when the sunrise is an hour earlier. It’s going to be a good day for making water. The solar panels are already producing 5 Ah, I’m in the black, and it’s only 8:15. I ate the last of the Dorado last night, so I’m trailing a fishing line today. The 9:00 checked showed (1116-1000) 116 nm progress to the waypoint. I am surprised given how relatively light the wind has been in the last 24h. It was a good call to use all the sails last night. The boat never felt overpowered. I don’t expect to make that much progress today. I am approaching the doldrums (about +/- 3 degrees). It is strangely satisfying to look at the distance to the waypoint and have it be three digits (and now it shows 1/10 nm increments!!!!). By mid morning, the wind had veered more easterly (45) allowing me to make better progress towards the waypoint (185). It’s been the same pattern for several days. The wind vane is perfect for these variable winds because you can trim the sails for a particular wind angle (130) and the course is adjusted automatically. Some heavy clouds developed windward mid morning too. Perhaps the pattern will be broken and it will be sunny this morning and cloudy this afternoon (the opposite of what it has been). I will hold off making water until the batteries are fully charged and the fridge is cold. It is incredible how quickly the cloud cover came in, and it looks like nasty weather windward. I checked on the radar but I don’t see anything worrisome within 36 nm. It seems that the paddle wheel detector is not calibrated correctly. I used a three-point correction curve (0, 4 and 8kt). I changed the middle correction to be closer to the SOG. There was some drizzle about noon, but no significant rain. The wind in the afternoon was variable, largely driven by the storms, gusting to 17 as they passed, and then backing off to as low at 10 after they passed. I left the sails fully deployed to take advantage of the last of the wind. The boat never felt overpowered. After the storm passed, the wind dropped to 7-9 kt with an angle of 40-50 and a boat speed of less than 3 kt. The sails were unstable to the waves, so I changed the course to 160 and gained speed to 3.9 kt. If the wind shifts to 70 as predicted, I will be put back on a southerly course. As I was hoping, once well-clear of the backside of the storm, the wind picked up again to 10-12 kt and I was able to steer 180 at 4.5 kt. By 14:00 it was sunny, the batteries were 98%, and I had plenty of energy to run all the electronics, fridge, and make water. At 15:00 I was unexpectedly hit by sustained 25 kt winds for 30m. The skies were sunny, but I could see in the distance a large squall that was going to pass in the distance in front of me. I thought it was much too far away to impact me, but I was apparently wrong. I was able to furl half the jib and put the first reef in the main. “Bandit”, a boat that left Cabo a day and half before me, sent me a message this morning that they were hit hard by a squall last night. Although the winds have backed down to 13 kt, it is close enough to dusk that I am going to leave the sails reduced overnight. I note I am now including Course Over Ground (COG) as it is a better measure than the Heading Over Ground (HDG) for the direction of the boat.
First thing I noticed – you are under 1000 to waypoint – congrats!
First thing I noticed – you are under 1000 to waypoint!