Current Position: 1 41.834’N 130 51.842’W; HDG: 201; COG: 206; SOG: 6.2 kt; TWS: 12.4 kt; TWD: 092; TWA: 105; Distance to Waypoint (Hiva Oa): 845 nm; Total Miles Sailed: 2509 nm;
Comments: A massive squall passed in front of me yesterday evening at 17:00. This is in addition to the one that passed through a few hours earlier. It showed up as a line of downpours. At about 17:30, I was hit with a downpour that lasted about 20m. The rain was not accompanied with winds. In fact, the wind died to practically zero until the showers passed, then the wind picked up to 8-10 kt from 70 degrees, just like PredictWind had promised, albeit earlier in the afternoon. I was able to make 4 kt directly at the waypoint with half a Yankee and one reef in the main. The forecast was for similar conditions (gusts up to 15) overnight. However, I was surrounded by squalls so decided to fly reduced sail overnight. At one point I had three squalls (E, SW, and NE) around me and the wind direction was moving from N to E to SE, and back. The wind vane was useless. I set the TillerPilot to 200. I was up until midnight as strong squalls hit the boat every hour or so. The boat never felt overpowered, but I did routinely see 25 kt winds at the peak of each squall. Half the Yankee and one reef is about right for those wind speeds. Nonetheless, I stayed awake to make sure the TillerPilot was not overwhelmed. When it is, an alarm goes off on the TillerPilot itself. I wait to see if it can recover (for the alarm to turn off). If does not, I step in and manually change the course to reduce the speed (and hence the power needed to steer). The storms stopped about midnight and the skies became relatively clear about 1:00. Average winds of 12 kt continued all night from 70 degrees, sometimes gusting to 18, and I maintained a COG near the waypoint (206). At 4:00, I spotted Crux (Southern Cross) for the first time, just off the port bow. Venus, Saturn, and Mercury are all aligned due east, and they are all appropriately aligned with Pisces. About an hour later, the wind dropped to about 8 kt, still from 70. At 6:30, I unfurled the rest of the Yankee in 9-10 kt winds and made 4.5-5 kts. It will be time for the asymmetrical spinnaker soon. I will fly it in daylight hours when the winds are less than 10 kt and there is no chance of gusts greater than 12 kt. But, as long as I am making 4-5 kts with the Yankee, I am satisfied. Sunrise was at 7:39. I have confirmed I am in the UTC+9 time zone. At 8:00 I shook out the first reef in the main, completely unfurled the Yankee, and raised the staysail. I was able to make a satisfying 5 kt on a beam reach in 7 kt winds with a course directly to the waypoint. The 9:00 checked showed (1000-877) 123 nm progress to the waypoint. It is almost a cloudless sky this morning. In this diagonal course, I am about 160 nm from the equator. The forecast is the wind will disappear just before I reach the equator and I will be becalmed Saturday. This is what people envisage when they think about sailing … clear skies, blue water, calm seas and three sheets to the wind with the sunrise over your left shoulder. At 13:30, I could see clouds building on the eastern horizon. Up to now, winds have not exceeded 9 kt. I have all three sails up. My sail plan is to furl the Yankee if necessary and leave the staysail flying and put one reef in the main if there is a threat. I am currently doing 5.2 kt in 8 kt of wind. It seems I have outrun the first squall (it will pass to the north) and the second squall passed in front of me (to the south), although I had to slow the boat down to allow it to do so. I can see now that a string of storms have passed to the south of me already. I will need to reduce sail tonight as I will not be able to navigate around them in the dark. The wind strength and direction were affected as I passed the backside of the squall. The speed dropped to just a few kt and the direction oscillated 90 degrees. I had to use the TillerPilot to keep me on course. After the squall was well-passed, about 16:00, I had the best winds of the day 10-12 kt, and made 5.5-6.2 SOG. I feel good that I continue to make way under sail, especially now that I am well-within the ITCZ, but I am realistic that I will likely become becalmed, probably this weekend.
Comments: A massive squall passed in front of me yesterday evening at 17:00. This is in addition to the one that passed through a few hours earlier. It showed up as a line of downpours. At about 17:30, I was hit with a downpour that lasted about 20m. The rain was not accompanied with winds. In fact, the wind died to practically zero until the showers passed, then the wind picked up to 8-10 kt from 70 degrees, just like PredictWind had promised, albeit earlier in the afternoon. I was able to make 4 kt directly at the waypoint with half a Yankee and one reef in the main. The forecast was for similar conditions (gusts up to 15) overnight. However, I was surrounded by squalls so decided to fly reduced sail overnight. At one point I had three squalls (E, SW, and NE) around me and the wind direction was moving from N to E to SE, and back. The wind vane was useless. I set the TillerPilot to 200. I was up until midnight as strong squalls hit the boat every hour or so. The boat never felt overpowered, but I did routinely see 25 kt winds at the peak of each squall. Half the Yankee and one reef is about right for those wind speeds. Nonetheless, I stayed awake to make sure the TillerPilot was not overwhelmed. When it is, an alarm goes off on the TillerPilot itself. I wait to see if it can recover (for the alarm to turn off). If does not, I step in and manually change the course to reduce the speed (and hence the power needed to steer). The storms stopped about midnight and the skies became relatively clear about 1:00. Average winds of 12 kt continued all night from 70 degrees, sometimes gusting to 18, and I maintained a COG near the waypoint (206). At 4:00, I spotted Crux (Southern Cross) for the first time, just off the port bow. Venus, Saturn, and Mercury are all aligned due east, and they are all appropriately aligned with Pisces. About an hour later, the wind dropped to about 8 kt, still from 70. At 6:30, I unfurled the rest of the Yankee in 9-10 kt winds and made 4.5-5 kts. It will be time for the asymmetrical spinnaker soon. I will fly it in daylight hours when the winds are less than 10 kt and there is no chance of gusts greater than 12 kt. But, as long as I am making 4-5 kts with the Yankee, I am satisfied. Sunrise was at 7:39. I have confirmed I am in the UTC+9 time zone. At 8:00 I shook out the first reef in the main, completely unfurled the Yankee, and raised the staysail. I was able to make a satisfying 5 kt on a beam reach in 7 kt winds with a course directly to the waypoint. The 9:00 checked showed (1000-877) 123 nm progress to the waypoint. It is almost a cloudless sky this morning. In this diagonal course, I am about 160 nm from the equator. The forecast is the wind will disappear just before I reach the equator and I will be becalmed Saturday. This is what people envisage when they think about sailing … clear skies, blue water, calm seas and three sheets to the wind with the sunrise over your left shoulder. At 13:30, I could see clouds building on the eastern horizon. Up to now, winds have not exceeded 9 kt. I have all three sails up. My sail plan is to furl the Yankee if necessary and leave the staysail flying and put one reef in the main if there is a threat. I am currently doing 5.2 kt in 8 kt of wind. It seems I have outrun the first squall (it will pass to the north) and the second squall passed in front of me (to the south), although I had to slow the boat down to allow it to do so. I can see now that a string of storms have passed to the south of me already. I will need to reduce sail tonight as I will not be able to navigate around them in the dark. The wind strength and direction were affected as I passed the backside of the squall. The speed dropped to just a few kt and the direction oscillated 90 degrees. I had to use the TillerPilot to keep me on course. After the squall was well-passed, about 16:00, I had the best winds of the day 10-12 kt, and made 5.5-6.2 SOG. I feel good that I continue to make way under sail, especially now that I am well-within the ITCZ, but I am realistic that I will likely become becalmed, probably this weekend.