Current Position: 9 13.463’S 138 07.952’W; Local Timezone: UTC-9; HDG: 213; COG: 215; SOG: 5.7 kt; TWS: ?; TWD: ?; TWA: ?; Distance to Hiva Oa: approximately 70 nm; Total Miles Sailed: 3342 nm;
Comments: The winds yesterday afternoon were unexpectedly light. I managed 3.5-4 kt with a beam reach and a heading of about 200 with the full Yankee and a reefed main. The wind vane struggled with the light winds and when I used it the sails would flag with the waves, so I used the TillerPilot. About 19:30 the wind picked up to perhaps 10 kt and I was about to achieve 5 kt on a broad reach after relaxing the Yankee sheet. I switched to the wind vane and when to sleep with alarms on two hour intervals. I woke up at 21:00 because the boat was overpowered. The wind had picked up. I furled half the Yankee and adjusted the wind vane for a heading of about 215. The boat was traveling 6-6.5 kt. At some point I am going to have to jog S, but I may not be able to do that without putting a second reef in the main, unless I get another lull in the wind … something to deal with in daylight hours. At 22:30, the boat was doing 7 kt at about 220. The boat seemed overpowered in I am guessing were 18 kt winds that I thought was a gust, as predicted. I stayed away to watch what developed, reluctant the depower by turning W as I knew that would bring on the longitude of Hiva Oa quickly and make it difficult to get an angle on its S side. Probably the furthest point I could safely turn south from this point is 10h away at this speed, so I have plenty of time. If the wind continues, my choices are to heave to or overshoot Hiva Oa from the N and approach the anchorage from the leeward side of the island. At 1:00 I heaved to in 20+ kt winds. The boat has rounded up to 200 and was surfing at 7.5-8 kt. I tried slowing her down by heading up wind, but the wind was too strong for the wind vane. I was 108 nm from the waypoint and two hours ahead of schedule. She had traveled 50 nm in 7h (7.2 kt average speed, even after being kept to 4 kt for 3 of those 7 hours). The boat drifted the opposite direction I had came at about 2 kt. These are times that I really appreciated my wind instruments as I would have set an alarm to alert me when the winds decreased. By 5:00 it was light enough to see the water. The waves were white capped, the boat was heeled over 22 degrees, and it had drifted 6 nm in 4h. The winds were the strongest of the passage, probably 30 kt. I would need to put a second reef in the main to continue, and it was too dangerous to work on the foredeck, especially because I will need to work on both sides of the mast. The temporary halyard is on the port, but the pendant and reefing line is on the starboard. I am in no rush. I don’t plan to arrive at Hiva Oa until tomorrow and I have 36h to do the 120 nm or so. This isn’t localized weather, a squall, and it was not forecasted. I had some difficulty getting a new forecast, but when I finally did, it was clear that I am not alone most of the boats I was following are also heaved to and there is a lightning warning for Hiva Oa suggesting it is getting hit by a storm. It is 6:00 and supposed to be daylight, but it is still dark outside. At 6:30, almost an hour after sunrise. It is still dark. The waves are short, steep, and white-capped. The wind often settles down after sunrise, so I’m going to give it a bit, then try to reef the main. I just noticed the vane on the wind vane is only partially attached. The high winds have blown it over. I do not believe there is a risk of loosing it because it is attached by a lanyard, but I will have to reattach it before I can get underway again, and the thought of leaning over the back of a pitching stern to do that is not appealing. By 7:15 I had fixed the wind vane, put a second reef in the main, and had a heading of 210 at 5.5-6 kt on a beem reach with the double reef and half the Yankee. I had large, closely-spaced waves to the port, some breaking over the cowling. I stayed below and monitored the boat’s speed and course using the Cortex system. It took an hour to make up the distance the boat drifted last night. The 9:00 check showed I had made (193-106) 87 nm to the waypoint, quite a bit as most of the night was spent heaved to and drifting in the wrong direction. By late morning the wind speed had decreased and the boat was going 4.5-5 kt. I made no effort to improve the speed because it was consistent with my plan for an early morning arrival. At noon I plotted a waypoint (#27) E of the island and at the entrance to the southern channel it was 70 nm away. At the present speed, I would reach it around 1:00. From there, it would be 25-30 nm to the anchorage. I will try to sail it, but there is an island to the S and the prevailing wind is straight up the channel. I sorted out the chain locker. It took the better part of an hour to untangle the chain. The late afternoon became partly cloudy, relatively sunny Since early this morning I have sailed with a partial Yankee and two reefs in the main, making 5-6 kt. If this continues for the next 8h, I will arrive at waypoint #27. If so, I will heave to outside the channel for a couple of hours, then continue on.
Comments: The winds yesterday afternoon were unexpectedly light. I managed 3.5-4 kt with a beam reach and a heading of about 200 with the full Yankee and a reefed main. The wind vane struggled with the light winds and when I used it the sails would flag with the waves, so I used the TillerPilot. About 19:30 the wind picked up to perhaps 10 kt and I was about to achieve 5 kt on a broad reach after relaxing the Yankee sheet. I switched to the wind vane and when to sleep with alarms on two hour intervals. I woke up at 21:00 because the boat was overpowered. The wind had picked up. I furled half the Yankee and adjusted the wind vane for a heading of about 215. The boat was traveling 6-6.5 kt. At some point I am going to have to jog S, but I may not be able to do that without putting a second reef in the main, unless I get another lull in the wind … something to deal with in daylight hours. At 22:30, the boat was doing 7 kt at about 220. The boat seemed overpowered in I am guessing were 18 kt winds that I thought was a gust, as predicted. I stayed away to watch what developed, reluctant the depower by turning W as I knew that would bring on the longitude of Hiva Oa quickly and make it difficult to get an angle on its S side. Probably the furthest point I could safely turn south from this point is 10h away at this speed, so I have plenty of time. If the wind continues, my choices are to heave to or overshoot Hiva Oa from the N and approach the anchorage from the leeward side of the island. At 1:00 I heaved to in 20+ kt winds. The boat has rounded up to 200 and was surfing at 7.5-8 kt. I tried slowing her down by heading up wind, but the wind was too strong for the wind vane. I was 108 nm from the waypoint and two hours ahead of schedule. She had traveled 50 nm in 7h (7.2 kt average speed, even after being kept to 4 kt for 3 of those 7 hours). The boat drifted the opposite direction I had came at about 2 kt. These are times that I really appreciated my wind instruments as I would have set an alarm to alert me when the winds decreased. By 5:00 it was light enough to see the water. The waves were white capped, the boat was heeled over 22 degrees, and it had drifted 6 nm in 4h. The winds were the strongest of the passage, probably 30 kt. I would need to put a second reef in the main to continue, and it was too dangerous to work on the foredeck, especially because I will need to work on both sides of the mast. The temporary halyard is on the port, but the pendant and reefing line is on the starboard. I am in no rush. I don’t plan to arrive at Hiva Oa until tomorrow and I have 36h to do the 120 nm or so. This isn’t localized weather, a squall, and it was not forecasted. I had some difficulty getting a new forecast, but when I finally did, it was clear that I am not alone most of the boats I was following are also heaved to and there is a lightning warning for Hiva Oa suggesting it is getting hit by a storm. It is 6:00 and supposed to be daylight, but it is still dark outside. At 6:30, almost an hour after sunrise. It is still dark. The waves are short, steep, and white-capped. The wind often settles down after sunrise, so I’m going to give it a bit, then try to reef the main. I just noticed the vane on the wind vane is only partially attached. The high winds have blown it over. I do not believe there is a risk of loosing it because it is attached by a lanyard, but I will have to reattach it before I can get underway again, and the thought of leaning over the back of a pitching stern to do that is not appealing. By 7:15 I had fixed the wind vane, put a second reef in the main, and had a heading of 210 at 5.5-6 kt on a beem reach with the double reef and half the Yankee. I had large, closely-spaced waves to the port, some breaking over the cowling. I stayed below and monitored the boat’s speed and course using the Cortex system. It took an hour to make up the distance the boat drifted last night. The 9:00 check showed I had made (193-106) 87 nm to the waypoint, quite a bit as most of the night was spent heaved to and drifting in the wrong direction. By late morning the wind speed had decreased and the boat was going 4.5-5 kt. I made no effort to improve the speed because it was consistent with my plan for an early morning arrival. At noon I plotted a waypoint (#27) E of the island and at the entrance to the southern channel it was 70 nm away. At the present speed, I would reach it around 1:00. From there, it would be 25-30 nm to the anchorage. I will try to sail it, but there is an island to the S and the prevailing wind is straight up the channel. I sorted out the chain locker. It took the better part of an hour to untangle the chain. The late afternoon became partly cloudy, relatively sunny Since early this morning I have sailed with a partial Yankee and two reefs in the main, making 5-6 kt. If this continues for the next 8h, I will arrive at waypoint #27. If so, I will heave to outside the channel for a couple of hours, then continue on.