Author: mtashby

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.

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.

Current Position: 8 00.078’ S 137 04.499’W; Local Timezone: UTC-9; HDG: 214; COG: 225; SOG: 2.8 kt; TWS: ?; TWD: ?; TWA: ?; Distance to Waypoint (Hiva Oa): 159 nm; Total Miles Sailed: 3233 nm;
Comments: Because of the spray and rough seas yesterday, I had to spend almost the whole day below. Although the storms are a pain to navigate through and the cloud cover limits the amount of solar energy I can collect, one advantage ii it is not as hot below. Still very hot and humid … but bearable. At dusk I sat in the cockpit though and are a pan of Ramen noodles and took note that it looked pretty clear to the E. At 20:00, there was a strong wind driving the boat 6 kt in a course of 200. I could see some stars, but it was clearly overcast. According to the PW route, I was as supposed to head more S to avoid some dead air to my W, but that appears to be unnecessary and my present course puts me a couple of hours ahead. There is no way I can reach Hiva Oa by Friday night, so at some point I am going to have to slow down, either on purpose or because of the weather. I can always heave to Friday night if necessary. I woke at 21:30. The boat was doing 6.5 kt in strong wind, but was on course. The moon was up and the skies looked relatively clear to the E. At 22:45, the HOG was right (214) but the high winds were pushing the COG to 225. The wind was blowing too hard to change course without putting a second reef in the main. I will make the correction during the day. I got up at 4:45, a half hour before dawn. The boat had traveled almost 80 nm overnight at a remarkable average speed of 6 kn without a single incident or need to adjust the wind vane. My route planning had me arriving to the E side of the island. I have changed the destination to the anchorage itself. PW says I will arrive about midnight Friday night. One reason I am going faster than predicted is I have built in a 25% slowdown at night, assuming I’d reef for safety. However, I have been sailing reefed all the time and still making good time. If I take out the padding, I arrive at the harbor at sunset on Friday. Sunrise was at 5:45. It is partly cloudy. There is nothing threatening to the E or S. Wave height is significantly lower than the past few days. I have strong wind and doing 5.5-6 kt with half the Yankee and one reef in the main. The apparent wind has shifted and is more SE, driving me more southward, which need to happen anyway, so I am going to let it play out. The reefing line I replaced chaffed through again in the same spot, where it passes through the grommet in the sail. It is strange because I have sailed several years without a problem and it has happened twice now in a week. I will need to examine the grommet for burrs. Also, , my wind disappeared about 15:00. There was a prediction that it would decrease to perhaps 11, but it feels more like 8. I used the lull to run the engine for about half an hour to completely charge the batteries. The fridge was warm. I threw out the remaining fresh food (there was not much). The current model has me arriving at Hiva Oa at 2:00 on Saturday. However, the current delay was not predicted. In any case, I do not intend to arrive at the anchorage in the dark, so I expect to be there sometime Saturday morning.

Current Position: 6 19.849’ S 135 39.469’W; Local Timezone: UTC-9; HDG: 211; COG: 215; SOG: 6.0 kt; TWS: ?; TWD: ?; TWA: ?; Distance to Waypoint (Hiva Oa): 289 nm; Total Miles Sailed: 3099 nm;
Comments: At 17:20, just before dusk, I am got hit by a large storm with 20-25 kt winds. I furled in half the jib, left one reef in the main, and adjusted my course due W to slow the boat down. It looks to me like it will be like this all night. Looks like somewhat lighter winds W until Wednesday, the. The opportunity to head S for a better angle on the Marquesas when strong winds are expected Friday. At 3:15 I got hit by a squall with sustained 25 kt winds and gusts to 30 with heavy rain. The boat handled it well. The wind vane kept the boat more-or-less on course. There was significant heeling, but the boat did not feel out of control. The first one was followed by a series of more, perhaps a half dozen. It’s 7:00 and there seems to be a break in the squalls. I am being hit on the beam by very large (8-10’) waves, but I am not rolling much because the boat is heeled over in 20+ kt winds. I am taking the opportunity to hard boil some eggs. I have not had anything but a couple of power bars and tangerines since Sunday. Don’t like heating the cabin up any more than it already is, but I need some protein. I didn’t get under sail until about 17:00 yesterday. As of 9:00 this morning, I have made about 84 nm, which is an average speed of 5.25 kt. According to the weather forecast, the wind was supposed to be lightening up, but I’ve had pretty much 20+ kt winds since 2:00. By 9:30 the wind has shifted to 120, making it a beam reach to the waypoint. The boat is doing 6.5-7 kt in 18-20 kt wind. Midday, the wind instrument failed. It was no longer reporting wind speed or direction. The instrument is located on top of the mast and is connected by a single cable that plugs into an interface dongle, which itself is plugged into the NEMA2000 network. The other instruments on the network are functioning. I have disconnected and reseated the connectors I have access to, and exchanged them with NEMA2000 T-connectors that are known to be working, but no luck. The problem must either be the connector at the top of the mast or more likely the instrument itself. I do not have a spare instrument. Of course, I know the wind direction and approximate speed, so there is no problem sailing, but it is an inconvenience. I just passed the 3000 nm mark, the distance I have sailed from San Carlos. About 400 nm more to go. At 14:00 I was hit with a strong squall. It was more than the wind vane could handle, probably 30+ kt winds. I steered by hand for a bit, changing the course to be more downwind to slow the boat and reduce heel. Eventually, it was too much for me as well and I heaved to. The boat came to a stop and was well-behaved as the front of the squall passed with heavy rain. During the maelstrom, the temple of my glasses broke (everything on a boat is already broken, you just don’t know it). Fortunately, I keep a spare pair at the navigation station. I was heaved to for about 15m, then began sailing again in perhaps 15 kt winds. At 14:45, 45m later, I was hit by an even larger squall. Again, I had to heave to. The worse of it pasted in 10m. I have had water come in through the chain locker when waves come over the bow, sometimes several gallons. There is a drain hose that runs from the locker to the shower sump, where there is a bilge pump. The pump works, but for some reason the float switch is not, so I need to operate it once a day manually if ai have had heave seas. I double checked that the water was coming from the chain locker because the same hose is connected to a bilge pump in the bow thruster/battery compartment underneath the V-berth. I checked that locker and it is dry. When it was clear the storm was going to be around for a bit, tired and wet from dealing with so many, I just left the boat heaved to for a half hour, rested, and got something to eat. Unlike many modern boats that have fin keels and do not heave to easily, Aegir-Ran with its full keel is very well behaved. I was hit by a half dozen smaller squalls today, but many more much larger ones missed me. I managed to charge the main battery bank to 96%, mainly because there was relatively brief periods of sunshine between the storms and because I left most electronic devices off most of the day. The PredictWind weather routing has me arriving at Hiva Oa on Saturday morning.

Current Position: 5 09.573’ S 134 24.688’W; Local Timezone: UTC-9; HDG: 192; COG: 205; SOG: 4.4 kt; TWS: ?; TWD: ?; TWA: ?; Distance to Waypoint (Hiva Oa): 392 nm; Total Miles Sailed: 2997 nm;
Comments: At 17:20, just before dusk, I am got hit by a large storm with 20-25 kt winds. I furled in half the jib, left one reef in the main, and adjusted my course due W to slow the boat down. It looks to me like it will be like this all night. Looks like somewhat lighter winds W until Wednesday, the. The opportunity to head S for a better angle on the Marquesas when strong winds are expected Friday. At 3:15 I got hit by a squall with sustained 25 kt winds and gusts to 30 with heavy rain. The boat handled it well. The wind vane kept the boat more-or-less on course. There was significant heeling, but the boat did not feel out of control. The first one was followed by a series of more, perhaps a half dozen. It’s 7:00 and there seems to be a break in the squalls. I am being hit on the beam by very large (8-10’) waves, but I am not rolling much because the boat is heeled over in 20+ kt winds. I am taking the opportunity to hard boil some eggs. I have not had anything but a couple of power bars and tangerines since Sunday. Don’t like heating the cabin up any more than it already is, but I need some protein. I didn’t get under sail until about 17:00 yesterday. As of 9:00 this morning, I have made about 84 nm, which is an average speed of 5.25 kt. According to the weather forecast, the wind was supposed to be lightening up, but I’ve had pretty much 20+ kt winds since 2:00. By 9:30 the wind has shifted to 120, making it a beam reach to the waypoint. The boat is doing 6.5-7 kt in 18-20 kt wind. Midday, the wind instrument failed. It was no longer reporting wind speed or direction. The instrument is located on top of the mast and is connected by a single cable that plugs into an interface dongle, which itself is plugged into the NEMA2000 network. The other instruments on the network are functioning. I have disconnected and reseated the connectors I have access to, and exchanged them with NEMA2000 T-connectors that are known to be working, but no luck. The problem must either be the connector at the top of the mast or more likely the instrument itself. I do not have a spare instrument. Of course, I know the wind direction and approximate speed, so there is no problem sailing, but it is an inconvenience. I just passed the 3000 nm mark, the distance I have sailed from San Carlos. About 400 nm more to go. At 14:00 I was hit with a strong squall. It was more than the wind vane could handle, probably 30+ kt winds. I steered by hand for a bit, changing the course to be more downwind to slow the boat and reduce heel. Eventually, it was too much for me as well and I heaved to. The boat came to a stop and was well-behaved as the front of the squall passed with heavy rain. During the maelstrom, the temple of my glasses broke (everything on a boat is already broken, you just don’t know it). Fortunately, I keep a spare pair at the navigation station. I was heaved to for about 15m, then began sailing again in perhaps 15 kt winds. At 14:45, 45m later, I was hit by an even larger squall. Again, I had to heave to. The worse of it pasted in 10m. I have had water come in through the chain locker when waves come over the bow, sometimes several gallons. There is a drain hose that runs from the locker to the shower sump, where there is a bilge pump. The pump works, but for some reason the float switch is not, so I need to operate it once a day manually if ai have had heave seas. I double checked that the water was coming from the chain locker because the same hose is connected to a bilge pump in the bow thruster/battery compartment underneath the V-berth. I checked that locker and it is dry. When it was clear the storm was going to be around for a bit, tired and wet from dealing with so many, I just left the boat heaved to for a half hour, rested, and got something to eat. Unlike many modern boats that have fin keels and do not heave to easily, Aegir-Ran with its full keel is very well behaved.
Sent from my iPhone

Current Position: 3 43.757’ S 132 48.908’W; Local Timezone: UTC-9; HDG: 216; COG: 228; SOG: 4.4 kt (not yet trimmed); TWS: 12.6 kt; TWD: 098; TWA: 117; Distance to Waypoint (Hiva Oa): 520 nm; Total Miles Sailed: 2863 nm;
Comments: I slept hard last night, waking up periodically to ensure everything was okay,, and adjusting the course a few times to try to reduce the rolling, which was severe at times. At one pint I furled in the jib, because it didn’t seem to be serving any purpose. I got up about 5:15, just before sunrise. The skies were well-lit by a near full moon. It was squally, but I was motoring under bare poles, so I was not particularly concerned. There was no evidence it had rained again after the shower just before dusk yesterday. I had left a large amount of climbing gear on the mast last night. At daybreak, I went forward to retrieve it. The halyards are a mess. It may take hours to figure out how to untangle them. I had to cut away a climbing runner to get to most of the gear. A major rain storm showed up while U was working. The only climbing gear left is a Prussik knot on one of the halyards that I had to abandon while I was climbing the mast because it had become jammed and I couldn’t loosen it while it was weighted. I’ll get to it when I sort out the halyards. My plan is to do that after the storm passes. Then, I will deal with the original problem, the main halyard that is stuck on the step. I think I can run a second halyard up it and pull from the bow to release it, but all the other lines need to be sorted out first. This is disappointing because I have great wind now. I continue to motor, albeit slower, to cut down on the rolling. Well, when it rains it pours … the day tank was down to 10 gal, so I was going to turn on the auxiliary fuel pump to fill it. I noticed more water in the Racor, so emptied it. When I turned the switch, the auxiliary pump did not come on. This is the second one of these pumps that has failed in the last couple of years, I have a spare, but replacing it requires taking the entire publishing system apart. I could reroute the lines to have the engine’s pump pull directly from the main tank, but I know I’m pumping water out of there and I am not entirely sure the pump is powerful enough to draw fuel through the system. With 10 gal in the day tank, I have about 10/0.6×5=83 mile range, more than enough to maneuver into Hiva Oa. Furthermore, I have 50 gal of fuel on deck that I can add directly to the day tank after filtering it through a Baja filter, so I am going to punt on this one and deal with it when I am at anchor. A bigger problem Is I noticed last night that I couldn’t furl in the last few feet of the jib. In the light of day, I can see that the Dyneema line for the running backstay came unattached from its storage point middeck and somehow got wrapped around the sheet for the jib forming what looks like a perfect Prussik knot that is too high to reach (because of the high cut of the Yankee). My choices are many, but I am going to try the simple one first, using a boat hook to try to slide the tangles mess along the sheet until I can deal with it. The good news is I untangled the jib sheet and running backstay line. The bad news is the Prussik line I abandoned yesterday miraculously wrapped around lower shroud. Now there is a knot on either side of the radar dome that makes it impossible to pull either end of the spinnaker halyard (what I was using as backup protection when I climbed the mast). It cannot be freed without climbing the mast . Since I won’t need the spinnaker for the remainder of the trip to the Marquesas, I will punt on this too. I untangled the static climbing rope I keep on the mast, which also serves as an emergency halyard. I will try to use it to run a line along the main halyard to the point where it is fouled so I can try to apply opposing force to free it. Well … the Prussik line (un)miraculously untangled itself from the starboard side and I was able to lower the spinnaker halyard enough to reach the Prussik and remove it. The spinnaker halyard is now serviceable and I untangled the staysail halyard as well. The static climbing rope is has a tangle it it. When get that out and the line stowed I will see if I can pull a hat trick and free the main halyard (the origin of this mess). I am not subject to seasickness, but staring up the mast for hours while the boat is pitching is disorientation. Also, the sun is nearly overhead, which is making it difficult to see what I am working on. Going to “nap” on the problem. I got up as a squall started to move in. I untangled the last of the halyards just as it started to rain. The main halyard was still snagged though. Effectively, I was right back were I started 24h ago, except the halyards are nicely separated and tied off like a spider web to keep them out of the way during the next step, which is freeing the man halyard. I stayed out in the rain and got a shower before heading to my berth for some more rest. It is noon (UTC-9). It took me five hours to untangle the halyards. I haven’t eaten anything since yesterday morning. I did drink a carton of orange juice that was supposed to last until my next provisioning, and probably a gallon of water. I cannot seem to get hydrated. I ate a Cliff bar and a piece of chocolate before laying down. The storm brought heavy rain for an hour, but the wind did not exceed 12 kt. I am back under sail, but not without further drama. When the jib halyard got hung up with the backstay line and I furled the jib, the force pulled some of the jib out of the furler. I rounded up under power and tried to raise the jib, but the cord kept coming out of the slot because there was one spot that was slightly damaged. It took me 30m to get it raised again, in part because I was in the middle of a storm with 15 kt winds. I couldn’t leave it as it was or the sail certainly would have been destroyed. The situation is not perfect. I could not free the main halyard, and I wasn’t about to go back up the mast until I am in a sheltered anchorage. I had to use the spinnaker halyard, which wraps around the upper shroud. There will certainly be chaffing and the possibility of failure. When I have a chance I will lower the mainsail and check. It might also bee a good idea to add some anti-chaffing material. I put one reef in the main and will leave it like that. Sent from my iPhone

Current Position: 2 45.853’ S 132 2.760’W; Local Timezone: UTC-9; HDG: 182; COG: 185; SOG: 5.3 kt (motoring); TWS: 8.3 kt; TWD: 034; TWA: 145; Distance to Waypoint (Hiva Oa): 599 nm; Total Miles Sailed: 2786 nm;
Comments: Sunset was at 17:48. The full moon rose at the same time from the east. Although it has been quiet for the past 36h, I could see what appeared to be a squall line ahead of me on the horizon just as it was getting dark. The sky is otherwise cloudless. As expected, the wind, what little there was, disappeared when the sun went down. Without circulation, the cabin became unbearably hot and stuffy. I motorsailed almost S 2 degrees because the forecast suggested a pocket if wind would develop there tomorrow. When I arrived, about 2:00, the water was glassy smooth, but with swells that rocked the boat. I lowered the main but left the jib up for some stability, and lashed the tiller to the port. I “slept” in the cockpit. The forecast was for light 8-10 kt breezes beginning in the early afternoon, about 12h. Once I was back underway, it looks like I will have good wind for the rest of the trip. About 2:00, it had cooled enough to go below. There has been zero wind the past 24 hours. I am floating in the definition of the doldrums. I was awake most of the night because of the heat and rolling of the boat. I fell asleep about 4:00 and woke at 6:00, just after dawn. I could immediately feel something was different. The sea was still glassy smooth from hours without wind, but a 5 kt breeze had returned, along with squalls. A large squall was passing in front of the boat. I resisted the urge to raise the sails, knowing what wind there was coming from the storm and was unstable in speed and direction, and I was right. The forecast is for little wind the rest of the morning. Then, fingers-crossed, enough of an easterly breeze to sail south to where the real wind is. I am going to do some work on the boat this morning. I need to stow stuff in the cabin and get it ready for heavy seas again. Also, I think there is some water in the day tank. I am going to swing the boom over to the port to tilt the boat in the direction of the drain valve and remove some of the fuel/water. I was correct. In addition to water in the Racor filter, there was water in the secondary fuel pump filter and a small amount in the day tank. The engine seems to be running smoothly now. The tiller lashed to the port side, the boat is slowly rotating clockwise, like a merry-go-round with an infinite horizon. I have drifted 4 nm in the wrong direction in the last 5 hours. There is obviously wind towards the waypoint as there are a steady stream of squalls passing by. I need to bleed the rest of the air out of the fuel line anyway, so I’m going to motor towards the squalls (can’t believe I’m write that). Yesterday, I restarted the measurement at 9:00 local for the UTC-9 time zone (713 nm to waypoint). The progress in the last 24h was (713-636) 77 nm, most under power. The wind gauges are of no use while motoring. I am making my own wind. But I notice as I make my way SW (214) towards the waypoint, the mirror-like finish of the water starts to take on ripples. The breeze was sporadic and not enough to sail. At 10:00 it started to sprinkle. There was a rainstorm to the east. I still had the jib up, but the main was stowed in the sailpack, but the zipper needs to be fixed, so I lashed the sailpack closed just in case. I was hoping the rainstorm hits me so I can wash some clothes … and myself., but it passed to the stern. Since I was running the engine, I did something I don’t get to do very often … make ice! I was on a course to the waypoint, but after studying the weather forecast, it makes more sense to head due south because if I motor this afternoon I should hit 3 degrees S around dusk and pick up some wind that will allow me to head S overnight before turning SW tomorrow morning. I finally got some wind, but when raising the mainsail, the halyard got stuck on a folding step at the top of the mast that I use when I am working on the mast. I tried for an hour but could not free it. I have spare halyards forward, but none aft. Thinking I had no choice, I prepared to climb the mast. I carry specialized equipment onboard for climbing the mast, and I have done it dozen of times, even on the water, but never on a pitching boat in the middle of the ocean. I got halfway between the spreader and the top (maybe 4/5 of the way up, and had to turn around as I was being thrashed to pieces. Normally going down is easy and quick, but because of the pitching of the boat, I had to basically retrace my steps. When I got to the bottom I was exhausted and apparently passed out on the foredeck, still in my climbing gear. Next thing I remembered was being woken by a rain storm. As I made my way back to the cockpit, I noticed half the sail had spilled out of the sailpack, apparently because I had knocked the cables free. I fixed the cables, but was too tired to flake the mainsail. I just threw a rope around the boom and quickly lashed the sail. I’m the meantime, I think I have figured out how to free the halyard without climbing the mast afaik. I will try in the morning and will motor tonight. I need to sleep.