aegir-ran

Current Position: 3 55.058’S 32 32.250’W; Timezone: UTC-3; SOG: 3.8 kt; COG: 270; TWS: 12; TWD: 145; Current Speed (includes effect of surfing): 1.0 kt; Current Direction: 016; Distance to Waypoint (BARB5, 265): 228 nm; Distance to Endpoint (Bridgetown): 1909 nm; Total Miles Sailed: 21,594nm; Engine Hours: 414; Estimate Fuel: 60+8+50;
Comments: I prepared the ham, yams, and green beans at 13:00. While none of the three were great, they were nonetheless appreciated after five weeks at sea. It was the first meal I had eaten off a plate since the passage began (I usually eat one-pot meals out of the skillet to minimize dirty dishes). I made water at 14:00. It has high salinity (the membrane is shot) and is only good for bathing and washing clothes. The next ship that will likely cross my path should show up about dusk. Sunset is at 17:30 at 32.5W (Ilha de Fernando de Noronha). At 31.0W it should be at 17:24. I am ready to put the South Atlantic behind me. It has been five weeks of essentially the same weather and fairly slow sailing. On the other hand, there has been no drama. I better be careful what I wish for because I expect to face thunderstorms along the coast, especially in the compression zone around the equator. In the pass few days, since I have been within 300 nm of land, I have been visited by Noddies. Beginning today, since I have been within 100 nm, I have been surrounded by Terns. At 15:00 I took a bath and once clean, I celebrated completion of the second leg of the passage (South Africa to St. Helena and now the second leg to IDN) with a can of beer, my last of South African Windhoek). I have two cans of beer remaining, Fosters that I’ve had since Christmas Island, and I will have those when I get to Barbados. The cargo ship I was expecting at dusk passed 12 nm behind my stern at 17:15. Sunset was at 17:23. I downloaded OTH AIS data and do not see any obvious threats tonight. I went to sleep at 18:30 and set an alarm for 2h. It is midnight and there is only one Noddie, so no noise. I was expecting another party like the past two nights. It’s 40 nm to IFN. I woke at 4:45. Sunrise is at 5:12 at 32.5W (Ilha de Fernando de Noronha). At 32.0W it should be at 5:10. There was heavy cloud cover to the E. At 5:00 the wind was single-digits and the boat was only doing 3 kt. It was like that most of the second half of the night. Unfortunately, I expect these conditions until at least tonight. I have 26 nm to go before I should be able to turn on Starlink. I now expect to reach that point early afternoon. i enjoyed my tea this morning with two Lotus Biscoff caramelized tea biscuits. It is my last package of tea biscuits and they will be gone within the week. I have purchased a dozen different varieties of tea biscuits along the way, and these are among my favorite. It is 6:00 and the wind has picked up from 8 to 12 kt, the expected speed, as the sun heated things up, giving a SOG of about 4 kt. A very large weather system passed N of me at 6:39, dripping the TWS to single digits again. The GRIB was 15h old, so I downloaded new data. To get a better wind angle, the route has me passing S of the island. This increases the distance to the 12 nm limit by a bit, but gives me better speed. Also, passing on the windward side will insure I am not shadowed. The new waypoint is 20 nm. Oda is about 20 nm behind me and is clearly headed for the N side of the island, where Moana anchored yesterday. I read it costs $75/d to anchor there, plus $25 per person, making it the most expensive anchorage I have encountered. I’d stop, but going through the formalities and expense for Brazil to see the island does not appeal to me. I’d have to stay a week to make it worth it, which would cost me $1000. The latest PW route has me making only one tack between here and Barbados, on Monday afternoon as I turn N along the coast. Unfortunately, the OTH AIS reveals complicated traffic along the coast, not clear lanes as I saw in South Africa. Also, I can expect severe rolling about one-third of the way due to coastal waves on the beam. Fortunately, because of the expected fast passage, that should amount to three consecutive days. The closest I will actually get to shore is about 50 nm, in part to take advantage of the current, but also because the coast shoals shallow, especially further N. I spotted the faint outline of the island at 10:00, perhaps 20 nm away and 9 nm from the waypoint. I have been averaging 4.2 kt in 12 kt wind since the sun came up. I ran the fridge for only an hour this morning as I am trying to charge the batteries in heavy overcast before turning Starlink on. As I pass IFN, I am setting a new waypoint, the point on the coast that I tack starboard (BARB5, 4 15’S 36 20’W), about 250 nm away. I was on Starlink for several hours as I passed the island. Was treated by dolphins. There is a sea cave drilled through the middle of the island. I have been dodging showers all afternoon, but it started to rain on me at 17:00.

Current Position: 4 04.385’S 28 57.684’W; Timezone: UTC-3; SOG: 3.8 kt; COG: 265; TWS: 12; TWD: 111; Current Speed (includes effect of surfing): 1.0 kt; Current Direction: 260; Distance to Waypoint (IFN, 273): 90 nm; Distance to Endpoint (Bridgetown): 2002 nm; Total Miles Sailed: 21,452 nm; Engine Hours: 414; Estimate Fuel: 60+8+50;
Comments: I tacked to port at 14:30 and will head due W to IFN. Sunset is at 17:30 at 32.5W (Ilha de Fernando de Noronha). At 29.25W it should be at 17:17, but the sun went down behind clouds. The brown noodies were back after dark. I tried to shoos them away, but they were tenacious (they just stood on the stick I was using and flew back to their perch when I stopped waving it) and I was outnumbered. They were as loud as last night. They have two distinctive calls … male and female? I downloaded fresh data at 18:00. I do not see any hazardous traffic tonight. I went to sleep at 18:30 with a 2h alarm. At 3:00 a ship passed 4 nm behind me. When I went to the cockpit I saw it directly beneath the southern cross. The birds were still partying. I imagined them gathering in my boat for a rare conference and having a lot of news to share. I had to put a pillow over my head when I returned to the berth. I slept very deeply and woke at 4:55. Sunrise is at 5:12 at 32.5W (Ilha de Fernando de Noronha). At 30.25W it should be at 5:03. The sun came up behind a distant cloud bank but raised above it at 5:08. I downloaded data at 5:15. I will encounter a couple of ships today. Moana should arrive at IFN (120 nm away) late today, I will arrive tomorrow late morning, and Oda will arrive tomorrow night. I checked the progress of the 5.80 racers and it looks like they will arrive at Recife in 11-12 days. I finished the leftover Chicken Taco Soup yesterday … lasted three days. Today I am baking the ham and serving in with canned candied yams and canned green beans that I am dressing up in mustard. There will be enough to have this meal twice and enough ham for a week. I fell asleep at 10:00 for a rest and woke up at 11:45 with a tanker passing 1.5 nm off my bow. It arrived an hour earlier than I expected. The distance sailed towards IFN in the last 24h was 196-90=106 nm. The total distance sailed was 21452-21292=160 nm (160/24=6.7 kt avg).

Current Position: 4 04.385’S 28 57.684’W; Timezone: UTC-3; SOG: 4.4 kt; COG: 310; TWS: 14; TWD: 111; Current Speed (includes effect of surfing): 1.3 kt; Current Direction: 268; Distance to Waypoint (IFN, 274): 196 nm; Distance to Endpoint (Bridgetown): 2100 nm; Total Miles Sailed: 21,292 nm; Engine Hours: 414; Estimate Fuel: 60+8+50;
Comments: A word to the wise … never bring cans of tonic water onboard. Unless used immediately, they almost always leak. I have tried many brands, and they all leak over time. I don’t mean the degas, I mean the liquid actually comes out of the can. I think it has something to do with the fact the metal is thinner for tonic than say beer. I have had tonic leak in the refrigerator, in lockers, and in storage bins, and the sugary liquid makes a mess. Only bring plastic bottles of tonic onboard. Rant over. Sunset is at 17:30 at 32.5W (Ilha de Fernando de Noronha). At 28.0W it should be at 17:12, but was behind clouds. I downloaded data at 17:30 and did not find any threats on the OTH AIS, so I set a timer for 2h before going to sleep. At 19:45 I was waken up by a strange sound. It was a Black Noddie perched on the Danforth anchor on the stern … squawking. I made a half-hearted (unsuccessful) effort to shoos him off, then tried to go back to sleep. A few minutes later I got up because the bird would not shut up. That is when I discovered three more on the solar panels. It was a Noddie party. I tried to encourage them to leave, but they would have nothing of it. One of them actually let me pet it. I gave up and went back to bed. At 1:30 I tacked to port to take advantage of the current and to avoid two cargo ships. The birds were not happy, particularly as the jockeyed to reclaim their favorite spots. The only one I forced off had chosen the top of the windvane and was consequently changing the course of the boat. Sunrise is at 5:12 at 32.5W (Ilha de Fernando de Noronha). At 28.5W it should be at 4:56. The cargo ship Defense passed 6 nm N of me at 3:15. I woke up at 4:35. I tacked to starboard at 4:45. The sun came up behind clouds. It started rain lightly at 5:20 from single dark cloud. I went in deck to shower. The experience was unique because the rain was falling behind the cloud as it passed, so the sun was already shining brightly. I have started looking beyond IFN. I should reach the island Saturday morning. I should reach the coast and begin a continuous starboard tack NW to Barbados Tuesday morning. I will see currents up to 2.5 kt on a shallow broad to beam reach with 12-20 kt winds, so the remainder of the passage will be fast, perhaps 11-12 days. It is 11:45 and there is a ship 25 nm that is steaming towards my starboard quarter. I expect it to pass my stern in 1.5h. It is 13:00. In about an hour I will be at 4.0S, due E of IFN. At that point I will tack to port. Heading straight for IFN with a strong current, I should make good time the rest of the way. The distance sailed towards IFN in the last 24h was 280-196=84 nm. The total distance sailed was 21292-21141=151 nm (158/24=6.6 kt avg).

Current Position: 5 14.475’S 27 47.966’W; Timezone: UTC-3; SOG: 4.0 kt; COG: 330; TWS: 14; TWD: 123; Current Speed (includes effect of surfing): 1.2 kt; Current Direction: 241; Distance to Waypoint (IFN, 293): 280 nm; Distance to Endpoint (Bridgetown): 2195 nm; Total Miles Sailed: 21,141 nm; Engine Hours: 414; Estimate Fuel: 60+8+50;
Comments: It is 15:00, there is heavy cloud cover, and no sun. Since the fish is gone, I shut down the fridge early. Tomorrow, I am going to empty the fridge, get rid of anything that has gone bad, and clean it. Sunset is at 17:29 at 32.5W (Ilha de Fernando de Noronha). At 26.5W it should be at 16:57. While the sun went down behind heavy clouds, it produced spectacular colors. It is 17:40 and I am preparing to sleep. There is quite a bit of traffic, but the OTH AIS does not show any vessels that are likely to cross paths with me tonight. I set an alarm for 2h. I woke at 22:00 and checked the instruments. I was headed due N because the wind had backed to 130. The sky was clear, so the change wasn’t due to a local disturbance. I tacked to port and assumed a COG of 278. Although the wind was 18-22, I only made 4.9 due to a strong counter current. I downloaded data at 22:50. PW predicts the strong wind will continue until dawn, but will back, so I will probably need to tack again after midnight. I went to the cockpit at 2:00. It was still blowing 17-21 from 130. Sunrise is at 5:11 at 32.5W (Ilha de Fernando de Noronha). At 27.5W it should be at 4:51. I woke at 4:50. The sun came up at 4:50. There are “mackerel scale” skies, suggesting a depression. I downloaded data and confirmed that I need to tack starboard and remain on that tack until nearly the latitude of IFN, at which point I will pick up the equatorial currents. I notice the current has begun rotating clockwise. Eventually , I expect 1 kt westerly current as I sail W to IFN. In the previous forecast I was supposed to tack twice more, but the distance W I made last night negated the need for that. The wind is still blowing 16-21 from 120. I expect it to lighten up after the morning blow. I do not see any traffic today on the OTH AIS. I cleaned out the fridge. I am left with 4 grapefruit, 5 oranges, and 10 apples, enough for a piece of fruit a day. I got rid of anything suspect, leaving me with only the fruit, the ham, some salami, a small quantity of fresh cheese, and a few flour tortillas. A small bag of expired lunchmeat went rouge and while looking for it I found the boar tusk bottle opener I bought in South Africa many years ago behind the stove. It has been missing at least three years. I found the lunchmeat had been Put back in the fridge. I had seven cans of beer and tonic in the lower section of the fridge and they have frozen. I am thawing them out to see which are still intact. The eggs are questionable. The three dozen I coated in oil have some mold on them. I will have to test them to learn if they are still good. It is 7:00 and I am 300 nm from IFN. Even though the wind is expected to decrease, with the help of the current, I expect to arrive about this time on Saturday. It will be too early to call people in the US, so I will have to see how long I remain in range to use Starlink. The strong current will likely take me past the island quickly. The batteries were charged by 13:00, so I will make water again today. The distance sailed towards IFN in the last 24h was 372-280=92 nm. The total distance sailed was 21141-20983=158 nm (158/24=6.6 kt avg).

Current Position: 6 18.781’S 26 31.802’W; Timezone: UTC-3; SOG: 4.6 kt; COG: 310; TWS: 16; TWD: 107; Current Speed (includes effect of surfing): 1.0 kt; Current Direction: 226; Distance to Waypoint (IFN, 293): 372 nm; Distance to Endpoint (Bridgetown): 2292 nm; Total Miles Sailed: 20,983 nm; Engine Hours: 414; Estimate Fuel: 60+8+50;
Comments: the cargo ship passed 18 nm S of me at 14:45 and the tanker 32 nm about the same time. Sunset is at 17:29 at 32.5W (Ilha de Fernando de Noronha). At 25.5W it should be at 17:01. Sunset was actually about 17:05. I downloaded new data. There do not appear to be any threats. I set an alarm for 2h and went to sleep at 17:30. I woke up periodically, but the night was uneventful … 15 kt wind without gusts, average SOG 4.7, and no traffic. Sunrise is at 5:11 at 32.5W (Ilha de Fernando de Noronha). At 26.0W it should be at 4:45. I woke at 4:20. Without 20+ kt gusts overnight, the sea was calm, so the boat was making good speed. I downloaded new data at 4:30. No surprises. I should reach IFN on Saturday. There is a cargo ship passing 15 nm to my port. A small rain cloud is passing over and it is sprinkling. The sun rise at 4:44. First time I have seen it in quite a few days … suggesting some clear weather this morning As the wind is blowing 102. It is 5:30 at 400 nm to IFN at 295. Mona is about 100 nm S of me and Oda is about 150 nm SE. they are both sailing downwind wing on wing (or with a symmetrical spinnaker). I still cannot tell where they are headed, probably Recife or IFN. If the former, they will need to turn W soon as they are both at the latitude of Recife (8S). From the OTH AIS, it looks like I will start crossing NE/SW shipping channel tomorrow. The variation in the compass is 18W right now, which is why I switched to true compass headings on the chart plotter as it was becoming confusing while optimizing the course using PW (which uses true headings). About another 3 degrees N (48h) I should start feeling the effects of the currents of the North Atlantic Gyre, which will drive me W to the coast and then N towards Barbados. Initially, the currents will be light (0.5 kt), but will eventually reach over 2 kt along the coast. Once past the ITCZ, the current and strong winds on the beam should help me move quickly up the coast. I (re)discovered that my iPad (which I had broken out when the iPhone GPS was acting up) is able to connect to the Airmar speed sensor via Bluetooth when the iPhone cannot. I had forgotten this was the case. I recalibrated the speed sensor and the boat speed is now consistent with the SOG. It may need some fine tuning. This is good because I now expect the effects of current, leeward drift, and surfing to be more accurate. I have noticed the CAPE is increasing to about 1200 J/kg as I approach IFN. This is not a particularly concern. However, it is approaching 2000 early next week as I pass IFN and head N through the ITCZ. Thunderstorms are predicted. It appears the days of lazily sailing across the south Atlantic may end in a bang as I cross the compression zone near the western most edge of the ITCZ. Hopefully, wind conditions will be favorable and I won’t linger. It is 8:00 and the cumulus clouds have been replaced with cirrus clouds. While this suggests short-term stability, there may be a depression coming in the next few days. Today is a big day. I finished the fish yesterday and can pick a new cuisine. I am making a chicken taco soup that is all from cans, so it can be prepared very quickly. It made three meals when tortilla cheese crisps were added. The batteries were charged by noon, so I made water to bathe. The distance sailed towards IFN in the last 24h was 470-372=98 nm. The total distance sailed was 20983-20830=153 nm (153/24=6.4 kt avg).

Current Position: 7 41.341’S 25 22.866’W; Timezone: UTC-3; SOG: 4.4 kt; COG: 320; TWS: 12; TWD: 106; Current Speed (includes effect of surfing): 1.8 kt; Current Direction: 308; Distance to Waypoint (IFN, 299): 470 nm; Distance to Endpoint (Bridgetown): 2395 nm; Total Miles Sailed: 20,830 nm; Engine Hours: 414; Estimate Fuel: 60+8+50;
Comments: Sunset is at 17:29 at 32.5W (Ilha de Fernando de Noronha). At 24.25W it should be at 16:56. Sunset was actually about 17:01. I am going to see some traffic tonight. A cargo ship about 21:00 and a tanker around dawn. PW wants me on a starboard tack tonight, but the wind is blowing from 140 allowing me sail close to the waypoint at 300. Perhaps the wind will back tonight. I went to sleep at 17:30 and set a 2h alarm. Just before 19:30 the boat rounded up and it was time to tack (jibe) starboard. I may be on this course for 300 nm until I pick up the 1-2 kt equatorial counter current W. The cargo ship passed 6 nm S of me at 20:00. I downloaded new data. I will encounter a cargo ship in 6-7h (2-3:00) and perhaps a tanker about the same time. Both ships passed at 3:00 at 6-10 nm an of me. Sunrise is at 5:10 at 32.5W (Ilha de Fernando de Noronha). At 25.0W it should be at 4:40. I woke at 4:00. The sun came up behind clouds, and with it the wind veered to 240. I tacked to port at 4:45. Will probably be in this tack until about 9:00 (until the wind back to about 120). Wind speed is completely in accurate now. It bounces around. The wind direction still seems to work. The sun broke through at 5:10. Today is a special day. It is the 10th straight day of eating marlin and I will consume the last portion. It has taken a great effort to conserve energy so I could keep the fridge running and the fish mostly frozen. I have kept it twice as long as any other fish I have caught and the last portion appears to be relatively fresh (does not smell). I am pretty sure I’ve had a year’s dose of mercury. While I am grateful to the Sea for providing, I am really looking forward to eating something else. Remarkably, I have only used two of the 35 meal packages I prepared for the passage. I expect it to last until Panama, which is good, because I expect provisions to be much cheaper in Panama relative to Barbados. By 6:45 the wind had backed and I tacked to starboard. I downloaded new data at 10:30. I expect a tanker and a cargo ship to pass south of me about 14:00. Mona is only about 110 nm SE of me and is going 8 kt. It must be a large sailboat (over 50’). The batteries were fully charged by 11:00. It has been the sunniest day of the passage. The distance sailed towards IFN in the last 24h was 575-470=105 nm. The total distance sailed was 20830-20675=155 nm (155/24=6.5 kt avg).

Current Position: 8 40.088’S 23 55.712’W; Timezone: UTC-3; SOG: 5.2 kt; COG: 265; TWS: 18; TWD: 127; Current Speed (includes effect of surfing): 1.8 kt; Current Direction: 270; Distance to Waypoint (IFN, 300): 475 nm; Distance to Endpoint (Bridgetown): 2499 nm; Total Miles Sailed: 20,675 nm; Engine Hours: 414; Estimate Fuel: 60+8+50;
Comments: it is 14:00 and I have finished all My chores (dinner, dishes, bathing, etc.). It seems strange to be done this “early”, but I lost 3h and it would be 17:00 before I chanyged the time zone yesterday. Sunset is at 17:28 at 32.5W (Ilha de Fernando de Noronha). At 23.0W it should be at 16:50. The sun sat behind clouds. The PW route has me on a starboard tack until 21:00, then on a port tack for just 1h, which I of course will not do. As expected, I have had two ships pass my starboard about 40 nm N of me in the last couple of hours. I do not expect any more traffic overnight. I downloaded fresh data at 17:30 before going to sleep. There were no surprises. No traffic tonight. I am supposed to be on a port tack for a couple of hours, but I am not going to bother. The boat has been sailing well all day and I don’t want to mess with it just before going to sleep. Worst case is I will head due N 15 nm. I set a timer for 2h and went to sleep at 17:50. I woke at 20:00 and went to the cockpit. It was wet (had been raining) and the wind was blowing 20. The boat was on course, but the speed had waken me. I went back to sleep, but was awaken 45m later because the wind had veered a bit and the boat was headed N. I adjusted the course to 340 in a near run. The SOG was still 5 in 18 kt. The wind is supposed to back a bit now until dawn. By 21:45 I was able to do 315 at 5. It is 2:00 and I downloaded data. Noticed the 5.80 racers started leaving today from St. Helena to Recife. They should cover the 1800 nm in about 2w (1st of February, a week before I get to Barbados). I also noticed the ARC rally is still in Walvis Bay, Namibia. Sunrise is at 5:10 at 32.5W (Ilha de Fernando de Noronha). At 23.25W it should be at 4:33. I woke at 4:15. It looked like the sun came up about 4:28, but it was behind clouds. There were dense clouds downwind, but few clouds upwind. The wind was 13-17 from 109, so I stayed in a starboard tack. I expect the wind to veer after the sun breaks through the clouds. The sun broke through the clouds at 4:45. I tacked to port at 7:20. I also calibrated the wind instruments as I have known for a long time the wind instruments were mounted a few degrees off center at the top of the mast. Basted upon the TWA on the starboard vs. port tack, the instrument is mounted 4.2 degrees counterclockwise from center. Some bad news … the instruments have started to fail periodically. It has only been since Tahiti that the instrument was replaced. It could be the wiring in the setter locker since I moved the cans around in there and the problem started while I was tacking. B&G has notoriously poor customer service, so it is probably not even work trying to get a replacement before I return to Mexico. Regarding another equipment outage, my iPhone’s GPS stopped working for about an hour today. It was apparently an issue with the satellites. I broke out my iPad and charged it in case I need to use it for PredictWind and Navionics. It started to rain lightly at 11:00. The distance sailed towards IFN in the last 24h was 675-575=100 nm. The total distance sailed was 20675-20520=155 nm (155/24=6.5 kt avg).

Current Position: 9 49.885’S 22 38.891’W; Timezone: UTC-3; SOG: 4.7 kt; COG: 324; TWS: 15; TWD: 132; Current Speed (includes effect of surfing): 2.1 kt; Current Direction: 312; Distance to Waypoint (IFN, 300): 675 nm; Distance to Endpoint (Bridgetown): 2601 nm; Total Miles Sailed: 20,520 nm; Engine Hours: 414; Estimate Fuel: 60+8+50;
Comments: Beginning with this entry, I will use Barbados time (UTC-3). Sunset is at 17:28 at 32.5W (Ilha de Fernando de Noronha). At 21.5W it should be at 16:44. Sunset was at 16:55. I went to sleep at 18:00. The only vessel I see is a boat. If it maintains its course, we should cross paths about 22:00, so I set the first timer for 2h. I woke at 22:00 and saw the cargo ship on the AIS 10 nm away. It would pass at 3 nm in 30m. At 22:45 I went to the cockpit to watch it pass, then went back to bed with a 2h timer. I woke at 4:00 and downloaded the new GRIB. Sunrise is at 5:10 at 32.5W (Ilha de Fernando de Noronha). At 22.25W it should be at 4:29. The sun came up behind clouds. A gale warning has been issued up to 300 nm off the coast of Brazil. I am currently about 750 nm off the coast. The route has me on a starboard tack until midday. I noticed the 5.80 racers are still at St. Helena. It’s been 8d since the first one arrived. I have noticed large fleets of fishing boats N of 8E. I am glad to be avoiding them. If the pattern continues, I won’t have to deal with them until Monday. I am 700 nm from IFN and should be passing by around Friday. It is 5:15 and the morning gusts have started, 20 kt, driving the boat over 6 kt. Once at IFN, I would be about 2w from Barbados. The wildcard is the ITCZ. Honestly, I wouldn’t mind a gale to blown me through there. The sun broke through the clouds by 5:45. A large and very dark heavy cloud passed over at 6:30, but there was no rain. I marinaded some fish this morning to prepare for dinner … eighth straight day of marlin. The last package of fish was not completely frozen. Because of the clouds the past few days, I have not been able to keep the fridge as cold. There was very good sun after about 9:00 and the batteries were charged by 11:30, so I made water again to bathe. The membrane is going so the salinity is high. I will wait to but the new membrane in this summer as I have plenty of fresh water onboard. The distance sailed towards IFN in the last 24h was 773-675=98 nm. The total distance sailed was 20520-20378=142 nm (142/24=5.9 kt avg).