Current Position: 11 47.830’S 120 33.771’E; Local Timezone: UTC+8 SOG: 5.4 kt; COG: 292; TWS: 15 kt; TWD: 170; Distance to Waypoint (Christmas Island, 273): 878 nm; Total Miles Sailed: 10146 nm; Engine Hours: 240; Estimate Fuel: 51+12+50;
Comments: It is almost dusk, 17:20, and the wind has been blowing at 11 steady for the last 4-5h. The boat has been averaging close to 5 kt, not fast, but the comfortable ride makes up for the rather leisurely pace. I have averaged 4.4 kt the last 8h, which is better than I expected this first day. The wind is supposed to pick up to 12-13 with gusts of 16-17 by morning, so I expect the pace to pick up. I am leaving one reef in overnight and the whole Yankee, but I will see gusts in the low 20s by this time tomorrow, so will probably put the second reef in, especially as I am in a beam reach. My back is sore, but not debilitating. I hope is is better in the morning (and not stiff). The weather appears good, there is no traffic in the area, and I am back in blue water, so I should get some good sleep tonight. I brought the fishing line in for the night. Have not gotten any bites since the bird this morning. It is about 19:00 and I am getting ready to sleep. I have been traveling close to the rate predicted by PW, which is unusual in that it usually overestimates my rate during the day (and underestimates it at night). At 23:30 the wind had increased to 14 and veered to 185, so the boat was headed too far N and the windvane was adjusted. The trace showed the boat had followed the rhumb line to the waypoint the past 12h. The wind speed increase had been predicted, but the direction was supposed to be 160 (and 180 by dawn). I woke at 3:00. There is a cargo ship (Star Marilana) 26 nm off my starboard stern quarter traveling 12 kt. It should pass my stern in 2h. At 5:00 the ship passed 12 nm to my stern. Sunrise is at 6:02. I got a sold 10h of sleep. My back is stiff, but feels better. I have made 100 nm since clearing the reef 20 h ago, averaging 5 kt, better than I expected. In contrast to the largely cloudless days of the past few weeks, it is cloudy this morning, consist with the warm front that is arriving. Nothing looks threatening. I downloaded new GRIBs and AIS data. There’s nothing much new except I will cross a major shipping channel Thursday. At 7:00 I spotted a vessel off my starboard bow. It was not on AIS. It appears to be a large fishing vessel. This is very disturbing. I turned the RADAR in and in addition to the vessel 2 nm off my starboard, there is another 9 nm off my port quarter. I may need to turn the RADAR on periodically to learn if there are other vessels like this in the area. I adjusted my course off the waypoint (274) to 290 in anticipation of the wind backing today and to provide a better TWA later. At 8:00 the wind started gusting to 18, earlier than expected. If it starts hitting 20, I will put the second reef back in the main. The boat is averaging 6.2 kt. It is13:30 and the wind has begun to back (currently 170). The boat has slowed down a little as it is now in a broad reach. The seas are bigger and the roll has started to cause slatting of the jib from time to time. The distance sailed towards Ashmore Reef in the last 24h was 1000-878=122 nm. The total distance sailed was 10146-10020=126 nm (126/24=5.25 kt avg.). I am pleased with the progress so far.
Comments: It is almost dusk, 17:20, and the wind has been blowing at 11 steady for the last 4-5h. The boat has been averaging close to 5 kt, not fast, but the comfortable ride makes up for the rather leisurely pace. I have averaged 4.4 kt the last 8h, which is better than I expected this first day. The wind is supposed to pick up to 12-13 with gusts of 16-17 by morning, so I expect the pace to pick up. I am leaving one reef in overnight and the whole Yankee, but I will see gusts in the low 20s by this time tomorrow, so will probably put the second reef in, especially as I am in a beam reach. My back is sore, but not debilitating. I hope is is better in the morning (and not stiff). The weather appears good, there is no traffic in the area, and I am back in blue water, so I should get some good sleep tonight. I brought the fishing line in for the night. Have not gotten any bites since the bird this morning. It is about 19:00 and I am getting ready to sleep. I have been traveling close to the rate predicted by PW, which is unusual in that it usually overestimates my rate during the day (and underestimates it at night). At 23:30 the wind had increased to 14 and veered to 185, so the boat was headed too far N and the windvane was adjusted. The trace showed the boat had followed the rhumb line to the waypoint the past 12h. The wind speed increase had been predicted, but the direction was supposed to be 160 (and 180 by dawn). I woke at 3:00. There is a cargo ship (Star Marilana) 26 nm off my starboard stern quarter traveling 12 kt. It should pass my stern in 2h. At 5:00 the ship passed 12 nm to my stern. Sunrise is at 6:02. I got a sold 10h of sleep. My back is stiff, but feels better. I have made 100 nm since clearing the reef 20 h ago, averaging 5 kt, better than I expected. In contrast to the largely cloudless days of the past few weeks, it is cloudy this morning, consist with the warm front that is arriving. Nothing looks threatening. I downloaded new GRIBs and AIS data. There’s nothing much new except I will cross a major shipping channel Thursday. At 7:00 I spotted a vessel off my starboard bow. It was not on AIS. It appears to be a large fishing vessel. This is very disturbing. I turned the RADAR in and in addition to the vessel 2 nm off my starboard, there is another 9 nm off my port quarter. I may need to turn the RADAR on periodically to learn if there are other vessels like this in the area. I adjusted my course off the waypoint (274) to 290 in anticipation of the wind backing today and to provide a better TWA later. At 8:00 the wind started gusting to 18, earlier than expected. If it starts hitting 20, I will put the second reef back in the main. The boat is averaging 6.2 kt. It is13:30 and the wind has begun to back (currently 170). The boat has slowed down a little as it is now in a broad reach. The seas are bigger and the roll has started to cause slatting of the jib from time to time. The distance sailed towards Ashmore Reef in the last 24h was 1000-878=122 nm. The total distance sailed was 10146-10020=126 nm (126/24=5.25 kt avg.). I am pleased with the progress so far.