Current Position: 23 05.087’S 55 45.540’E; Local Timezone: UTC+4; SOG: 3.7; COG: 270; TWS: 11 kt; TWD: 40; P (12:00): 1019.0; P (18:00): 1019.7; P (24:00): 1020.4; P (6:00 ): 1020.1; Distance to Waypoint (26s47s, 271): 508; Total Miles Sailed: 14193 nm; Engine Hours: 270; Estimate Fuel: 48+13+50;
Comments: it is 6:40 and I am in the NW quadrant of the high, so the wind is blowing from 70 and continues to back. It has been quite a while since I have been on a starboard tack. It is a beautiful day for sailing … partly cloudy, relatively calm seas, and steady 18 kt winds in a broad reach. So far, I am very happy with my new sail configuration. The storm staysail is much stiffer than the original staysail and it tends not to flag as much in rolling seas. One issue is where to run the sheets. Normally, I thread the sheet between the forward lower shroud and the upper shroud. While this works well when the wind is relatively light, it prevents me from really flattening the sail during storm conditions. I believe it would be best to run both sheets inside the shrouds. Perhaps in pending conditions I could run the lazy sheet inside to be ready to use it that way. I have not had a single fish/squid on the deck the past three days. I have only seen a handful of flying fish and no birds since leaving Rodrigues. By 13:00 the wind was blowing 15 from 55. The cargo ship Belhawk passed 5 nm S of me at 15:00. This appears to be the last for a while. I expect to encounter a convergence zone tomorrow morning with an abrupt shift in wind direction from the NNE to S (initially), then SE. The wind speed should build more slowly from single-digits late morning to 20 with 25 kt gusts late afternoon/evening. It may be n cessation to put a second reef in, but by tomorrow night it should be possible to shake it out again. The seas are likely to be complex as the waves are currently coming from the NNE. It is 17:00, the wind is blowing 8 from 35, and the boat is making 3.5. Sunset was approximately 18:16. Sunrise should be about 5:45. The boat moved along at 2.5-4 kt all night (avg. 3.4), sometimes with a current and sometimes against, in 8-10 kt wind from approximately 20-40. A dozen ships passed, most more than 10 nm away until Peaceful Seas, which passed about 5 nm N of me right after sunrise. I downloaded GRIB/AIS data at 5:30. The wind will shift to the S midmorning and build back into the 20s by noon. At this point I do not believe it will be necessary to put the second reef in. This will be a good morning to cook due to the calm and tge fact I am on my last portion of the food I prepared Tuesday morning. Sunrise was at 5:44 and I am about 100 nm due S of Reunion and almost halfway to RBay1. Dark clouds are beginning to appear to the SW. I will try to cook before the wind picks up again. The distance sailed towards RBay1 in the last 24h was 602-508=94 nm (more than expected). The total distance sailed was 14193-14096=97 nm (97/24=4.04 kt avg.).
Comments: it is 6:40 and I am in the NW quadrant of the high, so the wind is blowing from 70 and continues to back. It has been quite a while since I have been on a starboard tack. It is a beautiful day for sailing … partly cloudy, relatively calm seas, and steady 18 kt winds in a broad reach. So far, I am very happy with my new sail configuration. The storm staysail is much stiffer than the original staysail and it tends not to flag as much in rolling seas. One issue is where to run the sheets. Normally, I thread the sheet between the forward lower shroud and the upper shroud. While this works well when the wind is relatively light, it prevents me from really flattening the sail during storm conditions. I believe it would be best to run both sheets inside the shrouds. Perhaps in pending conditions I could run the lazy sheet inside to be ready to use it that way. I have not had a single fish/squid on the deck the past three days. I have only seen a handful of flying fish and no birds since leaving Rodrigues. By 13:00 the wind was blowing 15 from 55. The cargo ship Belhawk passed 5 nm S of me at 15:00. This appears to be the last for a while. I expect to encounter a convergence zone tomorrow morning with an abrupt shift in wind direction from the NNE to S (initially), then SE. The wind speed should build more slowly from single-digits late morning to 20 with 25 kt gusts late afternoon/evening. It may be n cessation to put a second reef in, but by tomorrow night it should be possible to shake it out again. The seas are likely to be complex as the waves are currently coming from the NNE. It is 17:00, the wind is blowing 8 from 35, and the boat is making 3.5. Sunset was approximately 18:16. Sunrise should be about 5:45. The boat moved along at 2.5-4 kt all night (avg. 3.4), sometimes with a current and sometimes against, in 8-10 kt wind from approximately 20-40. A dozen ships passed, most more than 10 nm away until Peaceful Seas, which passed about 5 nm N of me right after sunrise. I downloaded GRIB/AIS data at 5:30. The wind will shift to the S midmorning and build back into the 20s by noon. At this point I do not believe it will be necessary to put the second reef in. This will be a good morning to cook due to the calm and tge fact I am on my last portion of the food I prepared Tuesday morning. Sunrise was at 5:44 and I am about 100 nm due S of Reunion and almost halfway to RBay1. Dark clouds are beginning to appear to the SW. I will try to cook before the wind picks up again. The distance sailed towards RBay1 in the last 24h was 602-508=94 nm (more than expected). The total distance sailed was 14193-14096=97 nm (97/24=4.04 kt avg.).