Current Position: 34 31.516’S 23 57.710’E; Timezone: UTC+2; SOG: 5.4; COG: 350M (325T); TWS: 9; TWD: 276; Current Speed, 0.9 kt; Current Direction, 355; Distance to Waypoint (HB4, Cape Agulhas, 290): 197; Total Miles Sailed: 16176 nm; Engine Hours: 347; Estimate Fuel: 24+14+50;
Comments: It is 15:00 and it has been beautiful sailing all afternoon. The seas are relatively calm, there is a perfect amount of wind (14, and a strong current (1.6). It is 16:30. As expected, the wind has backed, shifting from a beam to a broad reach, slowing the boat down a bit (5.5 from 6.2). Rougher sea conditions are also contributing to the slower speed. I unfurled the rest of the Yankee and was able to pick up a little speed (5.7). I just passed two more fishing bouys. They are impossible to see unless I am right on top of them. I am about 13 nm from Seal Point. I still have (weak) cell signal, but I expect to loose it after Seal Point as the land mass shifts northward and I become further offshore. I passed Seal Point at 18:45, about 30m before sunset. I set a course for about 10 nm N of Cape Agulhas (245 nm away). To get a decent AWA, I had to set a course for 280 (rather than 288). The current speed is not down to 1.5 and the SOG about 4.7. The wind is expected to drop markedly by midnight. I noticed the French aluminum ketch Horizon has left PE and is motoring. Sunset was at 19:08 (25e). I had 15 kt of wind most of the night and made about 5 kt in a near dead run. As expected, by 3:00 the wind had dropped to 6 and the current bro 0.9, slowing the boat to 2 kt. I was sailing 45 degrees to the shipping lanes, so I turned the engine on and set a course for Cape Agulhas (so I could get a bit more sleep while staying out of the way of the ships). I downloaded the latest GRIB. It was going to get worse with very little and at times no wind the next 24h. In a couple of intervals, I managed to get a bit more sleep, waking just before dawn at 4:50. The boat was moving faster. I had motored into a some wind and producing a SOG of over 6 at 1800 rpm. Sunrise was at 5:07 (24e) and it was beautiful. A tanker was passing me at the same time (coincidentally called the Aeolian Sunrise) and the my boat practically bumped into a fishing bouy. I wonder how many of them get tangled in props? I am waiting until the ship passes, then I will turn the engine off again. I will need to make a decision soon, when there is zero wind. Do I motor or do I drift. If motoring, I can stay in the shipping lanes. If drifting, I need to motor closer to shore, out of the lanes. It is 5:30 and the wind made up my mind, veering so I had to set a course inland, practically straight at Mossel Bay (90 nm away), to avoid slatting of the jib. It is just as well as it will give me a better angle to the wind when it returns. It is only 50 nm between degrees of longitude at this latitude. In contrast to the clear skies yesterday, it looks like it could rain today (consistent with the convergence overnight). It is 6:00 and my course is towards Pettenberg Bay (about 35 nm away). I am going to continue on this course as long as it makes sense (e.g., until the wind or current in this direction dies down), then will turn W (parallel to the shore). It just started to rain.
Comments: It is 15:00 and it has been beautiful sailing all afternoon. The seas are relatively calm, there is a perfect amount of wind (14, and a strong current (1.6). It is 16:30. As expected, the wind has backed, shifting from a beam to a broad reach, slowing the boat down a bit (5.5 from 6.2). Rougher sea conditions are also contributing to the slower speed. I unfurled the rest of the Yankee and was able to pick up a little speed (5.7). I just passed two more fishing bouys. They are impossible to see unless I am right on top of them. I am about 13 nm from Seal Point. I still have (weak) cell signal, but I expect to loose it after Seal Point as the land mass shifts northward and I become further offshore. I passed Seal Point at 18:45, about 30m before sunset. I set a course for about 10 nm N of Cape Agulhas (245 nm away). To get a decent AWA, I had to set a course for 280 (rather than 288). The current speed is not down to 1.5 and the SOG about 4.7. The wind is expected to drop markedly by midnight. I noticed the French aluminum ketch Horizon has left PE and is motoring. Sunset was at 19:08 (25e). I had 15 kt of wind most of the night and made about 5 kt in a near dead run. As expected, by 3:00 the wind had dropped to 6 and the current bro 0.9, slowing the boat to 2 kt. I was sailing 45 degrees to the shipping lanes, so I turned the engine on and set a course for Cape Agulhas (so I could get a bit more sleep while staying out of the way of the ships). I downloaded the latest GRIB. It was going to get worse with very little and at times no wind the next 24h. In a couple of intervals, I managed to get a bit more sleep, waking just before dawn at 4:50. The boat was moving faster. I had motored into a some wind and producing a SOG of over 6 at 1800 rpm. Sunrise was at 5:07 (24e) and it was beautiful. A tanker was passing me at the same time (coincidentally called the Aeolian Sunrise) and the my boat practically bumped into a fishing bouy. I wonder how many of them get tangled in props? I am waiting until the ship passes, then I will turn the engine off again. I will need to make a decision soon, when there is zero wind. Do I motor or do I drift. If motoring, I can stay in the shipping lanes. If drifting, I need to motor closer to shore, out of the lanes. It is 5:30 and the wind made up my mind, veering so I had to set a course inland, practically straight at Mossel Bay (90 nm away), to avoid slatting of the jib. It is just as well as it will give me a better angle to the wind when it returns. It is only 50 nm between degrees of longitude at this latitude. In contrast to the clear skies yesterday, it looks like it could rain today (consistent with the convergence overnight). It is 6:00 and my course is towards Pettenberg Bay (about 35 nm away). I am going to continue on this course as long as it makes sense (e.g., until the wind or current in this direction dies down), then will turn W (parallel to the shore). It just started to rain.