Current Position: 23 27.766’S 4 62.573’E; Timezone: UTC+0; SOG: 1.0 kt; COG: 006; TWS: 3; TWD: 125; Current Speed (includes effect of surfing): 0.9 kt; Current Direction: 358; Distance to Waypoint (BARB2, 004): 696 nm; Distance to Endpoint (Bridgetown): 4398 nm; Total Miles Sailed: 17761 nm; Engine Hours: 410; Estimate Fuel: 60+11+50;
Comments: Sunset should be at 18:26 at 5.33E. The sunset was actually at 18:26. I went to sleep at 19:20. Over the horizon AIS suggested no threats tonight, so I set the alarm interval for 2h. That will not be the case beginning tomorrow as I start to cross the shipping channels. The one potential issue is I do not know how the asymm and the windvane will handle the 4 kt wind predicted in the early morning hours. At 23:00 I was awaken because the boat had changed speed. The wind was unexpectedly 12-13 kt and the boat was doing 5.5-6 kt. When I went outside I noticed the “anchor light” was actually strobing. It has that feature, but I wired it so it only stobes if I switch some wires in the bilge, which I have not done. While technically not correct, I decided it is probably not a bad idea while crossing the shipping channels. The strobe lights up the asymm dramatically and I am sure it can be seen from some distance. By 3:00 the SOG had dropped to 2 in 6 kt wind from 90. I can expect this for the next 15h or so. At least I am not in the shipping channel. I woke up at 4:20. The boat is becalmed and actually pointed SE. There is a chance I will have a little breeze after sunrise. If I do, it will disappear again at sunset. The wind was swirling, and although the anemometer read 8 kt, it was not coming from one direction, although it was predominantly coming from 320, the exact direction I need to go. The instability was creating havoc for the asymm so I decided to furl it. That is when I discovered not one but two problems. First, the shackle on the tack had unsnapped. I had anticipated this problem and had tied an independent pendant to the tack. The second problem was more serious. One of the two screws that hold a guard on the top-down furler had worked itself loose and the guard was flopping around while working by the second one out. I could not reach the furler because of the pendant, so the first task was reattaching the tack line and making the furler taunt again. Fortunately, there was not much wind, so I was able to reattached the tack line without much trouble. The asymm was flopping around in the little wind there was, so I raised to mainsail to shadow the asymm, started the engine and attached the TillerPilot, and brought the boat around downwind. I could then work on the furler and managed to get the guard off without dropping it in the ocean. Finally, I had the furl the sail. I found if I sat down low on the bowsprit and applied downward force, I could furl the sail without the furling line jumping off the drum. Exhausted, I made myself some tea and enjoyed the last three caramel-flavored Blue Label Marie biscuits. Fortunately, I had a screw that fit the furler. I applied Loctite 242 and reassembled the furler. I thought about drilling all the way through the bracket and installing bolts and nuts, but decided I would just keep an eye on it (like the problematic bolts on the main furler. I don’t know who designs these things, but whoever decided a couple of screws without lock washers were going to stay together during the constant pounding of real use, should lose their job. It might hold up for a couple of hours for a day sail, but not for a seven week passage. At 7:20 I unfurled the jib and kept the course with the TillerPilot in a port tack. I was only making 2 kt on against a current and with fluctuating wind direction, but at least I was pointed in the right direction and wasn’t going backwards. Also, once moving the boat stopped rolling as much. According to the trace, I went backwards 3 nm and lost about 5h sailing time. I am now moving N, close to the course of BARB2, which is 700 nm away (in the last 16h I have made 50 nm. Sometimes when the wind is very light it can be hard to tell the direction because the boat itself is deflecting the wind. Also, the wing speed is sometimes not accurate. When the boat settled into its groove, I was making 2.5 kt in in 5 kt of wind, bust because I was on a close haul, the AWS was over 7 kt. I am doing better than expected. On a positive note, the top-down furler seemed to wind up the sail without putting kinks in the torsion cable, so it should be easier to deploy next time. I have discovered it is easier to furl from the bow rather than the cockpit because I can keep an eye on the drum and make sure the furling line does not get twisted around it. I finished off the first 1 kg tub of yogurt today and the next-to-last banana. I have one more tub of yogurt and a large container of blueberries. Both will be gone in a week, as planned. It’ll be instant oatmeal for the remainder of the passage. It is 8:15 and there is a rain storm developing behind me. While “upwind” it is clear, I know I am actually in a little backing hook in the front that came through yesterday and that storm behind me is actually headed my direction. I expect the wind to change direction from 280 about 180 degrees when the storm arrives. Won’t be launching the asymm again until tomorrow, when the weather settles down. In the meantime, I will squeeze what I can with the jib. I cannot afford to batter around the asymm and possibly rip it. In the middle of the chaos this morning I saw a bird, the first one in three days. It is 9:00 and the wind had started to back. I am adjusting the course to maintain a close reach. By 10:00 the wind was down to 3 kt. I hooked a very big fish at 10:10. So big is took out almost all the line under full drag and actually towed the boat backwards. After fighting it 15m, it bit through the leader. Just as well. Whatever it was to big for me to process and use. It was hooked on a very small squid that was intended for much smaller fish. I am guessing a big tuna. It is 11:30 and the water is glassy smooth. There is essentially no wind. I can see in the distance eddies caused by local pockets of breeze.the wind direction is variable … each pocket of wind from a different direction. A cargo ship passed south by 10 nm at 11:30. I turned the TillerPilot off at noon because the wind direction and speed are too variable to maintain a course. At 13:15 I noticed the water is no longer glassy. There is not enough wind to turn the boat around, so I used the engine. The 4 kt of wind seems stable from 60 and the SOG is about 1.0 at 320 in a close reach. The distance sailed towards BARB2 in the last 24h was 746-696=50 nm. The total distance sailed was 17835-17761=74 (74/24=3.1 kt avg).
Comments: Sunset should be at 18:26 at 5.33E. The sunset was actually at 18:26. I went to sleep at 19:20. Over the horizon AIS suggested no threats tonight, so I set the alarm interval for 2h. That will not be the case beginning tomorrow as I start to cross the shipping channels. The one potential issue is I do not know how the asymm and the windvane will handle the 4 kt wind predicted in the early morning hours. At 23:00 I was awaken because the boat had changed speed. The wind was unexpectedly 12-13 kt and the boat was doing 5.5-6 kt. When I went outside I noticed the “anchor light” was actually strobing. It has that feature, but I wired it so it only stobes if I switch some wires in the bilge, which I have not done. While technically not correct, I decided it is probably not a bad idea while crossing the shipping channels. The strobe lights up the asymm dramatically and I am sure it can be seen from some distance. By 3:00 the SOG had dropped to 2 in 6 kt wind from 90. I can expect this for the next 15h or so. At least I am not in the shipping channel. I woke up at 4:20. The boat is becalmed and actually pointed SE. There is a chance I will have a little breeze after sunrise. If I do, it will disappear again at sunset. The wind was swirling, and although the anemometer read 8 kt, it was not coming from one direction, although it was predominantly coming from 320, the exact direction I need to go. The instability was creating havoc for the asymm so I decided to furl it. That is when I discovered not one but two problems. First, the shackle on the tack had unsnapped. I had anticipated this problem and had tied an independent pendant to the tack. The second problem was more serious. One of the two screws that hold a guard on the top-down furler had worked itself loose and the guard was flopping around while working by the second one out. I could not reach the furler because of the pendant, so the first task was reattaching the tack line and making the furler taunt again. Fortunately, there was not much wind, so I was able to reattached the tack line without much trouble. The asymm was flopping around in the little wind there was, so I raised to mainsail to shadow the asymm, started the engine and attached the TillerPilot, and brought the boat around downwind. I could then work on the furler and managed to get the guard off without dropping it in the ocean. Finally, I had the furl the sail. I found if I sat down low on the bowsprit and applied downward force, I could furl the sail without the furling line jumping off the drum. Exhausted, I made myself some tea and enjoyed the last three caramel-flavored Blue Label Marie biscuits. Fortunately, I had a screw that fit the furler. I applied Loctite 242 and reassembled the furler. I thought about drilling all the way through the bracket and installing bolts and nuts, but decided I would just keep an eye on it (like the problematic bolts on the main furler. I don’t know who designs these things, but whoever decided a couple of screws without lock washers were going to stay together during the constant pounding of real use, should lose their job. It might hold up for a couple of hours for a day sail, but not for a seven week passage. At 7:20 I unfurled the jib and kept the course with the TillerPilot in a port tack. I was only making 2 kt on against a current and with fluctuating wind direction, but at least I was pointed in the right direction and wasn’t going backwards. Also, once moving the boat stopped rolling as much. According to the trace, I went backwards 3 nm and lost about 5h sailing time. I am now moving N, close to the course of BARB2, which is 700 nm away (in the last 16h I have made 50 nm. Sometimes when the wind is very light it can be hard to tell the direction because the boat itself is deflecting the wind. Also, the wing speed is sometimes not accurate. When the boat settled into its groove, I was making 2.5 kt in in 5 kt of wind, bust because I was on a close haul, the AWS was over 7 kt. I am doing better than expected. On a positive note, the top-down furler seemed to wind up the sail without putting kinks in the torsion cable, so it should be easier to deploy next time. I have discovered it is easier to furl from the bow rather than the cockpit because I can keep an eye on the drum and make sure the furling line does not get twisted around it. I finished off the first 1 kg tub of yogurt today and the next-to-last banana. I have one more tub of yogurt and a large container of blueberries. Both will be gone in a week, as planned. It’ll be instant oatmeal for the remainder of the passage. It is 8:15 and there is a rain storm developing behind me. While “upwind” it is clear, I know I am actually in a little backing hook in the front that came through yesterday and that storm behind me is actually headed my direction. I expect the wind to change direction from 280 about 180 degrees when the storm arrives. Won’t be launching the asymm again until tomorrow, when the weather settles down. In the meantime, I will squeeze what I can with the jib. I cannot afford to batter around the asymm and possibly rip it. In the middle of the chaos this morning I saw a bird, the first one in three days. It is 9:00 and the wind had started to back. I am adjusting the course to maintain a close reach. By 10:00 the wind was down to 3 kt. I hooked a very big fish at 10:10. So big is took out almost all the line under full drag and actually towed the boat backwards. After fighting it 15m, it bit through the leader. Just as well. Whatever it was to big for me to process and use. It was hooked on a very small squid that was intended for much smaller fish. I am guessing a big tuna. It is 11:30 and the water is glassy smooth. There is essentially no wind. I can see in the distance eddies caused by local pockets of breeze.the wind direction is variable … each pocket of wind from a different direction. A cargo ship passed south by 10 nm at 11:30. I turned the TillerPilot off at noon because the wind direction and speed are too variable to maintain a course. At 13:15 I noticed the water is no longer glassy. There is not enough wind to turn the boat around, so I used the engine. The 4 kt of wind seems stable from 60 and the SOG is about 1.0 at 320 in a close reach. The distance sailed towards BARB2 in the last 24h was 746-696=50 nm. The total distance sailed was 17835-17761=74 (74/24=3.1 kt avg).