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).
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).