Current Position: 15 57.155’S 142 19.120W; Local Timezone: UTC-10; HDG: N/A; COG: N/A; SOG: N/A; Distance to Waypoint (Raroia): At Anchor; Total Miles Sailed: 3885 nm;
Comments: I was awoken about 2:00. The boat was heeled over and the wind was howling with gale-force winds. The boat was healed over because I had lashed the boom to starboard to expose the solar panels while at anchor. I went on deck and untied the lashing and the boat uprighted. I went below and turned on the AIS so I could use the Cortex system to determine if the anchor was dragging. Also, it was disorienting outside. The only light was from the boat anchor lights at the tops of the masts. The water spray reduced visibility. I turned on the instruments and discovered the boat was facing due south. The wind had shifted almost 180 degrees. The anchor was holding. I am thankful I moved the boat yesterday from the cramped/dangerous anchorage at the village and I am also thankful I put out extra rode yesterday when I set the anchor because this feels like 40 kt winds. I woke again at 4:00 and the wind was blowing from the NE again, but not as hard. When I got up at 6:00, right after dawn and after having slept nearly 12h, it was calm with a breeze from the SE. Even before breakfast, I fixed the DC-DC charger and fired up the engine (maybe for the first time) specifically to charge the house battery bank. I ran the engine for 90m and reached a charge of 87%. Perhaps more importantly, I was able to run the fridge while the engine was running. Even though it is very dark today, I am hoping the solar system will charge the batteries the rest of the way. The black tipped sharks still circle the boat. I am definitely going swimming with them when the weather clears up. By midmorning, it was becoming clear that the weather was breaking up. The lockers in the cockpit had taken on water during the passage. Both have pumps, but they are not automatic and the one on the starboard side is not positioned at the lowest point in the locker. I had to remove everything (mostly rope on the starboard and dive equipment on the port), wash in seawater, and set everything out to dry, I’m hoping there is another good rain shower to rinse everything off. I took the dinghy to shore. It is so freaking cool. There are all sorts of tropical fish, crabs, clams, sharks and other marine life right next to the shore. In a case of two for two today (first the DC-DC charger), I believe I fix the wind vane … I used a bigger hammer. When I studied how the windvane was binding via the gears, it was obvious the lower shaft had been pushed forward ever so slightly when the tug moved me at Hiva Oa. It wasn’t obvious to the eye. I got in front of it in my dingy and gave it a couple of swift kicks from both sides, and now the windvane moves freely. It is still slightly out of alignment (there is a procedure for physically aligning the windvane and watervane), but I will fix that when the wind isn’t blowing so hard. I won’t be able to test the wind vane in the lagoon of this atoll because it is too dangerous to sail (too many coral heads), but I’m pretty confident I will have it working before I return to open sea. I am going to see if I can solicit help when I go up the mast to look at the wind instruments. It would be helpful to have someone below to tell me if they are working while I jiggle the connectors at the top of the mast. Now I’m going to have a beer.
Comments: I was awoken about 2:00. The boat was heeled over and the wind was howling with gale-force winds. The boat was healed over because I had lashed the boom to starboard to expose the solar panels while at anchor. I went on deck and untied the lashing and the boat uprighted. I went below and turned on the AIS so I could use the Cortex system to determine if the anchor was dragging. Also, it was disorienting outside. The only light was from the boat anchor lights at the tops of the masts. The water spray reduced visibility. I turned on the instruments and discovered the boat was facing due south. The wind had shifted almost 180 degrees. The anchor was holding. I am thankful I moved the boat yesterday from the cramped/dangerous anchorage at the village and I am also thankful I put out extra rode yesterday when I set the anchor because this feels like 40 kt winds. I woke again at 4:00 and the wind was blowing from the NE again, but not as hard. When I got up at 6:00, right after dawn and after having slept nearly 12h, it was calm with a breeze from the SE. Even before breakfast, I fixed the DC-DC charger and fired up the engine (maybe for the first time) specifically to charge the house battery bank. I ran the engine for 90m and reached a charge of 87%. Perhaps more importantly, I was able to run the fridge while the engine was running. Even though it is very dark today, I am hoping the solar system will charge the batteries the rest of the way. The black tipped sharks still circle the boat. I am definitely going swimming with them when the weather clears up. By midmorning, it was becoming clear that the weather was breaking up. The lockers in the cockpit had taken on water during the passage. Both have pumps, but they are not automatic and the one on the starboard side is not positioned at the lowest point in the locker. I had to remove everything (mostly rope on the starboard and dive equipment on the port), wash in seawater, and set everything out to dry, I’m hoping there is another good rain shower to rinse everything off. I took the dinghy to shore. It is so freaking cool. There are all sorts of tropical fish, crabs, clams, sharks and other marine life right next to the shore. In a case of two for two today (first the DC-DC charger), I believe I fix the wind vane … I used a bigger hammer. When I studied how the windvane was binding via the gears, it was obvious the lower shaft had been pushed forward ever so slightly when the tug moved me at Hiva Oa. It wasn’t obvious to the eye. I got in front of it in my dingy and gave it a couple of swift kicks from both sides, and now the windvane moves freely. It is still slightly out of alignment (there is a procedure for physically aligning the windvane and watervane), but I will fix that when the wind isn’t blowing so hard. I won’t be able to test the wind vane in the lagoon of this atoll because it is too dangerous to sail (too many coral heads), but I’m pretty confident I will have it working before I return to open sea. I am going to see if I can solicit help when I go up the mast to look at the wind instruments. It would be helpful to have someone below to tell me if they are working while I jiggle the connectors at the top of the mast. Now I’m going to have a beer.