Current Position: 11 54.222’S 160 49.323’E; Local Timezone: UTC+21; SOG: 5.8 kt COG: 260; TWS: 18 kt; TWD: 112; Distance to Waypoint (R1, Raine Passage, 260): 984; Total Miles Sailed: 7627 nm; Engine Hours: 170 Estimate Fuel: 59+13+50
Comments: About 16:30, I rounded up, furled in the jib, and removed the whisker pole. By this time the wind was blowing 17-19 consistently, the the Yankee didn’t bump with the wave action. I picked up a kt of speed with the better-shaped foresail. Sunset was about 18:00. I am committed to rounding Zona. There is a huge pack of trawlers 30 nm to my W that I would have to deal with all night if I were to jibe now. Rounding Zona on Friday would mean I would have to deal with them or the multitudes of others further W. At 18:15 I went to the cockpit to watch the last light of the day and was surprised to see storm clouds ahead … it had been such a sunny day. I was feeling good about stowing the whisker pole because if there is anything worse than dealing with it at night it is dealing with it at night in a storm. I should have known than stronger winds usually brings some weather with it. At 20:20, the wind had backed to 110, about 5h early, and the boat’s course changed from more of a run to a broad reach, and in doing so picked up speed, now averaging over 6 kt in 18-20 kt winds. There were no vessels in my way and the Rennell Reef was far enough to my W that I did not have to worry about drifting towards it. I was awaken at 23:00 because it didn’t feel right. The course was NE and the windvane was unable to correct. Thus had apparently been going on for 30m, shortly after a routine check at 22:30. I put the boat back on course and as soon as I climbed back into my berth, it happened again. I looked for a cause (last time it was a broken reefing line), but could not find anything obvious. The wind was blowing a bit harder than it had been, 23 kt. Apparently, I did not have enough weather helm on the windward control line and the leeward line was too tight. Once the control lines were adjusted, the windvane was able to handle the gusts. The windvane operated correctly the rest of the night. I woke up an hour before sunrise. The boat is averaging 7 kt in about 22 kt wind. The sea is big again and the cockpit a bit wet. I downloaded a new GRIB. PW has me going to almost 10S (just S of Guadalcanal Island) before jibing SW and weaving through the island SE of Papua/New Guinea. I don’t want to do that. I was to sail S of those islands, around 12S. It makes no sense to sail all the way to 10S, so I plan to cut between Rennell Reef and Zona. The problem is there is not a lot of room, I will need to jibe a couple of times because of the wind direction, and PW does not seem to recognize the reef is there. Navionics says it breaks the surface. So, I will need to plot my own course and use Navionics. My plan is to go to almost 12S, the southern end of Zona, about 6h away (35 nm, 13:00), then jibe toward Rennell. A few nm from the reef, I will jibe again towards Zona. Once I am clear of the reef (its northern tip is at 12 13’S), I will do one last jibe (close to 12S) and head E. I should be clear of the reef by midnight. My patience sailing N will begin paying dividends tomorrow when I should be sailing directly towards the waypoint under optimal conditions for the remainder of the passage. With about 1000 nm to go, I can expect to make 140-150 nm a day (1000/145=7 days). In my first five days I made 450 nm on (700 nm sailed) … but my second week I will make 1000 nm on. I should arrive next Friday. I intend to take my time getting through the reef, so I will probably arrive at Thursday Island next weekend. I removed about 7 oz of water from the Racor filter, what was separated when I filled the day tank a few days ago. Here are my waypoints to navigate between Rennell and Zona …
Z1: 11°52.635’S 161°3.327’E Z2: 12°4.291’S 160°3.800’E
If I can set a course from Z1 to Z2, it will only be necessary to jibe once (E). If I cannot make Z2, I will need to jibe again N for some distance before jibing E again. Z2 is effectively the safe point N of the reef. The last few hours to Z1 I had to help keep the steering on-track because there was not much room for error. There was a tendency to head up and drift E, which would make it impossible to make Z2 without an additional jibe. It is heavily overcast, hazy, and the sea is gray. It is 11:30, l am 8 nm from Z1 and there is a squall off the starboard bow, further reducing the visibility. I noticed Lani, who crossed paths with me the evening before last, is at 14.5S and is only doing 3.5 kt it light air. This is exactly the reason I’ve spent the last three days making my way N, to catch the strong SE wind I should have all week. It started to rain at 11:50. The squall will pass it front of me, close to Z1. The squall is obliterating the potential viewing of Zona, but it will pass long before I have sailed past the island. The island is about 50 nm long and runs WNW to SSE. I am now essentially in line with the length of the island, off its SE cape about 20 nm. I jibed at 12:50. I was far enough N that it was easy to set a course for Z2, which was 55 nm away. There is about a 5 nm difference between where PW places Zona and where Navionics does. I trust the latter much more. My course is going to put me within a couple of nm of Zona’s southern coast. When I am with 13 nm, I will turn Starlink on for a bit (as it will be the last chance for Internet for the next 8-10d. It is noteworthy that the course I am on right now is almost directly towards R1. While it is note all that easy to maintain this course, the wind is going to begin veering by tomorrow by 10-15 degrees, making it much easier. I prepared the last of the lamb curry and when I went to the cockpit to eat it started raining hard. I sat in the rain, eating and showering. It is 14:00 and I am about 20 nm from Zona, but cannot see a thing because of the weather. While eating a large flock of seabirds visited me, perhaps 30-40. You see a couple of seabirds at a time while in blue water, but the large gathering indicates land. At 14:15 the rain stopped and it was sunny. I still could not see the island because the storm was headed that way. At 14:50 the precipitation stopped and the haze cleared enough that I barely make out the island, about 15 nm away. It looks like in about 35 nm I will be clear if both the island and the reef (about 21:30). The distance sailed towards R1 in the last 24h was 1043-984=59 nm. The total distance sailed was 7627-7484=143 nm (143/24=6.0 kt avg.).
Comments: About 16:30, I rounded up, furled in the jib, and removed the whisker pole. By this time the wind was blowing 17-19 consistently, the the Yankee didn’t bump with the wave action. I picked up a kt of speed with the better-shaped foresail. Sunset was about 18:00. I am committed to rounding Zona. There is a huge pack of trawlers 30 nm to my W that I would have to deal with all night if I were to jibe now. Rounding Zona on Friday would mean I would have to deal with them or the multitudes of others further W. At 18:15 I went to the cockpit to watch the last light of the day and was surprised to see storm clouds ahead … it had been such a sunny day. I was feeling good about stowing the whisker pole because if there is anything worse than dealing with it at night it is dealing with it at night in a storm. I should have known than stronger winds usually brings some weather with it. At 20:20, the wind had backed to 110, about 5h early, and the boat’s course changed from more of a run to a broad reach, and in doing so picked up speed, now averaging over 6 kt in 18-20 kt winds. There were no vessels in my way and the Rennell Reef was far enough to my W that I did not have to worry about drifting towards it. I was awaken at 23:00 because it didn’t feel right. The course was NE and the windvane was unable to correct. Thus had apparently been going on for 30m, shortly after a routine check at 22:30. I put the boat back on course and as soon as I climbed back into my berth, it happened again. I looked for a cause (last time it was a broken reefing line), but could not find anything obvious. The wind was blowing a bit harder than it had been, 23 kt. Apparently, I did not have enough weather helm on the windward control line and the leeward line was too tight. Once the control lines were adjusted, the windvane was able to handle the gusts. The windvane operated correctly the rest of the night. I woke up an hour before sunrise. The boat is averaging 7 kt in about 22 kt wind. The sea is big again and the cockpit a bit wet. I downloaded a new GRIB. PW has me going to almost 10S (just S of Guadalcanal Island) before jibing SW and weaving through the island SE of Papua/New Guinea. I don’t want to do that. I was to sail S of those islands, around 12S. It makes no sense to sail all the way to 10S, so I plan to cut between Rennell Reef and Zona. The problem is there is not a lot of room, I will need to jibe a couple of times because of the wind direction, and PW does not seem to recognize the reef is there. Navionics says it breaks the surface. So, I will need to plot my own course and use Navionics. My plan is to go to almost 12S, the southern end of Zona, about 6h away (35 nm, 13:00), then jibe toward Rennell. A few nm from the reef, I will jibe again towards Zona. Once I am clear of the reef (its northern tip is at 12 13’S), I will do one last jibe (close to 12S) and head E. I should be clear of the reef by midnight. My patience sailing N will begin paying dividends tomorrow when I should be sailing directly towards the waypoint under optimal conditions for the remainder of the passage. With about 1000 nm to go, I can expect to make 140-150 nm a day (1000/145=7 days). In my first five days I made 450 nm on (700 nm sailed) … but my second week I will make 1000 nm on. I should arrive next Friday. I intend to take my time getting through the reef, so I will probably arrive at Thursday Island next weekend. I removed about 7 oz of water from the Racor filter, what was separated when I filled the day tank a few days ago. Here are my waypoints to navigate between Rennell and Zona …
Z1: 11°52.635’S 161°3.327’E Z2: 12°4.291’S 160°3.800’E
If I can set a course from Z1 to Z2, it will only be necessary to jibe once (E). If I cannot make Z2, I will need to jibe again N for some distance before jibing E again. Z2 is effectively the safe point N of the reef. The last few hours to Z1 I had to help keep the steering on-track because there was not much room for error. There was a tendency to head up and drift E, which would make it impossible to make Z2 without an additional jibe. It is heavily overcast, hazy, and the sea is gray. It is 11:30, l am 8 nm from Z1 and there is a squall off the starboard bow, further reducing the visibility. I noticed Lani, who crossed paths with me the evening before last, is at 14.5S and is only doing 3.5 kt it light air. This is exactly the reason I’ve spent the last three days making my way N, to catch the strong SE wind I should have all week. It started to rain at 11:50. The squall will pass it front of me, close to Z1. The squall is obliterating the potential viewing of Zona, but it will pass long before I have sailed past the island. The island is about 50 nm long and runs WNW to SSE. I am now essentially in line with the length of the island, off its SE cape about 20 nm. I jibed at 12:50. I was far enough N that it was easy to set a course for Z2, which was 55 nm away. There is about a 5 nm difference between where PW places Zona and where Navionics does. I trust the latter much more. My course is going to put me within a couple of nm of Zona’s southern coast. When I am with 13 nm, I will turn Starlink on for a bit (as it will be the last chance for Internet for the next 8-10d. It is noteworthy that the course I am on right now is almost directly towards R1. While it is note all that easy to maintain this course, the wind is going to begin veering by tomorrow by 10-15 degrees, making it much easier. I prepared the last of the lamb curry and when I went to the cockpit to eat it started raining hard. I sat in the rain, eating and showering. It is 14:00 and I am about 20 nm from Zona, but cannot see a thing because of the weather. While eating a large flock of seabirds visited me, perhaps 30-40. You see a couple of seabirds at a time while in blue water, but the large gathering indicates land. At 14:15 the rain stopped and it was sunny. I still could not see the island because the storm was headed that way. At 14:50 the precipitation stopped and the haze cleared enough that I barely make out the island, about 15 nm away. It looks like in about 35 nm I will be clear if both the island and the reef (about 21:30). The distance sailed towards R1 in the last 24h was 1043-984=59 nm. The total distance sailed was 7627-7484=143 nm (143/24=6.0 kt avg.).