Current Position: 12 06.600’S 158 25.225’E; Local Timezone: UTC+21; SOG: 6.0 kt COG: 265; TWS: 21 kt; TWD: 122; Distance to Waypoint (R1, Raine Passage, 262): 842; Total Miles Sailed: 7777 nm; Engine Hours: 172 Estimate Fuel: 59+12+50
Comments: As I submitted my report yesterday at 15:00, yet another squall hit, bringing rain and an accidental jibe as the wind changed from 120 to 85. As I have not yet cleared Zona or the reef. I had to remain vigilant at the helm. I finally got a good view of Zona in between storms. It was visible about 20m before another huge squall it. I would say in all 15-20 squalls hit or came close to me in a 6h period. I ended up coming within about 2 nm of Zona and was some distance from the reef. I stayed awake until 23:00, when I was well-clear of both the island and the reef. What remained was 945 nm of open water. According to the forecast, the winds are going to be light (15) and from 115 (a run) tomorrow. Saturday and Sunday will be in the 20’s and 130 (broad reach), so I should make good time arriving at the islands SE of P/NG. Tuesday and Wednesday with be similar to tomorrow and Thursday and Friday like this weekend. I woke up at 24:30 and everything was going on … the alarm went off, the shower sump bilge pump was running, and the boat had accidentally jibed. I jiggled the switch on the pump and it turned off. Yet another bilge pump switch giving me trouble. The boat had jibed because the TWA is close to 160, which means it does not take much to push it another 20 degrees … a change in wind direction, a wave, etc. looks like it had been that way about 15m. When close to a run, there is not much heeling, so it is harder to feel when the boat had jibed. I tried to tighten the starboard control line to help it recover, but now I run the risk of the boat rounding up in a strong gust of wind. It is a delicate balance. The pump had used up some battery power, but I had also accidentally left the fridge on so the batteries were down to 87%, which is were they usually are at 6:00. They will be down to 80% by dawn, which will be hard to make up by solar alone. I woke up at 1:45 because the boat had rounded up. One of the control lines had loosened. I could see from the trace it had been a gradual thing, over a period of 30m, which is probably why it had not waken me up sooner. The boat jibed at 2:10. It had been hit by a wave … the cockpit was wet. I tried tightening the starboard control line. I was having trouble tuning the rig. I sat up for a while and observed the windvane recovering from gusts and waves. It seemed to be operating as it should. Perhaps the problems have been unlucky coincidences. It jibed again at 3:00. I tried adjusting the angle of the windvane to steer a bit further S (i.e., decrease the TWA). At 4:30 I checked the AIS and found the 46’ sailboat Rala 12 nm away on a course to cross paths with me. She was doing 8 kt downwind and I was going 6.5. I had been following the boat on long-range AIS as it was really the only vessel in my area. Models suggested we were going to pass me in about 90m, close to dawn. As dawn approached, the boat continued to drift S. The winds were now consistently 23-26 kt and the boat was overpowered. I reduced the Yankee by 25% and left one reef in the main and she became better behaved, pointing more consistently to 260 at about 6 kt. At 5:50 it is clear U am not going back to bed, so I made my tea. Rala hailed me about 6:00. I agreed to alter course and pass her stern, which 8 did about 6:45. They were on their way to P/NG to take on fuel before continuing to Malaysia. Strange that two sailboats could sail thousands of miles and come within a couple of hundred yards of one another. By this afternoon, and especially overnight, I should see significant improvement in both wind speed and direction. Between now and Monday morning I may cut the current distance to R1 of 880 nm in half. I certainly expect to be well-past the islands SW of P/NG (Tagula and Rossel Island). A cargo ship appeared on the AIS at 12:15, 27 nm to my S. I believe it was the Atlantic Brave and it appeared it would pass safely across my bow. I do not see any other traffic on the long-range AIS that would be a threat in the next 24h. I have been averaging close to 6 kt on a course of about 270 all morning. I have had some periods of good sunshine, but only enough to charge the batteries 91%. Even though I have had almost everything off, it seems unlikely the batteries will get fully charged without running the engine. Out of fresh food, I have been trailing a fishing line for about 2h, but no luck so far. The cargo ship passed 15 nm in front of me at 14:30. I need to clear the boat of all fresh food by the time I reach Australian waters. Tonight I am preparing something they call pumpkin in Vanuatu. It looks like a large acorn squash. Its flesh is surprisingly soft, not rock-hard like pumpkin. I put half of it in the pressure cooker for 8m and put butter, maple sugar and cinnamon on it. It looks like the expected winds are shoring up. The wind is consistently over 20 and has veered to 124. I am actually making some distance N rather loosing ground S as I have been since jibing. I am “storing up” that latitude for early next week when I see a repeat of the last few days. After paying my dues by sailing N for 3d, this is when I reap the rewards by sailing 140-150 nm/d on. I should make R1 in 6d, by Thursday night. The distance sailed towards R1 in the last 24h was 984-842=142 nm (compare to 59 yesterday). The total distance sailed was 7777-7627=150 nm (150/24=6.3 kt avg.).
Comments: As I submitted my report yesterday at 15:00, yet another squall hit, bringing rain and an accidental jibe as the wind changed from 120 to 85. As I have not yet cleared Zona or the reef. I had to remain vigilant at the helm. I finally got a good view of Zona in between storms. It was visible about 20m before another huge squall it. I would say in all 15-20 squalls hit or came close to me in a 6h period. I ended up coming within about 2 nm of Zona and was some distance from the reef. I stayed awake until 23:00, when I was well-clear of both the island and the reef. What remained was 945 nm of open water. According to the forecast, the winds are going to be light (15) and from 115 (a run) tomorrow. Saturday and Sunday will be in the 20’s and 130 (broad reach), so I should make good time arriving at the islands SE of P/NG. Tuesday and Wednesday with be similar to tomorrow and Thursday and Friday like this weekend. I woke up at 24:30 and everything was going on … the alarm went off, the shower sump bilge pump was running, and the boat had accidentally jibed. I jiggled the switch on the pump and it turned off. Yet another bilge pump switch giving me trouble. The boat had jibed because the TWA is close to 160, which means it does not take much to push it another 20 degrees … a change in wind direction, a wave, etc. looks like it had been that way about 15m. When close to a run, there is not much heeling, so it is harder to feel when the boat had jibed. I tried to tighten the starboard control line to help it recover, but now I run the risk of the boat rounding up in a strong gust of wind. It is a delicate balance. The pump had used up some battery power, but I had also accidentally left the fridge on so the batteries were down to 87%, which is were they usually are at 6:00. They will be down to 80% by dawn, which will be hard to make up by solar alone. I woke up at 1:45 because the boat had rounded up. One of the control lines had loosened. I could see from the trace it had been a gradual thing, over a period of 30m, which is probably why it had not waken me up sooner. The boat jibed at 2:10. It had been hit by a wave … the cockpit was wet. I tried tightening the starboard control line. I was having trouble tuning the rig. I sat up for a while and observed the windvane recovering from gusts and waves. It seemed to be operating as it should. Perhaps the problems have been unlucky coincidences. It jibed again at 3:00. I tried adjusting the angle of the windvane to steer a bit further S (i.e., decrease the TWA). At 4:30 I checked the AIS and found the 46’ sailboat Rala 12 nm away on a course to cross paths with me. She was doing 8 kt downwind and I was going 6.5. I had been following the boat on long-range AIS as it was really the only vessel in my area. Models suggested we were going to pass me in about 90m, close to dawn. As dawn approached, the boat continued to drift S. The winds were now consistently 23-26 kt and the boat was overpowered. I reduced the Yankee by 25% and left one reef in the main and she became better behaved, pointing more consistently to 260 at about 6 kt. At 5:50 it is clear U am not going back to bed, so I made my tea. Rala hailed me about 6:00. I agreed to alter course and pass her stern, which 8 did about 6:45. They were on their way to P/NG to take on fuel before continuing to Malaysia. Strange that two sailboats could sail thousands of miles and come within a couple of hundred yards of one another. By this afternoon, and especially overnight, I should see significant improvement in both wind speed and direction. Between now and Monday morning I may cut the current distance to R1 of 880 nm in half. I certainly expect to be well-past the islands SW of P/NG (Tagula and Rossel Island). A cargo ship appeared on the AIS at 12:15, 27 nm to my S. I believe it was the Atlantic Brave and it appeared it would pass safely across my bow. I do not see any other traffic on the long-range AIS that would be a threat in the next 24h. I have been averaging close to 6 kt on a course of about 270 all morning. I have had some periods of good sunshine, but only enough to charge the batteries 91%. Even though I have had almost everything off, it seems unlikely the batteries will get fully charged without running the engine. Out of fresh food, I have been trailing a fishing line for about 2h, but no luck so far. The cargo ship passed 15 nm in front of me at 14:30. I need to clear the boat of all fresh food by the time I reach Australian waters. Tonight I am preparing something they call pumpkin in Vanuatu. It looks like a large acorn squash. Its flesh is surprisingly soft, not rock-hard like pumpkin. I put half of it in the pressure cooker for 8m and put butter, maple sugar and cinnamon on it. It looks like the expected winds are shoring up. The wind is consistently over 20 and has veered to 124. I am actually making some distance N rather loosing ground S as I have been since jibing. I am “storing up” that latitude for early next week when I see a repeat of the last few days. After paying my dues by sailing N for 3d, this is when I reap the rewards by sailing 140-150 nm/d on. I should make R1 in 6d, by Thursday night. The distance sailed towards R1 in the last 24h was 984-842=142 nm (compare to 59 yesterday). The total distance sailed was 7777-7627=150 nm (150/24=6.3 kt avg.).