Current Position: 12 07.858’S 122 36.707’E; Local Timezone: UTC+8 SOG: 5.0 kt; COG: 280; TWS: 9 kt; TWD: 160; Distance to Waypoint (Christmas Island, 273): 1000 nm; Total Miles Sailed: 10020 nm; Engine Hours: 240; Estimate Fuel: 51+12+50;
Comments: Low tide is 5:51 tomorrow and high tide will be at 11:55. There is no rush to leave because there will probably not be a lot of wind in the morning, so I will take my time to make a nice breakfast and make sure everything is secured and organized. I expect it to be a fairly rough passage, as roll warnings exist almost the whole way. It is 7:30. I have 10 kt of wind from 145, so I am going to release the boat from its mooring and begin the passage. Leaving the lagoon is going to be challenging because a large cruise ship arrived shortly after dawn and the channel is choked with RIBs. By the time I got to the mouth of the channel, ai found the ship was blocking my way, with a string of RIBs behind it all the way to the reef. I hailed the Captain and told them I would be waiting until the RIBs were retrieved to pass close to her stern. I had to wait about 30. I might have waited longer, but to ABF RIBs showed up and I had the feeling words were exchanged. Exactly at 9:00 I cleared the reef. 1023 nm to CI. I have 12 kt of wind, more than expected. The seas are calm, perhaps because there has not been much wind. I am doing 3.2 kt with a TWA of 142 and a double reef in the main. The course is directly at the waypoint (273). I can probably get more, but I am enjoying the peace. I am going to have a lot of wind and beam waves most of the way, so I’ll take a little of this now. I slipped in the cockpit getting ready and landed on the edge on my back. It is sore , but does not seem to be serious. I am going to baby it today. About 9:15 I hooked a bird (by accident). I heaved to stop the boat and tried to reel the bird in to release it, but the line broke at the hook. The bird flew off. It is 12:15 and I just shook out the second reef in single-digit winds. In doing so I have noticed one of the slugs is no longer attached to the sail. I don’t think it is critical, but I will definitely need to repair it at Christmas Island (and check the other slugs for wear). While the wind has remained single digit for most of the day, it has veered by early afternoon to 160, allowing a TWA of 100 and average boat speeds approaching 4 kt. There will be one time change during this passage, about 111E, when I move from UTC+8 to UTC+7. I was buzzed by ABF 55 at 14:15 and contacted by VHF a few minutes later with the usual questions. It is 14:30 and I am In an unusually strong 1.8 kt current coming from about 170. It is contributing to a boat speed of 4.5-5 kt in 8-9 kt wind. I have had a look at both short and long-range AIS and I do not see much traffic. There is far fewer cargo ships and tanker W of Ashmore. As expected, by 15:09 I started seeing 10-11 kt winds and boat speeds of 5-5.5 kt.
Comments: Low tide is 5:51 tomorrow and high tide will be at 11:55. There is no rush to leave because there will probably not be a lot of wind in the morning, so I will take my time to make a nice breakfast and make sure everything is secured and organized. I expect it to be a fairly rough passage, as roll warnings exist almost the whole way. It is 7:30. I have 10 kt of wind from 145, so I am going to release the boat from its mooring and begin the passage. Leaving the lagoon is going to be challenging because a large cruise ship arrived shortly after dawn and the channel is choked with RIBs. By the time I got to the mouth of the channel, ai found the ship was blocking my way, with a string of RIBs behind it all the way to the reef. I hailed the Captain and told them I would be waiting until the RIBs were retrieved to pass close to her stern. I had to wait about 30. I might have waited longer, but to ABF RIBs showed up and I had the feeling words were exchanged. Exactly at 9:00 I cleared the reef. 1023 nm to CI. I have 12 kt of wind, more than expected. The seas are calm, perhaps because there has not been much wind. I am doing 3.2 kt with a TWA of 142 and a double reef in the main. The course is directly at the waypoint (273). I can probably get more, but I am enjoying the peace. I am going to have a lot of wind and beam waves most of the way, so I’ll take a little of this now. I slipped in the cockpit getting ready and landed on the edge on my back. It is sore , but does not seem to be serious. I am going to baby it today. About 9:15 I hooked a bird (by accident). I heaved to stop the boat and tried to reel the bird in to release it, but the line broke at the hook. The bird flew off. It is 12:15 and I just shook out the second reef in single-digit winds. In doing so I have noticed one of the slugs is no longer attached to the sail. I don’t think it is critical, but I will definitely need to repair it at Christmas Island (and check the other slugs for wear). While the wind has remained single digit for most of the day, it has veered by early afternoon to 160, allowing a TWA of 100 and average boat speeds approaching 4 kt. There will be one time change during this passage, about 111E, when I move from UTC+8 to UTC+7. I was buzzed by ABF 55 at 14:15 and contacted by VHF a few minutes later with the usual questions. It is 14:30 and I am In an unusually strong 1.8 kt current coming from about 170. It is contributing to a boat speed of 4.5-5 kt in 8-9 kt wind. I have had a look at both short and long-range AIS and I do not see much traffic. There is far fewer cargo ships and tanker W of Ashmore. As expected, by 15:09 I started seeing 10-11 kt winds and boat speeds of 5-5.5 kt.