Current Position: 10 40.071’S 114 25.065’E; Local Timezone: UTC+8 SOG: 5.8 kt; COG: 280; TWS: 17 kt; TWD: 148; Distance to Waypoint (Christmas Island, 270): 515 nm; Total Miles Sailed: 10525 nm; Engine Hours: 242; Estimate Fuel: 51+11+50;
Comments: I was wrong about not likely finding trawlers in the shipping lane. One popped up 3.5 nm in front of me at 16:00. I changed my course to pass 0.5 nm S of the trawler. At 18:00, sunset, I am entering the shipping channel. I will pass about 4.5 nm in front of the first ship heading N in about an hour. About the same time a second ship heading S will pass 10 nm in front of me. As predicted, the winds are back and it is blowing 22 kt, pushing through the lane quickly I am lucky. The long-range AIS suggests there is only one other cargo ship tonight that may be an issue. However, some of the ships leave the channel and go in various directions, so we’ll see. By 23:30 I appeared to have crossed the main channel and had no vessels on the AIS. I saw no lights from the cockpit. For the first time in quite a while, I had a current working against me, slowing the boat down to less than 5 kt in 18 kt wind. At 3:00 I had to avoid a fishing boat. I did not see the lights of any other trawlers in the area.I download a new GRIB and long-range AIS and it seemed that there were no cargo ships in the area. Sunrise should be about 6:30. It is cloudy this morning and I see a rain shower off the starboard quarter. The depth gauge says it is 130’, but I believe it is just a thermocline as it should be over 10,000’ deep here. When I went to heat water for my morning tea, I discovered there was no power at the gas-leak detector/solenoid controller. I crawled into the engine room to get to the fuses on the controller (not my favorite thing to do in a rolling boat) and pulled the two blade fuses. One is for the entire unit and the other is for the solenoid. Both had conductivity. I plugged them back in and I had power to the unit. This is not the first time this has happened. There must be a loose wire somewhere, but I have never been able to find it. The sea is big today and the cockpit not particularly comfortable, but at least it is dry. The wind is 16-19 this morning from 130, putting me in a broad reach. I am almost halfway. Going forward it is going to be increasingly difficult to maintain a course towards the waypoint, which is why I have been pleased to make way N the past few days. The wind is supposed to pick up tonight beginning early evening, with sustained winds of 20 and gusts to 25. The current sail configuration of the full Yankee and double-reefed main should be fine, especially in a broad reach. I am 115E and the western edge of Australia is 113E, so I should be beyond Australia by tomorrow morning and into a new time zone, UTC+7, the same as Christmas Island. I am about 100 nm S of Java and will essentially be following that coastline the rest of the way to Christmas Island. It is 8:00 and even though I am in a broad reach, the swell is still squarely on the beam, making for a very uncomfortable ride. Further, the swell is 10-12’, causing the jib to be shadowed as the boat rolls, dumping the air and causing slatting. There is not much I can do about it. Hopefully the direction of the waves will catch up to the direction of the wind soon, giving me some following seas. I finished off the food ai had prepared for the passage yesterday. So I either have to drop a line on move to canned food. I’ll wait to see if the sea settles down before fishing. It is 9:00, it is now partly cloudy, and the solar panels are producing for a change. My back is still not 100%, but it is getting better every day. It is not the spine, but well to the side, a muscle that has been bruised. I really surprised I have not been more banged up considering how violently the boat is moving around sometimes. My rock climbing skills have been put to good use. Just before noon, I went to the cockpit and observed a fishing boat 0.25 nm away off my port bow. I went below and turned in the RADAR. By the time I got back to the helm the fishing boat was upon me and I had to take emergency measures to steer my boat around it stern. It was under power, no evidence of anyone on watch, it did not have AIS, and it had absolutely zero RADAR signature. It appeared to be made of wood and more like a junke than a trawler. I recognized the shape of superstructure from what I have been passing at night. It is clear that I am going to have to make periodic observations with my binoculars until I am out of these waters. I am setting alarms at 1h intervals. Another fishing boat on a course to meet me showed up in the AIS about 15:30. It looks like we are about 2h from crossing. The distance sailed towards Christmas Island in the last 24h was 634-515=119 nm. The total distance sailed was 10525-10405=120 nm (120/24=5 kt avg.). I am at the halfway point to Christmas Island.
Comments: I was wrong about not likely finding trawlers in the shipping lane. One popped up 3.5 nm in front of me at 16:00. I changed my course to pass 0.5 nm S of the trawler. At 18:00, sunset, I am entering the shipping channel. I will pass about 4.5 nm in front of the first ship heading N in about an hour. About the same time a second ship heading S will pass 10 nm in front of me. As predicted, the winds are back and it is blowing 22 kt, pushing through the lane quickly I am lucky. The long-range AIS suggests there is only one other cargo ship tonight that may be an issue. However, some of the ships leave the channel and go in various directions, so we’ll see. By 23:30 I appeared to have crossed the main channel and had no vessels on the AIS. I saw no lights from the cockpit. For the first time in quite a while, I had a current working against me, slowing the boat down to less than 5 kt in 18 kt wind. At 3:00 I had to avoid a fishing boat. I did not see the lights of any other trawlers in the area.I download a new GRIB and long-range AIS and it seemed that there were no cargo ships in the area. Sunrise should be about 6:30. It is cloudy this morning and I see a rain shower off the starboard quarter. The depth gauge says it is 130’, but I believe it is just a thermocline as it should be over 10,000’ deep here. When I went to heat water for my morning tea, I discovered there was no power at the gas-leak detector/solenoid controller. I crawled into the engine room to get to the fuses on the controller (not my favorite thing to do in a rolling boat) and pulled the two blade fuses. One is for the entire unit and the other is for the solenoid. Both had conductivity. I plugged them back in and I had power to the unit. This is not the first time this has happened. There must be a loose wire somewhere, but I have never been able to find it. The sea is big today and the cockpit not particularly comfortable, but at least it is dry. The wind is 16-19 this morning from 130, putting me in a broad reach. I am almost halfway. Going forward it is going to be increasingly difficult to maintain a course towards the waypoint, which is why I have been pleased to make way N the past few days. The wind is supposed to pick up tonight beginning early evening, with sustained winds of 20 and gusts to 25. The current sail configuration of the full Yankee and double-reefed main should be fine, especially in a broad reach. I am 115E and the western edge of Australia is 113E, so I should be beyond Australia by tomorrow morning and into a new time zone, UTC+7, the same as Christmas Island. I am about 100 nm S of Java and will essentially be following that coastline the rest of the way to Christmas Island. It is 8:00 and even though I am in a broad reach, the swell is still squarely on the beam, making for a very uncomfortable ride. Further, the swell is 10-12’, causing the jib to be shadowed as the boat rolls, dumping the air and causing slatting. There is not much I can do about it. Hopefully the direction of the waves will catch up to the direction of the wind soon, giving me some following seas. I finished off the food ai had prepared for the passage yesterday. So I either have to drop a line on move to canned food. I’ll wait to see if the sea settles down before fishing. It is 9:00, it is now partly cloudy, and the solar panels are producing for a change. My back is still not 100%, but it is getting better every day. It is not the spine, but well to the side, a muscle that has been bruised. I really surprised I have not been more banged up considering how violently the boat is moving around sometimes. My rock climbing skills have been put to good use. Just before noon, I went to the cockpit and observed a fishing boat 0.25 nm away off my port bow. I went below and turned in the RADAR. By the time I got back to the helm the fishing boat was upon me and I had to take emergency measures to steer my boat around it stern. It was under power, no evidence of anyone on watch, it did not have AIS, and it had absolutely zero RADAR signature. It appeared to be made of wood and more like a junke than a trawler. I recognized the shape of superstructure from what I have been passing at night. It is clear that I am going to have to make periodic observations with my binoculars until I am out of these waters. I am setting alarms at 1h intervals. Another fishing boat on a course to meet me showed up in the AIS about 15:30. It looks like we are about 2h from crossing. The distance sailed towards Christmas Island in the last 24h was 634-515=119 nm. The total distance sailed was 10525-10405=120 nm (120/24=5 kt avg.). I am at the halfway point to Christmas Island.