Current Position: 16 01.077’S 80 41.761’E; Local Timezone: UTC+6.5; SOG: 6.7 kt; COG: 285; TWS: 23 kt; TWD: 150; Distance to Waypoint (Rodrigues, 264): 1007 nm; Total Miles Sailed: 12605 nm; Engine Hours: 256; Estimate Fuel: 56+11+50;
Comments: Sunset is at 17:58 at the Cocos (97e) so at my current location (83e) it should be about 56m later, 18:54. A cargo ship showed up on AIS at 16:15 and will pass 10 nm S of me in 1:15. It is 17:30 and the wind has unexpectedly veered to 142, allowing to make distance N in a broad reach. The actual sunset was 18:55, corresponding to my position of 82 42’e. It is the first sunset I have seen in weeks. The nighttime was uneventful. There were no weather incidents, no commercial traffic, and the windvane did its job. I got 8h sleep and woke at 4:30. The new GRIB shows no significant changes in the forecast since yesterday. I expect strong winds and big seas for the next three days. It does not look like I will see any commercial traffic today. Sunrise is at 5:47 at the Cocos (97e) so at my current location (81.5e) it should be about 62m later, 6:49. I need to cook today, I have one piece of shark left, but it is over a week old now, so may give it a miss. I need to cook for a potentially rough couple of days. I am going to “float test” the eggs (I have had them in the fridge since Darwin) and if they are good will make egg/ham/cheese burritos out of them. I fell back asleep and missed the sunrise. By 9:00 the wind was blowing steady at 22 kt from 150 and my course was due E. I am averaging 6.5 kt. I believe I will have three days of very strong wind and will likely make 150 nm/day on. The winds should start gusting to 30 by late evening, so I will reduce the Yankee a bit at dusk. Eggs looked good … they passed the did-not-float test. Remarkable in that they are nearly two months old, but kept in the fridge the whole time (because they were refrigerated in the store). I used the last of the eggs, ham, and cheese to try to make breakfast burritos. Unfortunately, two of the eggs had fungus inside and contaminated the rest. The ham was also suspect, so I threw it all away. The cheese was spoiled on the outside but fine when trimmed, so I made five bean burritos using canned refried beans, canned salsa, a fresh onion, and the cheese. I ate one for lunch and saved the other four for these next 2-3 rough days. It is noon and unfortunately the clouds have moved back in. There is even so threat of rain. This is perhaps not surprising as a prelude to the expected increase in wind. I continue to creep northward. This is good for two reasons. First, the stronger winds are expected to last longer northward. Second, the wind is expected to move easterly, driving me S later in the week. Moving S is always easy, but moving N if I have been driven too far S often requires making an unproductive tack to the N. Sipi and Thindra are now 130 nm S of me and practically at the latitude of Rodrigues, their destination. While that has improved their speed, they may regret moving that far S. The distance sailed towards Rodrigues in the last 24h was 1145-1007=138 nm. The total distance sailed was 12605-12458=147 nm (147/24=6.13 kt avg.).
Comments: Sunset is at 17:58 at the Cocos (97e) so at my current location (83e) it should be about 56m later, 18:54. A cargo ship showed up on AIS at 16:15 and will pass 10 nm S of me in 1:15. It is 17:30 and the wind has unexpectedly veered to 142, allowing to make distance N in a broad reach. The actual sunset was 18:55, corresponding to my position of 82 42’e. It is the first sunset I have seen in weeks. The nighttime was uneventful. There were no weather incidents, no commercial traffic, and the windvane did its job. I got 8h sleep and woke at 4:30. The new GRIB shows no significant changes in the forecast since yesterday. I expect strong winds and big seas for the next three days. It does not look like I will see any commercial traffic today. Sunrise is at 5:47 at the Cocos (97e) so at my current location (81.5e) it should be about 62m later, 6:49. I need to cook today, I have one piece of shark left, but it is over a week old now, so may give it a miss. I need to cook for a potentially rough couple of days. I am going to “float test” the eggs (I have had them in the fridge since Darwin) and if they are good will make egg/ham/cheese burritos out of them. I fell back asleep and missed the sunrise. By 9:00 the wind was blowing steady at 22 kt from 150 and my course was due E. I am averaging 6.5 kt. I believe I will have three days of very strong wind and will likely make 150 nm/day on. The winds should start gusting to 30 by late evening, so I will reduce the Yankee a bit at dusk. Eggs looked good … they passed the did-not-float test. Remarkable in that they are nearly two months old, but kept in the fridge the whole time (because they were refrigerated in the store). I used the last of the eggs, ham, and cheese to try to make breakfast burritos. Unfortunately, two of the eggs had fungus inside and contaminated the rest. The ham was also suspect, so I threw it all away. The cheese was spoiled on the outside but fine when trimmed, so I made five bean burritos using canned refried beans, canned salsa, a fresh onion, and the cheese. I ate one for lunch and saved the other four for these next 2-3 rough days. It is noon and unfortunately the clouds have moved back in. There is even so threat of rain. This is perhaps not surprising as a prelude to the expected increase in wind. I continue to creep northward. This is good for two reasons. First, the stronger winds are expected to last longer northward. Second, the wind is expected to move easterly, driving me S later in the week. Moving S is always easy, but moving N if I have been driven too far S often requires making an unproductive tack to the N. Sipi and Thindra are now 130 nm S of me and practically at the latitude of Rodrigues, their destination. While that has improved their speed, they may regret moving that far S. The distance sailed towards Rodrigues in the last 24h was 1145-1007=138 nm. The total distance sailed was 12605-12458=147 nm (147/24=6.13 kt avg.).