Current Position: 17 30.690’S 70 Z58.733’E; Local Timezone: UTC+6.5; SOG: 5.5 kt; COG: 263; TWS: 17 kt; TWD: 123; Distance to Waypoint (Rodrigues, 265): 448 nm; Total Miles Sailed: 13202 nm; Engine Hours: 261; Estimate Fuel: 56+9+50;
Comments: Sunset is at 17:58 at the Cocos (97e) so at my current location (73e) it should be about 96m later, 19:34. Sunset was in a cloud bank. I went to sleep about 20:30 and was interrupted in about 2h intervals until I got up about 7:00. With nearly ideal sailing conditions, no weather, no commercial traffic, and in the middle of the Indian Ocean 500 nm from the nearest obstacle, I had little to worry about. The wind had slowly veered from 125 to 140 overnight to drive me due E in about 20 kt wind all night. I am 485 nm from Rodrigues, more than three-quarters of the way through the passage. The skies and partly cloudy with no chance of rain for a change. Sunrise is at 5:44 at the Cocos (97e) so at my current location (72e) it should be about 100m later, 7:24. I downloaded a new GRIB at 7:15. It looks to me like I have another 5d of passage including 1.5-2d of very light/single-digit wind. I have already decided not to use the damaged asymm and instead enjoy a day of mellow conditions to do some fishing and relax before the wind picks up again as I approach Rodrigues. As I have managed to sail well N of the rhumb line, the current forecast has me dipping far further S than previously. This will likely be the last of 24h that I do not have to worry about commercial traffic. There is a long string of cargo ships, tankers, and trawlers crossing my path about 200 nm W. It looked like sunrise was about 7:25. I cleaned 20 fish/squid off the deck and checked the rigging. All the fish and the trawlers W of me suggest these may be good fishing grounds. I dropped a line in the water. I ate my last carrot. It had been stored in the fridge in plastic wrap since Christmas Island for a month and was still quite crispy. About midday the wind started backing, as expected, forcing me to adopt a course closer to the rhumb line. The sky became cloudless and for the first time in a week the batteries were charged by the solar system alone. There was even plenty of energy to run the watermaker. The distance sailed towards Rodrigues in the last 24h was 582-448=134 nm. The total distance sailed was 13202-13060=142 nm (142/24=5.92 kt avg.).
Comments: Sunset is at 17:58 at the Cocos (97e) so at my current location (73e) it should be about 96m later, 19:34. Sunset was in a cloud bank. I went to sleep about 20:30 and was interrupted in about 2h intervals until I got up about 7:00. With nearly ideal sailing conditions, no weather, no commercial traffic, and in the middle of the Indian Ocean 500 nm from the nearest obstacle, I had little to worry about. The wind had slowly veered from 125 to 140 overnight to drive me due E in about 20 kt wind all night. I am 485 nm from Rodrigues, more than three-quarters of the way through the passage. The skies and partly cloudy with no chance of rain for a change. Sunrise is at 5:44 at the Cocos (97e) so at my current location (72e) it should be about 100m later, 7:24. I downloaded a new GRIB at 7:15. It looks to me like I have another 5d of passage including 1.5-2d of very light/single-digit wind. I have already decided not to use the damaged asymm and instead enjoy a day of mellow conditions to do some fishing and relax before the wind picks up again as I approach Rodrigues. As I have managed to sail well N of the rhumb line, the current forecast has me dipping far further S than previously. This will likely be the last of 24h that I do not have to worry about commercial traffic. There is a long string of cargo ships, tankers, and trawlers crossing my path about 200 nm W. It looked like sunrise was about 7:25. I cleaned 20 fish/squid off the deck and checked the rigging. All the fish and the trawlers W of me suggest these may be good fishing grounds. I dropped a line in the water. I ate my last carrot. It had been stored in the fridge in plastic wrap since Christmas Island for a month and was still quite crispy. About midday the wind started backing, as expected, forcing me to adopt a course closer to the rhumb line. The sky became cloudless and for the first time in a week the batteries were charged by the solar system alone. There was even plenty of energy to run the watermaker. The distance sailed towards Rodrigues in the last 24h was 582-448=134 nm. The total distance sailed was 13202-13060=142 nm (142/24=5.92 kt avg.).