Month: December 2025

Current Position: 20 51.230’S 1 29.548’E; Timezone: UTC+0; SOG: 4.6 kt; COG: 312; TWS: 14; TWD: 168; Current Speed (includes effect of surfing): 1.5 kt; Current Direction: 310; Distance to Waypoint (St. Helena, 318): 499 nm; Distance to Endpoint (Bridgetown): 4150 nm; Total Miles Sailed: 18188 nm; Engine Hours: 412; Estimate Fuel: 60+10+50;
Comments: Sunset should be at 18:32 at 3.5E. The actual sunset was hidden by a cloud bank. The wind was 16 with gusts of 20. It arrived earlier than expected. I was glad I had swapped the asymm for the jib. It would have been a long night dodging cargo ships and trying to keep the boat upright if the kite was still up and I was headed N. I went to sleep at 20:00. Since there seemed to be little chance of encountering a commercial vessel, I set alarm intervals of 2h. No vessels were encountered overnight. The wind was as predicted, driving the boat with a SOG of almost 5 kt. I woke a little after 4:00 with 550 nm to St. Helena. I downloaded GRIB data and explored routes to Barbados. Stopping by St. Helena is 36.5d, stopping by Ascension is 37d, and heading directly to Barbados is 36.25 days. There is not that much difference. It is basically a question of how long I sail W, when I tack NW, and whether I need to go further W after reaching one of the islands. Since it only cost a few hours to go to St. Helena, I will take that route. If I push hard, I may make it during daylight hours on Monday. The route to St. Helena involves beating up the rhumb line, so it is a good thing I am flying the jib. It is 6:00, partly cloudy, and I have 15 kt wind giving a SOG of 5.1 on a broad reach. The route has me on a port tack for 24h. The TWD should favor a starboard tack tomorrow. I saw a couple more flying fish this morning and one on the deck. I shook the second reef out of the main at 9:00, after the morning breeze, and picked up a couple tenths of a kt, averaging almost 5 in 13 kt wind. The additional main created weather helm that made it necessary to trim the sails and make a correction with the windvane. It is almost a tossup to fly more main when sailing downwind with the Yankee. In the end I discovered what I always discover … it’s just not worth running one reef when I am just using the Yankee downwind. Any advantage of the additional sail are is negated by slatting of the jib when the boat rolls. I put the second reef back in the main and spent 30m trimming the sails and adjusting the windvane to get back to where I started. The mainsail is hauled in much more than you would expect for a broad reach so as to expose as much of the Yankee as possible. In other words, the Yankee is doing all the work. I am certain this is because I cannot get a good shape of the main because of the stack pack. When I get back I am going to redesign it so I can drop it when not in use. This will make it necessary to design the lazy jacks so they are independent of the stack pack. I am also going to design it so the reefing points in the middle of the sail can be secured (to give the sail a better shape). I am breaking into the shelf-stable provisions today. I am having Kitchaei Curry with Noodles, Naan, and Raw Carrot. The last two items are “on sale” and need to be used up. I have also been working on my bottle of “Christmas” wine the past three days, so will need to finish it tonight unless I want vinegar. It is a sunny day and I have plenty of energy, so I made water to use for a bath and do a little laundry. The distance sailed towards St. Helena in the last 24h was 606-498=108 nm. The total distance sailed was 18188-18021=167 nm (155/24=6.4 kt avg).

Current Position: 21 11.827’S 3 29.982’E; Timezone: UTC+0; SOG: 4.6 kt; COG: 304; TWS: 13; TWD: 175; Current Speed (includes effect of surfing): 1.5 kt; Current Direction: 310; Distance to Waypoint (St. Helena, 312): 606 nm; Distance to Endpoint (Bridgetown): 4270 nm; Total Miles Sailed: 18021 nm; Engine Hours: 412; Estimate Fuel: 60+10+50;
Comments: Sunset should be at 18:30 at 4.5E. The sunset was actually at 18:29. It is blowing 11 from 170, driving me somewhat E, but since it would take me a hour to furl the asymm, tack, reorganize the running rigging, unfurl the asymm, and reset the windvane, it is just not worth it. At the point I am going to enter the shipping channel in 2-4d, I may tack. I am in a very deep broad reach, so I am not making the speed I could is the AWA was more obtuse. I brought the fishing line in for the night without any strikes today. I may try a different lure tomorrow. I went to sleep at 19:00. Since the OTH AIS shows no commercial traffic that will likely cross my path tonight, I set alarm intervals of 2h. It is 2:00, the wind is blowing 13, the SOG is 5.4, and I have begun heading more easterly (340). At 3:30 the boat heeled over severely. Everything went flying in the cabin. An (obviously unexpected) 20 kt gust had overwhelmed the windvane and caused the boat to round up. Once the course was corrected, I put boat in a near run. The boat was doing 7 kt in 18 kt wind on a course of 320. At 3:45 I got hit with a 22kt gust followed by 19 kt wind. The windvane struggled but kept the course. By 4:00 the wind had settled at 15 and the boat was riding comfortably. The previous GRIB said gusts of 17 between 2-3:00, then working down to single digits by dawn. The GRIB was 18h old do I updated it. The new forecast is for 12 kt winds and 15 kt gusts all day and some 19 kt gusts tonight. The wind will veer during the day from 125 to 145. This seems to be a pattern. It looks like I will reach the shipping channel by tomorrow evening (New Year’s Eve) and it will be a good time to tack. I will run some weather simulations in the morning to decide whether it is best to redeploy the asymm on the starboard or run the jib for a while. On the OTH AIS I see 2-3 ships on my stern that may come into range later this evening and 1 on my bow that may show up in the early morning hours. Once it is light, I am going to secure everything in the cabin. I also need to go on deck to make sure there was no damage when I heeled over. Sunrise should be at 5:01 (4.0E). Sunrise was in fact at 5:03. The sky is mostly cloudy and there are significant wind-driven waves. The swell still seems light. Despite heading misty N in the last 13h, I still made 36 nm on to St. Helena (and probably twice that over ground). Because I am going to see gusts of 18-20 much of the night, the AWA will be >135, and I need to furl the asymm if I am going to tack tomorrow evening, I may furl the asymm before dark and run the jib overnight. It will be easier to tack back and forth with the jib overnight if the wing direction dictates. I could drop the asymm to the deck and lash it to redeploy on Thursday (New Years). While I had my tea and yogurt in the cockpit, I watched the instruments to learn how the asymm behaves in strong wind. It does just fine in gusts up to 20 kt provided the boat is in a deep broad reach. Without an obtuse AWA, the boat heels over severely. The windvane maintains a deep broad reach so long as the wind is blowing 15 kt or so. The sail collapses in lighter wind with an AWA>160 or so. At 10:00 I downloaded the latest GRIB. I also explored possible routes forward. I have decided there are no single-digit winds predicted in the next week. Further, several periods of 20 kt winds are predicted and the wind will continue to veer in the day and back at night. Since it is inconvenient to tack with the asymm, ai have decided to drop it and fly the jib. Since the winds are picking up this afternoon, I will make the changeover before noon. This will allow me to tack to the starboard and take advantage of the wind direction to make my way towards St. Helena. At 10:30 I started switching sails. I struggled again to furl the asymm. It seems to need just the right amount of tension on the torsion cable, the right amount of tension on the sheet, and some but not too much luff. In other words, it is a two person job and I will struggle every time I deploy or retrieve it. I tacked to port right away. I lost perhaps 0.5 kt speed, but was headed NW instead NNE, so I was making more progress on. I will tack back to starboard tonight when the wind backs. I like the idea of not having the asymm up tonight when I get 20 kt gusts and really like th idea that I am getting some separation from the shipping channel. I am doing about 4.5 kt in 12 kt of wind. It will pick up tonight. The waypoint bearing is 311. This means the break even point is 311-180=131. If the wind is >131 I should be on a port tack and if <131, I should be on a starboard tack. Right now, the TWD is 160, so I am on a port tack. Note, this calculation is for magnetic (not true) compass headings. I ate my leftovers from yesterday at noon. That is pretty much the end of the fresh food. I will make one of my shelf-stable meals tomorrow, probably something to go with the naan I still need to eat. At 13:20 I saw a flying fish. It is the first one I’ve seen in the South Atlantic. I saw millions of the in the South Pacific. Perhaps it has something to do with the water temperature, which I assume is going up as I get away from the Benguela Current (which comes from southern waters) and I head for more northern latitudes. It is 15:00 and as expected the wind has increased (14) and begun to veer (170). At 15:30 the ship I was expecting from the bow passed 3 nm to my starboard. If the three to my bow, because I tacked, only one will come anywhere near me, and it should be quite a ways off my starboard when it passes. The distance sailed towards St. Helena in the last 24h was 693-606=87 nm. The total distance sailed was 18021-17866=155 nm (155/24=6.4 kt avg).

Current Position: 22 38.565’S 4 23.847’E; Timezone: UTC+0; SOG: 3.8 kt; COG: 020; TWS: 9; TWD: 164; Current Speed (includes effect of surfing): 0.8 kt; Current Direction: 320; Distance to Waypoint (St. Helena, 317): 693 nm; Distance to Endpoint (Bridgetown): 4345 nm; Total Miles Sailed: 17866 nm; Engine Hours: 410; Estimate Fuel: 60+11+50;
Comments: Sunset should be at 18:28 at 5.0E. The sunset was actually at 18:28 and it was glorious, mirrored on the water, which was as still as a lake. I downloaded the latest GRIB. I will have very little wind tonight, but may have enough in the morning to launch the kite. I went to sleep at 19:00. I have been maintaining a straight course with SOG 1.1 kt in about 3 kt wind for several hours. I am still more than 100 nm from the shipping channels. I see only one ship on the OTH AIS that could come close, and it is perhaps 50 nm away, so I set an alarm for 2h to see if it came within range of the AIS. I should see 7-8 kt wind tomorrow from 107-116 during the day with 10-11 kt gusts. Starting midnight tomorrow and for 48h I should see double digit winds I may be b calmed again on New Year’s Day, but for a much shorter period of time. My guess is I will reach BARB2 about the 4th. As I travel W/NW, I should have double digit winds to Brazil. It should take about a week from BARB2 to Ascension and another week and a half to the coast. The ship passed 20 nm N an 21:30. At 2:00 there was 8-9 kt wind from 120 and the SOG was 2.5. I can expect this wind and gust to 10 until dusk tonight, when I should pick up a few kt. I have only made 7 nm in the last 8h, but at least it was in a straight line. At dawn, I will raise the asymm and expect to make 4 kt or so. I woke at 4:45 and it was blowing 6-8 from 135-150. Sunrise was at 4:58 (4.75E). It was the first one I have been able to see in more than a week. I downloaded the latest GRIB. The wind is basically from the SE, which means basically I can sail due N or W. Which depends on two factors. Winds less than 135 favor N and greater than 135 favor W. The winds the next week range from 110 to 155 with no clear pattern to take advantage of. The other factor is wind speed. It looks like there may be a high developing on Thursday the 1st to Friday the 2nd. To avoid being becalmed in the future, it will pay to make it up to 11-12S (BARB2) as planned. There is another intangible, that is the shipping channels. If I continue N I will have to cross them twice. I ran PW models both N and W and the latter are clearly favored both in terms of wind speed and direction. In fact, I may have too much wind for the asymm by next weekend if I head W. I am going to have my morning tea, wait for the “sunrise wind” to settle down. The wind direction will favor N for the next 36h. Since the asymm is already set up for a starboard tack, I will head N (and as much W as possible). That should putt me in the edge of the shipping channel. I’ll tack to port then and head W. This will put me 3 degrees further N from the low that is developing SW of me (avoiding the high winds that would require U take the asymm down) and S of the high and light winds that are developing NE of me. I would also avoid most of the commercial traffic. At 7:00 I deployed the asymm. I had the usual difficulty. I studied the problem and I believe it has some thing to do with the lower swivel not turning freely. The sail is furled from the top down, so it should be unfurled from the bottom up. Next time, I will try three things … 1) furling the sail when it is not under any load so it does not wind too tight, 2) unfurling it when it is not under much load so the swivel has time to keep up, and 3) lubricate the bearing with water before unfurling. I made a good choice (so far) in heading N. I am doing about 4.3 kt in 9 kt wind (the best I ever do is half the wind speed) on a course of 340 (almost towards St. Helena [700 nm] and Ascension [1400 nm] … because the wind is 120, less than 135) I am actually on a course parallel to the shipping channel. It feels really good to be moving again. I put the fishing line out in the hopes of hooking something that is not as monstrous. I ate the last banana with my yogurt this morning. It is interesting that everything revolves around the weather, food, and stuff that is broken. Life is actually pretty simple out here. It is 8:00 and sailing conditions are near perfect … 10 kt of wind and a smooth sea. I just switched over from the TillerPilot to the windvane. There is enough wind now to use it reliably. Also, I expect the wind to veer later and the wind vane with adjust the course automatically. Most importantly, no more gear grinding noise. I am at the latitude of BARB1 (23S), but 260 nm W. This means I am pretty much on the expected pace to St. Helena, despite being becalmed. It is 9:00 and I see on the OTH AIS that the sailboat Tequila is about 30 nm N of me, on a similar course, and doing 5 kt. My recollection is the boat was a couple of days ahead of me when I left Saldanha. It appears they are headed for St. Helena. Today is a Christmas/New Year meal. I am fixing the smoked salmon, green beans, new potatoes, and opening a bottle of white wine. I believe there will be enough for two meals. I prepared the meal at 14:00. It felt festive. There is enough food and wine for tomorrow. This clears out all the fresh vegetables except a few carrots (which I will eat raw) and some onions (which I intend to use to make soup at some point). Except for citrus and apples, the only fresh fruit left is two pears (which I will eat in the next two days) and a tub of blueberries (which will be gone by the weekend). I have the ham that I will fix at some point and I have some lunch meat. I have a loaf of bread that I have tried to keep frozen (we’ll see) and some naan. As expected, the wind has veered to 160, driving me due N. However, it is supposed to back this evening. I believe at the end of the day, I am going to be able to drive W enough to miss the shipping channels. And if not, I can always tack. It is 15:00 and it feels hot. I have moved 12 degrees N from Cape Town. Some double-digit gusts from 160 arrived at 16:00. The total distance sailed was 17866-17835=31 (31/24=1.3 kt avg).

Current Position: 23 27.766’S 4 62.573’E; Timezone: UTC+0; SOG: 1.0 kt; COG: 006; TWS: 3; TWD: 125; Current Speed (includes effect of surfing): 0.9 kt; Current Direction: 358; Distance to Waypoint (BARB2, 004): 696 nm; Distance to Endpoint (Bridgetown): 4398 nm; Total Miles Sailed: 17761 nm; Engine Hours: 410; Estimate Fuel: 60+11+50;
Comments: Sunset should be at 18:26 at 5.33E. The sunset was actually at 18:26. I went to sleep at 19:20. Over the horizon AIS suggested no threats tonight, so I set the alarm interval for 2h. That will not be the case beginning tomorrow as I start to cross the shipping channels. The one potential issue is I do not know how the asymm and the windvane will handle the 4 kt wind predicted in the early morning hours. At 23:00 I was awaken because the boat had changed speed. The wind was unexpectedly 12-13 kt and the boat was doing 5.5-6 kt. When I went outside I noticed the “anchor light” was actually strobing. It has that feature, but I wired it so it only stobes if I switch some wires in the bilge, which I have not done. While technically not correct, I decided it is probably not a bad idea while crossing the shipping channels. The strobe lights up the asymm dramatically and I am sure it can be seen from some distance. By 3:00 the SOG had dropped to 2 in 6 kt wind from 90. I can expect this for the next 15h or so. At least I am not in the shipping channel. I woke up at 4:20. The boat is becalmed and actually pointed SE. There is a chance I will have a little breeze after sunrise. If I do, it will disappear again at sunset. The wind was swirling, and although the anemometer read 8 kt, it was not coming from one direction, although it was predominantly coming from 320, the exact direction I need to go. The instability was creating havoc for the asymm so I decided to furl it. That is when I discovered not one but two problems. First, the shackle on the tack had unsnapped. I had anticipated this problem and had tied an independent pendant to the tack. The second problem was more serious. One of the two screws that hold a guard on the top-down furler had worked itself loose and the guard was flopping around while working by the second one out. I could not reach the furler because of the pendant, so the first task was reattaching the tack line and making the furler taunt again. Fortunately, there was not much wind, so I was able to reattached the tack line without much trouble. The asymm was flopping around in the little wind there was, so I raised to mainsail to shadow the asymm, started the engine and attached the TillerPilot, and brought the boat around downwind. I could then work on the furler and managed to get the guard off without dropping it in the ocean. Finally, I had the furl the sail. I found if I sat down low on the bowsprit and applied downward force, I could furl the sail without the furling line jumping off the drum. Exhausted, I made myself some tea and enjoyed the last three caramel-flavored Blue Label Marie biscuits. Fortunately, I had a screw that fit the furler. I applied Loctite 242 and reassembled the furler. I thought about drilling all the way through the bracket and installing bolts and nuts, but decided I would just keep an eye on it (like the problematic bolts on the main furler. I don’t know who designs these things, but whoever decided a couple of screws without lock washers were going to stay together during the constant pounding of real use, should lose their job. It might hold up for a couple of hours for a day sail, but not for a seven week passage. At 7:20 I unfurled the jib and kept the course with the TillerPilot in a port tack. I was only making 2 kt on against a current and with fluctuating wind direction, but at least I was pointed in the right direction and wasn’t going backwards. Also, once moving the boat stopped rolling as much. According to the trace, I went backwards 3 nm and lost about 5h sailing time. I am now moving N, close to the course of BARB2, which is 700 nm away (in the last 16h I have made 50 nm. Sometimes when the wind is very light it can be hard to tell the direction because the boat itself is deflecting the wind. Also, the wing speed is sometimes not accurate. When the boat settled into its groove, I was making 2.5 kt in in 5 kt of wind, bust because I was on a close haul, the AWS was over 7 kt. I am doing better than expected. On a positive note, the top-down furler seemed to wind up the sail without putting kinks in the torsion cable, so it should be easier to deploy next time. I have discovered it is easier to furl from the bow rather than the cockpit because I can keep an eye on the drum and make sure the furling line does not get twisted around it. I finished off the first 1 kg tub of yogurt today and the next-to-last banana. I have one more tub of yogurt and a large container of blueberries. Both will be gone in a week, as planned. It’ll be instant oatmeal for the remainder of the passage. It is 8:15 and there is a rain storm developing behind me. While “upwind” it is clear, I know I am actually in a little backing hook in the front that came through yesterday and that storm behind me is actually headed my direction. I expect the wind to change direction from 280 about 180 degrees when the storm arrives. Won’t be launching the asymm again until tomorrow, when the weather settles down. In the meantime, I will squeeze what I can with the jib. I cannot afford to batter around the asymm and possibly rip it. In the middle of the chaos this morning I saw a bird, the first one in three days. It is 9:00 and the wind had started to back. I am adjusting the course to maintain a close reach. By 10:00 the wind was down to 3 kt. I hooked a very big fish at 10:10. So big is took out almost all the line under full drag and actually towed the boat backwards. After fighting it 15m, it bit through the leader. Just as well. Whatever it was to big for me to process and use. It was hooked on a very small squid that was intended for much smaller fish. I am guessing a big tuna. It is 11:30 and the water is glassy smooth. There is essentially no wind. I can see in the distance eddies caused by local pockets of breeze.the wind direction is variable … each pocket of wind from a different direction. A cargo ship passed south by 10 nm at 11:30. I turned the TillerPilot off at noon because the wind direction and speed are too variable to maintain a course. At 13:15 I noticed the water is no longer glassy. There is not enough wind to turn the boat around, so I used the engine. The 4 kt of wind seems stable from 60 and the SOG is about 1.0 at 320 in a close reach. The distance sailed towards BARB2 in the last 24h was 746-696=50 nm. The total distance sailed was 17835-17761=74 (74/24=3.1 kt avg).

Distance to Waypoint (BARB2, 004): 746 nm

Current Position: 24 13.700’S 5 23.508’E; Timezone: UTC+0; SOG: 4.3 kt; COG: 350; TWS: 8; TWD: 155; Current Speed (includes effect of surfing): 0.9 kt; Current Direction: 335; Distance to Waypoint (BARB2, 005): 805 nm; Distance to Endpoint (Bridgetown): 4432 nm; Total Miles Sailed: 17761 nm; Engine Hours: 409; Estimate Fuel: 60+12+50;
Comments: Starting with this entry, I am switching to UTC+0 (e.g., Jamestown, St.Helena). I contacted Erick Galvez, an agent in Panama to help through the canal. While the virtual “inspection” can take place in advance (I will send the necessary paperwork while at Barbados), the canal will not be scheduled until I arrive. I am told because I will be going through during the high period (February 6 to March 10) and because of the ARC rally, I can expect a delay of 10-15 days. Sunset was at 18:22 (6.5E). Sunrise will be a 5:51 at St. Helena (5.75W). I should be about 5.5E, so sunrise should be 10.5*4=42m earlier, or 5:09. I went to sleep at 18:40. Because I have not seen any traffic in 36h, I have not seen a fishing trawler in several days, no traffic shows up on the over-the-horizon AIS, and the wind is so light and expected to remain so, I am going to set the alarm interval for 2h. At 3:00 a ship appeared on AIS that will pass within 1.5 nm in 1h. I got up at 4:00 as it passes. As expected, the wind was only blowing 9-12kt. I downloaded the latest GRIB. I am going to have single digit winds for the next four days from about 120 with practically zero wind tomorrow (Monday) afternoon. After my tea, I am going to switch over to the TillerPilot this morning so I can swap out the smaller windvane for the larger one. I will need to drill holes in the larger one so I can secure it with zip-ties like the smaller one. It is likely the wind will pick up a bit after sunrise. After it warms up, the wind speed and direction has stabilized, and I am sure I am in single digits, I will tack to starboard, stow the storm staysail, furl the jib, and launch the asymm. I am going to try to only fly the foresail so I can sail as close to a run as possible, so I will drop the main. This will also help keep the shoot inflated during the light winds. Hopefully, I can get an angle that put me on a NW course and out of the shipping lanes. It looks like the main lane starts about 70 nm to my E and runs NW to SE. I will hit it in about a day if I am forced due N or in a couple of days if NNW. However, there are outsiders like the one that just passed that I will encounter in increasing numbers. Clouds prevented me from seeing the sunrise. I just tallied up the fees for the canal … $4000. This included the $500 fee for the agent, the cruising permit, etc. It is 6:00 and as expected there is a “sunrise wind” of 14 kt. I am going to let this play out because I cannot put the asymm up until I tack and I don’t want to tack any earlier than necessary (to avoid the shipping lanes). I am still averaging 4.2, faster than predicted by PW (3.7). I am 820 from St. Helena and 1520 nm from Ascension, probably 8 and 15d, respectively. At 7:30 I could see the front moving in from the SE. I modified the large windvane and installed it. I had trouble with the TillerPilot. The + contact is become corroded and only makes intermittent contact. Unfortunately, I have not seen any electrical contact cleaner in a while. I will have to try to scrape away the corrosion when I have a chance. Since I do not plan to motor if I don’t have wind, I imagine the windvane will serve me fine, especially now that I have the larger blade installed. I took an inventory of the fresh food. Unfortunately, the two remaining pizzas did not make it. I have some ravioli/sauce and some pea soup that need to be used up. I will eat those in the next two days. There is also some nan. I will eat that with the two meals. This will take me to Monday. I will Make a nice meal with the smoked salmon, fresh green beans, etc. that should last me two days. On Wednesday, New Years Eve, I will make the ham, sweet potatoes, and peas. This will Last me a few days as I have bread (hopefully) to make sandwiches. This will be the end of the fresh food. As expected, it will have lasted two weeks, almost three weeks after the food was actually purchased. I should be pretty close to St. Helena by then, or somewhere downwind. It is 7:45, 11 kt wind from 124, and a SOG of 3.4. I am Just wait for single digits to start switching over the sails. At 8:00 the wind backed and I tacked N. At 8:30 I stowed the staysail. Winds are down to 8 kt. I am waiting for the front to finish passing. There is a rain storm to the NE. I am close to being parallel to the shipping channel. I have lost the current and the SOG is only 2.6. It took more than 2h to full deploy the asymm. There was a kink in the cable the caught the middle of the shoot and wouldn’t allow me to fully deploy it. Working it back and forth with different tensions finally released it. The cable has Indians kinks in it. It took about 30m to get the kinks out. I hope that a couple of weeks of pressure by the sail will help straighten it out. The SOG is 4.2 in 7-9 kt wind using just the asymm. I am headed due N (M) in a broad reach. The COG is actually about 340 (T). St. Helena and Ascension are at a bearing of about 310 (T), so I am E by 30 degrees. This will take me across the shipping lanes in a day or two, and then keep me in the lane for a week or more. The first ship is already on the AIS, about 100 nm N of me. In the long run, it will pay to reach the trade winds N, so I intend to maintain this course until I do. The crossing to Brazil is where the cost of the asymm will pay off. The nice thing is the sea is very calm, the boat steady, and I am heeled to port for the first time in months (don’t need the lee cloth on the berth). I made the ravioli at noon. It is 15:00 and the SOG has averaged 4.3 since the asymm was launched with a COG of 340 (T). I am setting a new waypoint (BARB2) at 12S 3E, about 800 nm N of my current location. It should take about 8d to reach the point. BARB2 should put me in a good position to sail on a port tack to the Brazilian coast (about 2000 nm, about 15s). The total distance sailed was 17761-17615=146 (146/24=6.0 kt avg).

Current Position: 24 46.935’S 6 55.051’E; Timezone: UTC+2; SOG: 4.8 kt; COG: 275; TWS: 14; TWD: 145; Current Speed (includes effect of surfing): 1.1 kt; Current Direction: 265; Distance to Waypoint (St. Helena, 317): 880 nm; Distance to Endpoint (Bridgetown): 4521 nm; Total Miles Sailed: 17615 nm; Engine Hours: 409; Estimate Fuel: 60+12+50;
Comments: I had leftovers to eat for Christmas (yogurt/banana, second to last slice of quiche, and the rest of the chicken soup), so I saved my Christmas dinner for when I’ve finished off the the fresh food and and becalmed next week. I did have a small glass of port, an apple, and part of a chocolate bar as a treat. It looks like by the end of the day tomorrow I will be out of the shipping lane. I am on the edge now, so I should see less traffic tonight. It is 17:00 and seas are what you’d expect after 24h of 15 kt wind … pretty calm. Sunset was at 20:16 (8.5E). I had to turn the VHF off because of static. I set alarms for an interval of 1h and went to sleep at 20:20. I will turn the radio back on after the first alarm. About half past midnight I was awaken because the boat had rounded up. The wind had picked up as expected and a 22 kt gust had overwhelmed the windvane (because I had shaken out the second reef earlier). I got up at 6:00. I am well outside the shipping channel now. No ships showed up on the AIS last night. On Sunday I will need to tack N, and I will likely cross back over into the channel early next week. It was very overcasted, so I could not see the sunrise. It is 6:30 and I have 18 kt of wind. It will be single digits by Sunday. I will try to launch the asymmetrical spinnaker on the port side. It will be the first time I have done that as the hardware for the continuous furling line is on the starboard. Since there is only one sheet attached to the sail, I will need to figure out how to temporarily rig the furling line on the port side. I figure it is best to sort that out when I have 6 kt wind. Sometime today I will sail into UTC+0, two time zones W of what my clocks are set to. I don’t believe I will switch the clocks. It becomes confusing because my phone will not be reset until I have cell signal again, and all my navigation is done in the phone. Barbados will be UTC-4 (6h difference from South Africa). It feels chilly now (average in the mid-60s), but I am going to miss the cooler weather as I head N. In a couple of weeks the average with be in the upper 70s. At 11:00 I saw a bird, first one I have seen in 3d. In fact, I have not seen anything living in three days. I nook a nap for an hour and when I woke up a little after noon the sun was shining between the clouds. The wind was lighter (12 kt) but the boat was sailing smoother/faster (4.8 vs. 4.4) because the sea was calm. I ate the last piece of quiche. I kept the aluminum pan thinking it might come in handy later. Although I have plenty of food in the fridge, I feel like fish, so dropped a line at 14:00. Given the lack of birds, sailfish, etc., I don’t have high expectations. It’s mostly an excuse to sit in the cockpit and get some fresh air. While sitting outside watching the fishing pole, I read two more chapters in “How to Read Water.”The distance sailed towards St. Helena in the last 24h was 985-880=105 nm. The total distance sailed was 17615-17456=159 (159/24=6.6 kt avg). Today I am roughly halfway from Saldanha to St. Helena, a place I may never reach (like BAR1). Not a single vessel has come writhing the range of the AIS in the last 24h. For the first time in the passage I feel like I am in blue water.

Current Position: 27 19.677’S 10 40.359’E; Timezone: UTC+2; SOG: 4.5 kt; COG: 303; TWS: 14; TWD: 170; Current Speed (includes effect of surfing): 1.0 kt; Current Direction: 292; Distance to Waypoint (St. Helena, 317): 985 nm; Distance to Endpoint (Bridgetown): 4633 nm; Total Miles Sailed: 17462 nm; Engine Hours: 409; Estimate Fuel: 60+12+50;
Comments: I downloaded the most recent GRIB at 18:00. There was a significant development …the high is going to be stronger, more expensive, and come earlier than previously predicted. Single digit wind will show up Sunday morning and last until Tuesday morning. I believe I will launch the asymm on the port side and try to make some distance N. Sunset was at 20:03 (12.25E) last night. It should be at 20:10 (10.5E) tonight. The sunset was indeed at 20:10. The commercial traffic was relatively light (one just passed and a second, Rambo, 2h behind me), so I set an alarm interval of 1h beginning 20:40. The wind is going to back 30 degrees overnight, sending me further N, which is exactly what I want to do as long as the wind continues to blow strong. The seas were confused overnight. The wind was backing but still blowing strong, causing the swell and waves to be misaligned. Constructive interference produced periodic big, tall, almost breaking waves that caused the boat to corkscrew. I woke Christmas morning at 6:00 and the boat was headed WSW because the wind had backed to 30 degrees. I adjusted the windvane to a deep broad reach, slowing the SOG, but pointing her W. It was too cloudy to see the sunrise, which should be about 6:35 at 9.5E. It is almost 7:00 and still fairly dark. I made tea but am going to wait an hour for the cockpit to dry out before drinking it. I also need to make a decision whether to tack N, but will wait to see if the wind picks up and veers like it usually does in the morning. The SOG was about 5.2 overnight and it is about 5 now. I am now about the same latitude as the southern tip of Madagascar, albeit on the W side of Africa. I tried to drink my tea outside at 7:30, but without the sun it was chilly, even with my jacket and wool cap on. I can see the sun trying to break through, so will try again later. It is 9:00, still cloudy, the sea has settled down and the SOG is 4.7 in 14 kt wind that has backed a bit to 165. I had my tea and yogurt outside while I ran the engine for 15m, something I am trying to do every 3d or so, preferably when it is cloudy to take advantage of the charge. At 11:20 the seas had settled down enough that I shook out the second reef in the main. This gave me 0.5 kt and I was making almost 4.7 in 13 kt of wind in a broad reach. By midafternoon the clouds were gone. The distance sailed towards St. Helena in the last 24h was 1101-985=116 nm. The total distance sailed was 17456-17294=162 (162/24=6.8 kt avg).

Current Position: 27 19.677’S 10 40.359’E; Timezone: UTC+2; SOG: 6.0 kt; COG: 312; TWS: 20; TWD: 188; Current Speed: 1.1 kt; Current Direction: 310; Distance to Waypoint (St. Helena, 317): 1101 nm; Distance to Endpoint (Bridgetown): 4750 nm; Total Miles Sailed: 17294 nm; Engine Hours: 409; Estimate Fuel: 60+12+50;
Comments: Note while I am actually in UTC+1, I will wait until I am near St. Helena to switch to UTC+0. Sunset should be at 19:56 at 12.25E. The sunset was actually 20:03. There was a rain storm off the starboard bow. It is 8:40 and I am preparing to sleep. There are five ships on the AIS. It seems I am near the E edge of the shipping channel and am running parallel to it, making it easier to navigate. I will have to be more careful tonight, setting sleep intervals according to the traffic. The first one is 1h. About 15 ships showed up on AIS overnight. Most passed some distance from me. Two required I stay awake until they passed (set sleep intervals less than an hour and as little as 15m). I woke at 6:30, about 10m after sunrise. It is partly cloudy and the wind was blowing 23. The boat speed overnight was only 5.2, suggesting some lighter winds and/countercurrents. The wind slowly backed overnight putting me on a course S of St. Helena and well off of BAR1, which is now 250 nm away. At 7:00 I downloaded GRIBs and three weather models. To St. Helena will be a series of painful tacks (or several inefficient longer ones) as the wind will be blowing straight there (1260 nm, 12d). I will be essentially becalmed one day early next week. To Ascension is essentially the route to St. Helena and beyond (2000 nm, 19d). I see no advantage to sailing near Ascension. To Barbados involves sailing my current course until Friday night, then tacking N to avoid high pressure trough to the S, then a couple more jibes to St. Helena, past Ascension to the SW, then due W to the coast (5200 nm, 45d). I believe the best plan is to continue my present course until the end of the week, then tack N to avoid the high, and at that point reassess. I would like to get into the trade winds further N, out of danger if winds greater than 15, then set the asymm and forget about it. I got hit by a rogue wave about 7:30 that spun the boat around. That is the first time it has happened this passage. Once I am in the trade winds I won’t have to worry about big seas. The problem with it now is I am in heavy traffic. At 8:15 the cargo ship Dione took evasive action to avoid me. There was not much I could do as I was already in a deep broad reach when she passed on the windward side of me. We were close enough that I experienced some wake as I passed her stern. Once cleared, I enjoyed my meta with the last muffin I bought a week ago when I provisioned. It came from a variety pack and I saved the blueberry muffin for last. I headed it up. It reminded me of the blueberry muffins my mother used to bake when we went camping. We would have them with Brooke Trout. I have some yogurt I need to eat for breakfast next … with the bananas that need to be used up. That will be the last of the fresh breakfast stuff … after that it will be oatmeal. While enjoying my tea in the cockpit, I noticed there are no birds. Two reasons I suppose … I am further from shore (over 200 mm) and I am leaving the upswell of the Benguela current, so there is less seafood. It is 9:00. I have abandoned the waypoint BAR1 and set a new waypoint for St. Helena (1140 nm). It is at 317 and I am sailing 306 for a better wind angle, but also with the expectation I will tack N at the end of the week. I am in the middle of the shipping lanes and have 10 vessels on AIS, but none are threatening. The wind had been blowing 16-20 since sunrise and I am making close to 6 kt in a broad reach with the help of a current. I noticed Naivasha is still 300 nm behind me, which is a little surprising as it is a larger boat in stronger currents. I cannot remember, but I think they are headed for Walvis Bay, Namibia, so they may have an unfavorable wind angle is they are trying to stay closer to shore. I am well N of Luderitz and would probably be close to Walvis Bay had I chosen to go there. I have been studying the wind patterns. In general, there are good SE winds between 6-10S and W of Ascension (14W), whereas highs often form S of 10S. I made some water for bathing and washing dishes. It is the first time I have run the watermaker since before Hout Bay. I did not rest the water, but will next time. The total distance sailed was 17294-17128=166 (166/24=6.9 kt avg).