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.
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.