Author: mtashby

Current Position: 28 47.476’S 32 04.958’E; Timezone: UTC+2; SOG: 0; COG: N/A; TWS: ?; TWD: ?; Distance to Waypoint (Richards Bay): in a slip at ZYC; Total Miles Sailed: 15574 nm; Engine Hours: 314; Estimate Fuel: 11 +13+50;
Comments: I got settled into the ZYC. There is a chandlery and restaurant on site, but not much else. There are not even any grocery stores nearby. I am told most people use taxis, but CA ar rentals are cheap, about $150/week, so I am going to get one tomorrow. I traced the wire to the white running light in the stern. It indeed runs through the SS tubing of the stern pulpit, then through the hull into the propane locker, through a bulkhead into the starboard lazarette, and finally out of the lazarette into the engine room where it connects to the circuit breaker. Each of the transitions are sealed with caulking. The wiring is Ancor 16ga, so it seems very unlikely to me that it is broken. There is no sign that the insulation has worn through. I believe when the ensign flag pole broke off it left a hole in the top of the tubing. Since the bottom of the tubing is sealed with caulking, the tube is probably full of sea water. The wiring is not designed to be continuously submerged. Pulling new wire may be a serious hassle and I need ti know for certain which of the wires is shorted, so I am going to split the wires are the circuit breaker and isolate the two circuits. I disconnected the stern circuit and connected the bow circuit and the bow running lights did not come on! I once again confirmed I had 12V at the circuit breaker. The only explanation I have is there is a break in the bow wire. The most obvious explanation is a bad LED lamp, but either both lamps are bad or the wiring is in series. To confirm how the lamps are wired, I went to the anchorage locker. A single wire runs through the locker into the stanchion to the starboard side. It is highly unlikely the wires double back in the bow pulpit to form a parallel circuit, so I assume the lights are run in series. For both lamps to be out, they either both need to be burned out (less likely) or the starboard one is burned out. Accordingly, I started by taking the starboard housing apart. The lamp connectors were corroded. Some moisture had found its way into the housing. I cleaned up the terminals and checked the voltage. Only 1.5V! It is impossible that both the bow and stern wires are broken or shorted. The only thing I can think of is the current is low and there is a voltage drop. This would make sense because the longer bow wire is 1.5 V and the shorter stern is 4.5V. There has to be resistance causing the voltage drop. I shorted out the stern light fitting and removed both leads of the wire from the circuit panel and discovered the loop has 6 M ohm resistance. There has to be a break in the insulation and corrosion. It seems less likely that both wires are equally compromised (since they have separate insulation), so I ran a separate wire to the light fitting and tested each wire separately. As expected, it is the positive wire that shows the resistance (has been subjected to galvanic corrosion). The damaged wire needs to be replaced. I am going to start by cutting the wire in the propane locker to learn if I have 12V there. There was a junction for the wire in the propane locker and when I removed the heat-shrink it was obvious the positive connection was corroded. Believing I had found the problem, I cut the wire and measured 12V to the circuit breaker panel. I measured the resistance of a loop in the direction of the lamp (after shorting it out) and found it to be low, so I spliced a piece of new wire in the line after cutting out the defective part and the lamp worked. Now I moved to the bow. I shorted out the starboard running light on the bow and found that loop also has 6 M ohm resistance. I assume the problem is between the circuit breaker panel and the starboard light fixture. The wire runs from the light fixture, through the tubing of the bow pulpit, through the wood toe rail, through a deck fitting and into the chain locker before continuing to the back of the boat. The problem was obvious now. There was a knick in the insulation where the wire was exposed on the deck and it was corroded. I tried to cut away the defective part, put it went all the way into the toe rail. I was going to have to pull new wire. I cut away the light fixture and contemplated what would be easier, pulling it to or away from the light fixture. I decided it was a two person job to feed the wire, so waited for help. With help, I was able to pull new wire. I am going to pull the wire into the chain locker but not further because the wire is actually epoxied into the floor of the chain locker. I will splice it towards the top of the locker. I may even be able to do that from the deck (so I don’t need to crawl in the locker). While I tried that, I had to pull hard to get the spliced wire through the deck. When J finished I did not have power at the lmo end, but I made a mistake by not measure the voltage of the wire before I spliced its. Now I don’t know off I pulled the splice apart or if there is another break between the splice and the circuit breaker panel. Will have to take it apart and start over, this time in the anchor locker, which won’t be fun. The plan for tomorrow is to finish the running lights and disassemble the gooseneck/boom so I can design a part to fix it.

Current Position: 28 47.476’S 32 04.958’E; Timezone: UTC+2; SOG: 0; COG: N/A; TWS: 10; TWD: 194; Distance to Waypoint (Richards Bay): in a slip at ZYC; Total Miles Sailed: 15574 nm; Engine Hours: 314; Estimate Fuel: 11 +13+50;
Comments: I went to make my morning tea and the propane solenoid is not working. The entire gas detection system is without power. This is not the first time. There is a loose wire somewhere … I have never been able to locate it … just fiddle around and it works again. Unfortunately, the engine room is too warm right now and the boat is rocking, do I will have to wait. It is 6:00 and I am topping off the day tank. About 40 nm to go and I am averaging 5.6 kt. It is 6:30 and Greij is entering the harbor. My guess is they will be finished with customs and will have moved on to the ZYC by the time I get there. At 9:00, 25 nm out, I dropped and lashed the storm staysail. It was not really doing much at the wind angle anymore. I am still doing about 6 kt. I also secured mooring lines to forward and aft on both the starboard and port (just in case). I am assuming I will dock only the port, so I secured the fenders on that side. At the present speed I expect to arrive at the bay in 4h, which means at noon an hour before, I will fire up the engine and I will round up to furl the jib. At the same time I will contact the Richards Bay Port Control on 12 (not 16). It is 9:30 and 20 nm to go. There is a 3.5 kt current and 22 kt wind. I am doing 7 kt on a beam reach. I had to adjust the heading again to compensate for the current, which wants to pull me out to sea. The waypoint is 260 and my heading is 290. It is 10:00 and I am 17 nm from the channel to the harbor, less than 4 nm offshore, and in 230’ (70m) water, but the current is still 3.5 kt. The current is supposed to diminish at this depth, but I see no indication of that. I need to get out of the current or I will have no rudder control unless I motor/sail faster than the current. At 130’ (39m) the current slowed to 3 kt. This is approximately the depth for the remainder of the way to the channel. I am hoping the high speed is the consequence of the current bending around the land mass and it will slow down in a bit. It is 10:30 and the boat has slowed to 5.6 kt 13 nm out. At 12 nm out the current dropped to 1.7 and the wind is still blowing 19. The boat is averaging 5 kt 11 nm out at 11:00. I should be 6 nm out at noon, which is where I am supposed to radio Port Control. It is noon and I am almost 6 nm out. I furled in half the jib (leaving some to maintain control) and radioed Port Control at 12:05, but did not get a response. About that time a small craft passed in front of me. Even with only half the Yankee the boat speed was 4 kt and the SOG 5.1 with a 1.2 kt current. I tried again at 4 nm and still no response. At 3 nm still no response. I started the engine, furled the jib, and made my way to the waypoint outside the harbor. One mile out I got hold of Port Control and was given permission to proceed to the Q dock. The time is 13:10 and I am 1 nm from the channel. The depth is about 100’ (34 m) and the current is 1.1 kt towards 240. The TWS was 24 and TWA 89. I am making 5.5 kt SOG with 1500 rpm. By 14:00 I was at the Q dock. I passed a large freighter in the channel. I was met by Elmaria, a representative of the OSASA. She was very nice, making arrangements with the officials for the formalities, booking a slip at the marina, and even arranging for a hot meal from a local restaurant (as I am not allowed to leave the boat). The formalities will have to be taken care of tomorrow. Necessity is the mother of invention. I wanted a hot sponge bath last night and so went I search for the problem with the solenoid. Fortunately, it was just a 1 amp blade fuse. The sensor in the propane locker probably got wet and blew the fuse. I replaced it with a 2 amp fuse and it is working again. Here less than an hour and I’ve already crossed off the first item on my punch list. Since I have the electrical stuff out, I will try to fix the running lights when I get to the marina. This morning while waiting for Immigration I took the starboard winch apart. The wood beneath only shows one small insect hole. There are several more on the side. I sprayed it down throughly with insecticide. The winch itself is in dire need of lubrication. When I get to the ZYC, I will find the lubricant, inject insecticide into all the holes and cracks, and reassemble the winch. I am going to service the port side winch the same way. Immigration visited again at 8:45 with the paperwork to sign. I am all cleared in and waiting for a slip. At 9:00 I received a WhatsApp message with the slip number (D17). It is still raining. I will secure the boat and make my way to the marina. At 9:15 I was messaged again and told my slip had been changed to C14. Since the slip is now on the starboard side, I will need to move the lines and fenders once I am underway. By 10:30 I will as at the slip. It was a bit challenging securing the lines because of the 18 kt winds to the starboard that wanted to push me away from the dock, but three people showed up to help.

Current Position: 28 26.026’S 32 47.049’E; Timezone: UTC+2; SOG: 5.4; COG: 257 (HDG 270 and 2.2 kt current 260); TWS: 16; TWD: 75; P (6:00): 1023.1; P (12:00): 1021.0; P (18:00): 1016.6; P (24:00): 1020.1; Distance to Waypoint (Richards Bay): 47; Total Miles Sailed: 15522 nm; Engine Hours: 311; Estimate Fuel: 11 +15+50;
Comments: It is 5:30. The contrast between the sea state yesterday at this time and today is breathtaking. It is impossible to believe this is the same planet. The current has rotated from 360 to 330. I changed my course from a more northerly one to due E to try to catch the southerly current. I am averaging 6.1 kt with 168 nm to go to RBay. I am in the middle of the costal shipping lane, so will need to be attentive. It now appears that Greij is going to RBay and is paying a price for going too far S. They will loose the wind before I do and what they have will drive them in a deep broad reach instead of the beam reach I should have. It looks like they will arrive in the morning. At 7:00 I changed my course to 280 (the same direction as the current). I am averaging 6 kt in a close haul. I have already begun to explore the next passage. From RBay, I plan to sail to Port Elizabeth. PE will be my stepping stone to Houtbaai (Cape Town) where I will haul out and do a significant amount of work in preparation for the second half (closer to one-third) of my trip. Arriving sometime the last two weeks of November, I will be in Houtbaai the better part of a month. During that time I will rent an apartment, rent a car, and Stacey will visit for two weeks beginning the second week of December. I hope to have my work on the boat completed by then, so I can have a proper break. When I check out of South Africa, I will skip busy Cape Town and check out of Saldanha Bay to the north, which only became an option last year. The passenger vessel Island Sky passed 2 nm port to port at 8:15. By 10:00, the 20s were gone and tge wind was blowing 15-18. I unfurled most of the Yankee. However, concerned about the integrity of the second reefing line, I waited to shake it out to be certain the 20s were gone. Consequently,, the SOG dropped to 5.9. It is 145 nm to RBay. To get there by 15:00 tomorrow, I need to average 145/29=5 kt. I am concerned because it looks like single digit wind midnight to dawn. I woke up at 15:00 after a 3h nap! I had woken up periodically to check the AIS, but fell back asleep each time. It is 3h before sundown and I am 120 nm from RBay. The sky is without a single cloud! To allow enough time to navigate the harbor and dock before dark, I need to travel at 120/24=5 kt average speed in the next 24. With 15 kt of wind, I am making 5.1 kt now. However, the wind will be more like 10 kt between 22:00-7:00 (9h) before the 20+ kt gusts return for the remainder of the passage around 10:00. I am reluctant to do so, but I may need to shake out the second reef tonight (pray the line holds later) and put the second reef back in at dawn. I am holding off for now because I am still seeing gusts close to 20. At 16:30 the SOG dropped to below 5, so I shook out the second reef. I had to swing the boom out to balance the sails enough for the TillerPilot to hold the course. This is when I really miss the windvane. I’m not really going any faster as a consequence. However, the wind is going to back tonight and before dawn I will need to tack to the starboard. Having the boom out will help me downwind performance later. It may all come out in the wash. The wind backed rapidly to 125 at dusk. I also lost the advantage of the current, reducing the SOG to 4.5 kt. Around midnight the wind is supposed to back tonight 80 then continue to back to 20 around dawn. At midnight I should be about 30 nm from the coast. If I were to tack and motorsail, I could pick up the Agulhas current about 15 nm offshore. At that pound I could drop the mainsail and ride the current downwind with just the foresails. The wind is supposed to build to 20 with gusts of 25 then, so conditions should be perfect to run on the current. Also, I like the idea of dropping the mainsail when the wind is blowing 10 rather than at the last minute in 25 kt gusts and a 2.5 kt current. It is 18:30 and I have a cargo ship headed straight for my bow on the opposite course. It diverted course without contacting me and we passed port to port at 19:00. The projected wind direction puts me in a bind … either heading out to sea (adding 25 nm) to and coming in from the E (and across the Agulhas current … bad idea) or settle for a very deep reach (practically a run) in single-digit winds (which means basically completely under the control of the currents and conditions under which the TillerPilot would certainly struggle). I am opting for plan “C” … stow the mainsail, position myself in the middle of the Agulhas current, and use my foresails in a run. It is 22:30 and I won’t have sufficient wind until perhaps 3:00, (when I will have 13-17 kt winds from 30 degrees) which means I have about 5h to get into position (about 28s 33e), about 25 nm from where I am right now. The only way I can get there in these 8 kt winds is by motor sailing. The models are showing 1.5-2 kt currents. I should be able to get the rest from the wind, particularly after midmorning when gusts in the mid-20s are expected. It is almost midnight and the wind speed has dropped to 3 kt. I have definitely made the right call (unless I want to spend another half day becalmed). By 3:00 I was apparently in position, 60 nm from RBay and the current was 1.5 kt. The wind was back to double-digits 10-12 kt from 90. It was supposed to be 36 by now, I downloaded a new GRIB and not much had changed. It suggested I should start seeing 20 kt gusts by 8:00 (5h) from 10 and sustained 20 kt winds by 10:00 (7h) or so. It is 4:30, sunrise in 30m, and I am 50 nm from the passage to the bay. I am 17 nm from the coast. The wind is blowing 15 from 75 and I have a 2.1 kt current. Sunrise was at 4:49. The wind is 15 from 60 and I am making 5.5 kt wing on wing with the Yankee to port and the storm staysail to starboard. My plan has worked. This is the slowest I will go. I expect to arrive within 46/5.5=8.4h, before 13:30. My guess is before noon.

Current Position: 27 32.522’S 34 58.481’E; Timezone: UTC+2; SOG: 6.1; COG: 313 (HDG 330 and 1.2 kt current 180); TWS: 23; TWD: 190; P (6:00): 1015.7; P (12:00): 1016.5; P (18:00): 1016.7; P (24:00): 1020.1; Distance to Waypoint (Richards Bay): 168; Total Miles Sailed: 15250 nm; Engine Hours: 301; Estimate Fuel: 21 +15+50;
Comments: While I wait for the wind to veer and while the sea is calm, I am trying to sort out why the running lights no longer work. I pulled the main circuit breaker panel and as I suspected there are two leads attached to the breaker, one presumably going forward and the other aft. The breaker is good and there is current going to both wires. It seems highly unlikely the wire is broken between the circuit breaker and the lamps since it is heavy gauge marine-quality wiring. It is more likely the bulbs are burned out. This would be surprising because I switched out the incidence bulbs with LEDs, but the next step is to check the voltage at the bulb. The stern light is easiest to get to. The voltage at the stern white lamp is just 4.4V, not enough to light the lamp. There is no evidence of corrosion. This cannot be a general problem because all the electronic and other DC devices are working. There must be a voltage drop along the wire. A short on one of the wires could impact both wires. I noticed the problem began when the mount for the ensign flag pole broke off, leaving two holes in the top of the stern now pulpit through which the wire for running light passes. My guess is water has gotten in there and has shorted out the wire. To get to it will require emptying the stern locker, the cover of which is blocked by the tiller. I’m afraid this problem will only be resolved at anchor. I have confirmed that the wire to the stern light runs through the tubing that has holes in it. The wire may need to be replaced. I have some onboard and it should be easy enough to pull new wire while at port. At 6:30 the wind and boat speed went to zero. I was only 14 nm from 37e, so I set a course for RBay (272) and turned on the engine to make best use of the 1.1 kt current while I have it. I was making almost 6 kt. It occurred to me there may be an easy way to confirm the problem with the running lights. If I break the circuit to the stern light, the bow lights should work. I could remove the bulb from the stern, but the circuit may not be broken if there is a shirt between the breaker and the bulb. I will need to disconnect the wire at the circuit breaker. Unfortunately, I do not know which is which. I will try to figure that out and check the red/green lights on the bow tonight. There is a good chance I will arrive at RBay after dark on Wednesday, so I want to make sure I am seen. A dozen dolphins showed up at 7:00. I watched them from the bow for about 30m while they played chicken with Aegir-Ran. They had unusual markings … a lighter grey tuxedo. Apparently today is the day for electrical problems. I flipped the switch to transfer fuel to the day tank and the pump did not come on. My first thought was my fuel pump had failed. I have already had one fail and this is my backup. Fortunately I checked the voltage and it wasn’t getting power. I traced the problem to an automatic switch that I don’t actually use, so I rewired and bypassed it and the pump is working again. It would not be the end of the world. I have 50 gal of diesel in Jerry cans on the deck and I have an emergency portal in the day tank for just this sort of problem. In fact, I used it just outside Tahiti when the first pump failed. But, this reminds me that I need to get another one sent to Cape Town. By 10:30 dolphins were back, this time leaping in the air two and sometime trhree abreast. Also back was some evidence of wind, as suggested by the slight heel to starboard (with the expected change in direction), ripples on the surface of the water, full sails, and a 0.3 kt gain in SOG. Still not enough to sail, but a positive development. I opened up the the breaker panel again with the intent of separating the running light circuits but found the wires are not in separate terminals. There is not enough free wire to cut them to install a terminal, so I would need to splice in new wire. I decided to wait until I am at the dock to fix the problem. While in there, I write down the Blue Sea System model number (34-109A) for the main breaker (which has a broken handle and needs to be replaced. I made more water today and tested the TDS, which I found to be 470, about half of what it has been. Apparently by running the system for so long (maybe 10h and 25 gal) the past few days, I have flushed the membranes out. It is still twice what is ideal, but the water is drinkable. It is 12:30 and I have made 37 nm on since I started motoring 6h ago, an average of 6.5. Normally at 1,800 rpm I make about 4.8 kt. The extra speed comes from the sails and current (1.1 kt). By motoring 8h or so, I should skip the doldrums and save the better part of a day sailing. The wind speed is still only 2 kt. I am thinking in 2h or so I may be into some wind. It is 13:00 and I just downloaded a new forecasts that says low single digits until 20:00. It also has me an extra 25 nm out of my way to find that wind. The forecast is also completely different for the endgame, with the wind coming from the NNE, completely the opposite direction forecasted a few hours ago. Clearly I cannot trust the forecast, so I am going to continue on the rhumb line and tack at the end if necessary. Also, I believe I can motor to the wind in a couple if hours and avoid the 25 nm detour. The forecast definitely has one thing right … I only have 2 kt wind and the surface of the water is glassy. At 15:00, 2h later, the wind was still less than 2 kt. A good part of the day I spent in the cockpit reading Tristan Gooley’s book “How to Read Water.” The water around me today was glassy smooth and there were virtually no swell or waves of any kind, except when there was a puff of air, which created ripples that I was able to see from some distance. It is 16:30 and after a cloudless m, windless day, there is a bank of clouts ahead and a breeze is beginning to blow. I can see where the wind is and I will be there soon. It is 17:00 and I have 6.5 kt wind from 220. I can probably only make 4.5 kt in with that including h to e current. I need 10 kt wind. Sunset should be about 17:52. It is 17:39, cloudy, and quite dark. I am now seeing sustained winds of 10i shut the engine off. kt from 210. The boat is making 5.6 kt I am going to put a reef in the main before it gets dark. The wind suddenly went from 68 to 14-16. The reef is in and the boat is doing over 6 kt with the help of a 0.5 kt wind in a close haul. 228 nm to go to RBay. At 21:30 I found myself sailing against a 0.7 kt current and doing only 3.5 kt SOG. By midnight the current was with me again and I was doing over 5 kt. 30m later two vessels passed, a tanker 2 nm off my bow and a cargo ship 8 nm off my stern. I was beginning to enter a costal shipping lane. By 1:00 it was blowing constantly in the mid-20s and the bust was overpowered. It took 45m to furl half the Yankee after rounding up and put the second reef in the main and secure a second reefing line while rounding down. The old furling line I used as a second reefing line is shredded after only a week and after using it just a few times. It has to last until I get to RBay … don’t really have anything to replace it with. While all this was going on a tanker passed a couple of miles ahead of me. I am surprised he didn’t radio to ask my intentions as I spun the boat in circles to depower the sails. The boat is going over 6 kt with half the Yankee, the storm staysail, and the double-reefed main in a close haul. It is 2:00 and I have 185 nm to go in the next 36h or so (to arrive mid-afternoon). The incredible thing is I am going 6.4 kt against a 1.7 kt current. I downloaded a fresh GRIB. As I suspected, the earlier winds also means I will loose wind by the end of the passage. I also downloaded the currents and confirmed there are more favorable currents E, so I adjusted my course to 300 to pick them up. This larger TWA is making for a somewhat more comfortable ride as the gusts are approaching 30. I made 127 nm on towards RBay in the past 24h. To arrive in the middle of the afternoon tomorrow, I need to average 168/32=5.25 kt. I sailed a total of 15399-15250=149 (149/23=6.48 avg). I just downloaded a fresh GRIB and the recommendation is that I continue E until 10:00 (5h) to pick up a favorable current. Given the wind is still in the mid-20s, I am going to take that advice to not only pick up the current but make the ride more bearable.

Current Position: 26 57.976’S 37 17.393’E; Timezone: UTC+2; SOG: 3.0; COG: 295 (HDG 330 and 1.8 kt current 240); TWS: 7; TWD: 80; P (6:00): 1013.6; P (12:00): 1014.1; P (18:00): 1013.5; P (24:00): 1014.0; Distance to Waypoint (Richards Bay): 295; Total Miles Sailed: 15250 nm; Engine Hours: 289; Estimate Fuel: 36+10+50;
Comments: It is an hour after dawn and I am struck by how calm the water is. There is virtually no swell and just the slightest hint of wind-driven waves. It has been months since I have seen conditions like this … probably the Arafura Sea or maybe the Torres Strait. I’d like to be making 2 kt more, but the truth is I feel very relaxed after being battered for several months. It is 6:30 and I just downloaded a new GRIB that suggest I should continue to 27s 36e and then make a beeline for RBay. I hit dead air in the morning and if I motor through it I would likely arrive at RBay well before dark on Wednesday. By 7:30 the boat was doing a surprising 5 kt. I took advantage of the stable boat to prepare a proper meal of breakfast burritos. I used some pasteurized pepper jack cheese that I have had in stores for eight months and it was surprisingly good. At 10:00 the wind speed had fallen to 5 and the current was 0.5 and perpendicular to. The conditions seemed ideal for motorsailing. At 1,800 rpm, I had an AWS of over 11 kt and was making 6.3 kt SOG. A fruit vender in Rodrigues gifted me a bunch of green bananas after I explained it would be the last time ai would be visiting his stand because I was leaving in the morning to sail my boat to South Africa. Now, two weeks later, the first banana just became ripe. I have brought many green bananas onboard for passages, but none have lasted so long. The guy must really know what he was going. The bananas were in the back, not for sale yet, because he knew it would take two weeks for them to ripen. What a treat. I am now about 200 nm off the coast of South Africa and seabirds have appeared again. Because the waters are so calm, I am not in survival mode, hanging on for dear life, so I have been able to do chores more easily … cleaning, repairing, cooking, etc. i have been making a lot of fresh water that I have been using to clean the boat. I even had a spa day … got a hot shower in the cockpit, treated my brined skin, etc.. I figure I have another 36h of this and I will start seeing the aftermath of the low that has been working its way up the coast … then the party will be over. Fortunately by that point I should be less than 2d from RBay. I have been motorsailing since 10:00, 4.5h, and as expected, I am beginning to reach a zone with double-digit winds, the point at which I felt comfortable returning to sailing. I turned the engine off at 2:00. I am 145 nm from 27s 36e and 365 nm from RBay. The wind is blowing 10-13 from 50 and a 1.4 kt current is now WNW, contributing more to the 5 kt SOG. As it usually does, the wind dropped near sunset and the SOG fell to 3.5 (with the help of a WNW current of 1.2). Besides dropping to single digits the wind has veered to 65, putting the boat into a slower broad reach. Sunset was at 17:38 (38 23’e). I am 127 nm from 27s 36e. I am only expecting wind for the next 6h, then the forecast is for the wind to disappear. The running lights failed to come on when I turn in the breaker at dusk. In addition to the white light on the stern, I went to the foredeck and confirmed the red and green light are not on either. The panel light is on suggesting there is power at the breaker. Further, it seems the break must be close to the breaker because the lights must be wired in parallel, not series, otherwise one burned out bulb would eliminate all the lights. I turned on the steaming and anchor lights for tonight. Tomorrow, I will try to track down where the break if the sea is not too rough to work. On that note, the wind kicked up to 15 kt as expected about 19:00. Unfortunately, I will just have a few hours of this wind before the dead air arrives. By 22:30 the current had shifted to 260. It was necessary to shift the heading to 320 to get a COG close to the rhumb line for 27s 36e. At 1:30 I had 12 kt wind from 70 and was on a heading of 325 for a COG of 295 to the waypoint. I was making 4.5 kt, but that was about to change as I passed the current gyro S of me (current pulling against me) and the wind starts dying (as a consequence of the low passing). The 14h-old GRIB was updated at 2:00. There were no surprises. I was about to hit a brick wall with zero wind. My new way point was 27 nm E, 27s 37e, at which point I will change my course to RBay and rely primarily on the 1.7 kt current (and my engine) to get across the windless gulf. But, getting to 27s 37e was the first problem as wind was dwindling fast. I might have enough wind to keep me going in the right direction for another 2h. At that point I will start drifting S unless I run the engine. It is 4:30 and I have made 19 nm to 37e in the last 2.5h. The 4 kt average was better than I expected. The wind had dropped to 7-9 from 80 and the current is still perpendicular at 1.8. I am making about 3-3.5 kt. The wind is supposed to veer to 120-140 between 10:00-noon today (5-7h). There is no use tacking to port and RBay until the wind veers. So, I only need to average 3 kt until the wind veers. I am not going to run the engine to do that but instead will make best speed under sail until the wind veers. The break even point is probably 100 degrees. At that point I will motorsail to try to cross the doldrums (or at least minimize the time I am becalmed). I will use this quiet time to try to find the problem with the running lights. I figure there must be two wires, one running forward and the other aft and the junction is probably near the circuit breaker, perhaps at the breaker itself. The problem is presumably between the breaker and that junction. It is extremely tight in that part of the engine room, so I appreciate the relatively calm seas to figure it out. Sunrise was at 4:57 (37 18’e). I made 404-295=109 nm on to RBay in the last 24h.

Current Position: 27 04.426’S 39 28.614’E; Timezone: UTC+2; SOG: 4.1; COG: 297 (HDG 275 and 1.9 kt current 340); TWS: 7; TWD: 005; P (6:00): 1015.0; P (12:00): 1014.6; P (18:00): 1012.7; P (24:00): 1012.6; Distance to Waypoint (Richards Bay): 404; Total Miles Sailed: 15135 nm; Engine Hours: 285; Estimate Fuel: 36+13+50;
Comments: The barometer is falling and I woke up this morning to fairly grey clouds. Rain is a possibility, but nothing looks threatening. The wind finally seems to be backing, albeit 36h after it was supposed to. I have been in a deep broad reach to the starboard since yesterday afternoon to try to make as much distance E as I can. I’d really like to see 30-50 degrees, but I know that is bringing lighter winds. There are 12 commercial vessels 50 nm S of me and only one in between. It is nice not to be in the shipping lane anymore. I put a fishing line out at 7:00. Don’t have a lot of hope catching anything. I have had no fish or squid on the deck for a week, have not seen any flying fish, and very few birds. I polished fuel to the day tank and checked fluids. The oil, oil filter, fuel filter, and Racor filter will need to be changed when I get to RBay. At 7:30 I shook out the second reef in the main and unfurled the remaining 20% of the Yankee. As I suspected, the sacrificial line I had put through the second reefing point had warn through the outer braid and was hanging on by the inner core. That sacrificial line was put on just before dusk on the 23rd, so it lasted only 2.5d! I am saving the line so I can fabricate a new sacrificial line that is stronger (out of a length of Dyneema covered in fire hose with a piece of double-braid attached to allow it to be cinched … much like I did with the control lines for the windvane). I did not gain any speed presenting more sail, just compensated for diminishing wind speed. I am still averaging 5.5. I received Des’s weather report and am relieved the low in the south is going to primarily impact the coast. It looks like if I can reach the coast by Tuesday, with the help of the Agulhas current should be in RBay by Wednesday evening or Thursday morning at the latest. The trick will be to get past the dead air over the next couple of days. I should have a westerly 2 kt current tonight, so hope to achieve at least 5 kt avg with the single-digit winds from the NW that are expected. The staysail may pay off if I am reaching with light winds. When I was forward to shake out the reef, I neglected to check the gooseneck, so I went back and found the bolt was loose. I am reluctant to tighten it too much as it will certainly strip the aluminum threads. By 9:30 the wings had dropped to 9 and was still from 110 (not 75 like it was supposed to be). The current was 1.3 at 270, so was perpendicular to the course. The SOG dropped to 3. I changed the course to 330 to get some wind to the sails and turned on the engine at 1500 rpm to make almost 6 kt on a COG of about 320. At noon and 27 07’s 40 43’e I finally reached an area where the wind had backed to 80. I turned the engine off, and set a course for 27s 36e at 287 and 252 nm away. The wind was blowing 8 kt from 80 and I was at a broad reach with a SOG 3.4 with a current of 0.6 at 260. The current is supposed to increase to 2.5 and shift to 315 after midnight. In other words the SOG should increase to about 5 after midnight. This is not a perfect situation, but I cannot run the engine for three days to get to the coast. I should pick up some speed as I more from a broad to a beam reach. It is 17:00 and it has been slow going all afternoon with 6-8 kt wind that is now from 65 degrees. There has been a 0.6 kt current flowing in the direction of the waypoint. The average SOG has only been 3.1 kt. I am hoping to average at least 4 overnight as the current picks up and I shift to a beam reach. At 17:30, now that the wind is finally on the beam, I shook out the last reef in the main as the extra sail area of the main is not going to interfere with with the downwind performance of the foresails. The sunset was at 17:30 (40 25’e). I had been awaken several times during the night by someone playing music on VHF 16. I did not recognize the language. It seemed to be some sort of game. By midnight the wind was blowing 10-12 from due N and the boat was doing about 5 in a close reach. There seemed to be little current, perhaps 0.5 kt to the N, and it certainly was not contributing to the boat speed. There were two ships to be concerned with, one on the opposite course in about 1h and one on the same course in perhaps 3h. At 3:30 the current had finally picked up, 1.5 kt to the NNW and I was going about 5 kt E in 8 kt wind. Interesting that Greij is now almost 100 nm S of me, below the latitude of RBay, and they are continuing S. They must be headed for Durban or beyond. Sunrise was 4:43 (39 32’e). I sailed 93 nm on to RBay in the last 24h, which is much better than expected in winds that averaged 6-8 kt, especially as I did not have much help from currents most of the way. Based upon what Inhavevseen in the last 24h and the forecast, the pattern seems clear for the last 200 nm to the coast … 5-8 kt N winds during the day and 9-11 kt N winds at late night. The best boat speed I can expect is 2.5-3.5 kt. I couldn’t expect that if not for the fact that there is virtually no swell. Any additional SOG will have to come from currents. I now expect to reach 27s 36e Tuesday morning. From there I will head S, and expecting help from easterly winds and the Agulhas current, I might be able to make RBay by nightfall on Wednesday.

Current Position: 27 15.252’S 41 19.670’E; Timezone: UTC+2; SOG: 5.6; COG: 308; TWS: 18; TWD: 102; P (6:00): 1017.3; P (12:00): 1016.9; P (18:00): 1016.3; P (24:00): 1016.1; Distance to Waypoint (Richards Bay): 497; Total Miles Sailed: 15049 nm; Engine Hours: 282; Estimate Fuel: 36+15+50;
Comments: It is 6:00. The skies are partly cloudy with no chance of rain. I am in a 1.5 kt SW current and 18 kt wind from 110 in a deep broad reach averaging 6 kt. It looks like I will have another 24-36h of decent wind before becoming largely becalmed starting midday tomorrow and lasting about 36h. My plan will be to strategically motorsail E, perhaps reducing the period I am becalmed to 12-24h. I note that I am now only 22 nm (23 nm closer in 24h) from Greij (a larger, faster boat) as a consequence of choosing a more favorable course. I reached 27.5s 43e by 8:00 and the wind was still blowing from 115 (and the 1.5 current to 270. I decided to continue on the COG of 265 because the alternative was to tack almost due N, loosing the current and probably dropping the SOG to 4 or less. I am about 60 nm from 28s 42e … at my current speed about 12h away. So, I will continue on this course until dusk if necessary, then tack N. Hopefully by then the wind will have backed to a more favorable angle. While doing a routine check, I discovered a bolt had failed on the frame that supports the windvane. The only way to make a repair would be to stop the boat, lower the dinghy, and position myself behind the windvane. I know from doing this work in the past that even a slight swell makes the work hazardous. On open ocean it would be suicidal. I put a harness on and dangled behind the boat to lash the structural pieces, preventing them from moving around and securing the pieces from loss should another bolt work itself loose. I needed to raise the watervane to relieve the gram geo further stress, the problem is the line attached to the bottom of the vane feet underwater was chaffed off. I have replaced it several times, but even the Dyneema lines did not last but a couple of weeks. I made a lasso from some paracord and fed it down the shaft of the vane until I could lasso the bolts that hold the vane on. After raising the watervane I lashed it to the frame and disconnected the windvane to allow it to turn freely, then centered the watervane with the control lines and lashed them to the stanchions to further reduce movement. I am pretty sure this was the bolt I could loose in Tonga and I am quite certain I put a lock washer on it, so I don’t understand how it came loose again (this time completely). Of course, that was more than 4 months and almost 10,000 miles ago. I am restricted now to using the TillerPilot. Fortunately, I have a new one that I had delivered while in Darwin and I have the backup (that does not work as well. I will need to make repairs to the windvane when I get to RBay. Also, I will order parts there and have them delivered to Cape Town where I was planning to overhaul the windvane anyway. It is 9:00, 55 nm to 28s 42e, I am averaging 5.4, and there is no sign yet of the wind backing. It is 13:00 and the wind has actually veered to 126, so I set a course for 175. Helped by the 1.6 kt current about the same direction, the SOG is 5.7 in a very deep broad reach. Concerned I was sailing too far S, at 14:00 and 27 43’s 42 28’e, I tacked starboard and set a COG of about 320. I am currently 550 nm from RBay. I chose a waypoint of 27s 40e 140 nm away to get me back up to the 27th parallel and as far E as the current wind conditions allow. With 14 kt wind from 120, a boat speed of 4.0 and partial assistance from a 1.2 kt wind, I was able to achieve a SOG of 5.2, about 0.3 kt slower than the port tack, due almost entirely to the current angle. It is 16:30 and the wind has actually veered more as the sun gets ready to set … about 130. The ECMWF model says it should be 90 and all the models predict a similar angle. The wind has blown from the wrong direction for at least 24h. It is supposed to continuous back to 38 over the next 24h, but unfortunately the wind velocity is also expected to drop from 15 to 7. I am only averaging a little over 4 kt now with the 1.5 kt current perpendicular to my course … and I am going in the wrong direction! By tomorrow night I might actually make better speed by dropping the sails and drifting with the current. If I thought I could motor out of the situation I would, but it is impractical to motor for 2-3 days. There is no use motorsailjng tonight as the direction I really want to go is directly downwind, so I would get very little help from the sails, but in a day or so when the light wind is suppose to be from the N, I might be able to make good time motorsailjng. For tonight, I will make the best out of the wind I get. Tomorrow, I may be forced to break out the (torn) asymm. The sunset was in an isolated rain storm downwind. By 18:00 the crosscurrent was down to 0.75 kt since it was not contributing significantly in helping drive the boat southward, the boat was drifting even more northward. I woke up at midnight because the boat was moving faster. I thought the wind had finally backed. Nope … still 110. Instead, the wind was blowing 18 and the 0.9 kt current had shifted to 320. I was back up to 27 26’s. Since the current had shifted, I was being shifted N faster than expected. It is 3:30 and the wind had backed to 105. I am making a little over 5 kt (4.2 avg. since tacking 10h ago). The current has increased a bit to 1.1. I downloaded a new forecast to 26s 36e and it does not look as dire as it used to. The wind will be single digit but on the beam. There will be a period of perhaps 12h where motorsailing may be necessary. It looks like the currents will be favorable. I believe I can make the waypoint by Monday night (about 240 nm from RBay). It is 5:00, partly cloudy, relatively calm seas, and very mellow sailing. I have sailed about 100 nm on towards RBay in the last 24h, which is better than I expected since nearly half the time I have been sailing almost perpendicular to the rhumb line. I am about 70 nm from 27s 40e and am now able to sail the rhumb line with an average of 5.6 kt. However, it is not my intention to sail there but rather to curve E as the backing of the wind allows me to.

Current Position: 27 22.936’S 43 13.987’E; Timezone: UTC+2; SOG: 5.9; COG: 265; TWS: 18 kt; TWD: 110; P (6:00): 1019.0; P (12:00): 1020.1; P (18:00): 1019.0; P (24:00): 1017.9; Distance to Waypoint (Richards Bay): 598; Total Miles Sailed: 14939nm; Engine Hours: 282; Estimate Fuel: 36+15+50;
Comments: Note that since I am more than halfway into this passage, with this log entry I will switch to the local time of my destination (UTC+2). I will move the time of my report to UTC 3:30 (so my report is 5:30 local). It is 5:00. The wind direction is wrapping around the southern end of Madagascar. Later today it will be due E. I have a decision to make, allow the boat to drift S or jibe N. I have sought Des’s advice. I put the TillerPilot back on to stabilize my course. I am already in a broad reach, which I imagine I will be able to maintain until midday or possibly early afternoon. In the absence of advice to the contrary, I will let the boat drift S until I have an angle to tack. At that point I will probably try to maintain the latitude rather than work my way back up to 26s. In any case, I can expect some dead air in a couple of days. I continue to have commercial traffic pass by, but the ships are traveling NE/SW. It started to rain lightly at 6:00. A beautiful sail-through rainbow appeared. The wind has dropped to 16 from 165. The boat is slowing down. I unfurled two-thirds of the Yankee and trimmed the sails, but was making only 4.7 kt. Sea conditions are not favorable. I set the last (moldy) raisin roll and two rock-hard (never that good) croissants free. At 7:15 I was awaken from a nap because the boat accidentally jibed. In addition to a change in wind direction, I was now running against a current. I changed to a more southerly course but could only make 5 kt. PW suggests I will be driven down to 27s when around midnight I can tack N. Des recommended a new waypoint (RBay2b, 27 30’s 44e), which is 118 nm from my current position. I set course from RBay2b at 9:20 averaging 6.1 kt with 22 kt wind on the beam. It looks like I will have similar conditions to the waypoint, arriving early tomorrow morning. From RBay2b, it is recommended that I sail due E 215 nm (RBay2c, 27 30’s 40e). After that … we’ll see. It is 11:20 and the direction of the current is beginning to rotate clockwise and is now making a positive contribution to the 6.3 kt average boat speed. At 13:00 the wind was 20-25 kt from 160 and I had averaged 6.8 kt since changing the course to RBay2b. It is 15:30, the boat speed is over 7 and the SOG over 8 with a 2.4 kt cross current driving the boat SW. the wind is 24 kt in the beam. It is 76 nm to RBay2b, but it would appear that I will reach 27.5s well W of the waypoint. It is 16:30, the current is 3.4 kt, and the boat is doing almost 10 kt! To take full advantage of the current and the prevailing wind, I changed the course to 260 at 17:00. I may end up in the morning closer to 43e than 44e, depending on how far/fast the wind backs. Or, I may need to tack starboard before sunrise to avoid going below 27.5s. It is 22:00 and I am only 28 nm from 27.5s 44e. I have changed my course to 26.5s 43e for several reasons … make needed distance E, slow down the boat so I do not have to tack until daylight, a more comfortable ride. I am still averaging 7.3 kt and if I can maintain this heading will cover the 60 nm in 8-9h, arriving 6-7:00. This will have saved me half a day of sailing relative to where I expected to be. At 1:00 the “arrival” alarm went off. I was still 22 nm from 27.5s 44e, but that was as close as I would get because of the course set for 43e, which was still 41 nm away. I was still averaging 7 kt, so I anticipate arrival at 7:00, well after light. However, since it was my plan to head E from that point, I decided to change course again. The current was about 270 and had decreased to 2.2 kt (from 3.4), meaning it would continue to drive me S even if I had a heading of 280. The wind was still blowing from 140 (it was supposed to be 78 by now according to PW). Between the wind and current direction, it would be extremely inefficient to do a starboard tack at this point. So, I changed the heading for 285, which placed me in a deep broad reach. I would continue to drift S, just not as fast. I downloaded new GRIB data. All of the models are consistent and they all say the wind should be blowing from about 80 (not 140). I note that Des’s forecast also predicted wind from the NE. I have been averaging 6.5 kt since changing my heading to 285. The COG is more like 260 with the effect of the current. At 3:30 the wind was blowing 16 and had begun to back at 115. The current was still at 270, but had decreased to 1.5 kt. The jib was slatting, so I adjusted the heading to 275. I still have 25 nm to 27.5s 43e (having made 41-25=16 nm in 2.5h,m) I have averaged 16/2.5=6.4, but am only making 5.9 now, mainly due to less current. I am going to have to let the changes play out until the wind is blowing less than 90. Sunrise in RBay (32e) was at 5:05, so at my current location (43.3e) it should be (43.3-32)*4=45m earlier, 4:20. The sun came up behind a bank, but that’s about right. Since changing my course yesterday about 9:00, I have sailed approximately 145 nm (145/20=7.25 kt avg.). I just downloaded a GRIB (for what it is worth) and it looks like I can make decent progress for the next 24-36h. After that I will hit dead air around 39e that runs N/S and cannot be avoided.

Current Position: 26 07.579’S 46 03.383’E; Timezone: UTC+4; SOG: 7.0; COG: 297; TWS: 20 kt; TWD: 172; P (12:00): 1016.5; P (18:00): 1017.3; P (24:00): 1016.6; P (6:00): 1019.0; Distance to Waypoint (26s34e, 294): 649; Total Miles Sailed: 14760nm; Engine Hours: 282; Estimate Fuel: 36+15+50;
Comments: It is 7:00 and I have been motor sailing in about 5 kt wind for an hour. I transferred fuel to fill the day tank and while doing so separated out a cup of water. That is the most water I have seen since I replumbed the vent line in Darwin. Since I have not been doing much sailing where the starboard side has been submerged, I imaging the water is due to condensation (cooler air and water). I am 95 nm from RBay1 (274) and have set a course (260) that favored reaching 26s, about 30 nm to my S. I am doing this in part because I am more likely to find wind there. I have a NW current at present, but expect it to change to the SW. I have had my morning tea.m and since the I can rely on the TillerPilot, I am going to lay down for an hour or two as I got very little sleep last night and mostly in 15m increments. There does not seem to be any commercial traffic to be concerned with and ai figure I have at least 2h more of motoring. Since the engine was running, I fully charged the batteries and made water. Also, looks like there will be serious rolling once I am S of Madagascar, so I hard boiled a half dozen eggs. A pocket of dead air opened up S of me, so at 7:30 I changed my course to 280. It looks like I should have air from the SW in 1-2h. At 9:30, 82 nm from RBay1, I shut off the engine for a minute to confirm what the waves were telling me, that it was still blowing 6 kt from the N. By now I had cleared most of the cloud cover and was clearly downwind of the low. PW is telling me another hour (maybe 2) along the rhumb line before I will see double digit southerly winds. By 10:00 the seas were becoming complex. The wind was still northerly … I could feel it blowing from starboard … but there was no longer a clearly-defined direction of the swell and waves. I downloaded an AIS file and saw Greij, a boat I first met at Thursday Island (first spotted anchored off Cape York on July 20) and the first sailboat I have observed since passing the Mauritius archipelago. We parted ways at Christmas Island. They left a day before me headed for Madagascar. They must have changed their mind about going via the Mozambique Channel and are now hugging the E coast making good use of the current. They are about 45 nm from RBay1 (I am currently 80). They are at a disadvantage in that they are beating into a strong headwind. Or, perhaps they are motoring. It is possible they changed their minds because of the civil unrest in Madagascar. At 10:30 I stopped the engine again … still 6 kt, but has backed to 330. At 11:30 and 48 15’e, I suddenly started to see large amounts of plastic and wood debris, suggesting I might be getting close to the current that flows S along the coast of Madagascar. At 14:00 I was below and felt the boat heel to starboard. For the first time there was a southerly wind. I stopped the engine and learned the wind was blowing 6 kt from 275. There was also a 0.9 kt current from 260. This was not enough to warrant switching to sails, so I continued to motor. I woke at 15:20 after an hour-long nap and could tell immediately something was different. The sound of the water in the hull suggested the boat was moving faster. The sound of the engine suggested it was not working as hard. The boat was heeled over to starboard. I went to the cockpit and it was clear from the waves and the full sails the wind was coming from the SW quarter. I put on my harness and went forward to take care of business … move a preventer, rethread the starboard staysail sheet under the jack line, check the bolts in the gooseneck were tight, and make sure the dinghy was secure. Coming back to the cockpit I checked the instruments … averaging over 6 kt at 1800 rpm and 47 nm to go to RBay1. The TWS said 8 and the AWS 10 and the boat was in a close reach. I was close to being able to sail at a decent speed. I unfurled a little less than half of the Yankee, and to gather with the storm staysail and the single-reefed main was making 7 kt at 1800 rpm. Then the wind reached the 29s later tonight, this is all the foresail I will need and I will need to put the second reef in the main for a beam reach. I will do that at the first hint of 20 kt gusts. I decided to enjoy a snack and motor sail until I was clearly I the current, probably within the hour. This is the furthest I have ever motored the boat, but I know if I had not done it It would have taken me two more days to reach RBay1 and I would have missed the wind that is going to carry across the southern coast of Madagascar over the next two days, probably adding four days or more to the passage. That’s four more days in the crosshairs of a buster. I will do it again if necessary to reach the Agulhas current if becalmed. I turned the engine off at 16:39 with 40 nm to go to RBay1. The wind is blowing 13-15 from 205 and I am making 5 kt in a close haul. I expect to start seeing gusts in the low 20s soon. I am guessing I will make RBay1 about midnight. I will put a second reef in the main before dark. It is 18:15 and there are sustained 20 kt winds. I put the second reef the main with some difficulty. I don’t trust the reefing line I replaced with the old furling line, so I tied the reefing point to the boom with a second line, thereby relieving the pressure on the reefing line. I don’t expect the second moline to last too long as it is just 1/4” double-braid, so I will need to keep an eye on it. The boat speed is about 5.6 with one-third of the Yankee, the storm staysail, and the double-reefed main. On top of that I gave a 1.7 kt current giving a SOG of about 7 kt. The boat is handling well in a close reach. I still have the TillerPilot engaged and will leave it on for the next 30 nm to RBay1. I don’t want to accidentally stray N or it may be hard to get back. I reached RBay1 at 22:20 and set course for RBay2 (26s 34e), an arbitrary point about 700 nm due W. The boat was averaging 8.2 kt in 25 kt wind and a strong current. Now in a beam reach and not a close haul, the boat was not heeled over as severely and was much more comfortable. Needing sleep and not wanting to be concerned with navigation overnight, I left the TillerPilot engaged as it seemed to be doing a good job. I’ll sort out the windvane in the morning. One real advantage of heading due W is I begin to loose the commercial traffic which by and large continue SW. Griej has continued on a SW course. I woke at 2:00 and found the current was driving me S, so I adjusted the course to 305. The wind speed had fallen to 18 and together with the larger TWA, the boat slowed down a bit. The boat has been slamming, so I am wearing my helmet when going to the cockpit. At 3:00, I went in search of a knocking noise. I could have sworn it was coming from the deck. I thought at first it was a loose preventer allowing the traveler to slide and knock against stops. It was a can of corn deep in the bilge. Always amazes me how sound travels in peculiar way on a boat. I checked the trace and my course adjustment worked and am now headed due W, corrected for the current that wants to push me S. I woke up just before 6:00. Despite a rough night (vertical acceleration, slamming, etc.), I slept well. I have removed the TillerPilot and engaged the windvane, which seems to be doing a good job. The total distance sailed in the last 24h was 14760-14604=156 nm (156/24=6.5 kt avg.). This number is probably inaccurate due to the currents.

Current Position: 24 30.877’S 50 29.640’E; Local Timezone: UTC+4; SOG: 5.3; COG: 270; TWS: ? kt; TWD: ?; P (12:00): 1015.1; P (18:00): 1013.0; P (24:00): 1016.0; P (6:00): 1015.2; Distance to Waypoint (26s47e, 268): 98; Total Miles Sailed: 14603 nm; Engine Hours: 272; Estimate Fuel: 46+15+50;
Comments: It is 6:30, just after sunrise. In contrast to the past few days, it is cloudy, perhaps 80%. Nothing looks like rain at present. This may be my last day if relative calm. I need to spend it securing the boat below and preparing the topside for rough conditions that will likely begin Thursday. I will do an inspection of the rigging, but one thing that concerns me is the second reefing line. Besides being too short now, it is frayed in several places. I am not sure I have anything line enough to replace it, perhaps what is left of the old furling line, but it too has problems. It may be possible to take the strain off the second reefing line if I can fit a second line through the grommet to lash the sail to the boom (taking the pressure off the reefing line). With a TWD of 70, I am in a deep broad reach, slowing the boat down again. Also, I am running against a 0.8 kt current. The boat is only making 4.5 in 15 wind. There is not much I can do about it. The wind usually backs after the air heats up, so I expect to pick up speed later. It has been a dry spell for fishing, but I put my line out nonetheless. I examined the old furling line. The core is Dyneema and ai believe it is long enough for the furling line. My plan is to stitch the lines together and pull the furling line through the reefing grommet while the sail is aloft. This is the only way I will know for sure if it is long enough. The good news is the reefing line is fixed for now. The bad news is one of the two bolts that holds the r end cap of the boom is stripped out. I found it in the deck. It is the 10mm bolt I tapped in Tonga. The 5/16” bolt on the other side was loose. I don’t think there is any risk right now of the end of the boom becoming detached from the gooseneck because of the threaded rod that I installed. I will need to come up with a permanent fix in Richard’s Bay. I can see now how it can be done, by installing threaded stair less backing plates like the one I installed for the gooseneck. I can also see how they can be attached. The backing plate could be triangular with two more bolts aft. This will insure that the relatively little aluminum at the end of the boom does not wear through. I will just need to find the material (and spend another day manhandling the boom). In the meantime, for the remainder of this passage, I will need to inspect the gooseneck/boom daily to tighten the remaining bolt. It started to sprinkle at 7:45 and I saw my first gust of 20. I am going to put the first reef back in. The extra mainsail is not doing much in the deep broad reef but add to the heeling. In a positive note, the current has rotated and is now productive. I do not notice too much change in the boat speed, it is less heeled and the windvane appreciates the more balanced sails. It is 8:00 and the boat is averaging 4.8, the same as before I reefed. At this point I would be happy with anything over 5. As expected, the wind has backed to 50 as the air heats up. It is going to be a game of bumper ball rounding Madagascar as all the commercial traffic converges around RBay1. It is 10:30 and I just received Des’s report … he recommends I continue towards RBay1. This time tomorrow morning I should reach the SW 2 kt current around 48e, so I don’t have a problem straying N if it means having a better TWA. If necessary, I will motorsail across the dead air tomorrow morning. I want to catch the brisk air forecasted on the other side of RBay1 as there is a chance of becoming becalmed if I don’t. A dozen cargo ships passed by in the afternoon. The closest was UHL Fighter that passed within 0.5 nm at 15:00. It was an unusual cargo ships, smaller than most at 500’. The bridge was in the bow and it had large cranes. I assume it was a supply ship for one of the islands in the Mauritius archipelago. Indeed, the destination listed on the AIS was MU PLU, which I assume is Port Louis. It was close enough that with my binoculars I could see crew members standing at the rail and looking at Aegir-Ran.” Something g role my fishing line … must have been big. Sunset was at 18:40 at 51 26’e yesterday, so today at 49 30’e, it should be 8m later, 18:48. The sun sat behind a cloud bank. It is looking pretty nasty ahead. The barometer is dropping. It started raining hard at 21:15. During the squall the wind initially blew 30 kt and then was variable 5-22 from 50-310. The variable wind speed and direction required hand steering for about 2h. During the initial blast of wind, the ensign flag pole mount broke off the stern pulpit. Fortunately, I had seen the welds were weakening and I had tied a leash cord to it, so I retrieved it overboard. The convergence zone was very complex, so I lived with the fact that I was not going to sail in a straight line for a while. My goal was simply to point the boat in a direction whereby I was making some progress on. After 2h (23:15), the wind settled down a bit and blew 15 from due N. I knew it was temporary. Around midnight the wind had continued to back and was blowing 20 from 340. In a close haul, I was being driven S on a course of 240, aided in part by a cross-current. While the wind direction was predicted, it was blowing much harder than it was supposed to. I would have liked to reduce sail, furl in half the Yankee and possibly put the second reef in, but the winds were supposed to decrease and I wanted to make up some distance. By 4:00 the wind had backed to 320 and I was on a close haul at 240. In about 25 nm I expect to tack to port. By that point it will blowing 240 and I will be headed almost due S. By 5:30 I had become becalmed. The wind speed was only a couple of kt and the direction variable. I furled the Yankee, and ran the engine as it appeared I was only about 20 nm from the wind. I am 100 nm from RBay1. I expect to have to jibe by that point, so I readied the mainsail preventer and the storm staysail for that. It is 6:00 and getting light. There are dense, dark storm clouds behind me and clear skies ahead. The distance sailed towards RBay1 in the last 24h was 208-98=110 nm. Given all the gyrations of the past 24h, I feel fortunate to have made this distance on. The total distance sailed was 14604-14497=107 nm (107/24=4.46 kt avg.), which is inaccurate because of the currents.