Author: mtashby

Current Position: 12 05.569’S 96 52.904’E; Local Timezone: UTC+6.5; SOG: 0 kt; COG: N/A; TWS: ? kt; TWD: ?; Distance to Waypoint (Cocos): At Anchor; Total Miles Sailed: 11577 nm; Engine Hours: 248; Estimate Fuel: 56+15+50;
Comments: Today was a wonderful day. I took care of my punch list (checked engine mount, bolts, nuts, and screws on deck, mast, and boom; transferred fuel to day tank; stitched the solar panel liner; and updated the route on website). I also went drift diving in “The Rip” in what was supposed to be slack/low tide at 10:30. I was picked up by the tender from Paradise Falls and joined by the crew of Chinook. The current was still screaming. It took perhaps 10m (or less) to traverse “The Rip”. I did it four times. After that, we anchored the dinghy/tender off a reef and did some snorkeling. I have to say it was the most spectacular reef I have ever seen. I saw gobs of fish and three black tip sharks. After I was dropped off, I continued my punch list and made a pasta dinner (because the last serving of the Dorado had passed its expiration date. It is 16:00 and I am reflecting on the fact the weather forecast has panned out. No rain today for a change, and the wind/waves are less. Tomorrow is all about preparing for the passage (downloading information, cooking, organizing provisions,etc), although I am also going to take the time to hike the trails on Direction Island (getting some desperately needed exercise before the passage). I had aspirations of leaving tomorrow night, but I just received an invitation to dinner at White Malkin at 17:00 tomorrow, and it may be my last chance to see Mike and Ertan for a while/ever. I absolutely need to leave early Monday morning as by later in the day thunder storms are expected.

Current Position: 12 05.569’S 96 52.904’E; Local Timezone: UTC+6.5; SOG: 0 kt; COG: N/A; TWS: ? kt; TWD: ?; Distance to Waypoint (Cocos): At Anchor; Total Miles Sailed: 11577 nm; Engine Hours: 248; Estimate Fuel: 60+11+50;
Comments: I was able to get some ant repellent from West Island yesterday and treated the infestation below my starboard main winch. I pulled supplies from the far reaches of the boat today to restock my pantry. I took a water taxi at 10:30 to the Home Island to check it out, walked around a bit and bought a few groceries before returning by water taxi about 13:30. I did some research for the next passage in the afternoon and joined a beach party attended by the several dozen sailors at anchor here about 16:00. I got back to the boat about 17:45, just as some very threatening clouds and high wind showed up. It is supposed to be 20-24 kt winds tonight with gusts close to 30. The wind will lighten up the next two days and it shouldn’t rain. The rain will come back Monday. I will do a few fun things tomorrow , then get the boat ready and cook on Sunday for a departure Monday morning.

Current Position: 12 05.569’S 96 52.904’E; Local Timezone: UTC+6.5; SOG: 0 kt; COG: N/A; TWS: ? kt; TWD: ?; Distance to Waypoint (Cocos): At Anchor; Total Miles Sailed: 11577 nm; Engine Hours: 248; Estimate Fuel: 60+11+50;
Comments: This entry corrects the last two which listed the longitude as 98E (it is 97E). I timed the arrival to the Cocos perfectly. I had pretty good sailing weather the whole way, avoided the unpleasant weather that arrived last night, I am told this is the first sunshine that has been seen here in weeks (the nice female APF official said “it’s been pissing down rain forever”), and I am here for the weekly ferry tomorrow. Unfortunately the ferry is experiencing mechanical problems and its visit to DI today has been cancelled. Mike on WhiteMalkin has ordered a boat to go to the West Island to get fuel and I am going to join him about 12:30 to do some shopping. The boat picked five of us up about 1:00. I had helped moving everyone to White Malkin in my dinghy. The trip to West Island was very wet. We were all soaking wet by the time we got there. The boat captain then took us shopping in his truck. The co-op store closed at 3:00. The West Island only has a permanent population of about 140 people, although another 100 visitors/workers may be on the island at any given time. Fresh produce arrives every two weeks by plane (unfortunately tomorrow) and a supply ship comes every two months. Nonetheless, the store was pretty well stocked and it had a small bakery. I was even able to pick up a few pieces of fruit. The three 5.80 racers visited a shop while Mike and I filled water containers, then I went with another driver to the dock to get the boat and unload supplies. The others went for fuel. Once everyone/everything was onboard, we took an even wetter trip back to Direction Island. On the way back, pelted by the spray, I mentioned I needed a beer. The captain of the boat produced a jug of Kracken rum and it was passed around. The captain took us the pier at Direcrion Island, everything was unloaded, then three of us were taken to Mike’s boat. Mike slipped and hit his head transitioning from the transport boat to his sailboat, producing quite a bit of blood from his scalp. It was about 5, but Christian (one of the 5.80 racers) and Mike insisted we have a beer before going. A long video was made where the three of us shared our experiences sailing. Finally, about 45m before dark, I insisted we had to get going. I transported the racers and their supplies to their boats, took Mike his supplies, Anne it back to my boat just before a storm hit at dusk. It felt like a long day, which will be repeated tomorrow when I take the dinghy to Home Island.

Current Position: 12 05.569’S 97 52.904’E; Local Timezone: UTC+6.5; SOG: 0 kt; COG: N/A; TWS: ? kt; TWD: ?; Distance to Waypoint (Cocos): At Anchor; Total Miles Sailed: 11577 nm; Engine Hours: 248; Estimate Fuel: 60+11+50;
Comments: Coming into the anchorage yesterday, I once again had difficulties putting the transmission into reverse. When I shift, the engine gets bogged down and the prop won’t flip. I will dive on it again and see if there is any growth preventing its proper operation. As I was washing the dishes on the dive platform, I saw dark objects moving in the dark water at twilight. There are big fish there. The higher wind arrived last night with some light rain as expected. It is going to be blowing in the 20s all week … initially with gusts approaching 30. Sunrise was at 5:55. It is blowing hard with some waves of driven rain. By 9:00 the skies had become partly cloudy, but it was still blowing in the mid-20s and there were whitecaps on the waves in the lagoon. It looks to me that the only relatively calm day (16-20) will be Sunday. I figure I need to unfurl and repair the sail before then so it is ready to hoist Sunday. My punch list is pretty short this stop. Besides the sail and a few other minor sewing jobs, the list can be summarized mostly as organizational. I have to break into the food in “hidden” spaces, which is going to require a lot of moving stuff around. In addition, I need to do a thorough job of inspecting (chafing, loose hardware, etc.). I really would like to go up the mast, but that just isn’t happening at this anchorage this week. The Australian Police Force (APF) came about noon and I completed the formalities (and took down the Q flag). I need to visit Home Island tomorrow (the only day a ferry goes there) to pay my port fees. That will also be my only chance to get fresh water (so I will transfer water and fill the main tank today). At 13:00 I launched the dinghy (no small feat in these winds) and went to explore Direction Island. I want e to make sure I understood the dock so I would know for example if I could bring my cart with me to the ferry in the morning. After a visit to the island, I am all set for tomorrow. After discussing the matter with several other sailors, I have decided to sail to Rodriguez from here, rather than the Mauritius. Rodriguez is part of the Mauritius island group, but smaller, less expensive, cleaner, and safer than Mauritius. Since I learned that I could not get into Reunion, I have been somewhat dreading the idea of going to Mauritius. Rodriguez sounds like it has some interesting things to see, including a natural reserve for the Domed Rodrigues Giant Tortoise. They apparently follow you around to have their heads scratched.

Current Position: 12 05.569’S 97 52.904’E; Local Timezone: UTC+6.5; SOG: 0 kt; COG: N/A; TWS: 17 kt; TWD: 157; Distance to Waypoint (Cocos): At Anchor; Total Miles Sailed: 11577 nm; Engine Hours: 248; Estimate Fuel: 60+11+50;
Comments: I was wrong about the Cocos being in the same time zone as CI. It is in fact 0.5h earlier (UTC+6.5). Accordingly, I will start using UTC+6.5 with this report. For the remainder of the passage, the next 24h, the wind is supposed to remain fairly constant 18 with 20 gusts from about 115. I do not believe it will be necessary to tack and the average speed should be about 5, giving me an arrival at the waypoint about 13:00. I should be anchored by 15:00. It is 17:00, just before sunset, and the wind had dropped to 14 kt. Further, I am running almost directly against a 1.1 kt current. I have 88 nm to go and the boat speed has fallen to 4.4 kt. The seas are bigger now, perhaps 9’. Sunset was at 17:47 and was filtered through a rain shower. By 20:30 it was blowing 19-24 kt and the current is closer to the beam, so I am making over 5 kt again. I was awaken at 22:15 because the boat had rounded up. It had been sailing due S for 10m. I have 65 nm to go, one unit longitude W. The boat rounded up again at 23:00. I think it is caused by a couple of waves hitting in succession before the windvane can correct. At 00:30, I relaxed the jib sheet in an effort to better balance the sails and prevent the tendency to round up. I will probably jibe at dawn for an hour or two to get the right angle for the northern passage into the lagoon. It is 5:19 and sunrise should be about 5:50. The wind has slowed to 14 and a current is working against me. As soon as it is light, I will tack N for about 2h, to get a better angle for the N passage into the lagoon, but also get a better wind angle to try to pick up some speed. Finally, the chart shows South Keeling Islands just E of the Cocos, although no elevations are shown. In any case, I want to steer well clear of the windward shore. I tacked at 5:30. The new course is 315 (waypoint 281), the best I can do with a TWD of 120. I am averaging 4.5 kt in 14 kt of wind with a little help from the current. I could gain more speed heading further N, but I’d just have to make up the distance and I would not have as much help from the current or following seas. It is 31 nm to the waypoint. I probably need to sail 6-8 nm on this course before tacking again. It should be sunrise soon but I won’t see it because there are storm clouds once again to the SE. This seems a pattern every morning. I am going to enjoy my tea then get to work on my pre-arrival checklist (sorting out the chain locker, switch out the flags and raising the Q, reviewing the arrival protocols for the Cocos, etc.). Some interesting new birds have started appearing. I will need to investigate if the Cocos have any unique species. At 7:20 a cargo ship appeared on AIS, but it will pass behind me. At 7:30, 2h after tacking, I have 26 nm to go (was 31) and the waypoint angle is 270 (was 281). To make sure I have the angle for the passage, I should probably try to make 260. That should place me about 20 nm from the waypoint. At 9:00 the waypoint was 24 nm away at 260 and I tacked towards it. It is 9:00. I have 23 nm to the waypoint and am only making 4 kt in 12 kt wind. Hoping the wind picks up as the ocean warms up today. Unfortunately (for both solar electricity and solar warming), it is heavily overcast. As it is, I won’t make the waypoint until 3:00, but certainly with plenty of time to anchor before dark. Since I am make a course now towards the waypoint, I should start making some progress. I am starting to hear chatter on VHF 16. I have completed my pre-arrival punch list. It is 9:15 and there is a large rainstorm upwind. It looks like it will hit me. I need a shower and I am hoping it brings some wind. It started to rain at 9:30. The clouds started to look a bit more angry than they did from a distance, but still not particularly threatening. The wind backed from 120 to 80 as the storm arrived. Almost at the same time, hundreds of seabirds showed up. The main storm hit at 10:00 with heavy rain. As the storm passed, wind speeds dropped to single-digits (not what I was hoping for) and veered to 180. It became clear the storm was made up by many cells, and the rain and wind shifts came in waves, latter making it difficult to navigate. The main storm passed about 10:30 and some sunshine peeked through the clouds. In the end, the TWA ranged from 70 to 190 and I steered mostly by hand from a close haul to a near run. Another rain storm showed up at 11:00. It seems larger in area than the last one. I am still 16 nm from the waypoint. In the last 2h I have only make 7 nm on. It seems fairly certain U will anchor before dark, but perhaps not to much before. The seas have settled down with perhaps 5’ waves suggesting the 20+ kt winds are gone. I have had mostly single digits the past few hours. The forecast did not pan out, either in terms of wind speeds/directions or precipitation. The larger rainstorm arrived at 11:40. In contrast to the previous storm, this one brought wind … initially 28 kt gusts. However, the wind was well-behaved with respect to direction, so the windvane was able to handle it. By the time the initial 20+ kt gusts subsided 20m later, I was 12 nm from the waypoint. Rain continued for another 20m with more manageable 12-18 kt wind. This was all well-timed with respect to giving the boat a good washing and propelling it to the waypoint. Unfortunately, when the storm had passed it sucked the air out of the and the wind dropped again to single digits. It is 13:00. The storms are long gone, but the wind is still 7 kt with occasional gust of 10. I have 8 nm to go to the waypoint. I contacted Cocos Police in VHF 20 per protocol and they gave me permission to proceed to Direction Island. I am averaging under 3 kt. I see another storm building on the horizon. At 13:40 I was 6 nm away and spotted the Cocos. I am guessing I will be ready to drop the sails about 15:00. At 15:00 I was 1.8 nm from the waypoint. A rain storm was crossing Home Island and would soon reach me. At 15:15 I was 1.2 nm away, had lowered and lashed the sails, and was motoring to the anchorage. By 16:00 the hook was set and by 16:20 I had been in contact with the authorities about the formalities, which will be taken care of tomorrow. I spoke with Ertan by video chat and he filled me in on what is going on at Home Island. There will be a ferry there on Thursday from Direction Island which I will take to pay my port fees. I was feeling “homesick” for Mexico and in serious need of a good meal that was not lamb curry (which I ate five days straight during the passage). So, I made myself Pescado a la Veracruzana. Shockingly, I had all of the ingredients … including the capers!!! I prepared it using the Dorado I caught on the way in. Life is good.

Current Position: 11 59.755’S 98 35.873’E; Local Timezone: UTC+7; SOG: 5.1 kt; COG: 268; TWS: 19 kt; TWD: 116; Distance to Waypoint (Cocos, 269): 100; Total Miles Sailed: 11475 nm; Engine Hours: 247; Estimate Fuel: 60+12+50;
Comments: I made water today. It has been awhile since I have had enough sunlight to do that. It is 15:00 and I am finally out of the thunderstorm warning area. The little pink squid was not getting any hits so I switched to a diving red and white fish-shaped plug, but after running that all day I didn’t get any hits. There are fishing boats N or me. Perhaps this is not a fish-rich area. It is 16:00 and just before sunset the wind tends to die down, and today is no exception … 12 kt and the boat speed has fallen to 4.8. Overnight, the wind is supposed to build to 20 with 25 gusts by morning. It will repeat tomorrow night. I am counting on this and the veering from 100 to 120 to allow me to continue on an approximate rhumb line. All I caught today fishing was plastic bags. I wonder if the unusual amount of plastic and other trash in the water has something to do with the poor fishing. Sunset was at 18:13 and I have 202 nm to go to the waypoint, which is just a few nm from the anchorage at Direction Island. At 2:30 the wind was blowing 17 with 20 gusts from 110 and the boat was averaging 5.8 kt on a course of 253 (262 is the waypoint). I got up at 6:00, just before sunrise. It was dark and I was unexpectedly surrounded by showers. The wind was blowing 17 from 129, probably affected by the storms. I have 143 nm to go and have done 74 nm in the mast 15h (4.9 nm/h on). I am on track to arrive at the waypoint midday tomorrow. The seas are bigger, but not big, maybe 5’, and are following. At 6:30 the boat rounded up and the wind dropped to 12, probably both due to the small weather disturbance in front of me. The GRIB was 15h old, so I downloaded a new one and long-range AIS. No real surprises regarding weather. I predict I will arrive at the waypoint midday tomorrow. I will encounter a couple of cargo ships today. I finished the last of the giant batch of oatmeal I prepped back in Dawin six weeks ago. I had a huge bag of stale walnuts that I couldn’t bear to throw out, so I have tasted those walnuts every morning for a month and a half. I am very glad to be rid of it. Unfortunately, I am down to my last tangerine as well. Those have been a joy each morning. The first of the cargo ships passed 12 nm off my port quarter at 8:30. I will almost certainly have to jibe to the Cocos, but I will wait until tomorrow morning so I know exactly how far I need to travel NW. At 9:00 I landed the perfect-sized (2’) Dorado, enough for three or so large meals. It was hooked using the homemade pot metal South African lure. You always know when you hook a Dorado … they love to leap in the air. It was small enough, so I landed it without slowing the boat down or using the gaff. By 9:30 it was filleted and in the fridge. The timing is perfect as I am down to my last portion of lamb curry. I will eat some for lunch and then make a nice celebratory meal when I arrive tomorrow. It is 10:00 and I no longer have the current working g with me … 1.3 kt from 210 on the port now. It is however helping me stay on the rhumb line. The second ship showed up on the AIS at 10:30.it looks like it will pass behind me about 12:30. There was a little precipitation at 14:30. The distance sailed towards Cocos in the last 24h was 217-100=117 nm. The total distance sailed was 11475-11357=118 nm (118/24=4.9 kt avg.). The discrepancy is due to the current.

Current Position: 11 25.071’S 100 30.895’E; Local Timezone: UTC+7; SOG: 5.6 kt; COG: 239; TWS: 16 kt; TWD: 100; Distance to Waypoint (Cocos, 260): 217; Total Miles Sailed: 11357 nm; Engine Hours: 245; Estimate Fuel: 60+13+50;
Comments: It is 15:30 and I just downloaded a new GRIB and plotted a weather course. PW suggests a new arrival of about noon on Tuesday, probably because it underestimates the speed at night. Also new, it predicts the wind will start increasing about 22:00 tonight instead of dawn tomorrow, so I will be furling the asymm before dark. Sunset should be about 18:05. If the skies stay clear, it should be light enough until 19:00 to furl the asymm. I furled the asymm, lowered, and bagged it before it got dark. I also jibed to a new course if 285 (261 is the waypoints). I could sense the wind was stating to build, now firmly in the double-digits (11-14 kt) from due E. I made the right call to switch to the Yankee and was averaging 3.8 kt (half a kt slower than the asymm). If the forecast holds, I should be make 5-6 kt by midnight. I noted the sail furled smoothly this time. I think the trick is to make sure there is no slack in the torsion cable. It should be possible to unfurl the lower third when it comes time to patch the sail while I am at the Cocos. I passed an AIS for fishing nets about 21:00. By 22:00 the wind started to pick up 14-17 and the boat speed was 4.3 on a deep far reach. At 2:00 I tacked and shook out the second reef in 14-18 kt wind at 105 towards the waypoint at 257 doing about 5 kt. It is dawn and I am averaging 5.5 towards the waypoint in 17-19 kt wind from 109. I have 260 nm to go. I need to make the waypoint in about 57h to have time to make my way into the lagoon and anchor before dark on Tuesday. I’ll need to make 260/57=4.6 kt average between now and then to do that. I just downloaded a new GRIB and fortunately the wind is going to be at least as strong as it is now. Furthermore, it is expected to veer from 108 to 118, meaning it might be unnecessary to tack again and I should be able to steer a course towards the waypoint. I see Paradise Falls is about 100 nm ahead of me and should get to the Cocos tomorrow night. The weather forecast has me leaving the last of the thunderstorm warning areas in the next couple of hours. The first ship I have seen on the AIS during this passage is passing 40 nm in front of me at 7:00. There is another one that will come much closer in a couple of hours. The sparse traffic here is in sharp contrast to the past few months. I had my first flying fish on deck in ages. I collected it as bait in case I don’t land anything before the Cocos. The second ship showed up 30 nm away at 7:30. It looks like it is going to pass behind me. I visually spotted the second ship at 9:10 and it passed 6 nm behind me about 9:30. A third ship was on the AIS, but would pass even further away. There seems to be a N/S shipping lanes between 100-101E that I will soon be out of. The distance sailed towards Cocos in the last 24h was 316-217=99 nm. The total distance sailed was 11357-11257=100 nm (100/24=4.2 kt avg.). The discrepancy is due to the current. So far, the weather had behaved like forecasted for today. I am on track to arrive on Tuesday.

Current Position: 11 10.968’S 102 10.831’E; Local Timezone: UTC+7; SOG: 4.8 kt; COG: 235; TWS: 10 kt; TWD: 78; Distance to Waypoint (Cocos, 260): 316; Total Miles Sailed: 11257 nm; Engine Hours: 245; Estimate Fuel: 60+14+50;
Comments: It is 19:00 and it has been blowing 8-12 kt from 105 all day. The asymm has allowed me to make 4.5-5 kt at a deep far reach. The same wind is expected until tomorrow night, so I am leaving the asymm up overnight. During this period the wind is supposed to back to 80. This is going to drive me further S than I’d like, but without the asymm I’d be making 2.5-3 kt. Tomorrow night the wind is supposed to build to 13-15 with 20 kt gusts starting early Sunday morning. I will take the asymm down before dark tomorrow and jibe when the wind gets to 80 degrees. I am still on schedule to arrive at the Cocos around dawn on Tuesday. The wind was 8-10 overnight and I averaged about 4.5 kt, staying just N of the rhumb line (helped by a 1.1 kt current to the port beam). It is 5:00 and the TWD suddenly changed to 60. It is not light enough to tell if this is due to some local weather disturbance. I just downloaded a new GRIB and it says it should be 95. If this continues, I will have to furl in the asymm (which is only set up for flying from the starboard) and jibe. As it got light, I saw some water on the hard dodger windows and showers off the starboard bow. Wind has dropped to 7 kt downwind of the storm. I am guessing I am downwind of the squall and the wind shifted is temporary. It is 6:00 and I have done about 100 nm since deploying the asymm 24h ago (avg. 4.2 kt towards the waypoint). I have 350 nm to go. It is 6:20 and the wind is from 80 now. It is 6:30 and the wind is back to 90, but only 7 kt. The swells on the beam were causing the asymm to slat, so I changed the course to 230 to try to give it more air. It is 7:00 and the storm is long gone, but the wind is still 7 from 80 and the swell is deflating the asymm to produce a boat speed of 2 kt. I changed the course to 220 to try to stabilize the kite. While before the tear in the sail did not appear to be all the way through the fabric (more like a scratch), it is wide open now, although it does not appear to be longer (perhaps 8”). I don’t have much choice but to continue in this course of 230 at 2.5 kt because if I take the asymm down or try to sail deeper I will be becalmed. Fingers crossed when it heats up I get some more wind. I have an infestation of ants or something in the wooden block beneath the starboard winch. I have noticed small wood “pellets” and now I wound a couple of larvae. I do not believe I have anything onboard to treat the wood (all I have is stuff for roaches, which I do not believe will work). I will have to pick up something in the Mauritius to deal with the problem. It is 8:00 and I still only have 8 kt wind, but it is from 95 and the kite is more stable while I make about 3 kt. There are more clouds windward now that look like they could produce rain, but they don’t look threatening. The CAPE is about 1500 and will decrease overnight. This is clearly the weather that is going to bring the winds tomorrow (15 with 20 gusts tomorrow and 20 with 25 gusts Monday). The winds should allow me to cruise into the Cocos on Tuesday morning. I will take the asymm down at dusk and, depending on the TWA, tack N. I have not seen any other vessels since Paradise Falls passed me the night before last, but I can see from the AIS that I am going to begin seeing commercial traffic starting tonight. At 8:39 I started to see some double-digit winds with TWA 100 and boat speeds over 4. It is relatively dark, but there is nothing in particular that looks threatening. I have had a fishing line out this morning but have noticed since Christmas Island that there is nothing much sea life … no flying fish, few birds, etc. this may be why there are no fishing boats and why I have not gotten any bites. It is 9:15 and I see another rain storm off the port beam. The rain looks heavy, but is coming straight down, so it does not look high energy. I will keep an eye on it in case I need to furl the asymm. It looks like the storm is going to pass in front of me. The wind is starting to back. The windvane is automatically turning the boat to facilitate passing behind the storm. It’s been the Corak Sea since I had to deal with squalls. I was paying attention to the one in front of me when a second, smaller one blotted out the sun behind me. The wind speed is picking up as the squall passes in front of me, but it does not exceed 15 kt. I am paying close attention to the whine speed in case I need to douse the asymm. The boat is doing over 6 kt for the first time during this passage. It is 10:00 and the skies look relatively clear upwind. I laid down for a 90m nap and when I woke up the sky was clear, the wind was blowing 9-12 from 85, there was a 1.3 current on the port beam giving a COG of about 245 (waypoint 260) and speeds of 4.5-5. The distance sailed towards Cocos in the last 24h was 412-316=96 nm. The total distance sailed was 11257-11175=82 nm (82/24=3.4 kt avg.). The discrepancy is due to the current.

Current Position: 10 42.732’S 103 44.206’E; Local Timezone: UTC+7; SOG: 4.8 kt; COG: 260; TWS: 10 kt; TWD: 103; Distance to Waypoint (Cocos, 258): 412; Total Miles Sailed: 11175 nm; Engine Hours: 245; Estimate Fuel: 60+14+50;
Comments: At 15:00 the wind had shifted placing the boat in a deep far reach, so I put a second reef in the main to see if I could get a little more air in the Yankee. If anything, the boat speed decreased, but not by much. The boat was heeled over less, but swell on the been kept knocking the air out of the sails. My choices were to change course to a beam reach ;off the waypoint and pick up half a kt or so, or just accept a boat speed of 4 kt. I chose the latter. When the wind decreases even more tomorrow, I may need to put the whisker pole up. Paradise Falls passed me about 15:30 flying a spinnaker. I had a terrible time with the sails slatting in the beam swells. At 16:00 I couldn’t take it anymore. I sheeted in the main as far as it would go, turned downwind as far as I could to get a better angle on the swells, and relaxed the Yankee to let it bellow out. There was still slatting, but not as bad, and there was almost no heeling. The boat was averaging about the same speed, 3.8 kt. Sunset was about 17:55. It is almost 20:00. I am averaging perhaps 3.5 kt in very light winds. I heard Paradise Falls tell Chinook that he intends to fly his chute all night. Chinook took his down for the night and is now doing 4 kt. Do a They are currently 8 nm ahead of me. I have seen no lights from fishing boats, there is nothing on the long-range AIS, and the wind vane has held the course, so to am setting an alarm interval of 90m. About 23:00, the boat accidentally jibed, was heaved to, and only going 1 kt. The wind had dropped to 8 kt. I adjusted the windvane, but was only able to get 2.5 kt on course. The water was glassy with perhaps 1-2’ swells. At 1:00, the boat was close to becalmed, doing only 1 kt against a current in 6 kt of wind. At 4:00 the wind had veered to 130 and was blowing 10 kt, so I had to adjust the windvane. The boat was doing about 3 kt. It is 5:00 and sunrise should be about 5:55 … exactly 12h of day and night. I am going to try to launch the asymm as soon as it is light. It is 6:00 and I have only done 75 nm in the first 24h. I started the process of deploying the asymm. It always takes me an hour by the time I untangle the halyards, rig all the lines etc. Ince again it did not deploy cleanly. The top half of the sail remains wound around the torsion cable. The top swivel should turn freely. I don’t understand why it does not. There is also a twist in the torsion cable. I thought I had sorted that out by lengthening the soft shackle at the tack. Finally, I can see a thin section in the fabric which will eventually rip if not repaired. I am leaving the sail partially deployed because it seems like the top section is slowly unraveling. Maybe if it does, it will allow the top swivel to turn and will take the kinks out if the torsion cable. I am doing 4 kt in 11 kt of wind. Not great, but twice what I was doing with the Yankee. About 7:45 the asymm completely deployed.producing 5.6 kt in 13 kt of wind. There is still a kink in the torsion cable. I am hoping it works its way out in the next 36h (the wind is supposed to gust to 20 kt tomorrow night). I got the kinks out with the furler line. The torsion cable is loose while the sail is powered. I believe when it is time to furl it, I need to depower the sail and make the torsion cable taunt. I suspect in the past the torsion cable has not been taunt when I furled, putting a counter twist in the cable as I roll on the sail that is causing tension that does not allow the sail to unfurl in its own. When there is a period of calm at anchor, I need to unfurl the sail, repair it, just hoist the furler to stretch out the torsion cable. It is 9:00 and the sailing is very pleasant … seas smooth and I am moving along over 5 kt in light winds. The skies this morning looked like they could produce rain/squalls, but it’s cleared up and sunny. At 11:00 it became cloudy again, but was not threatening. At noon the wind is single digits. I am still doing a little over 4 kt. Glad I hoisted the chute. The distance sailed towards Cocos in the last 24h was 491-412=79 nm. The total distance sailed was 11175-11109=66 nm (66/24=2.75 kt avg.). The discrepancy is due to the current.

Current Position: 10 30.175’S 105 04.507’E; Local Timezone: UTC+7; SOG: 4.3 kt; COG: 258; TWS: 14 kt; TWD: 120; Distance to Waypoint (Cocos, 258): 491; Total Miles Sailed: 11109 nm; Engine Hours: 245; Estimate Fuel: 60+14+50;
Comments: I was wrong about gaining an hour on the way to the Cocos. In fact, they are notched out of the timezone to be the same time as CI. I have not had to drop anchor for almost a month, so I imaging the chain locker is a mess. I will have to allow myself plenty of time to sort it out before arriving at the Cocos. I woke up at 2:30 and could not get back to sleep. I released the morning at dawn (5:58) and motored 0.5 nm offshore before raising the sails. I had trouble with the main at first because the halyard was wrapped outside the lazy jack lines, so had to lower the sail and untangle it. It is 6:15 and 525 nm to go at 258 degrees (almost due W). S/V Sipi left right after I did. They are a bigger boat and crewed, so expect them to pass me. I have 18 kt of wind on the leeward side of the island, so might see more offshore. I left a double reef in the main and am showing about 25% of the Yankee and making 4.5 kt. I will wait until I clear the island before changing the sail plan. The winds dropped to single digits as I rounded the western end of the island. I let out most of the Yankee, trimmed the sails, and I was able to make 3 kt. At 9:00 I shook out the second reef and unfurled the rest of the jib. I was able to make 4.5 kt on a been reach in 12 kt of wind from 100. Swell and as hitting on the port bow. Once I was completely out of the shadow of the island I started to average a little over 5 kt. At 9:15 I heard over the radio that Paradise Falls and Chinook were leaving CI. They are about 9 nm behind me. The former is 46’ catamaran and the latter a 48’ monohull, so I expect they will catch up before nightfall. I noticed all three boats are headed further S than me. They are all on beam reaches and U am in a broad reach. Besides have a more comfortable heeling angle, the broad reach sets me up in a better position in a day or two when the wind backs and blows due E. It is 10:30 and a large number of seabirds are feeding around the boat. I put out a fishing line (with a pink squid that does not look like their prey) to see if I can get some fresh fish. If I catch something, I am hoping it is small, because I have curry and fried rice in the fridge. It is 11:30 and I am only doing 4.5 kt in 14 kt wind because I have a 0.9 kt current from the W. At 15:00, I downloaded fresh GRIB/AIS data. No surprises. The wind is going to be light between now and Saturday. I will be lucky to average 4.5 kt. I have only averaged 3.9 kt in the last 9h. Beginning Saturday night, the wind will pick up and I should be able to make 5.5-6 kt. I am predicting an arrival Tuesday midday.