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Check-in July 11, 2025; 4:00 UTC
Current Position: 12 06.600’S 158 25.225’E; Local Timezone: UTC+21; SOG: 6.0 kt COG: 265; TWS: 21 kt; TWD: 122; Distance to Waypoint (R1, Raine Passage, 262): 842; Total Miles Sailed: 7777 nm; Engine Hours: 172 Estimate Fuel: 59+12+50
Comments: As I submitted my report yesterday at 15:00, yet another squall hit, bringing rain and an accidental jibe as the wind changed from 120 to 85. As I have not yet cleared Zona or the reef. I had to remain vigilant at the helm. I finally got a good view of Zona in between storms. It was visible about 20m before another huge squall it. I would say in all 15-20 squalls hit or came close to me in a 6h period. I ended up coming within about 2 nm of Zona and was some distance from the reef. I stayed awake until 23:00, when I was well-clear of both the island and the reef. What remained was 945 nm of open water. According to the forecast, the winds are going to be light (15) and from 115 (a run) tomorrow. Saturday and Sunday will be in the 20’s and 130 (broad reach), so I should make good time arriving at the islands SE of P/NG. Tuesday and Wednesday with be similar to tomorrow and Thursday and Friday like this weekend. I woke up at 24:30 and everything was going on … the alarm went off, the shower sump bilge pump was running, and the boat had accidentally jibed. I jiggled the switch on the pump and it turned off. Yet another bilge pump switch giving me trouble. The boat had jibed because the TWA is close to 160, which means it does not take much to push it another 20 degrees … a change in wind direction, a wave, etc. looks like it had been that way about 15m. When close to a run, there is not much heeling, so it is harder to feel when the boat had jibed. I tried to tighten the starboard control line to help it recover, but now I run the risk of the boat rounding up in a strong gust of wind. It is a delicate balance. The pump had used up some battery power, but I had also accidentally left the fridge on so the batteries were down to 87%, which is were they usually are at 6:00. They will be down to 80% by dawn, which will be hard to make up by solar alone. I woke up at 1:45 because the boat had rounded up. One of the control lines had loosened. I could see from the trace it had been a gradual thing, over a period of 30m, which is probably why it had not waken me up sooner. The boat jibed at 2:10. It had been hit by a wave … the cockpit was wet. I tried tightening the starboard control line. I was having trouble tuning the rig. I sat up for a while and observed the windvane recovering from gusts and waves. It seemed to be operating as it should. Perhaps the problems have been unlucky coincidences. It jibed again at 3:00. I tried adjusting the angle of the windvane to steer a bit further S (i.e., decrease the TWA). At 4:30 I checked the AIS and found the 46’ sailboat Rala 12 nm away on a course to cross paths with me. She was doing 8 kt downwind and I was going 6.5. I had been following the boat on long-range AIS as it was really the only vessel in my area. Models suggested we were going to pass me in about 90m, close to dawn. As dawn approached, the boat continued to drift S. The winds were now consistently 23-26 kt and the boat was overpowered. I reduced the Yankee by 25% and left one reef in the main and she became better behaved, pointing more consistently to 260 at about 6 kt. At 5:50 it is clear U am not going back to bed, so I made my tea. Rala hailed me about 6:00. I agreed to alter course and pass her stern, which 8 did about 6:45. They were on their way to P/NG to take on fuel before continuing to Malaysia. Strange that two sailboats could sail thousands of miles and come within a couple of hundred yards of one another. By this afternoon, and especially overnight, I should see significant improvement in both wind speed and direction. Between now and Monday morning I may cut the current distance to R1 of 880 nm in half. I certainly expect to be well-past the islands SW of P/NG (Tagula and Rossel Island). A cargo ship appeared on the AIS at 12:15, 27 nm to my S. I believe it was the Atlantic Brave and it appeared it would pass safely across my bow. I do not see any other traffic on the long-range AIS that would be a threat in the next 24h. I have been averaging close to 6 kt on a course of about 270 all morning. I have had some periods of good sunshine, but only enough to charge the batteries 91%. Even though I have had almost everything off, it seems unlikely the batteries will get fully charged without running the engine. Out of fresh food, I have been trailing a fishing line for about 2h, but no luck so far. The cargo ship passed 15 nm in front of me at 14:30. I need to clear the boat of all fresh food by the time I reach Australian waters. Tonight I am preparing something they call pumpkin in Vanuatu. It looks like a large acorn squash. Its flesh is surprisingly soft, not rock-hard like pumpkin. I put half of it in the pressure cooker for 8m and put butter, maple sugar and cinnamon on it. It looks like the expected winds are shoring up. The wind is consistently over 20 and has veered to 124. I am actually making some distance N rather loosing ground S as I have been since jibing. I am “storing up” that latitude for early next week when I see a repeat of the last few days. After paying my dues by sailing N for 3d, this is when I reap the rewards by sailing 140-150 nm/d on. I should make R1 in 6d, by Thursday night. The distance sailed towards R1 in the last 24h was 984-842=142 nm (compare to 59 yesterday). The total distance sailed was 7777-7627=150 nm (150/24=6.3 kt avg.).
Comments: As I submitted my report yesterday at 15:00, yet another squall hit, bringing rain and an accidental jibe as the wind changed from 120 to 85. As I have not yet cleared Zona or the reef. I had to remain vigilant at the helm. I finally got a good view of Zona in between storms. It was visible about 20m before another huge squall it. I would say in all 15-20 squalls hit or came close to me in a 6h period. I ended up coming within about 2 nm of Zona and was some distance from the reef. I stayed awake until 23:00, when I was well-clear of both the island and the reef. What remained was 945 nm of open water. According to the forecast, the winds are going to be light (15) and from 115 (a run) tomorrow. Saturday and Sunday will be in the 20’s and 130 (broad reach), so I should make good time arriving at the islands SE of P/NG. Tuesday and Wednesday with be similar to tomorrow and Thursday and Friday like this weekend. I woke up at 24:30 and everything was going on … the alarm went off, the shower sump bilge pump was running, and the boat had accidentally jibed. I jiggled the switch on the pump and it turned off. Yet another bilge pump switch giving me trouble. The boat had jibed because the TWA is close to 160, which means it does not take much to push it another 20 degrees … a change in wind direction, a wave, etc. looks like it had been that way about 15m. When close to a run, there is not much heeling, so it is harder to feel when the boat had jibed. I tried to tighten the starboard control line to help it recover, but now I run the risk of the boat rounding up in a strong gust of wind. It is a delicate balance. The pump had used up some battery power, but I had also accidentally left the fridge on so the batteries were down to 87%, which is were they usually are at 6:00. They will be down to 80% by dawn, which will be hard to make up by solar alone. I woke up at 1:45 because the boat had rounded up. One of the control lines had loosened. I could see from the trace it had been a gradual thing, over a period of 30m, which is probably why it had not waken me up sooner. The boat jibed at 2:10. It had been hit by a wave … the cockpit was wet. I tried tightening the starboard control line. I was having trouble tuning the rig. I sat up for a while and observed the windvane recovering from gusts and waves. It seemed to be operating as it should. Perhaps the problems have been unlucky coincidences. It jibed again at 3:00. I tried adjusting the angle of the windvane to steer a bit further S (i.e., decrease the TWA). At 4:30 I checked the AIS and found the 46’ sailboat Rala 12 nm away on a course to cross paths with me. She was doing 8 kt downwind and I was going 6.5. I had been following the boat on long-range AIS as it was really the only vessel in my area. Models suggested we were going to pass me in about 90m, close to dawn. As dawn approached, the boat continued to drift S. The winds were now consistently 23-26 kt and the boat was overpowered. I reduced the Yankee by 25% and left one reef in the main and she became better behaved, pointing more consistently to 260 at about 6 kt. At 5:50 it is clear U am not going back to bed, so I made my tea. Rala hailed me about 6:00. I agreed to alter course and pass her stern, which 8 did about 6:45. They were on their way to P/NG to take on fuel before continuing to Malaysia. Strange that two sailboats could sail thousands of miles and come within a couple of hundred yards of one another. By this afternoon, and especially overnight, I should see significant improvement in both wind speed and direction. Between now and Monday morning I may cut the current distance to R1 of 880 nm in half. I certainly expect to be well-past the islands SW of P/NG (Tagula and Rossel Island). A cargo ship appeared on the AIS at 12:15, 27 nm to my S. I believe it was the Atlantic Brave and it appeared it would pass safely across my bow. I do not see any other traffic on the long-range AIS that would be a threat in the next 24h. I have been averaging close to 6 kt on a course of about 270 all morning. I have had some periods of good sunshine, but only enough to charge the batteries 91%. Even though I have had almost everything off, it seems unlikely the batteries will get fully charged without running the engine. Out of fresh food, I have been trailing a fishing line for about 2h, but no luck so far. The cargo ship passed 15 nm in front of me at 14:30. I need to clear the boat of all fresh food by the time I reach Australian waters. Tonight I am preparing something they call pumpkin in Vanuatu. It looks like a large acorn squash. Its flesh is surprisingly soft, not rock-hard like pumpkin. I put half of it in the pressure cooker for 8m and put butter, maple sugar and cinnamon on it. It looks like the expected winds are shoring up. The wind is consistently over 20 and has veered to 124. I am actually making some distance N rather loosing ground S as I have been since jibing. I am “storing up” that latitude for early next week when I see a repeat of the last few days. After paying my dues by sailing N for 3d, this is when I reap the rewards by sailing 140-150 nm/d on. I should make R1 in 6d, by Thursday night. The distance sailed towards R1 in the last 24h was 984-842=142 nm (compare to 59 yesterday). The total distance sailed was 7777-7627=150 nm (150/24=6.3 kt avg.).
Check-in July 10, 2025; 4:00 UTC
Current Position: 11 54.222’S 160 49.323’E; Local Timezone: UTC+21; SOG: 5.8 kt COG: 260; TWS: 18 kt; TWD: 112; Distance to Waypoint (R1, Raine Passage, 260): 984; Total Miles Sailed: 7627 nm; Engine Hours: 170 Estimate Fuel: 59+13+50
Comments: About 16:30, I rounded up, furled in the jib, and removed the whisker pole. By this time the wind was blowing 17-19 consistently, the the Yankee didn’t bump with the wave action. I picked up a kt of speed with the better-shaped foresail. Sunset was about 18:00. I am committed to rounding Zona. There is a huge pack of trawlers 30 nm to my W that I would have to deal with all night if I were to jibe now. Rounding Zona on Friday would mean I would have to deal with them or the multitudes of others further W. At 18:15 I went to the cockpit to watch the last light of the day and was surprised to see storm clouds ahead … it had been such a sunny day. I was feeling good about stowing the whisker pole because if there is anything worse than dealing with it at night it is dealing with it at night in a storm. I should have known than stronger winds usually brings some weather with it. At 20:20, the wind had backed to 110, about 5h early, and the boat’s course changed from more of a run to a broad reach, and in doing so picked up speed, now averaging over 6 kt in 18-20 kt winds. There were no vessels in my way and the Rennell Reef was far enough to my W that I did not have to worry about drifting towards it. I was awaken at 23:00 because it didn’t feel right. The course was NE and the windvane was unable to correct. Thus had apparently been going on for 30m, shortly after a routine check at 22:30. I put the boat back on course and as soon as I climbed back into my berth, it happened again. I looked for a cause (last time it was a broken reefing line), but could not find anything obvious. The wind was blowing a bit harder than it had been, 23 kt. Apparently, I did not have enough weather helm on the windward control line and the leeward line was too tight. Once the control lines were adjusted, the windvane was able to handle the gusts. The windvane operated correctly the rest of the night. I woke up an hour before sunrise. The boat is averaging 7 kt in about 22 kt wind. The sea is big again and the cockpit a bit wet. I downloaded a new GRIB. PW has me going to almost 10S (just S of Guadalcanal Island) before jibing SW and weaving through the island SE of Papua/New Guinea. I don’t want to do that. I was to sail S of those islands, around 12S. It makes no sense to sail all the way to 10S, so I plan to cut between Rennell Reef and Zona. The problem is there is not a lot of room, I will need to jibe a couple of times because of the wind direction, and PW does not seem to recognize the reef is there. Navionics says it breaks the surface. So, I will need to plot my own course and use Navionics. My plan is to go to almost 12S, the southern end of Zona, about 6h away (35 nm, 13:00), then jibe toward Rennell. A few nm from the reef, I will jibe again towards Zona. Once I am clear of the reef (its northern tip is at 12 13’S), I will do one last jibe (close to 12S) and head E. I should be clear of the reef by midnight. My patience sailing N will begin paying dividends tomorrow when I should be sailing directly towards the waypoint under optimal conditions for the remainder of the passage. With about 1000 nm to go, I can expect to make 140-150 nm a day (1000/145=7 days). In my first five days I made 450 nm on (700 nm sailed) … but my second week I will make 1000 nm on. I should arrive next Friday. I intend to take my time getting through the reef, so I will probably arrive at Thursday Island next weekend. I removed about 7 oz of water from the Racor filter, what was separated when I filled the day tank a few days ago. Here are my waypoints to navigate between Rennell and Zona …
Z1: 11°52.635’S 161°3.327’E Z2: 12°4.291’S 160°3.800’E
If I can set a course from Z1 to Z2, it will only be necessary to jibe once (E). If I cannot make Z2, I will need to jibe again N for some distance before jibing E again. Z2 is effectively the safe point N of the reef. The last few hours to Z1 I had to help keep the steering on-track because there was not much room for error. There was a tendency to head up and drift E, which would make it impossible to make Z2 without an additional jibe. It is heavily overcast, hazy, and the sea is gray. It is 11:30, l am 8 nm from Z1 and there is a squall off the starboard bow, further reducing the visibility. I noticed Lani, who crossed paths with me the evening before last, is at 14.5S and is only doing 3.5 kt it light air. This is exactly the reason I’ve spent the last three days making my way N, to catch the strong SE wind I should have all week. It started to rain at 11:50. The squall will pass it front of me, close to Z1. The squall is obliterating the potential viewing of Zona, but it will pass long before I have sailed past the island. The island is about 50 nm long and runs WNW to SSE. I am now essentially in line with the length of the island, off its SE cape about 20 nm. I jibed at 12:50. I was far enough N that it was easy to set a course for Z2, which was 55 nm away. There is about a 5 nm difference between where PW places Zona and where Navionics does. I trust the latter much more. My course is going to put me within a couple of nm of Zona’s southern coast. When I am with 13 nm, I will turn Starlink on for a bit (as it will be the last chance for Internet for the next 8-10d. It is noteworthy that the course I am on right now is almost directly towards R1. While it is note all that easy to maintain this course, the wind is going to begin veering by tomorrow by 10-15 degrees, making it much easier. I prepared the last of the lamb curry and when I went to the cockpit to eat it started raining hard. I sat in the rain, eating and showering. It is 14:00 and I am about 20 nm from Zona, but cannot see a thing because of the weather. While eating a large flock of seabirds visited me, perhaps 30-40. You see a couple of seabirds at a time while in blue water, but the large gathering indicates land. At 14:15 the rain stopped and it was sunny. I still could not see the island because the storm was headed that way. At 14:50 the precipitation stopped and the haze cleared enough that I barely make out the island, about 15 nm away. It looks like in about 35 nm I will be clear if both the island and the reef (about 21:30). The distance sailed towards R1 in the last 24h was 1043-984=59 nm. The total distance sailed was 7627-7484=143 nm (143/24=6.0 kt avg.).
Comments: About 16:30, I rounded up, furled in the jib, and removed the whisker pole. By this time the wind was blowing 17-19 consistently, the the Yankee didn’t bump with the wave action. I picked up a kt of speed with the better-shaped foresail. Sunset was about 18:00. I am committed to rounding Zona. There is a huge pack of trawlers 30 nm to my W that I would have to deal with all night if I were to jibe now. Rounding Zona on Friday would mean I would have to deal with them or the multitudes of others further W. At 18:15 I went to the cockpit to watch the last light of the day and was surprised to see storm clouds ahead … it had been such a sunny day. I was feeling good about stowing the whisker pole because if there is anything worse than dealing with it at night it is dealing with it at night in a storm. I should have known than stronger winds usually brings some weather with it. At 20:20, the wind had backed to 110, about 5h early, and the boat’s course changed from more of a run to a broad reach, and in doing so picked up speed, now averaging over 6 kt in 18-20 kt winds. There were no vessels in my way and the Rennell Reef was far enough to my W that I did not have to worry about drifting towards it. I was awaken at 23:00 because it didn’t feel right. The course was NE and the windvane was unable to correct. Thus had apparently been going on for 30m, shortly after a routine check at 22:30. I put the boat back on course and as soon as I climbed back into my berth, it happened again. I looked for a cause (last time it was a broken reefing line), but could not find anything obvious. The wind was blowing a bit harder than it had been, 23 kt. Apparently, I did not have enough weather helm on the windward control line and the leeward line was too tight. Once the control lines were adjusted, the windvane was able to handle the gusts. The windvane operated correctly the rest of the night. I woke up an hour before sunrise. The boat is averaging 7 kt in about 22 kt wind. The sea is big again and the cockpit a bit wet. I downloaded a new GRIB. PW has me going to almost 10S (just S of Guadalcanal Island) before jibing SW and weaving through the island SE of Papua/New Guinea. I don’t want to do that. I was to sail S of those islands, around 12S. It makes no sense to sail all the way to 10S, so I plan to cut between Rennell Reef and Zona. The problem is there is not a lot of room, I will need to jibe a couple of times because of the wind direction, and PW does not seem to recognize the reef is there. Navionics says it breaks the surface. So, I will need to plot my own course and use Navionics. My plan is to go to almost 12S, the southern end of Zona, about 6h away (35 nm, 13:00), then jibe toward Rennell. A few nm from the reef, I will jibe again towards Zona. Once I am clear of the reef (its northern tip is at 12 13’S), I will do one last jibe (close to 12S) and head E. I should be clear of the reef by midnight. My patience sailing N will begin paying dividends tomorrow when I should be sailing directly towards the waypoint under optimal conditions for the remainder of the passage. With about 1000 nm to go, I can expect to make 140-150 nm a day (1000/145=7 days). In my first five days I made 450 nm on (700 nm sailed) … but my second week I will make 1000 nm on. I should arrive next Friday. I intend to take my time getting through the reef, so I will probably arrive at Thursday Island next weekend. I removed about 7 oz of water from the Racor filter, what was separated when I filled the day tank a few days ago. Here are my waypoints to navigate between Rennell and Zona …
Z1: 11°52.635’S 161°3.327’E Z2: 12°4.291’S 160°3.800’E
If I can set a course from Z1 to Z2, it will only be necessary to jibe once (E). If I cannot make Z2, I will need to jibe again N for some distance before jibing E again. Z2 is effectively the safe point N of the reef. The last few hours to Z1 I had to help keep the steering on-track because there was not much room for error. There was a tendency to head up and drift E, which would make it impossible to make Z2 without an additional jibe. It is heavily overcast, hazy, and the sea is gray. It is 11:30, l am 8 nm from Z1 and there is a squall off the starboard bow, further reducing the visibility. I noticed Lani, who crossed paths with me the evening before last, is at 14.5S and is only doing 3.5 kt it light air. This is exactly the reason I’ve spent the last three days making my way N, to catch the strong SE wind I should have all week. It started to rain at 11:50. The squall will pass it front of me, close to Z1. The squall is obliterating the potential viewing of Zona, but it will pass long before I have sailed past the island. The island is about 50 nm long and runs WNW to SSE. I am now essentially in line with the length of the island, off its SE cape about 20 nm. I jibed at 12:50. I was far enough N that it was easy to set a course for Z2, which was 55 nm away. There is about a 5 nm difference between where PW places Zona and where Navionics does. I trust the latter much more. My course is going to put me within a couple of nm of Zona’s southern coast. When I am with 13 nm, I will turn Starlink on for a bit (as it will be the last chance for Internet for the next 8-10d. It is noteworthy that the course I am on right now is almost directly towards R1. While it is note all that easy to maintain this course, the wind is going to begin veering by tomorrow by 10-15 degrees, making it much easier. I prepared the last of the lamb curry and when I went to the cockpit to eat it started raining hard. I sat in the rain, eating and showering. It is 14:00 and I am about 20 nm from Zona, but cannot see a thing because of the weather. While eating a large flock of seabirds visited me, perhaps 30-40. You see a couple of seabirds at a time while in blue water, but the large gathering indicates land. At 14:15 the rain stopped and it was sunny. I still could not see the island because the storm was headed that way. At 14:50 the precipitation stopped and the haze cleared enough that I barely make out the island, about 15 nm away. It looks like in about 35 nm I will be clear if both the island and the reef (about 21:30). The distance sailed towards R1 in the last 24h was 1043-984=59 nm. The total distance sailed was 7627-7484=143 nm (143/24=6.0 kt avg.).
Captain’s Log] Check-in July 9, 2025; 4:00 UTC
Current Position: 13 49.602’S 161 47.577’E; Local Timezone: UTC+21; SOG: 5.1 kt COG: 330; TWS: 17 kt; TWD: 120; Distance to Waypoint (R1, Raine Passage, 265): 1043; Total Miles Sailed: 7484 nm; Engine Hours: 169 Estimate Fuel: 59+14+50
Comments: Despite a good day of sun yesterday, because of the mustard incident in the fridge and the fact I am heading NW (so the solar panels are shaded all afternoon), I found myself with a warm fridge and incompletely charged batteries at 15:00 and had to run the engine for 45m. At 16:00, the 45’ catamaran Lani showed up on the AIS doing 4.6 kt at 283. I have been tracking it on PW. It was 14 nm forward of my starboard beam. Since I was doing about the same speed on 335, we were on collision courses that might have to be sorted out in about 2.5h (after sunset). They were clearly headed for the Torres Strait downwind with a spinnaker. Sunset was at about 17:52. It was the first time in a month I was able to see the sunset with a cloudless horizon. I was about 8 nm from Lani and we had not yet crossed each other’s paths. It looked like Lani was going to cross my bow at a distance of 1-2 nm in about 90m. They had slowed to 3.8 kt and my speed had increased to 5.2 kt. Lani’s captain Martin contacted me via VHF at 18:15. He is indeed headed for Port Kennedy. We briefly discussed strategies concerning the wind and concerning crossing the GBR. As a 45’ catamaran, Lani is faster than my 38’ monohull downwind, so we have different courses planned. We agreed to meet up at Thursday Island. He passed about 3 nm off my bow at 18:40. I downloaded new files at 19:20, mostly to get updated long-range AIS data. It looked like one of the trawler trains was relocated, moving W to E, and would cross my path in about 2h about 30 nm in front of me. There were other long strings of trawlers spread out NW to SE on both my port and starboard, but they do not look like a problem for now. At 12:30 I downloaded a new long-range AIS map to confirm the train of trawlers had passed. There are no more in my path to the Solomons. Putting up the whisker pole was a sound decision. The boat has been doing a solid 5 kt on course. By dusk today, I should have reached the southern edge of Rennell, and I will need to make a decision about whether to turn W or continue N around Zona. It is interesting that PW does not show Rennell as a hazard (although it plots a course around it via the top of Zona), whereas Navionics shows Rennell at 0 feet. I woke up to an alarm at 3:30 and found the boat headed due N. The wind had shifted to 130. I adjusted the windvane and trimmed the sails to point closer to Zona, but I was still headed 5 degrees further E than I wanted. Not much more I can do. Jibing would send me into 60 Chinese trawlers. Woke up to the 5:50 alarm and a tanker was passing 15 nm S of me. It had shown up on the long-range AIS at 17:30, but not on the AIS transceiver (with a 65 nm range) at 3:30. As the tanker was doing 12 kt, it should have shown up. My only explanation is its transmitter is weak. The wind was supposed to be blowing from 197, but it was 138, putting me off course. I was sailing a course of 350 and needed 333 for Zona, but there was not much I could do but hoped the wind backed after dawn as it sometimes does. The wind is supposed to back to 102 tomorrow morning, then 130 and strong after passing Zona. The route now has me going past the smaller island of Bellona before jibing E. In fact, so far N that I’d need to go around the islands E of Papua/New Guinea. I am absolutely not doing that because it is a navigational nightmare there. Also, all of this depends on wind patterns and boat speeds that have not panned out up to now. The latitude that I would need to jibe to travel safely south of Rennell is about 13 20’S, which I should reach by dusk. At that point the wind is supposed to increase 5 kt. I will probably take down the whisker pole and jibe. I will be N of the large group of trawlers immediately W of me (although there is another group further W that I would have to contend with). Alternatively, I could stick with the original plan of rounding Zona, but instead of heading E per PW, I could go SE to avoid the islands off of P/NG. Guess I will be making that call in 12h. It is 7:15, bright and sunny, and very few clouds. Looks like a repeat of yesterday with a bit more wind. The boat is averaging 5 kt and I just saw my first gust of 20. I am going to try to leave the whisker pole up because it helps me run, but if the wind gets much over 20, I will have to take it down. Also, the flat sail created by the pole makes it more difficult to run. I might get a better angle on Zona by removing it, but then I run the risk of the sail bumping as the seas are starting to get bigger. I was going to make French toast this morning… taking advantage of the relatively calm seas, but the bread went moldy overnight. It lasted 4d, which is typical. Does not seem to matter if I refrigerate it or not. Tonight, I will finish off the last of the curry I prepared for the passage. I should try to cook again before the seas get rough. I watched the tanker drop off the AIS map at 25 nm … which explains why I didn’t see it during my check last night. It is becoming a bit overcast and the batteries are not charging as fast as I need them to. At 9:15 I ran the engine for 30m and at the same time ran the watermaker, fridge, fuel pump, and IG. About one-half bowl of water came over with the fuel, which it typical for four days at sea. PW had a warning the boat would roll 10:00 for a couple of hours and that has proven to be the case. I have been studying the weather map and I should be able to leave the whisker pole up until tomorrow morning. However, I definitely don’t want to have to take that rigging down in the dark if the high wind gusts come early. I will break it down before dusk and if I have to run a more northerly course to make the jib behave. At 10:30, the boat accidentally jibed. It took me a few minutes to realize the main was misshapen because the first reefing line had broken again at the grommet in the sail. The strange thing is I specifically addressed this issue before leaving Vanuatu by cutting out the frayed line and replacing it with new rope. Also, it is just not blowing that hard. I really need to find a piece of Dyneema long enough to spice a section into the reefing line. The distance sailed towards R1 in the last 24h was 1093-1043=50 nm. The total distance sailed was 7484-7375=109 nm (109/24=4.5 kt avg.).
Comments: Despite a good day of sun yesterday, because of the mustard incident in the fridge and the fact I am heading NW (so the solar panels are shaded all afternoon), I found myself with a warm fridge and incompletely charged batteries at 15:00 and had to run the engine for 45m. At 16:00, the 45’ catamaran Lani showed up on the AIS doing 4.6 kt at 283. I have been tracking it on PW. It was 14 nm forward of my starboard beam. Since I was doing about the same speed on 335, we were on collision courses that might have to be sorted out in about 2.5h (after sunset). They were clearly headed for the Torres Strait downwind with a spinnaker. Sunset was at about 17:52. It was the first time in a month I was able to see the sunset with a cloudless horizon. I was about 8 nm from Lani and we had not yet crossed each other’s paths. It looked like Lani was going to cross my bow at a distance of 1-2 nm in about 90m. They had slowed to 3.8 kt and my speed had increased to 5.2 kt. Lani’s captain Martin contacted me via VHF at 18:15. He is indeed headed for Port Kennedy. We briefly discussed strategies concerning the wind and concerning crossing the GBR. As a 45’ catamaran, Lani is faster than my 38’ monohull downwind, so we have different courses planned. We agreed to meet up at Thursday Island. He passed about 3 nm off my bow at 18:40. I downloaded new files at 19:20, mostly to get updated long-range AIS data. It looked like one of the trawler trains was relocated, moving W to E, and would cross my path in about 2h about 30 nm in front of me. There were other long strings of trawlers spread out NW to SE on both my port and starboard, but they do not look like a problem for now. At 12:30 I downloaded a new long-range AIS map to confirm the train of trawlers had passed. There are no more in my path to the Solomons. Putting up the whisker pole was a sound decision. The boat has been doing a solid 5 kt on course. By dusk today, I should have reached the southern edge of Rennell, and I will need to make a decision about whether to turn W or continue N around Zona. It is interesting that PW does not show Rennell as a hazard (although it plots a course around it via the top of Zona), whereas Navionics shows Rennell at 0 feet. I woke up to an alarm at 3:30 and found the boat headed due N. The wind had shifted to 130. I adjusted the windvane and trimmed the sails to point closer to Zona, but I was still headed 5 degrees further E than I wanted. Not much more I can do. Jibing would send me into 60 Chinese trawlers. Woke up to the 5:50 alarm and a tanker was passing 15 nm S of me. It had shown up on the long-range AIS at 17:30, but not on the AIS transceiver (with a 65 nm range) at 3:30. As the tanker was doing 12 kt, it should have shown up. My only explanation is its transmitter is weak. The wind was supposed to be blowing from 197, but it was 138, putting me off course. I was sailing a course of 350 and needed 333 for Zona, but there was not much I could do but hoped the wind backed after dawn as it sometimes does. The wind is supposed to back to 102 tomorrow morning, then 130 and strong after passing Zona. The route now has me going past the smaller island of Bellona before jibing E. In fact, so far N that I’d need to go around the islands E of Papua/New Guinea. I am absolutely not doing that because it is a navigational nightmare there. Also, all of this depends on wind patterns and boat speeds that have not panned out up to now. The latitude that I would need to jibe to travel safely south of Rennell is about 13 20’S, which I should reach by dusk. At that point the wind is supposed to increase 5 kt. I will probably take down the whisker pole and jibe. I will be N of the large group of trawlers immediately W of me (although there is another group further W that I would have to contend with). Alternatively, I could stick with the original plan of rounding Zona, but instead of heading E per PW, I could go SE to avoid the islands off of P/NG. Guess I will be making that call in 12h. It is 7:15, bright and sunny, and very few clouds. Looks like a repeat of yesterday with a bit more wind. The boat is averaging 5 kt and I just saw my first gust of 20. I am going to try to leave the whisker pole up because it helps me run, but if the wind gets much over 20, I will have to take it down. Also, the flat sail created by the pole makes it more difficult to run. I might get a better angle on Zona by removing it, but then I run the risk of the sail bumping as the seas are starting to get bigger. I was going to make French toast this morning… taking advantage of the relatively calm seas, but the bread went moldy overnight. It lasted 4d, which is typical. Does not seem to matter if I refrigerate it or not. Tonight, I will finish off the last of the curry I prepared for the passage. I should try to cook again before the seas get rough. I watched the tanker drop off the AIS map at 25 nm … which explains why I didn’t see it during my check last night. It is becoming a bit overcast and the batteries are not charging as fast as I need them to. At 9:15 I ran the engine for 30m and at the same time ran the watermaker, fridge, fuel pump, and IG. About one-half bowl of water came over with the fuel, which it typical for four days at sea. PW had a warning the boat would roll 10:00 for a couple of hours and that has proven to be the case. I have been studying the weather map and I should be able to leave the whisker pole up until tomorrow morning. However, I definitely don’t want to have to take that rigging down in the dark if the high wind gusts come early. I will break it down before dusk and if I have to run a more northerly course to make the jib behave. At 10:30, the boat accidentally jibed. It took me a few minutes to realize the main was misshapen because the first reefing line had broken again at the grommet in the sail. The strange thing is I specifically addressed this issue before leaving Vanuatu by cutting out the frayed line and replacing it with new rope. Also, it is just not blowing that hard. I really need to find a piece of Dyneema long enough to spice a section into the reefing line. The distance sailed towards R1 in the last 24h was 1093-1043=50 nm. The total distance sailed was 7484-7375=109 nm (109/24=4.5 kt avg.).
How I Rig My Whisker Pole
I have seen different ways of rigging a whisker pole. I use four lines. The pole is attached to the mast at a the same height as the clew of the sail. The end of the pole is held parallel to the deck using a spinnaker halyard (red). The jib sheet passes through the claw of the pole (green). Two preventers are attached to the pole. The aft preventer (black) runs through a block on the deck to the staysail wench and it all owes me to select the TWA to present the sail to the wind. The spinnaker tack line which is attached to the end of the pole (yellow) passes through a block on the bow sprit and then back to the lazy jib wench. This preventer keeps the poke from running into the lower shroud (steel cable in photo). This system is useful in light winds when the foresail would “bump” (sometimes violently) as the boat is rocked by the waves. This happens because the foresail is temporarily in the shadow of the mainsail. The pole is also sometimes used for wing-on-wing sailing downwind (running). However, I find unless the seas are calm, my boat tends to roll severely when sailing wing-on-wing. It takes me about 20m to set up the pole single-handed, because I need to make several trips back and forth to set up lines. As a consequence, I do not use a pole unless I believe it is going to be up a long time. In this case it was been up 24h and will probably be up 12 more.
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Check-in July 8, 2025; 4:00 UTC
Current Position: 15 29.013’S 162 24.891’E; Local Timezone: UTC+21; SOG: 4.0 kt COG: 330; TWS: 12 kt; TWD: 115; Distance to Waypoint (R1, Raine Passage, 270): 1093; Total Miles Sailed: 7257 nm; Engine Hours: 167 Estimate Fuel: 60+13+50
Comments: Sunset was about 17:40. The skies looked dark and menacing downwind, but much less so upwind. Although I was presenting a lot of sail (the Yankee and one reef in the main in 21 kt gusts) I was confident the boat was not going to be overpowered. The wind is expected to lessen overnight. There was one freighter on a semi-parallel course as me, but it was expected to pass some distance. There were a few smaller boats in the area and the fishing trawlers were still a day away. I am routinely checking the bilge and there is no water accumulating, either because there is less water getting in or the automatic valve pumps are removing it. I downloaded a GRIB at 17:40. Not much has changed. I will head N to the Solomons until Thursday morning (2.5d), then head W. It is 18:10 and the ship is now 25 nm off my starboard and expected to pass 15 nm in front of me. Since dusk, the wind has veered to 125, sending me on a more northerly course. Since that is where the wind is going to be in a couple of days, I am not tempted to jibe. I note there is a cold front about 30 nm S of me (17S), which must be the weather I spotted at sunset. And, there are thunderstorms warning at 11S (including the Solomons), but that is supposed to dissipate by the time I reach it. At 19:30 the course was practically due N as the wind continued to blow from 125 (sometimes 130), 10-15 degrees more southerly than predicted. Jibing would put me on a course much closer to R1, but I am concerned about the dead air tomorrow. According to the forecast, staying the course will bring me air Wednesday but if I jibe I’d follow the dead air Wednesday and have a poorer angle to R1 later in the week. I am sticking with the plan in the hopes the forecast is correct, albeit a little late. On a positive note, the 23 kt wind is driving me nearly twice the speed expected (predicted from 14 kt wind). The extra speed is bringing me closer to the freighter, but I still expect it to pass about 5 nm off my bow in about 90m. At 20:30, after an hour of 130-135 wind, I was being driven easterly, backwards, so I jibed and made a course directly at R1 at close to 6 kt. If I can make good time easterly the next 24h, I should be able to catch the last of the wind northerly after a jibe, also allowing me the squeeze between two large groups of trawlers. Since I am now in a parallel course with the freighter and it is moving twice my speed, I can safely sleep. However, over the next 2h I was woken up a dozen times to trim the sails, trying to find the right compromise between course and speed. The problem was the direction of the waves was causing the boat to corkscrew and the jib to bump (which woke me up) when it was shadowed by the main. Finally, about 22:20 I seemed to find a balance where the boat was headed pretty much due W and the sails were sheeted in to reduce the play. I was still averaging 6 kt in 18 kt wind. Before trying to sleep, I checked the AIS and was surprised to find a cargo ship coming up behind me, 26 nm away and doing 13 kt. It was on the PW long-range plots, but I had not paid attention to it because before I jibed we were not on a similar course. Like the earlier one, it was headed for the Torres Strait. However, because I was being forced W, it looked like it would pass my stern. It was at least 2.5h away. I set an alarm for 1h and tried to sleep. At midnight I confirmed it would pass 10 nm to my stern in 1h. By 2:00, the wind had shifted to 95, almost due E, making it impossible to sail W. I jibed and headed N again … about 325 at 6 kt. About 4:30 I made the last adjustment of the night. I went back to the berth, did not set an alarm, and woke up at 7:00. It was overcast and unusually dark for the time of morning. The wind was down to 13 kt. The boat had averaged 4.8 kt on a course of 320 while I slept. This is about what I could expect the next 24h. The overcast came from a long front that covered the E (starboard) side of the boat, the dark clouds blocking out the sun. The leading edge of the front was backlit by the sun, emphasizing the density of the dark clouds beneath it. A whisker pole would help stabilize the foresail, but I was reluctant to set one until I learned how menacing the weather was. So I settled for trimming the main to give the jib a bit more air, then made my morning tea. I hadn’t noticed immediately, but the big waves of the last few days were gone and the ride was relatively smooth … probably why I slept so late. While enjoying my peppermint tea, the sun rose over the front, and I downloaded a new GRIB. The weather course looked very good, denting me NW between two of the biggest groups of trawlers. The route goes up and around Zona Island (Solomon group, just S of Guadalcanal) before catching big air the rest of the way E. The nastiness burned off by 8:30 and I set the whisker pole the sails are much more stable now and I picked up perhaps half a kt. It is 9:00 and a seabird has been circling close to the boat for an hour. It keeps swooping past the cockpit and staring at me. Perhaps he’s waiting for a handout, like he might get from one of the trawlers. I have been having the same breakfast each morning, La Ferme de Tagabe (a French yogurt-like dairy product), the muesli I got in Tonga, and a banana. However, I had to jettison the last of the bananas last night when they fell into some dirty water. They were about done anyway. It is 12:40 and it has been slow going all morning, a little over 4 kt towards Zona Island, now about 240 nm away. The wind is expected to pick up tomorrow evening, so I expect to be there by the end of the day Thursday. The course has me passing Zona, then turning SW to sail between Zona and the tiny island of Bellona north of it. There is a large atoll S of Zona called Rennell. The southern edge of Rennell is about 170 nm from my location, so I expect to reach it late tomorrow night or early Thursday morning. I will need to make a decision whether to jibe before Rennell or after Zona. I don’t have a feeling how tall Zona is, but I could expect some shadowing as I round it. For the first time during the passage, I have had almost a full day of sunshine. The batteries should be charged by 1:30 or so, then I will try to make some water. I opened the fridge and it smelled like something was rotting. I discovered a bottle of mustard broke, covering almost everything and dripping down to the lower level. An hour had passed before I had it cleaned up. Needless to say, the fridge was warm after and had to be cooled down … so no making water today. I normally never drink while sailing, but a bottle of beer dropped while I was cleaning the fridge and the cap popped off. I figure it was the sea gods rewarding me for my patience. The distance sailed towards R1 in the last 24h was 1172-1093=79 nm. The total distance sailed was 7375-7257=118 nm (118/24=4.9 kt avg.).
Comments: Sunset was about 17:40. The skies looked dark and menacing downwind, but much less so upwind. Although I was presenting a lot of sail (the Yankee and one reef in the main in 21 kt gusts) I was confident the boat was not going to be overpowered. The wind is expected to lessen overnight. There was one freighter on a semi-parallel course as me, but it was expected to pass some distance. There were a few smaller boats in the area and the fishing trawlers were still a day away. I am routinely checking the bilge and there is no water accumulating, either because there is less water getting in or the automatic valve pumps are removing it. I downloaded a GRIB at 17:40. Not much has changed. I will head N to the Solomons until Thursday morning (2.5d), then head W. It is 18:10 and the ship is now 25 nm off my starboard and expected to pass 15 nm in front of me. Since dusk, the wind has veered to 125, sending me on a more northerly course. Since that is where the wind is going to be in a couple of days, I am not tempted to jibe. I note there is a cold front about 30 nm S of me (17S), which must be the weather I spotted at sunset. And, there are thunderstorms warning at 11S (including the Solomons), but that is supposed to dissipate by the time I reach it. At 19:30 the course was practically due N as the wind continued to blow from 125 (sometimes 130), 10-15 degrees more southerly than predicted. Jibing would put me on a course much closer to R1, but I am concerned about the dead air tomorrow. According to the forecast, staying the course will bring me air Wednesday but if I jibe I’d follow the dead air Wednesday and have a poorer angle to R1 later in the week. I am sticking with the plan in the hopes the forecast is correct, albeit a little late. On a positive note, the 23 kt wind is driving me nearly twice the speed expected (predicted from 14 kt wind). The extra speed is bringing me closer to the freighter, but I still expect it to pass about 5 nm off my bow in about 90m. At 20:30, after an hour of 130-135 wind, I was being driven easterly, backwards, so I jibed and made a course directly at R1 at close to 6 kt. If I can make good time easterly the next 24h, I should be able to catch the last of the wind northerly after a jibe, also allowing me the squeeze between two large groups of trawlers. Since I am now in a parallel course with the freighter and it is moving twice my speed, I can safely sleep. However, over the next 2h I was woken up a dozen times to trim the sails, trying to find the right compromise between course and speed. The problem was the direction of the waves was causing the boat to corkscrew and the jib to bump (which woke me up) when it was shadowed by the main. Finally, about 22:20 I seemed to find a balance where the boat was headed pretty much due W and the sails were sheeted in to reduce the play. I was still averaging 6 kt in 18 kt wind. Before trying to sleep, I checked the AIS and was surprised to find a cargo ship coming up behind me, 26 nm away and doing 13 kt. It was on the PW long-range plots, but I had not paid attention to it because before I jibed we were not on a similar course. Like the earlier one, it was headed for the Torres Strait. However, because I was being forced W, it looked like it would pass my stern. It was at least 2.5h away. I set an alarm for 1h and tried to sleep. At midnight I confirmed it would pass 10 nm to my stern in 1h. By 2:00, the wind had shifted to 95, almost due E, making it impossible to sail W. I jibed and headed N again … about 325 at 6 kt. About 4:30 I made the last adjustment of the night. I went back to the berth, did not set an alarm, and woke up at 7:00. It was overcast and unusually dark for the time of morning. The wind was down to 13 kt. The boat had averaged 4.8 kt on a course of 320 while I slept. This is about what I could expect the next 24h. The overcast came from a long front that covered the E (starboard) side of the boat, the dark clouds blocking out the sun. The leading edge of the front was backlit by the sun, emphasizing the density of the dark clouds beneath it. A whisker pole would help stabilize the foresail, but I was reluctant to set one until I learned how menacing the weather was. So I settled for trimming the main to give the jib a bit more air, then made my morning tea. I hadn’t noticed immediately, but the big waves of the last few days were gone and the ride was relatively smooth … probably why I slept so late. While enjoying my peppermint tea, the sun rose over the front, and I downloaded a new GRIB. The weather course looked very good, denting me NW between two of the biggest groups of trawlers. The route goes up and around Zona Island (Solomon group, just S of Guadalcanal) before catching big air the rest of the way E. The nastiness burned off by 8:30 and I set the whisker pole the sails are much more stable now and I picked up perhaps half a kt. It is 9:00 and a seabird has been circling close to the boat for an hour. It keeps swooping past the cockpit and staring at me. Perhaps he’s waiting for a handout, like he might get from one of the trawlers. I have been having the same breakfast each morning, La Ferme de Tagabe (a French yogurt-like dairy product), the muesli I got in Tonga, and a banana. However, I had to jettison the last of the bananas last night when they fell into some dirty water. They were about done anyway. It is 12:40 and it has been slow going all morning, a little over 4 kt towards Zona Island, now about 240 nm away. The wind is expected to pick up tomorrow evening, so I expect to be there by the end of the day Thursday. The course has me passing Zona, then turning SW to sail between Zona and the tiny island of Bellona north of it. There is a large atoll S of Zona called Rennell. The southern edge of Rennell is about 170 nm from my location, so I expect to reach it late tomorrow night or early Thursday morning. I will need to make a decision whether to jibe before Rennell or after Zona. I don’t have a feeling how tall Zona is, but I could expect some shadowing as I round it. For the first time during the passage, I have had almost a full day of sunshine. The batteries should be charged by 1:30 or so, then I will try to make some water. I opened the fridge and it smelled like something was rotting. I discovered a bottle of mustard broke, covering almost everything and dripping down to the lower level. An hour had passed before I had it cleaned up. Needless to say, the fridge was warm after and had to be cooled down … so no making water today. I normally never drink while sailing, but a bottle of beer dropped while I was cleaning the fridge and the cap popped off. I figure it was the sea gods rewarding me for my patience. The distance sailed towards R1 in the last 24h was 1172-1093=79 nm. The total distance sailed was 7375-7257=118 nm (118/24=4.9 kt avg.).
Check-in July 7, 2025; 4:00 UTC
Current Position: 16 42.173’S 163 32.068’E; Local Timezone: UTC+21; SOG: 7.0 kt COG: 330; TWS: 20 kt; TWD: 98; Distance to Waypoint (R1, Raine Passage, 272): 1172; Total Miles Sailed: 7257 nm; Engine Hours: 167 Estimate Fuel: 60+13+50
Comments: Sunset was about 17:30. The TWD of 130+ has allowed me to set a course towards the waypoint all day. However, beginning this evening the wind is going to veer to 100 or so by dawn, making it necessary to jibe N. It is 18:30 and I am about 100 nm from the Atoll de Huron. While my course right now has me north of the reef, the veering wind tonight will likely put me on a collision course with it. However, my arrival would be sometime mid morning, and I already plan to have jibed N by then. I woke up at 20:15 because it felt like the boat had changed directions (relative to the waves). The wind had shifted dramatically to 95. Also, the wind speed dropped to 15 with gusts of 20. I adjusted the windvane as much as I could to a course of 263, but the waypoint is at 273. The boat slowed to less than 5 kt. After some time the wind shifted again to 105. The change in the wind had begun, albeit early. I was loosing latitude, but it was still too early to jibe. At 22:45, the boat accidentally jibed. I looked at the trace and it was clear the wind had become variable. I unfurled most of the Yankee and could manage a little more than 5 kt mostly due W. I studied the wind patterns for about 30m. I considered shaking out a reef, but I knew it would not help that much. I also considered jibing, but as long as I could eke out a mostly westerly course, it was better to stay on a starboard tack. The GRIB was 18h old, so ai downloaded a new one. The weather plan had changed markedly. I was to jibe in 4h and head way N to the latitude of R1 so as to avoid dead air developing in the S. Winds would be lighter the next few days. The long-range AIS showed a passenger ferry heading towards me from the W at 12 kt. While 60 nm away, our combined speeds have us intercepting in 3-4h. I set an alarm for 2h and went back to sleep. At 3:00 the passenger ship passed 20 nm S of me and I was still making progress W, so I went back and to sleep. At 4:30 I woke up, shook out the second reef, fully deployed the jib, and jibed to a course of 325 at a little over 6 kt. The ride is smoother … a better angle to the swells. Time to gain some latitude. I’m at 17.5S and need to be 11S for the Raine Passage. I’ve been lucky so far, but there are a bunch of fishing trawlers around 15S. At 5:40, I changed the course to 330 and an making 6.7 kt. Sunrise should be about 6:35, but it is light enough that I can tell there are fewer clouds than yesterday. It looks like I will have these wind conditions (17/23) until late this afternoon, then the wind will start slowing down. Tomorrow it will be relatively light (13/17) then early Wednesday it should pick up a bit. One reason for heading N is to catch more wind. I fell back asleep and was awaken at 6:30 by the shower sump bilge pump. I saw some water come from the chain locker hose. The drain is on the port side, so the starboard tack dumped some water into the bilge. Also, I was doing 7.5 kt and waves were breaking over the bow. I went to the foredeck and stuffed a rag in the hawse pipe. At least I know the automatic feature of that pump is working again. The boat at sped up because the wind was coming from 95 degrees at 25 kt. There were squalls in the area, so this change in wind is probably temporary. The wind eventually to 115 and 19. It is 9:20 and sailing conditions have thus far been near perfect. I have had 20-25 kt winds from 100, following seas, and have averaged 6.8 kt with the full Yankee and one reef in the main. Unfortunately, very little sunlight. The course has been about 330 (R1 is at 273). My course is a bit more acute than the weather plan, which currently has me waiting to the Solomon Islands before jibing W for R1. I have been sitting in the cockpit all morning drinking tea and listening to music, but it is starting to get (relatively) cold and wet. It is 10:40 and finally some sunshine. Most of the rest of the day had periods of sunshine, allowing me to fully charge the batteries. The current PW weather route has me arriving at the GBR about 200 nm S of the latitude of R1 and following the reef up to the passage. That sounds nerve-racking. I am sticking to my original plan of heading N until I can head W to the passage. The distances sailed towards R1 in the last 24h was 1296-1172=124 nm. The total distance sailed was 7257-7107=150 nm (150/24=6.25 kt avg.).
Comments: Sunset was about 17:30. The TWD of 130+ has allowed me to set a course towards the waypoint all day. However, beginning this evening the wind is going to veer to 100 or so by dawn, making it necessary to jibe N. It is 18:30 and I am about 100 nm from the Atoll de Huron. While my course right now has me north of the reef, the veering wind tonight will likely put me on a collision course with it. However, my arrival would be sometime mid morning, and I already plan to have jibed N by then. I woke up at 20:15 because it felt like the boat had changed directions (relative to the waves). The wind had shifted dramatically to 95. Also, the wind speed dropped to 15 with gusts of 20. I adjusted the windvane as much as I could to a course of 263, but the waypoint is at 273. The boat slowed to less than 5 kt. After some time the wind shifted again to 105. The change in the wind had begun, albeit early. I was loosing latitude, but it was still too early to jibe. At 22:45, the boat accidentally jibed. I looked at the trace and it was clear the wind had become variable. I unfurled most of the Yankee and could manage a little more than 5 kt mostly due W. I studied the wind patterns for about 30m. I considered shaking out a reef, but I knew it would not help that much. I also considered jibing, but as long as I could eke out a mostly westerly course, it was better to stay on a starboard tack. The GRIB was 18h old, so ai downloaded a new one. The weather plan had changed markedly. I was to jibe in 4h and head way N to the latitude of R1 so as to avoid dead air developing in the S. Winds would be lighter the next few days. The long-range AIS showed a passenger ferry heading towards me from the W at 12 kt. While 60 nm away, our combined speeds have us intercepting in 3-4h. I set an alarm for 2h and went back to sleep. At 3:00 the passenger ship passed 20 nm S of me and I was still making progress W, so I went back and to sleep. At 4:30 I woke up, shook out the second reef, fully deployed the jib, and jibed to a course of 325 at a little over 6 kt. The ride is smoother … a better angle to the swells. Time to gain some latitude. I’m at 17.5S and need to be 11S for the Raine Passage. I’ve been lucky so far, but there are a bunch of fishing trawlers around 15S. At 5:40, I changed the course to 330 and an making 6.7 kt. Sunrise should be about 6:35, but it is light enough that I can tell there are fewer clouds than yesterday. It looks like I will have these wind conditions (17/23) until late this afternoon, then the wind will start slowing down. Tomorrow it will be relatively light (13/17) then early Wednesday it should pick up a bit. One reason for heading N is to catch more wind. I fell back asleep and was awaken at 6:30 by the shower sump bilge pump. I saw some water come from the chain locker hose. The drain is on the port side, so the starboard tack dumped some water into the bilge. Also, I was doing 7.5 kt and waves were breaking over the bow. I went to the foredeck and stuffed a rag in the hawse pipe. At least I know the automatic feature of that pump is working again. The boat at sped up because the wind was coming from 95 degrees at 25 kt. There were squalls in the area, so this change in wind is probably temporary. The wind eventually to 115 and 19. It is 9:20 and sailing conditions have thus far been near perfect. I have had 20-25 kt winds from 100, following seas, and have averaged 6.8 kt with the full Yankee and one reef in the main. Unfortunately, very little sunlight. The course has been about 330 (R1 is at 273). My course is a bit more acute than the weather plan, which currently has me waiting to the Solomon Islands before jibing W for R1. I have been sitting in the cockpit all morning drinking tea and listening to music, but it is starting to get (relatively) cold and wet. It is 10:40 and finally some sunshine. Most of the rest of the day had periods of sunshine, allowing me to fully charge the batteries. The current PW weather route has me arriving at the GBR about 200 nm S of the latitude of R1 and following the reef up to the passage. That sounds nerve-racking. I am sticking to my original plan of heading N until I can head W to the passage. The distances sailed towards R1 in the last 24h was 1296-1172=124 nm. The total distance sailed was 7257-7107=150 nm (150/24=6.25 kt avg.).
Check-in July 6, 2025; 4:00 UTC
Current Position: 17 39.075’S 165 33.441’E; Local Timezone: UTC+21; SOG: 6.4 kt COG: 270; TWS: 25 kt; TWD: 132; Distance to Waypoint (R1, Raine Passage, 272): 1296; Total Miles Sailed: 7107 nm; Engine Hours: 166.3 Estimate Fuel: 60+14+50
Comments: After a tumultuous start yesterday, it was nice to settle into some good sailing. The wind vane works well with its new Dyneema control lines. The lines have less friction and the wind vane seems more responsive. I forgot to put hose clamps on the cracked tubes before I left. I don’t think there is much chance of them failing, but I will reinforce them first chance I get. Sunset was about 17:25. Efata was still visible, barely. There were scattered clouds, some appearing to produce light rain, but nothing threatening. I was averaging close to 6 kt about 10 degrees S of the waypoint, so I left the sail configuration as it was overnight, a double-reefed main and 3/4 Yankee. New Caledonia was about 240 nm to my SW, but on my heading I should pass at least 50 nm N of it. However, there is an atoll N of New Caledonia that is a problem. This is one reason the PW route has me jibbing N in 175 nm, the other reasons are to correct for the latitude I am loosing and the fact there may be more wind N by Monday. The jibe also corresponds to a backing (and weakening) of the wind by Monday. I set alarm intervals of 2h and did not have to make any adjustments to the sails or windvane until I was awaken at 4:20 because the boat was heeled over too much. The wind was blowing 23 kt and had veered to 135. There was no evidence this was a weather disturbance (I could see stars). In fact, this was predicted and the timing was about right. I was about 3.5h ahead of schedule (PW always underestimates my speed at night) and about 15 nm further N (I am usually able to sail closer to a run). I had averaged 6.2 kt overnight. The first 60 nm was at a bearing of 263, but the last 32 at 274. I had averaged 5.8 kt since leaving Efata. I woke up about an hour before sunrise. I got 9h of sleep. Despite the periodic interruptions to check the status of the boat, I tend to sleep well while underwater. As soon as it was light enough, I went to the foredeck to take care of a few things. I had remembered in the middle of the night that I had left a mooring line there, a “wick-release” line that I use when I am leaving a mooring ball single-handed. Fortunately, it was still there, precariously attached to the Sampson post. I also tracked down the sound of a rope rapping against metal … it was the first reefing line that needed to be tightened. Finally, I heard the traveler move last night and sure enough the preventer had come loose. Sunrise was about 6:20. The GRIB was 25h old. I logged into the Iridium system and was having trouble connecting. The DataHub had not been collecting tracking data. I rebooted it and restarted the Iridium GO and it started working again, although it took several attempts before I was able to download the GRIB. Not much has changed. It looks like the wind will lighten up in the middle of the week. My ability to point the boat further N than predicted has made it unnecessary to jibe until tomorrow. It is dark and stormy today. The cockpit is wet and uninviting. Nothing like yesterday. But, there is strong wind driving me towards the waypoint. A large, menacing squall passed behind me at 7:30, causing 30 kt winds to veer to 140 and the boat to round up and heel severely while surfing at 8 kt. I had to secure my breakfast and steer by hand. Waves soaked me … a rude start of the day. The storms looked like they were unyielding … we’ll see. Atoll de Huon is about 195 nm to my E. The charts suggest the shallowest part is 16’, but I wouldn’t want to take the chance. It looks like I will pass N of it. If not, I will jibe. In any case, that should be an issues for tomorrow afternoon. It is 7:45 and the first sunshine appears from behind the storm that just passed behind me. I went down for a nap and was awaken by the alarm at 9:00 to sunshine. The nastiness had been blown away by the 30 kt wind and the boat was doing hull speed directly for the waypoint. By 9:30, the skies were getting dark again as another storm arrived windward. This was to be expected the rest of the day. However, I welcomed the storms as the wind was driving the boat near hull speed and the ride was not particularly uncomfortable. I have begun studying the charts through the GBR. It is complicated. At the entrance to the Raine Passage is the Great Detached Reef, which is horseshoe-shaped. Circling around to the back of it, it is possible to anchor in 50’ of water. If it looks like I am going to arrive at night, I will slow down. If the end of daylight, I will seek shelter in the Great Detached Reef until morning. From there, it is about 80 nm across the reef and to the shipping lanes. I will probably want to find a second anchorage somewhere in the reef that I can spend the night, so I can travel the rest of the way across the reef in daylight hours. It looks like Collette Reef, about 50 nm from the GDR would be a good choice. Once in the shipping lane, I can travel at night. I have looked at some of the tidal changes across the reef and they can be 10’ or more, which will make anchoring challenging. The total nm sailed since leaving the harbor yesterday is 7107-6941=166 nm (average speed 166/27=6.2 kt). The distance sailed on 1455-1296=159 nm. It has been a productive 27h.
Comments: After a tumultuous start yesterday, it was nice to settle into some good sailing. The wind vane works well with its new Dyneema control lines. The lines have less friction and the wind vane seems more responsive. I forgot to put hose clamps on the cracked tubes before I left. I don’t think there is much chance of them failing, but I will reinforce them first chance I get. Sunset was about 17:25. Efata was still visible, barely. There were scattered clouds, some appearing to produce light rain, but nothing threatening. I was averaging close to 6 kt about 10 degrees S of the waypoint, so I left the sail configuration as it was overnight, a double-reefed main and 3/4 Yankee. New Caledonia was about 240 nm to my SW, but on my heading I should pass at least 50 nm N of it. However, there is an atoll N of New Caledonia that is a problem. This is one reason the PW route has me jibbing N in 175 nm, the other reasons are to correct for the latitude I am loosing and the fact there may be more wind N by Monday. The jibe also corresponds to a backing (and weakening) of the wind by Monday. I set alarm intervals of 2h and did not have to make any adjustments to the sails or windvane until I was awaken at 4:20 because the boat was heeled over too much. The wind was blowing 23 kt and had veered to 135. There was no evidence this was a weather disturbance (I could see stars). In fact, this was predicted and the timing was about right. I was about 3.5h ahead of schedule (PW always underestimates my speed at night) and about 15 nm further N (I am usually able to sail closer to a run). I had averaged 6.2 kt overnight. The first 60 nm was at a bearing of 263, but the last 32 at 274. I had averaged 5.8 kt since leaving Efata. I woke up about an hour before sunrise. I got 9h of sleep. Despite the periodic interruptions to check the status of the boat, I tend to sleep well while underwater. As soon as it was light enough, I went to the foredeck to take care of a few things. I had remembered in the middle of the night that I had left a mooring line there, a “wick-release” line that I use when I am leaving a mooring ball single-handed. Fortunately, it was still there, precariously attached to the Sampson post. I also tracked down the sound of a rope rapping against metal … it was the first reefing line that needed to be tightened. Finally, I heard the traveler move last night and sure enough the preventer had come loose. Sunrise was about 6:20. The GRIB was 25h old. I logged into the Iridium system and was having trouble connecting. The DataHub had not been collecting tracking data. I rebooted it and restarted the Iridium GO and it started working again, although it took several attempts before I was able to download the GRIB. Not much has changed. It looks like the wind will lighten up in the middle of the week. My ability to point the boat further N than predicted has made it unnecessary to jibe until tomorrow. It is dark and stormy today. The cockpit is wet and uninviting. Nothing like yesterday. But, there is strong wind driving me towards the waypoint. A large, menacing squall passed behind me at 7:30, causing 30 kt winds to veer to 140 and the boat to round up and heel severely while surfing at 8 kt. I had to secure my breakfast and steer by hand. Waves soaked me … a rude start of the day. The storms looked like they were unyielding … we’ll see. Atoll de Huon is about 195 nm to my E. The charts suggest the shallowest part is 16’, but I wouldn’t want to take the chance. It looks like I will pass N of it. If not, I will jibe. In any case, that should be an issues for tomorrow afternoon. It is 7:45 and the first sunshine appears from behind the storm that just passed behind me. I went down for a nap and was awaken by the alarm at 9:00 to sunshine. The nastiness had been blown away by the 30 kt wind and the boat was doing hull speed directly for the waypoint. By 9:30, the skies were getting dark again as another storm arrived windward. This was to be expected the rest of the day. However, I welcomed the storms as the wind was driving the boat near hull speed and the ride was not particularly uncomfortable. I have begun studying the charts through the GBR. It is complicated. At the entrance to the Raine Passage is the Great Detached Reef, which is horseshoe-shaped. Circling around to the back of it, it is possible to anchor in 50’ of water. If it looks like I am going to arrive at night, I will slow down. If the end of daylight, I will seek shelter in the Great Detached Reef until morning. From there, it is about 80 nm across the reef and to the shipping lanes. I will probably want to find a second anchorage somewhere in the reef that I can spend the night, so I can travel the rest of the way across the reef in daylight hours. It looks like Collette Reef, about 50 nm from the GDR would be a good choice. Once in the shipping lane, I can travel at night. I have looked at some of the tidal changes across the reef and they can be 10’ or more, which will make anchoring challenging. The total nm sailed since leaving the harbor yesterday is 7107-6941=166 nm (average speed 166/27=6.2 kt). The distance sailed on 1455-1296=159 nm. It has been a productive 27h.
Check-in July 5, 2025; 3:08 UTC
Current Position: 17 35.532’S 168 07.670’E; Local Timezone: UTC+21; SOG: 5.8 kt COG: 268; TWS: 18 kt; TWD: 123; Distance to Waypoint (R1, Raine Passage, 270): 1443; Total Miles Sailed: 6953 nm; Engine Hours: 166.3 Estimate Fuel: 60+14+50
Comments: Last night I was walking across the access panel over the shower sump and it collapsed. I was lucky I didn’t break a leg. There are tabs of wood underneath the cabin sole that support the access panel and two of them had broken free. It turns out that we’re only held on with three nails that had rusted through. When I started the repair, I realized I was wrong. The nails were used to hold the wood in temporarily. Each tab had three wood screws driven into it from the top. I had to break out the tools and install three new screws in the tabs (from the bottom). I also checked the other access panels for signs they needed to be repaired. Most are not covering up deep drops (e.g. they have water tanks just beneath them) or they are not generally walked upon (e.g., the one underneath the ladder). After making the repairs, I went ashore and had a nice breakfast. When I got back to the boat I readied her to sail (brought the dinghy, rigged the sheets, etc. when I fired up the engine to weigh anchor, there was a strange ringing noise. I went to the engine room and found the ringing was a loose lock washer. A nut was missing from one of the engine mounts. I searched for it in the engine room but had no luck finding it. Fortunately, I found a galvanized M16 nut at the hardware store and by noon was leaving the harbor. As I left the shelter of the bay, the wind was blowing 20 kt from 122 and I was doing over 6 kt with two reefs in the main and about half the Yankee. I was on a beam reach until I cleared the bay, then was able to set a course via a broad reach for R1 (the beginning of the Raine Passage) which was 1450 nm away. Once offshore and away from the influence of the island, the wind was variable 15-23. I unfurled a little more of the jib, perhaps 75%. I was averaging 6.2 kt directly at the waypoint.
Comments: Last night I was walking across the access panel over the shower sump and it collapsed. I was lucky I didn’t break a leg. There are tabs of wood underneath the cabin sole that support the access panel and two of them had broken free. It turns out that we’re only held on with three nails that had rusted through. When I started the repair, I realized I was wrong. The nails were used to hold the wood in temporarily. Each tab had three wood screws driven into it from the top. I had to break out the tools and install three new screws in the tabs (from the bottom). I also checked the other access panels for signs they needed to be repaired. Most are not covering up deep drops (e.g. they have water tanks just beneath them) or they are not generally walked upon (e.g., the one underneath the ladder). After making the repairs, I went ashore and had a nice breakfast. When I got back to the boat I readied her to sail (brought the dinghy, rigged the sheets, etc. when I fired up the engine to weigh anchor, there was a strange ringing noise. I went to the engine room and found the ringing was a loose lock washer. A nut was missing from one of the engine mounts. I searched for it in the engine room but had no luck finding it. Fortunately, I found a galvanized M16 nut at the hardware store and by noon was leaving the harbor. As I left the shelter of the bay, the wind was blowing 20 kt from 122 and I was doing over 6 kt with two reefs in the main and about half the Yankee. I was on a beam reach until I cleared the bay, then was able to set a course via a broad reach for R1 (the beginning of the Raine Passage) which was 1450 nm away. Once offshore and away from the influence of the island, the wind was variable 15-23. I unfurled a little more of the jib, perhaps 75%. I was averaging 6.2 kt directly at the waypoint.
Check-in July 4, 2025; 4:05 UTC
Current Position: 17 44.318’S 168 18.643’E; Local Timezone: UTC+21; SOG: 0 kt COG: N/A; TWS: 4 kt; TWD: 123; Distance to Waypoint (Vanuatu, Efata, Port Vila): At Anchor; Total Miles Sailed: 6941 nm; Engine Hours: 164 Estimate Fuel: 60+15+50
Comments: I woke up about midnight and did not get to sleep again until 4:00. I had a couple of mosquitos that were driving me nuts. I put up some mosquito netting, but one found its way inside. I woke up again just before dawn. It is a rare cloudless day … good for provisioning. The boat is in good shape. All the significant issues have been addressed. The topside was readied yesterday. 80% below was readied. I will be ready to leave tomorrow. After my tea, about 7:00, I loaded the cart in the dinghy and went ashore to do the shopping. I need to be back and the perishables stored before my appointment with immigration/customs at 10:00. After checking out of Customs and Immigration, I took the paperwork to Yachting World and bought 50 gal of diesel. After stowing the fuel, I finished putting away the provisions and organizing the galley. Then I collected my laundry and settled the bill with Yachting World. My last task was to cook for the passage. I made a lamb sausage curry with lentils.
Comments: I woke up about midnight and did not get to sleep again until 4:00. I had a couple of mosquitos that were driving me nuts. I put up some mosquito netting, but one found its way inside. I woke up again just before dawn. It is a rare cloudless day … good for provisioning. The boat is in good shape. All the significant issues have been addressed. The topside was readied yesterday. 80% below was readied. I will be ready to leave tomorrow. After my tea, about 7:00, I loaded the cart in the dinghy and went ashore to do the shopping. I need to be back and the perishables stored before my appointment with immigration/customs at 10:00. After checking out of Customs and Immigration, I took the paperwork to Yachting World and bought 50 gal of diesel. After stowing the fuel, I finished putting away the provisions and organizing the galley. Then I collected my laundry and settled the bill with Yachting World. My last task was to cook for the passage. I made a lamb sausage curry with lentils.