{"id":1893,"date":"2025-06-04T02:07:17","date_gmt":"2025-06-04T02:07:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aegir-ran.com\/?p=1893"},"modified":"2025-06-04T02:14:34","modified_gmt":"2025-06-04T02:14:34","slug":"check-in-june-3-2025-200-utc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aegir-ran.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/04\/check-in-june-3-2025-200-utc\/","title":{"rendered":"Check-in June 3, 2025; 2:00 UTC"},"content":{"rendered":"
Current Position: 19 17.290\u2019S 166 38.104\u2019W; Local Timezone: UTC-10; SOG: 5.9 kt COG: 264; TWS: 22 kt; TWD: 1137 Distance to Waypoint (Tonga, 262): 419; Total Miles Sailed: 5277 nm;
\nComments: It is 17:50, about 30m before sunset. The wind is blowing steady 18-30 kt and the boat is making 5.5-6 kt towards N1, which is 310 nm. The wind speed is expected to stay in the 15-20 kt range until early tomorrow morning (4:00), when the speed will increase to 20 with 25 kt gusts. I already have to reefs in the main, but most of the Yankee is deployed, which is too much for 25 kt gusts. I want to take advantage of this wind to make as progress as possible before Friday morning when the wind will start dropping off significantly. I should make B1 early Thursday morning, where I will jibe for Tonga. Tonga could be two and a half days from there, but I will only have one day of good wind, placing me perhaps 150 nm away by Friday midday (which will be Saturday midday in Tonga). I figure it is going to take the better part of two days to make that 150 nm. For tonight, I will compromise and bring in 25%. I am still making 5.6 kt in 18 and 6 in 20 kt of wind, but the boat won\u2019t be overwhelmed in 25 kt gusts. Sunset was at 18:25. I believe I crossed into UTC-11 overnight 165W), but I will be here such a short period of time, I will ignore it. I will change my time zone when I reach Tonga. I was awaken at 22:30 because the boat was off course. It had rounded up and was heading almost due S. I am not sure why as the wind vane seemed set up properly. Perhaps the control lines were too loose and it got overwhelmed by a wave or a gust of wind. I adjusted it to head further E (essentially directly at N1, a point just S of Niue) in the 20 kt wind, almost a run and stayed up awhile to see if it would accidentally heave to. At 23:30 I downloaded a new GRIB. In a new development, the wind is expected to back becoming due E as I approach Niue. Five of the six routes are the same, having me head to a waypoint 85 nm SE of Niue before changing my course for Vava\u2019u. By the time I make up the 85 nm, the wind has started waning. I\u2019m not worried about loosing the wind because in the worse case I\u2019m becalmed for part of a day. Favorable wind is expected the next day. Little Wren SoloSail has reappeared on the AIS map at the same distance as always (285 nm), just N of Niue. The range of the AIS map is 300 nm, which is why she comes and goes. One thing is certain, I need to pass Niue to the S (not N), so I am continuing on my course. I was awaken at 1:00 by a squall. That must have passed in front of me. It was raining and the wind had dropped to single digits and was coming from the NE, causing the boat to swing around to the S. I knew this was just temporary, so I waited for the wind to build and veer, then put the boat back on course. The whole episode only lasted 15m. This is probably what happened at 22:30 (but without the rain). It too awhile for the wind to build back up to 20 kt, but by 1:35 the boat was doing better than 6 kt on course. I was now alerted to the fact the weather is unstable and began setting 1h alarms. As predicted, at 4:30, I started getting gusts of 25 kt. The boat handled them well, making up to 7.5 kt (hull speed). I adjusted the wind vane in an attempt not to loose and more latitude than necessary. Also, a more easterly course is more comfortable. At 5:40 I got hit by a big wave that spun the boat around facing almost due N. The preventer stopped a jibe and the wind vane recovered surprisingly quickly. It happened again at 6:00, just before dawn. This time the boat turned around almost 180. It felt like another storm. It was 40m before sunrise and no sign of light. I travelled 319-240\u200e\u2009=\u200979nm on and 5221-5136=85 nm total (85\/14=6.1 kt average) since the check-in. It\u2019s 10m after sunrise and it is practically pitch black outside. It is 7:10. Sunrise at Niue was 6:45, so I\u2019m guessing sunrise was at least 30m ago where I am. There is a ribbon of yellow to the E, but dark everywhere else. I am 230 nm from N1, which is essentially the southern coast of Niue. However, I am about 170 nm from where I should be jibing towards Tonga. Between now and then, the winds will back to almost due E. I will need to change my course ever more southerly between now and midday tomorrow. The reason for passing Niue to the S was to avoid a shadow, but regrettably, that is exactly what is going to happen as the wind backs E. There is still time to change course and pass the island to the N, and one of the six models recommends that, it sets me up for a bad angle afterwards. Furthermore, I still have to dip to practically the same latitude before jibing for the sixth model anyways. I will maintain my effort today to stay as far N as possible. The sun broke through at 8:00 and I was rewarded by a complete rainbow that I literally sailed through. The wind is blowing at 95 degrees. I dropped and lashed the main and completely unfurled the Yankee. I am doing 6 kt in 22 kt wind directly downwind, essentially directly towards N1. No problem staying on course now and I have the added bonus of following seas. If this keeps up, I will avoid having to go 50 nm S and then back to Niue. As importantly, it would allow me to pass Niue with still a morning of good wind to make my way to Tonga, assuming I can average 5 kt between here and Niue.at 8:45, a small squall pass across the port bow, driving the boat northward, and reminding me of one of the disadvantages of flying just a headsail. However, I am going with the flow. Making north s bit actually puts me in a better position later. At 9:05, pears were on sale \u2026 so I ate all three of them. As predicted, the waves are building with the high winds \u2026 about 12\u2019. It\u2019s going to be a rough two days until I get past Niue. I swung the boom over to the port side and lashed it. Not only did that give me another half kt of speed (windage of the sailpacknin its \u201cwing-on-wing\u201d configuration), but it exposed more of the solar panels, giving me another 10 Ah midday. I tried to turn on the engine to charge the batteries, but the \u201cinput voltage is too low.\u201d When the engine is running, the input voltage, which is the voltage of the starter AGM bank, reads 8.4V according to the DC-DC charger. However, I have a voltage monitor on the bank, and I know its voltage is normal, 12.8V. I strongly believe there is a short that only manifests itself when the charger is on (when the engine is on. At 12:10, a good-sized squall past my starboard quarter. While it missed me, one developing on the port side will not. Before the storm hit, I took the wiring apart for the charger, wrapped some electrical tape around the base of the connectors, and replaced one connector. ITge storm hit just as I was finishing up at 13:30 with lite rain and a slight increase in wind. I started the engine and my repair seemed to work, which is good because it appears I will produce very little solar energy today. After studying the charger, I believe the connector I replaced last time as making intermittent contact.l, and it wasn\u2019t a short after all. The wire clamps on the Victron units are very temperamental. Especially in tight places, it is not always clear if they are properly secured. I ran the engine about 30m, and the batteries were topped off. Around 15:00 the boat was surrounded by 4-5 small squalls that made the air unstable. The boat accidentally jibed several times, but when the wind stabilized the wind vane was able to recover. Basically, I am testing whether using the foresail alone with the wind vane is stabile enough to leave overnight while I sleep, and that appears to be the case. I have decided to sail N of Niue. The distance sailed on to Tonga in the last 24 h was 555-418=137 nm. The total distance sailed was 5276-5136=140 nm (140\/24=5.8 kt average). In other words, I sailed directly towards Tonga all day. The distance to the N side of Niue is approximately 183 nm. If this pace continues, I will reach Niue by Thursday morning, leaving 235 to Tonga. I expect to arrive in about five days, Sunday local time or Monday Tonga (after crossing the dateline).<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Current Position: 19 17.290\u2019S 166 38.104\u2019W; Local Timezone: UTC-10; SOG: 5.9 kt COG: 264; TWS: 22 kt; TWD: 1137 Distance to Waypoint (Tonga, 262): 419; Total Miles Sailed: 5277 nm; Comments: It is 17:50, about 30m before sunset. The wind is blowing steady 18-30 kt and the boat is making 5.5-6 kt towards N1, which … <\/p>\n

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