{"id":2214,"date":"2026-01-02T15:52:31","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T15:52:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aegir-ran.com\/?p=2214"},"modified":"2026-01-02T16:01:02","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T16:01:02","slug":"check-in-january-2-2026-1600-utc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aegir-ran.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/02\/check-in-january-2-2026-1600-utc\/","title":{"rendered":"Check-in January 2, 2026; 16:00 UTC"},"content":{"rendered":"
Current Position: 19 10.524\u2019S 1 32.201\u2019W; Timezone: UTC+0; SOG: 5.3 kt; COG: 340; TWS: 18; TWD: 142; Current Speed (includes effect of surfing): 1.5 kt; Current Direction: 320; Distance to Waypoint (St. Helena, 322): 301 nm; Distance to Endpoint (Bridgetown): 3952 nm; Total Miles Sailed: 18490 nm; Engine Hours: 412; Estimate Fuel: 60+10+50;
\nComments: At 16:37 I received my first VHF transmission in two weeks. It was broken, but it was a weather report. Since I am 800 nm from the coast of Africa, the transmission must be coming from St. Helena, which is 400 nm away, still more than twice the distance I have received a transmission in the past. Sunset should be at 18:48 at 0.5W. The sunset was behind a cloud bank. Starting the early morning hours I should have 24h of near 20 kt gusts and a TWA that will allow me to sail close to the waypoint. I should tack to port for 4h tonight from 22:00-2:00, but I am not going to bother because the wind is going to be very light and the TWA not too obtuse. Staying on the starboard will be more comfortable as I do not need to use the lee cloth. I went to sleep at 19:00 with a 3h alarm because there is no traffic and light winds. At 22:30 I woke up because the boat did not sound right. It had rounded up and was headed NE. I had not woken up earlier because it happened very gradually over a 90m period rather than suddenly as it sometimes does when there is a strong wind gust. The wind had gradually veered to 155, as predicted, so I tacked to the port. I downloaded the latest GRIB. As before, the wind was going to remain light for 2-3h more, then it was going to increase with gusts in the low 20s. Unlike the previous forecast, it was now predicted the wind would not back until dawn, so it was good that I tacked. I started setting the timer intervals to 1h in case the predicted increase in wind caused the boat to round up. I figured from the trace that I lost as much as an hour and could not hope to reach St. Helena in the light if I lost more time. At 00:20 I woke again to find the boat had rounded up. Once again it had happened gradually, first to the starboard and now to the port. This suggested to there was as issue with the windvane. I examined it with a flashlight but could not find an issue. I stayed up for 45m and it started to happen again. I crawled out onto the stern with the flashlight and examined the windvane again and found the problem. A cord attached to the blade of the windvane had been rolled up underneath the pulley that is used to adjust the direction. Since the pulley and the cord are black, I did not see it the first time. The problem did not restrict the blade completely (it still looked like it was working), just enough to cause a gradual problem. Coincidentally, at the same time (1:15), the wind started picking up as expected. Sunrise at St. Helena is at 5:55 (5.75W) so it should be at 5:36 where I am (1.0W). Sunrise was behind a cloud bank. By sunrise the wind had backed to the break even point and I tacked to starboard. It is 6:00 and 350 nm to St. Helena. I have 84h to arrive before dark on Monday. I need to average 350\/84=4.2 kt. Strong wind is forecasted until Monday (avg. 5.3 kt now) so it is looking good. PW says I won\u2019t arrive until 23:00 on Monday, but I believe it is underestimating the speed. For example, it is predicting 4.7 kt now. Even in 20 kt wind the jib is slatting. Because the wind shifts frequently, the seas are always confused, the boat corkscrews, and the rolling dumps the air from the sails. When I get past St. Helena, I am going to pole out the jib because I probably won\u2019t be tacking as often. I finished the yogurt off (and the granola I was adding to it) this morning. Just a handful of blueberries left. It\u2019ll be oatmeal going forward. I\u2019ve actually sort of missed the oatmeal. It was a staple across the South Pacific. The deck count this morning was one flying fish and one small squid. I used up the naan for lunch by making pocket sandwiches with pastrami, caramelized onion, and some processed Gouda cheese. It is 14:30 and I have just awaken from a 2h nap \u2026 making up for sleep lost last night. The wind has been blowing hard all day 16-20 kt. I am making up the lost time from the two missteps last night. It has been cloudy all day too, but there is still enough excess energy that I can make water for a bath. The distance sailed towards St. Helena in the last 24h was 397-301=96 nm. The total distance sailed was 18490-18352=138 nm (138\/24=5.8 kt avg).<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Current Position: 19 10.524\u2019S 1 32.201\u2019W; Timezone: UTC+0; SOG: 5.3 kt; COG: 340; TWS: 18; TWD: 142; Current Speed (includes effect of surfing): 1.5 kt; Current Direction: 320; Distance to Waypoint (St. Helena, 322): 301 nm; Distance to Endpoint (Bridgetown): 3952 nm; Total Miles Sailed: 18490 nm; Engine Hours: 412; Estimate Fuel: 60+10+50; Comments: At … <\/p>\n

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