Day 100 and Breakfast on Mo

January 12, 2019

Day 100

Noon Position: 46 21S  71 14E

Course(t)/Speed(kts): ExS 7+

Wind(t/tws): NWxW 19 – 23

Sea(t/ft): NW 4

Sky: High overcast

10ths Cloud Cover: 10

Bar(mb): 1020, falling slowly

Cabin Temp(f): 57

Water Temp(f): 46

Relative Humidity(%): 73

Sail: Working jib poled to port; main to starboard, broad reach

Noon-to-Noon Miles Made Good (nm): 142

Miles since departure: 13,824

Avg. Miles/Day: 138

Days since Cape Horn: 43

Miles since Cape Horn: 6,180

Avg. Miles/Day: 144

Longitude Degrees Made Good (degrees minutes): 3 25

Longitude Miles Made Good (at Lat 46S): 142

Total Longitude Made Good Since Cape Horn (degrees minutes): 138 31

Up in the night, again. At about one o’clock, wind had finally found its way into the north. I gybed the poled-out jib and main by the light of a headlamp in soft and noticeably warmer winds. The sea felt relaxed. Above–briefly and between cloud–Orion marched his way across the sky, a rare sighting. I quickly reeled off the stars I knew: Betelgeuse, Bellatrix, Alnilam, Rigel. None more were visible. Then right back to bed.

We’ve been running on that sail configuration all day. Apparent wind hovers one side or the other of 135 degrees (a broad reach) and between 15 and 20 knots, and on that we fly our way E.

Except for the gray above and the birds below, this does not feel like the Southern Ocean. Back under Cape Good Hope are two storms of monumental proportion, two colliding galaxies battling each other for dominion over an area half the size of Africa. In the end they will eat each other, as is their way, coming together with no more effort than two drops of water on a counter-top. But below, and all the while, the water will rage.

Here, however–for the moment, maybe even for the next week–wind is gentle and consistent … and I am not complaining.

I repeat: I am not complaining.

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Day 100. Lots to be said about 100 consecutive days at sea. But not now. Today we have the second in the Meals on Mo series. This one: Breakfast…