Do Over

February 16 (again), 2019

Day 135 (again)

Noon Position: 47 07S  177 42 *WEST*

Course(t)/Speed(kts): E 7

Wind(t/tws): WxS 25 (to 35 in squalls)

Sea(t/ft): W7

Sky: Squalls till about noon

10ths Cloud Cover: 5

Bar(mb): 1009+, Steady

Cabin Temp(f): 64

Water Temp(f): 56

Relative Humidity(%): 59

Sail: #2 free footed to port; #1 poled out to starboard. About half rolled.

Noon-to-Noon Miles Made Good (nm): 152

Miles since departure: 18,572

Avg. Miles/Day: 138

Days since Cape Horn: 78

Miles since Cape Horn: 10,931

Avg. Miles/Day: 140

Longitude Degrees Made Good (degrees minutes): 3 44

Total Longitude Made Good Since Cape Horn (degrees minutes): 249 51

Avg. Long./Day: 3.2

Last night before midnight, Mo crossed the 180th meridian and passed from east longitude back into west longitude. More interestingly, from a balance sheet perspective, we crossed the International Date Line, which makes today February 16, again.

What is the International Date Line? It’s the day I get to take my miles back!

I keep Mo on zone time at sea, the same kind of time we live by on land. There are 24 one-hour zones distributed equally around the globe at 15 degree intervals, which means that in order to stay on zone time, I have been moving ship’s clock forward by one hour every 4 – 6 days. For a sailor who is trying to maximize his daily averages, those 23-hour days are deeply aggravating. They make Mo look slower than she is.

Well, today is the day I get to balance the books. Because I have been adding an hour at equal intervals all the way around the world, I am now a day ahead and am in danger of arriving in port (somewhere) thinking that it’s today when, in fact, it’s yesterday. So, by custom, travelers crossing the International Date Line from west to east, as we are doing, relive the day they just left, and those going the opposite direction lose a day.

So, today is February 16, again, and it’s my 135th day at sea, again, which has put my daily averages back into respectable territory.

Of course, clocking 152 miles in the last 24 hours didn’t hurt either.

—

Blustery with squalls till noon. Winds: 19 – 29 with gusts to 35 and more when the trolls passed overhead. Dash on deck; sheet in; twenty minutes later, sheet out. Repeat. This kept me from the alternator and Wattsy tests (too rough, too active), so, I focused on the #2 clew webbing and got about half sewn up. I won’t win any prizes for my work, but it looks strong.