Easy Going
November 12, 2018
Day 39
Noon Position: 35 42S 119 39W
Course(t)/Speed(kts): SE 7
Wind(t/tws): SWxS 15
Sea(t/ft): S 10
Sky: Stratus clouds cover the sky, but there maybe blue to windward
10ths Cloud Cover: 10
Bar(mb): 1016+, rising
Cabin Temp(f): 66
Water Temp(f): 61
Relative Humidity(%): 60
Sail: #2 genoa and main, reaching to windward (again)
Noon-to-Noon Miles Made Good (nm): 139
Miles since departure: 5040
Avg. Miles/Day: 129
A warm, gentle day and welcome for it.
Wind held all night and was still 20 from the SW when I came on deck at dawn. But our luck has not held. The breezes that propel us withdrew into the heavens as the sun passed noon and are 8 knots SW as I type this evening. We are close reaching under the main and big genoa and so can eek out 4 knots of way, the only recompense for being hard on the wind again and still and since about 10N.
Even so, we have been getting in our easting. Today, day 39, we crossed over our Figure 8 Voyage 1.0 track for that day a year ago and are now further east than F8V1.0. For a passage that almost touched at the Marquesas, we’ve done a fine job over the last week of getting back on course for the Horn. The sad news is that with these two weeks of slow going, we’ve lost our two day lead over F8V1.0, which passed us up yesterday and was a half a degree of latitude further south by noon. For F8V1.0, it’s all brisk NW wind. Imagine such a thing!
Small chores. Replaced a squeaking block on Monte’s tiller lines. It went all the way around the world without complaint and has now been honorably retired. Did dishes–with a sink on port and a small gale from starboard, no dishes got done yesterday. Washed head. Rinsed and oiled the sextant.
And napped. As mentioned previously, most of one’s time in a blow is spent on watch, being at-the-ready but doing very little. Sail can only be reduced so much, and with boat motion being severe, normal activities are suspended. That said, it’s a moderately stressful way to spend one’s time. So, after a day of doing nothing, today I took it easy.
I record daily progress on a paper chart, which is a convenient way of getting an overview of progress and anticipating upcoming challenges (two things electronic charts do poorly!). What ho! Mo has finally moved from the chart containing French Polynesia to the chart showing South America and Cape Horn.
At average speed for this passage (130 miles a day), it’s 18 days to the Horn.
Glad you explained the reason for your ‘real’ chart. (I’d be lost with just electronics.). But can you somehow work your sextant sites into the electronics or is it strictly a comparison of electronically calculated position against manual calculations?