Good Miles, Dull Day
February 19, 2019
Day 138.
Noon Position: 47 26S 167 03W
Course(t)/Speed(kts): E 7
Wind(t/tws): NWxN 14 – 16
Sea(t/ft): NW 3
Sky: Stratus with some drizzle
10ths Cloud Cover: 10
Bar(mb): 1019+, steady
Cabin Temp(f): 70
Water Temp(f): 56
Relative Humidity(%): 70
Sail: Main and working jib, full. Wind on port beam.
Noon-to-Noon Miles Made Good (nm): 131
Miles since departure: 19,007
Avg. Miles/Day: 138
Days since Cape Horn: 81
Miles since Cape Horn: 11,366
Avg. Miles/Day: 140
Longitude Degrees Made Good (degrees minutes): 3 12
Total Longitude Made Good Since Cape Horn (degrees minutes): 260 29
Avg. Long./Day: 3.22
Today we crossed the 168th meridian of west longitude. Cape Horn resides at the 68th meridian. One hundred meridians to go.
The poles came down at sunup and the main went up. Wind started to veer north in the wee hours, but it was light and our speeds, low; so I let Mo wonder while I slept. With day, we’ve done well. Wind has been abeam and in the middle teens for much of it. Mo clocked 44 miles in the six hours after noon (7.3 knots an hour) and all without breaking a sweat.
During our shot of morning sun, prions swarmed near the boat, swooping and diving in such a mass that I could’t follow the motions of one without losing it in the others. Then I noticed a large group of prions some ways off sitting on the water and facing Mo. As she passed, they ascended, flew a few hundred yards forward and alighted together, facing us. As Mo passed, they flew forward again and alighted. They did this for a solid ten minutes before I gave up watching.
A heavy deck of cloud slid in before noon and has covered us with such darkness I have been temped to put on my headlamp to move around the cabin. Now, drizzle and wind has hardened to over 20 knots.
I’ve spent much of the day reading about alternators.
In the afternoon, a lemon pound cake found its way into and out of the oven. I sliced off a warm end piece by way of testing my success, and next thing I knew, a third of the cake was gone. It just vanished. 
Goodness me, Randall, you must have trolls aboard that relish home made, fresh from the oven, lemon cake! I totally understand the trolls, I LOVE LEMON CAKE, especially when it comes hot and fresh with a cuppa tea!!!
dull is good and well deserved
I agree, dull should be enjoyed. Not being an ocean sailor I notice how the extremes affect you, to much wind and no wind seem to give you, and other sailors I follow, the same anxiety. I notice the Vendée and Golden Globe races are just stressed to the max in the no wind. I would have imagined you’d enjoy the calm because high wind was exhausting but I get it, you want and need to get somewhere, it’s a voyage. None the less, i think its okay to enjoy the dull when you can. Hope your alternator problems can be fixed.
Has the tail bone bruise healed up?