In the Doldrums, Continued…

April 24, 2019

Day 201

Noon Position: 0 19S  30 04W

Course(t)/Speed(kts): WNW 3

Wind(t/tws): SW 5

Sea(t/ft): 1 – 2 various directions

Sky: Dark cloud entirely, heavy rain

10ths Cloud Cover: 10

Bar(mb): 1016

Cabin Temp(f): 88

Water Temp(f): 85

Relative Humidity(%): 67

Sail: Big genoa and main.

Noon-to-Noon Miles Made Good (nm): 62

Miles since departure: 27,362

Avg. Miles/Day: 136

Leg North Miles: 4,412

Leg North Days: 35

Avg. Miles/Day: 126

Wind remained light at north and east most of the night but died away altogether by early morning. I lowered the main, rolled up the jib, and we drifted for several hours under a starry sky.

The Big Dipper is hull up now and creates a lovely arc from Alioth and Alkaid in its handle through to Arcturus and on to Spica and Corvus. At Corvus the line veers sharply to the right and terminates in the Southern Cross. Except for perpetual cloud on the horizon, I think I might have seen Polaris, and so could have connected both hemispheres in one sweep.

With sunup, a light wind from the south preceded a dark wall of cloud. We were soon overtaken and spent most of the day in that “super-cell.” Heavy rain and brisk wind at times.

At 5:15PM today we crossed the equator and re-entered northern waters. It was October 25th of 2018 when we crossed into the south, and we have been there ever since.

With sundown, the cell has evaporated and so too has the wind. The water is glassy; the sunset, worth a million dollars. But I’d trade it for some wind.

Sails are down again.

We drift.

3 Comments on “In the Doldrums, Continued…

  1. So, NOW do you have enough water?
    Seems to me you could take days getting clean…..

  2. Hey Milo ! ” You can do anything as long as it’s nothing, everything as long as it isn’t anything, so don’t say there’s nothing to do in the Doldrums, don’t say we wither away the day, we don’t!, no!, we dawdle a bit and then, we loiter a while and dawdle again, we gather our strength to start a new, on all of this loafing and lounging we still have left to do, so don’t say there’s nothing to do in the Doldrums it’s just not true!”

  3. Hi, why don’t you jump in for a swim? It looks like a really really deep swimming pool. Love the posts.

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