No Escaping the Blob

February 20, 2019

Day 139

Noon Position: 47 10S  163 10W

Course(t)/Speed(kts): E 6

Wind(t/tws): SWxW 13

Sea(t/ft): W 3

Sky: Overcast

10ths Cloud Cover: 10

Bar(mb): 1023

Cabin Temp(f): 66

Water Temp(f): 59

Relative Humidity(%): 80

Sail: Twin headsails poled out.

Noon-to-Noon Miles Made Good (nm): 159

Miles since departure: 19,166

Avg. Miles/Day: 138

Days since Cape Horn: 82

Miles since Cape Horn: 11,525

Avg. Miles/Day: 141

Longitude Degrees Made Good (degrees minutes): 3 53

Total Longitude Made Good Since Cape Horn (degrees minutes): 264 22

Avg. Long./Day: 3.22

A nice day’s run. Overnight, we edged further north than I intended. I had wanted to stay down below 47 and a half S so as to avoid some of the coming windless blob. But the forecast late yesterday suggested we’d have to south it all the way down to 49S just to have 4 knots of wind. So, I gave up on escaping the blob and let Mo run at an angle fastest for her.

We may be stuck for as much as a day.

Rain in the early morning gave way to drizzle, which gave way to a low and gray and wet-looking sky that didn’t give way to anything until late afternoon. When the barometer finally got up to 1024, wind and cloud began to evaporate. Clear skies for a time. A lovely orange sunset.

I noted some unusual chafe on the main halyard today. Months ago we went through a spell when it was getting stuck up in the air. It took me several passes of that very inconvenient situation to realize that the halyard was kinking at the masthead sheave. Since then I’ve been careful to keep the line running free and easy. But still, it looks from the chafe like I’ve not been entirely successful. I cut the worn piece out after lunch.

Wind now is very light. I raised the main as the breeze moved from dead aft to the starboard quarter, but as the #2 poled to port didn’t collapse in the wind shadow, I’ve left it flying as well. We scoot along at 5 and 6 knots in 9 to 12 knots of wind.