I spoke with Graham at the 0630 session. He was back from his Easter holiday as planned. Graham seems to have a more powerful transmitter than Sam, who normally handles the coastal weather, so hopefully there will be fewer problems with my communication with SAMMNet. I looked at a spot weather report that I downloaded a day or so ago. It had predicted 7.5 meter (24 ft) seas for last night, which explains the pounding that we took. I missed that high seas number because I had been focused on wind speed and directions. I don't think that I will make that mistake again. ... And this along the supposedly more benign 40S. I can only wonder what conditions were like at 43S. I'm beginning to think that Frosty and Smoothie, the two icebergs, did me a favor by driving me up here.
The USB cable extension worked and I was able to send yesterday's blog from the new position of the laptop. The next time I am ready to beat myself up over something that I forgot or overlooked I'll try to credit myself with the foresight to bring that cable along.
I turned on the HF radio at 1100 for the 1110 SAMMNet session with Graham and by sheer luck I had left the frequency at channel B1 after searching for an English speaking station and there was ABC news, clear as a bell. After the news the program "Asia Pacific" started but I had to leave it and tune in to SAMMNNet which I've programmed into channel A27.
We had a very good session with Graham coming in clear as a bell, which I found very reassuring. Graham said that he thought about me quite a bit over the Easter break, wondering how I was progressing and how I was doing. He asked me how things had gone with Sam and I explained that I thought that he had received all of my reports but sometimes I could not get his, though he always managed to provide me with weather reports just at the right time and I never did without. Graham said that it looks like the lunch time sessions will provide better reception than the early ones, but nevertheless we will still keep trying to contact each other at the 0630 session. His forecast for the next 2 days was fairly good. I am still getting winds from that squash zone between the high and the low, but the wind will be moderating tonight to 20 kts and tomorrow I can expect SW and WSW ranging from 15 to 25 kts at various times of the day as that high starts to pass across my north at latitude 35S. So fortunately at 40S I am far enough below the high to benefit from its westerly winds rather than being caught it its center with feeble winds. So it looks like for the next 2 days I will be able to maintain my steady progress to the east.
The power situation was excellent. Two days after the last engine run the house bank was at 12.8 V, thanks to a few conservation measures but mostly because the wind charger had done a good job in the high winds. We had also experienced several bouts of sunshine which boosted charging amps.
Our noon numbers were:
POS 39S43, 66E18
NND 105 nm
DMD 2332 nm
DTG 2454 nm
I was pleased with the day's distance of 105 miles, achieved under very difficult circumstances.
I decided to keep sailing with the headsails rather then bringing up the mainsail, even though I was paying a speed penalty. The immediate problem with the mainsail was that every hour or so a squall would pass over us, sending the boat racing toward the SW under a big wind load. Also, I was expecting westerly winds the following day and preferred running downwind with the headsail.
Over dinner I listened to Radio Australia. It was good to hear Fran Kelly, one of my favorites, again.
I no longer set the alarm throughout the night unless there is something of special importance. I woke up at 2230 to find that the expected wind shift had happened and we were now heading SE. That meant changing from a beam reach to a broad one, which in turn meant that the staysail had to be dropped. I stepped out to the cockpit for a look and found a beautiful night under 1/3 moon. I could see stars, the horizon, and the sea though still lumpy had ceased to be a threat. I suited up light - wet weather trousers. sports shoes, my light US Navy jacket, head torch and beanie. After the weather I had just been through, the visit to the foredeck would be like a walk in the park. As usual, most of the headsail dropped, leaving about 3 ft of sail up the wire. I went forward, tied the peak of the sail down with cord, and put a turn of shock cord around the body of the sail. Back at the cockpit I turned the airvane to take us more downwind, rolled out more headsail, and we were now heading east again at a modest 4.5 kts. Time for a cup of tea.
While sipping my tea I checked our position and saw that we had just crossed longitude 67S12, which was the midpoint of the passage by my calculation. For me that was a major milestone, half way to Australia! I would have celebrated with a shot of rum but I wasn't in the mood. Maybe tomorrow night. We were also less than 2400 miles away, so now I would be looking forward to the milestone of 2000 miles.
It had take n 27 days to reach the half way mark but I did not think that it would take another 27 days to complete the second half of the passage. In the first half I had lost several days working my way down the west side of the S Africa cape, past the Agulhas bank, then slowly working my way south in search of the westerlies. I had also lost 2 days in my escape from Frosty and Smoothie. I was beginning this second half already in position and on the move.
It was a good time for calculating some ETA's. Bear in mind that the important number is not how many sea miles I am making a day, but how many sea miles I am making Toward Australia. So there may be days where I must sail against a headwind and be forced to a heading 40 or 50 degrees off the mark. And of course there may be times of no progress because I am either hove to or becalmed. Finally, there is still the risk of gear failure hampering my progress. With those caveats on the table I've made the following calculations:
- Assuming 80 miles per day, 30 days to Fremantle, ETA 3 May
- Assuming 90 miles per day, 27 days to Fremantle, ETA 30 April
- Assuming 100 miles per day, 24 days to Fremantle, ETA 27 April
Take your pick. I'm betting on the middle one.
Later over coffee it occurred to me that I had probably entered the Australian maritime rescue zone which was a very good thing.
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com
The USB cable extension worked and I was able to send yesterday's blog from the new position of the laptop. The next time I am ready to beat myself up over something that I forgot or overlooked I'll try to credit myself with the foresight to bring that cable along.
I turned on the HF radio at 1100 for the 1110 SAMMNet session with Graham and by sheer luck I had left the frequency at channel B1 after searching for an English speaking station and there was ABC news, clear as a bell. After the news the program "Asia Pacific" started but I had to leave it and tune in to SAMMNNet which I've programmed into channel A27.
We had a very good session with Graham coming in clear as a bell, which I found very reassuring. Graham said that he thought about me quite a bit over the Easter break, wondering how I was progressing and how I was doing. He asked me how things had gone with Sam and I explained that I thought that he had received all of my reports but sometimes I could not get his, though he always managed to provide me with weather reports just at the right time and I never did without. Graham said that it looks like the lunch time sessions will provide better reception than the early ones, but nevertheless we will still keep trying to contact each other at the 0630 session. His forecast for the next 2 days was fairly good. I am still getting winds from that squash zone between the high and the low, but the wind will be moderating tonight to 20 kts and tomorrow I can expect SW and WSW ranging from 15 to 25 kts at various times of the day as that high starts to pass across my north at latitude 35S. So fortunately at 40S I am far enough below the high to benefit from its westerly winds rather than being caught it its center with feeble winds. So it looks like for the next 2 days I will be able to maintain my steady progress to the east.
The power situation was excellent. Two days after the last engine run the house bank was at 12.8 V, thanks to a few conservation measures but mostly because the wind charger had done a good job in the high winds. We had also experienced several bouts of sunshine which boosted charging amps.
Our noon numbers were:
POS 39S43, 66E18
NND 105 nm
DMD 2332 nm
DTG 2454 nm
I was pleased with the day's distance of 105 miles, achieved under very difficult circumstances.
I decided to keep sailing with the headsails rather then bringing up the mainsail, even though I was paying a speed penalty. The immediate problem with the mainsail was that every hour or so a squall would pass over us, sending the boat racing toward the SW under a big wind load. Also, I was expecting westerly winds the following day and preferred running downwind with the headsail.
Over dinner I listened to Radio Australia. It was good to hear Fran Kelly, one of my favorites, again.
I no longer set the alarm throughout the night unless there is something of special importance. I woke up at 2230 to find that the expected wind shift had happened and we were now heading SE. That meant changing from a beam reach to a broad one, which in turn meant that the staysail had to be dropped. I stepped out to the cockpit for a look and found a beautiful night under 1/3 moon. I could see stars, the horizon, and the sea though still lumpy had ceased to be a threat. I suited up light - wet weather trousers. sports shoes, my light US Navy jacket, head torch and beanie. After the weather I had just been through, the visit to the foredeck would be like a walk in the park. As usual, most of the headsail dropped, leaving about 3 ft of sail up the wire. I went forward, tied the peak of the sail down with cord, and put a turn of shock cord around the body of the sail. Back at the cockpit I turned the airvane to take us more downwind, rolled out more headsail, and we were now heading east again at a modest 4.5 kts. Time for a cup of tea.
While sipping my tea I checked our position and saw that we had just crossed longitude 67S12, which was the midpoint of the passage by my calculation. For me that was a major milestone, half way to Australia! I would have celebrated with a shot of rum but I wasn't in the mood. Maybe tomorrow night. We were also less than 2400 miles away, so now I would be looking forward to the milestone of 2000 miles.
It had take n 27 days to reach the half way mark but I did not think that it would take another 27 days to complete the second half of the passage. In the first half I had lost several days working my way down the west side of the S Africa cape, past the Agulhas bank, then slowly working my way south in search of the westerlies. I had also lost 2 days in my escape from Frosty and Smoothie. I was beginning this second half already in position and on the move.
It was a good time for calculating some ETA's. Bear in mind that the important number is not how many sea miles I am making a day, but how many sea miles I am making Toward Australia. So there may be days where I must sail against a headwind and be forced to a heading 40 or 50 degrees off the mark. And of course there may be times of no progress because I am either hove to or becalmed. Finally, there is still the risk of gear failure hampering my progress. With those caveats on the table I've made the following calculations:
- Assuming 80 miles per day, 30 days to Fremantle, ETA 3 May
- Assuming 90 miles per day, 27 days to Fremantle, ETA 30 April
- Assuming 100 miles per day, 24 days to Fremantle, ETA 27 April
Take your pick. I'm betting on the middle one.
Later over coffee it occurred to me that I had probably entered the Australian maritime rescue zone which was a very good thing.
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com
1 comment:
Good news..half way to Australia! Not a bad idea using the middle calculation to get to Fremantle.
Post a Comment