Monday 3pm LT/Tahiti time (Tues 0100 GMT) Warm and humid but sun mostly hidden under cloud coming off Moorea, so not too much danger of getting burnt while working on deck.

Suddenly noticed quite a large flying fish behind the steering wheel that must have flown on board overnight - bit enough to eat but now rather dried up.
Have repaired a couple of small tears on mainsail where access was easy since where stowed on boom near cockpit; re-did lashing at top of pole holding down, and stopping from turning, the antenna and radar mount; with difficulty, due to corrosion of parts, changed over propane tanks for galley cooker supply (two attempts, since flow stopped very soon after finally managed to connect up first tank, so maybe it was empty); stowed spinnaker pole. ...All the time, keeping us safe from drifting onto the reef not so far away to W.

Also prepared for sail repair - now ready to lower mainsail for access to head of sail where problem lies. We seem to be sailing/drifting NW-N now in a light SSE wind that has not long kicked in, so I'm feeling fairly confident we won't get any closer to the reef - still under 4 miles away to E - not far but drift is in a good direction to stay clear.

3:20pm Rain! Just what I didn't want since I was just about to stick sail repair tape over leech tear in mainsail before covering it all with some fabric 'tabling' using some burgundy-coloured material used normally for the UV-strip on the furling sails. Feeling pretty frustrated with today's events - was taken in direction of reef in virtually no wind and so have spent a lot of time trying to keep us away from it. We frequently ended up going around in a circle with such light wind and so I often had to jumo to the wheel, trying to get us to head SW or W when that looked like the only safe option - but all at very little speed since wind has been so very light, as well as it being highly shifty. I steered to anywhere we could actually hold a course for a time, so long as it took us away from the reef direction!

3:35pm 10-14kt of E wind under rain cloud - so we're making 3kt NNE. Having to keep watch for other boats - sailing yachts and small fishing vessels - several around.

5:30pm Wind died to 4-7kt with seas from E at 1.5m. Probably still in lee of Moorea and also of Tahiti. Sun setting soon, so decided to get underway since not able to do sail repair today - another day...

Feeling tired and hungry so will get a meal while still some daylight and hope to get to sleep early tonight - except need to keep an eye out for local traffic - a lot between the islands - a mix of ferries, fishing vessels and sailing yachts.

9pm Waxing crescent moon high up. A few clouds but mainly a starry sky. Struggling to keep course in just 7-9 kt of ESE wind - in lee of Tahiti and Moorea still. Enjoyed hot beef stew with green beans and sweetcorn - now to bunk - very tired after disturbed sleep last night and up very early this morning.

Tuesday 12:40am (Tues 1040 GMT) We're well out of the Tahiti wind shadow (lee) now - headig N and making well over 6kt in 19kt wind from ESE, with full genoa and one reef in main... Sailing very well.... lovely!

8am Bright blue sky with 9kt E wind, making 4.3 kt just E of N (004T). Speed down in lighter wind after excellent overnight sail - need to shake out first reef before breakfast. Checked in to Polynesia Magellan Net (PolyMagNet) - good to chat to cruisers in and around French Polynesia.

 

*****************************************************
While sailing around the world, I'm trying to raise funds to help support the superb life-saving work done by the RNLI (Lifeboats) in Britain each and every day of the year, regardless how bad the weather. In fact, the worse it is, the more likely they are out there, helping someone in distress - whether a swimmer, surfer, small boat or big ship, night or day, summer or winter. They are all volunteers with normal day-jobs who respond immediately to a call and it is a charity - no government funding - so they rely on our help to fund their intensive training and maintain their equipment.

It would be great if you would take a moment to click on the Lifeboats link here (https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Jeanne-Socrates2), if you'd like to show your support for my efforts at sailing solo, nonstop, unassisted around the globe, trying to set a World Record as the oldest person to do so, by donating something towards the great work the RNLI do every day. If a lot of people put in even a small amount, it all adds up... Thanks a lot! If you can help, it will be very much appreciated. Let's see if we can reach my target!
***************************************************

1900GMT (= 9 a.m. LT = Tahiti time) - end of Day 279. We made 72 n.ml. DMG, measured in a straight line between the two 1900GMT positions. Not too bad - made good speed once underway, especially after midnight, after stopped near Moorea all day for jobs needed.

Total distance covered from Victoria, B.C., to end of Day 279 (by daily DMGs): 22,816 n.ml.

Distances (at 1900GMT): East Cape, N.Z.: 2105 n.ml. to SW; Papeete, Tahiti: 71 n.ml. to S; Honolulu: 2306 n.ml. to NNW

Position, as posted to www.Winlink.org and www.Shiptrak.org (using my US callsign KC2IOV):
TIME: 2019/07/09 19:00GMT LATITUDE: 16-21.93S LONGITUDE: 149-43.01W
COURSE: 000T SPEED: 4.5kt
WIND_SPEED: 10kt WIND_DIR: ESE SWELL_DIR: ESE SWELL_HT: 1.8m CLOUDS: 10%
BARO: 1015.2hPa TREND: 2 AIR_TEMP: 29.0C SEA_TEMP: 34.0C
COMMENT: Wind getting light - SOG down.Full sail. Bright sun. Calm sailing!

Sunday 11am LT (Sun 2100 GMT) A lot of cloud around still but sun getting out well - cabin temperature is now 27C/80F. Seas still big - but they're expected to die down slowly over today and tomorrow, with the lighter wind. Still getting decks washed by occasional tumbling wave.
Changed course slightly a short while ago - to 011T, to head a bit closer to Moorea in case there's a possibility of making use of its lee for mainsail repair (leech torn near the head, above repaired sections which are looking fine, so far). That depends on timing, since can't easily do the work in darkness (nor in any fair-sized swell) and expect to pass by the island near to, or just before, dawn tomorrow.
About to run generator - really only to run water-maker which runs on 12V and so runs off batteries, but I prefer not to run down the batteries if I can avoid it.
Looking forward to more sleep soon...

5:30pm Sun is getting close to sunset - bright but hazy deep yellow glare of sun behind low cloud in W. Seas are a little less than previously - nearer 3.5m/11ft than the 4-4.5m/14ft of yesterday - and they're not so rough, so a little bit easier to move around now.
Got really busy in galley earlier - eventually finished clearing everything left over from last few rough days. Got going on preparing a meal - and then suddenly remembered - no propane coming to galley burners just now - need to change propane tanks over for gas to supply line to galley - so hurried change of plan... Ended with quick and easy shrimps with mayonnaise, having had to throw overboard a can of tuna I'd opened but quickly realised was no good - so I fed the fishes!
Had a good nap and have just changed into shorts and T-shirt - Yay!! I'm definitely feeling warm now and often turn on the small fan over the chart table - nice to get a slight breeze there with cabin at nearly 28C/82F.

8pm The HF/SSB radio is so good for making contact with people! Tonight I was delighted to be able to chat to friends from two different boats - one of which I'd not seen for 3 years or more but suddenly heard their boat name mentioned by someone else - so we ended up making contact. Another friend sent greetings from California via a boat on a cruisers' Net I'm checking into daily just now, having heard I was here. All would have been impossible without the radio on board - no satphone could have possibly enabled those three unexpected contacts! I'm also chatting daily to amateur radio friends... Am I lonely? Not at all!

10pm Cloud has mostly cleared away to give bright stars everywhere... The moon is shining brightly over the sea - its path of silver light leading to Nereida across the waves.
I've been trying to slow us down while heading more towards Moorea - a contradiction since either we can slow down but not get as close or we can go faster to stand more chance of making our upwind course and getting closer in - difficult both to slow down and still sail close to the wind to a point just NW of Moorea... So I'm not very optimistic that my plan to repair the mainsail leech tear in the lee of Moorea and Tahiti will work out - 50/50 chance at best, maybe. I'll know better come dawn - not just from our position then but also from seeing both the sea state and also the wind direction and strength.
If the sail can't be repaired now, it will have to wait for another time when the wind will have died down along with the seas - in or close to the Doldrums/ITCZ perhaps? That's some distance away.
Time to sleep with alarm set...

11:30pm Really being thrown around by seas - wind has died down a bit but seas take a lot longer...

Monday 6:15am LT/Tahiti time (Mon 1615 GMT) First light before sunrise. We're stopped 9ml SW of NW corner of Moorea and just over 10 ml due W of S end of the island. Wind 4-5kt from ESE - not enough to keep sailing on course... About to furl in genoa and lower mainsail to try to repair tear(s) - sunrise shortly - will cover up my legs and arms from the sun...

6:40am Sunrise over Moorea to E... Drifting and going around in circles with wheel lashed, looking over sail - a couple of more small tears seen on sail stowed on boom near cockpit - easy access to patch them but sail damp at present.

7am Wind has got up again - 8-10kt from ESE. Unfurled genoa and have just got underway again in direction of point well NW of Moorea, hoping for less swell and less wind, so a better lee than here - not very good so far, with quite a good swell running, making it very rolly. Making around 3kt. Fingers crossed...

8:30am Wind didn't last long - died again and we're drifting a bit too close towards to the reef for comfort while only 3-4 ml off. Can't possibly get on with work until I'm sure we're clear of the reef... Creeping at under 1 kt so will take a time...
Maybe I can begin to get other, smaller jobs done in the meantime.
Just not feeling at all comfortable although I think we'll clear it OK if our course stays the same - but just a bit too close for comfort... keep thinking: what if our course while drifting 'not under command' changes more towards the E...?
Can see small fishing boats on AIS outside the reef - mostly moving very little while they fish. A lot of hazy, thin cloud spreading out from Moorea's interior and high mountains but fairly bright. Warm and humid.

 

*****************************************************
While sailing around the world, I'm trying to raise funds to help support the superb life-saving work done by the RNLI (Lifeboats) in Britain each and every day of the year, regardless how bad the weather. In fact, the worse it is, the more likely they are out there, helping someone in distress - whether a swimmer, surfer, small boat or big ship, night or day, summer or winter. They are all volunteers with normal day-jobs who respond immediately to a call and it is a charity - no government funding - so they rely on our help to fund their intensive training and maintain their equipment.

It would be great if you would take a moment to click on the Lifeboats link here (https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Jeanne-Socrates2), if you'd like to show your support for my efforts at sailing solo, nonstop, unassisted around the globe, trying to set a World Record as the oldest person to do so, by donating something towards the great work the RNLI do every day. If a lot of people put in even a small amount, it all adds up... Thanks a lot! If you can help, it will be very much appreciated. Let's see if we can reach my target!
***************************************************

1900GMT (= 9 a.m. LT = Tahiti time) - end of Day 278. We made 96 n.ml. DMG, measured in a straight line between the two 1900GMT positions. Slow for several hours this morning.

Total distance covered from Victoria, B.C., to end of Day 278 (by daily DMGs): 22,744 n.ml.

Distances (at 1900GMT): East Cape, N.Z.: 2047 n.ml. to SW; Papeete, Tahiti: 23 n.ml. to E; Honolulu: 2372 n.ml. to NNW

Position, as posted to www.Winlink.org and www.Shiptrak.org (using my US callsign KC2IOV):
TIME: 2019/07/08 19:00GMT LATITUDE: 17-32.60S LONGITUDE: 149-59.36W
COURSE: 030T SPEED: 1.5kt
WIND_SPEED: 5kt WIND_DIR: ESE SWELL_DIR: ESE SWELL_HT: 1.5m CLOUDS: 50%
BARO: 1015.6hPa TREND: 2 AIR_TEMP: 28.0C SEA_TEMP: 33.0C
COMMENT: Drifting W of NW pt of Moorea, 4 ml off.

Saturday 1pm LT (Sat 2300 GMT) Bright sunny day with seas and winds still well up. I'm hoping we don't get the 30kt winds forecast earlier today and they stay instead to the E of here, over the Tuamotus, not reaching here. There's a Low forming there with heavy rain and winds from all different directions, depending on where exactly the centre is in relation to the person looking.

About to have some pancakes - another 'Tropics' celebration! Then maybe short 'catch up' sleep.

4pm The pancakes were just great! Not too much Nutella this time and a fair amount of raspberry sauce worked really well - not too rich, not too sweet, but very tasty. It got a bit difficult cooking them heeled over so very often - wave interval is down to every 6 seconds and the faces are very steep so we're really rolling about a lot. So eventually, I furled in a small amount more of the genoa to make the cooking easier. It was nice to be doing 6kt or more, in 25-27kt wind, but we're still making over 5 kt - in less wind, in fact - a lull?

Just as I was finishing cooking the last pancake, I realised the gas had gone out... The propane supply to the galley had run out and the tank needs changing - another job added to the list for when it calms down a bit. In the meantime, I've plenty of canned food that doesn't need cooking - good for warm climates, in fact!

8pm Finished a short while ago with several evening radio Nets - the airwaves get busy with darkness falling and radio propagation changing!

Will have a meal, get some sleep and then come up on 7163 just after midnight tonight - and then get back to sleep...

Sunday 2.45am Missed te 7163 sched - just too tired to make it. Wind has gusted up to 25-30kt - raining... seas big and rough. Wind must have backed more towards ENE so we're having trouble making our course - too close to wind now so came off wind 5 degrees - better, although still a bit close. Making just over 5kt, slightly E of N. Hopefully, we'll get back on course after rain squall passes.. Oops! A big wave crashes over noisily and we lurch and heel over to port as water washes over everywhere on deck...

Nothing more to be done - back to my bunk...

4:15am Dark still. Wind has dropped to under 20kt, and our speed with it, after gusting in showers to near 30kt. We're struggling to keep a course just E of N at around 4kt in what looks to be a backed wind in the showers. Not getting a lot of sleep tonight... Needing to keep checking and making adjustments to avoid luffing up (getting too close to the wind).

8:15am Bright daylight. Wind must have veered just enough so at a better angle now, from ESE again, and we're making our course without a problem - in fact, changed course slightly to 011T to head closer to Moorea in case a possibility of making use of its lee for a mainsail repair - depends on timing, since can't work in darkness too easily! A lot of cloud around now but sun getting out well. Seas still big - hoping they'll die down over today, as wind eases.

Looking forward to more sleep soon...

*****************************************************

While sailing around the world, I'm trying to raise funds to help support the superb life-saving work done by the RNLI (Lifeboats) in Britain each and every day of the year, regardless how bad the weather. In fact, the worse it is, the more likely they are out there, helping someone in distress - whether a swimmer, surfer, small boat or big ship, night or day, summer or winter. They are all volunteers with normal day-jobs who respond immediately to a call and it is a charity - no government funding - so they rely on our help to fund their intensive training and maintain their equipment.

It would be great if you would take a moment to click on the Lifeboats link here (https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Jeanne-Socrates2), if you'd like to show your support for my efforts at sailing solo, nonstop, unassisted around the globe, trying to set a World Record as the oldest person to do so, by donating something towards the great work the RNLI do every day. If a lot of people put in even a small amount, it all adds up... Thanks a lot! If you can help, it will be very much appreciated. Let's see if we can reach my target!

***************************************************

1900GMT (= 9 a.m. LT = Tahiti time) - end of Day 277. We made 112 n.ml. DMG, measured in a straight line between the two 1900GMT positions.

Total distance covered from Victoria, B.C., to end of Day 277 (by daily DMGs): 22,648 n.ml.

Distances (at 1900GMT): East Cape, N.Z.: 1965 n.ml. to SW; Papeete, Tahiti: 104 n.ml. to NNE; Honolulu: 2455 n.ml. to NNW

Position, as posted to www.Winlink.org and www.Shiptrak.org (using my US callsign KC2IOV):

TIME: 2019/07/07 19:00GMT LATITUDE: 19-04.24S LONGITUDE: 150-29.52W

COURSE: 009T SPEED: 5.0kt

WIND_SPEED:19kt WIND_DIR: ESE SWELL_DIR: E SWELL_HT: 4.0m CLOUDS: 80%

BARO: 1016.1hPa TREND: 1 AIR_TEMP: 26.4C SEA_TEMP: 32.1C

COMMENT: Seas still big but wind eased a bit. Course change now to 011T

Day 276 Fri-Sat 5-6 July 2019 GMT Tropic of Capricorn crossed - we're in the Tropics - but big, rough seas and strong Maramu wind continue.

 

Friday 8am LT (1800 GMT) Took a couple of photos in quick succession, and a video, of the big , impressively rough seas that keep picking us up and throwing us about as they come onto our beam.

 

3pm Every so often, it has calmed down a bit and I wonder if I should unfurl some more genoa - but then it soon gusts up again to near 30kt and I realise that would be a bad idea.

During a short lull in the wind, I got out some nice snacks to celebrate reaching the Tropics - crab pate on crackers, black Kalamata olives and (Saltspring!) feta cheese. All enjoyed seated safely on the leeward settee/bunk ...while the sky clouded over and it rained after a morning of bright sunshine. It's been rough now for so many days, I've lost count... and seas are set to continue tossing us around at just over 4m for another two days at least, with E-SE wind of 25-30 kt, as well.

The best, safest place to be is on or in my bunk - moving around the heeled, ever-lurching boat in these very big,rough seas is difficult, so kept to a minimum.

We passed Rurutu 15 miles off at mid-morning in bright sun and very big seas that regularly broke over the decks and washed over the hard top. I tried to avoid crossing directly over a seamount that was exactly in our path to the SE of the island because they usually generate rough seas in any bad weather - so maybe the seas were that much bigger around there, despite our detour.

We're now on our way towards Tahiti and Moorea - 2-3 days away.

About to have a short nap before Pacific Seafarers Net check-in at 0310Z (5:10pm LT)

Sunset Soon after dark, just caught a glimpse of the setting crescent moon as it peeked out from behind low cloud in the W.
Was thinking, yet again, about unfurling the genoa some more - but then the wind gusted up, so changed my mind... It's been really gusty today - and not obviously due to clouds passing overhead.

Finally discarded the last fleece tops! Even felt warm enough this evening to switch on a small fan at the chart table to cool down a touch. We're in the Tropics for sure now, with sea temperature well up and nearing 30C/86F - a lot higher than air temperature.

11pm It's just possible that the wind might be lessening. Boat speed has been down a lot this evening, although wind has still been gusting up to near 30kt from time to time. Tempted to unfurl just a small amount more genoa. (Later - wind well up again with rain - glad I didn't!)
Have had a nice celebratory evening - relaxed to music, with a ready-prepared meal plus a tiny amount of red wine and some chocolate afterward. Also enjoyed chatting to quite a few different people on ham radio (Canada, Australia, New Zealand and USA) and cruiser Nets in Fiji and French Polynesia.

Really pleased with the main batteries - not only are they now accepting plenty of charge when I run the diesel generator (which I've not needed to do for three days now) but also, with Superwind wind generator's big input in present strong wind, voltage is regularly over 13V - excellent!

Saturday 5am LT (1500 GMT) Wind is still up around 24kt or more, and we're making 4-5 kt under a dark sky - no moon to light up the scene just now. Bouncing around with occasional wave breaking onto starboard side deck - a lot of noise and a lurch to port...

6:45am Daylight - just before sunrise with quite a lot of cloud around, some of it a thin layer. Seas are impressively big at over 4m - a lot of them at 4-5 seconds interval with a few at 8 seconds interval. Most seem to be coming from E, with some smaller ones from ESE-SE, so making for rough seas, moving us around a lot and still occasionally washing the decks as one catches our beam. Wind is from E - still mainly at well over 20kt, gusting to over 25kt. We're heading just E of N (009T) so rather heading into the seas and apparent wind, which slows us down. Sea temperature has risen to just over 30C/86F and cabin/air temp is 23C.

7:15am Sun has got out from behind low clouds. Seas have frequent large foam patches on their surface from where a crest was tumbling and breaking a little - nothing too threatening. Pressure has been slowly dropping over recent days and has now reached 1018hPa - well down on the high of last week.
Unfurled more genoa - finally! Wind is around 20kt mostly and speed has been nearer 4kt than 5kt - now making 4.5kt. If wind stays down will shake out the third reef but will check latest weather forecast first.
Was pleased to see the main halyard is not caught around a mast step, as I thought yesterday - either I was mistaken or it freed itself. Either way, it's good news and a big relief.

 

*****************************************************
While sailing around the world, I'm trying to raise funds to help support the superb life-saving work done by the RNLI (Lifeboats) in Britain each and every day of the year, regardless how bad the weather. In fact, the worse it is, the more likely they are out there, helping someone in distress - whether a swimmer, surfer, small boat or big ship, night or day, summer or winter. They are all volunteers with normal day-jobs who respond immediately to a call and it is a charity - no government funding - so they rely on our help to fund their intensive training and maintain their equipment.

It would be great if you would take a moment to click on the Lifeboats link here (https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Jeanne-Socrates2), if you'd like to show your support for my efforts at sailing solo, nonstop, unassisted around the globe, trying to set a World Record as the oldest person to do so, by donating something towards the great work the RNLI do every day. If a lot of people put in even a small amount, it all adds up... Thanks a lot! If you can help, it will be very much appreciated. Let's see if we can reach my target!
***************************************************

1900GMT (= 9 a.m. LT = Tahiti time) - end of Day 276. We made 111 n.ml. DMG, measured in a straight line between the two 1900GMT positions.

Total distance covered from Victoria, B.C., to end of Day 276 (by daily DMGs): 22,536 n.ml.

Distances (at 1900GMT): East Cape, N.Z.: 1887 n.ml. to SW; Tahiti: 202 n.ml. to NNE; Honolulu: 2562 n.ml. to NNW

Position, as posted to www.Winlink.org and www.Shiptrak.org (using my US callsign KC2IOV):
TIME: 2019/07/06 19:00GMT LATITUDE: 20-53.56S LONGITUDE: 150-46.28W
COURSE: 009T SPEED: 5.3kt
WIND_SPEED: 24kt WIND_DIR: E SWELL_DIR: E SWELL_HT: 4.2m CLOUDS: 80%
BARO: 1018.9hPa TREND: 0 AIR_TEMP: 24.7C SEA_TEMP: 30.2C
COMMENT: Seas still impressively big and rough. Sunny despite cloud.

Thursday 11:15am LT (Thursday 2115 GMT) Ship's clock now changed two hours forward to Tahiti time from New Zealand time, so our local time (LT) is now ten hours behind GMT/UTC, instead of twelve hours ahead, and we're back into Thursday 4th July - a repeated day! Glad to have been keeping a regular note of GMT time/date - avoids confusion.

Bright, sunny day with plenty of cloud around. Wind has been up a little since sunrise and it got pretty rough again - being well tossed around, just as this time yesterday.

12:30pm Feeling quite tired so going to lie down for a short sleep, having spent quite a time checking weather and our likely course over next week or so, insofaras made possible by forecast winds.

Made another course change - to 016T, towards Iles Australes, passing Rurutu tomorrow, and then on to pass just W of Tahiti and Moorea early next week. Original plan was to pass E of Tahiti but E winds forecast when getting closer make that likely to be untenable, so I'm playing safe by passing W instead, giving a better wind angle and avoiding the problem of possibly getting too close to a lee shore.

3pm Pleasant sailing conditions in bright sunshine with small white clouds scattered around. Swell not too often wetting side decks and gusts occurring less often but wind still well up at 22-25kt, so making good speed, although always heeled over.

10pm Keep thinking I should let out some of the genoa I furled in around sunset, ready for overnight - but then see wind still well up around 24kt so think better of it.

11:25pm Unfurled the headsail (genoa) a small amount more - our speed kept dropping enough that our course suffered. With just a little more boat speed, easier to keep to a course... To my bunk, with alarm set to check on our course - we're approaching the Austral atolls so I need to keep a good eye on where we're headed.

Friday 5am LT (Fri 1500 GMT) Dark night with sky a mix of mainly hazy stars with some cloud, no moon visible. Going well... adjusted our course to come slightly more off the wind - presently from ESE at 20-23kt.

Two tiny specs of red show on the AIS 'night mode' screen where Rurutu and Tubuai lie in relation to us - one is 36ml to NNW, the other is 90 ml to ESE. On course now for a waypoint well off Moorea - several days away still.

7:30am Bright, sunny day with plenty of white cloud around and seas still tossing us around quite often. Heeling to 25 kt, gusting 29kt, ESE wind.

8am Passing small atoll of Rurutu but it's too low and far away to see it.

Decided to take in 3rd reef, with wind gusting to 30kt again - but halyard caught on a mast step near top as sail was dropped... Will need to head up and release halyard more to sort it out - but waiting until finished diverting past a seamount upwind just now - sea depth changes rapidly nearby from well over 6,000m to just 600m in a few miles. With already rough seas, it's likely to become even rougher close to the underwater peak - probably another old volcano.

9am Just realised .... we've officially passed into the Tropics - now being well N of the Tropic of Capricorn since our latitude is now 22d 40'S. Must celebrate that today - party time... if it calms down a bit! With weather forecast showing these conditions not improving until Sunday at earliest, might have to postpone the party for a time but enjoying party snacks of 'special foods' can still go ahead and was delighted to open some mango juice to have with my breakfast this morning - highly appropriate!

*****************************************************

While sailing around the world, I'm trying to raise funds to help support the superb life-saving work done by the RNLI (Lifeboats) in Britain each and every day of the year, regardless how bad the weather. In fact, the worse it is, the more likely they are out there, helping someone in distress - whether a swimmer, surfer, small boat or big ship, night or day, summer or winter. They are all volunteers with normal day-jobs who respond immediately to a call and it is a charity - no government funding - so they rely on our help to fund their intensive training and maintain their equipment.

It would be great if you would take a moment to click on the Lifeboats link here (https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Jeanne-Socrates2), if you'd like to show your support for my efforts at sailing solo, nonstop, unassisted around the globe, trying to set a World Record as the oldest person to do so, by donating something towards the great work the RNLI do every day. If a lot of people put in even a small amount, it all adds up... Thanks a lot! If you can help, it will be very much appreciated. Let's see if we can reach my target!

***************************************************

1900GMT (= 9 a.m. LT = Tahiti time) - end of Day 275. We made 120 n.ml. DMG, measured in a straight line between the two 1900GMT positions. A better day's run again... nice to see!

Total distance covered from Victoria, B.C., to end of Day 275 (by daily DMGs):22,425 n.ml

Distances (at 1900GMT): East Cape, N.Z.: 1801 n.ml. to SW; Tahiti: 310 n.ml. to NNE; Tubuai (Iles Australes): 90 n.ml. to ESE; Rurutu (Iles Australes):21 n.ml. to NE.

Position, as posted to www.Winlink.org and www.Shiptrak.org (using my US callsign KC2IOV):

TIME: 2019/07/05 19:00GMT LATITUDE: 22-44.49S LONGITUDE: 151-02.48W

COURSE: 352T SPEED: 5.2kt

WIND_SPEED: 23kt WIND_DIR: ESE SWELL_DIR: ESE SWELL_HT: 4.0m CLOUDS: 40%

BARO: 1022.8hPa TREND: 0 AIR_TEMP: 23.0C SEA_TEMP: 28.0C

COMMENT: Diverted to avoid seamount - back on 016T soon

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY to my US friends!

Thursday 9am NZT (Wed 2100 GMT) The wind was up in a gust to over 20kt but we're now creeping along in wind that has died down to 8-10kt, waiting for it to come back up. Today's forecast is a repeat of the last few days - SE-ESE at 20-25kt - so we're getting yet another 'cloud effect' in the present mainly cloudy conditions, it seems. Very frustrating - we're either under-canvassed in the lulls or just about coping OK in the gusts. Would be really nice to get more consistent winds to give better daily DMGs. Feeling the boat accelerate again as i write this, as we come into another gust and heel to the increase in wind...

Sunset and sunrise are getting increasingly early in the NZT (New Zealand Time) that I've kept to for some time now but it's very convenient being exactly 12hrs different from GMT and nice to be a day ahead! The next time change coming up is to Tahiti (French Polynesia) Time and will mean a 2hr change (to GMT-10hr) and 'losing' a day.

We're presently approaching French Polynesia so tomorrow I'll make the change - we'll be repeating 4th July!! It's one good reason to keep track of Nereida's date in GMT - that way it's clear what the date/time is, so there's no confusion.

3:30pm NZT Sun has just set - not much cloud around except on horizons now and it has been less rough today - feels more comfortable but still have to be careful moving around with the 4m/13ft swell.

5pm Wind up - gusting to 26kt, with possibility of gusting higher - so furled in some genoa to reduce excessive heeling.

A beautiful night - sky is so full of bright stars without the moon to dim them. Spent a time gazing around, listening to the noise of the wind in the rigging and then enjoying the night sky some more before retreating to the relative calm of the cabin. Surprising how much quieter it is down below, even with the hatch open to the cockpit - the storm screen clearly cuts down the noise a lot.

There's a lot of motion from the swell which does its usual job of tossing us around a lot in these increased conditions. Heading into the wind and seas, or being on a beam reach, resulting in beam seas, makes such a big difference compared with running downwind, which would feel quite pleasant by comparison.

Just got hit by a wave which broke over the coachroof and on to the port side deck - the result of big beam seas.... Glad I wasn't in the cockpit just then!

11:30pm Had a good radio session starting at 1030Z on 7163kHz with Jim, WB2REM, and other radio friends either directly over the HF rdio or partly using a cellphone 'patch' to Jim's remote. Lots of 'Happy Holidays!" exchanged.

Sky is dark and full of bright stars - no moon in sight.

Unfurled a bit more genoa - wind seems to be 20kt, maybe just under.

Friday 6am NZT (Thurs 1800 GMT) Wind up a little since sunrise - pretty rough again - being well tossed around. Made a course change last night - to around 030T now. Headed towards Iles Australes, just over a day away - good news since it means we should pass them in good daylight. Not sure I'll be close enough to see anything - they're small, low-lying atolls.

About to change ship's clock from New Zealand time to Tahiti time - 2hrs forward and one day back - so this change of local time puts us back into Fourth July a second time!!

*****************************************************

While sailing around the world, I'm trying to raise funds to help support the superb life-saving work done by the RNLI (Lifeboats) in Britain each and every day of the year, regardless how bad the weather. In fact, the worse it is, the more likely they are out there, helping someone in distress - whether a swimmer, surfer, small boat or big ship, night or day, summer or winter. They are all volunteers with normal day-jobs who respond immediately to a call and it is a charity - no government funding - so they rely on our help to fund their intensive training and maintain their equipment.

It would be great if you would take a moment to click on the Lifeboats link here (https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Jeanne-Socrates2), if you'd like to show your support for my efforts at sailing solo, nonstop, unassisted around the globe, trying to set a World Record as the oldest person to do so, by donating something towards the great work the RNLI do every day. If a lot of people put in even a small amount, it all adds up... Thanks a lot! If you can help, it will be very much appreciated. Let's see if we can reach my target!

***************************************************

1900GMT (= 7 a.m. NZT) - end of Day 274. We made 111 n.ml. DMG, measured in a straight line between the two 1900GMT positions. Better!

Total distance covered from Victoria, B.C., to end of Day 274 (by daily DMGs):22,305 n.ml

Distances (at 1900GMT): East Cape, N.Z.: 1707 n.ml. to SW; Tahiti: 431 n.ml. to NNE; Tubuai (Iles Australes): 140 n.ml. to NE; Rurutu (Iles Australes):129 n.ml. to NNE.

Position, as posted to www.Winlink.org and www.Shiptrak.org (using my US callsign KC2IOV):

TIME: 2019/07/04 19:00GMT LATITUDE: 24-39.84S LONGITUDE: 151-39.80W

COURSE: 031T SPEED: 5.5kt

WIND_SPEED: 23kt WIND_DIR: ESE SWELL_DIR: ESE SWELL_HT: 4.0m CLOUDS: 30%

BARO: 1025hPa TREND: 0 AIR_TEMP: 21.0C SEA_TEMP: 28.0C

COMMENT: Wind gusted up at sunrise; being tossed around more than overnight

HAPPY JULY FOURTH to my US friends!

from

Jeanne (VE0JS/KC2IOV) on board "Nereida"

Wednesday 2:30pm NZT (Tues 0230GMT) I felt very fortunate to be able to see most of the major part of the solar eclipse this morning - there was cloud around the sun but, especially close to sunrise, I was able to see a good amount of the sun in darkness - at 5:45am NZT, over 2/3 was covered (top down) and, by 6:30am NZT, the lower right hand portion of the sun was obscured - just under 1/4. Then the sun disappeared behind a long line of grey cloud.

I was about to write about the small white fluffy clouds seen around midday and how nice it was not to have any rain clouds in sight ... and here we are back in a band of rain clouds... Wind is gusting up to 30kt, as it seems to do every time under the clouds (and often away from them) and seas are consistently 4m/13ft and really close together. At just a 5-6 second interval, they get very steep-faced and toss us around so we heel over a lot as we go up and down on them. None of which is made any better by beating into the strong wind and seas, trying to make a NE course in the ESE wind. The Maramu wind is making itself felt and will be around for a few more days yet. If the forecast is correct, conditions might have eased a little in 4 days' time.

Was lovely to catch sight of a pair of birds flying very close together, keeping pace with each other exactly as they wheeled around astern of Nereida - a courtship ritual?

Every so often, the sky clears to a deep clear blue with a bright sun and I really feel we're getting closer to the Tropics... The Tropic of Capricorn is not too far off now - about two and a half days away, near Tubuai, the first of the Austral group of islands. Sea temperature has risen to 25.8C/78F and the air is consistently over 20C/68F now. Pressure is very high, at 1030hPa.

3:30pm Sun is almost ready to set. Seas and wind are well up - 25kt with 30kt gusts - and we're heeled over... then there'll be another lull - down to 20kt. It gets very difficult to move around and function normally when the seas are so rough like this so much of the time.

Thursday 2:15am NZT (Wed 1415GMT) Speed had dropped well down so, with no big clouds around to cause the drop in speed, unfurled a fair amount of genoa to try to speed us up. Had also tried to adjust our course before that, being well downwind of our planned course, but seems we were actually heading fairly close to the wind already so that didn't work - wind has clearly backed a little more so we're now headed closer to Rurutu than to Tubuai. Might have to furl in the genoa again if wind picks up but it seems to have dropped to below 20kt just now.

Southern Cross 'pointers' are low astern, off to starboard, and stars are strewn across the sky - very little cloud to be seen. I spent some time enjoying the night scene in the gentler conditions Back to my bunk....

6am It's very nice to chat daily with cruisers in Polynesia and Fiji/Tonga on their daily radio Nets. They're mostly in places I've cruised to previously so it's good to hear them - brings back happy memories of my time spent where they are now!

6:40am NZT The wind just got up to 25kt (a cloud was close by), after being just under 20kt for a time, so we were suddenly speeding along and heeled over - but the extra genoa I unfurled overnight was not a problem, I was relieved to see. But now, wind has died right down and we're creeping along at 2.5kt, waiting for it to come back up - forecast is for winds of 20-25kt today so what we're experiencing is yet another 'cloud effect', it seems. Very frustrating - we're either under-canvassed in the lulls or just about coping OK in the gusts - resulting in a low daily DMG. Would be really nice to get a more consistent wind so as to get in better daily distances made good.

*****************************************************

While sailing around the world, I'm trying to raise funds to help support the superb life-saving work done by the RNLI (Lifeboats) in Britain each and every day of the year, regardless how bad the weather. In fact, the worse it is, the more likely they are out there, helping someone in distress - whether a swimmer, surfer, small boat or big ship, night or day, summer or winter. They are all volunteers with normal day-jobs who respond immediately to a call and it is a charity - no government funding - so they rely on our help to fund their intensive training and maintain their equipment.

It would be great if you would take a moment to click on the Lifeboats link here (https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Jeanne-Socrates2), if you'd like to show your support for my efforts at sailing solo, nonstop, unassisted around the globe, trying to set a World Record as the oldest person to do so, by donating something towards the great work the RNLI do every day. If a lot of people put in even a small amount, it all adds up... Thanks a lot! If you can help, it will be very much appreciated. Let's see if we can reach my target!

***************************************************

1900GMT (= 7 a.m. NZT) - end of Day 273. We made 82 n.ml. DMG, measured in a straight line between the two 1900GMT positions. Yet another slow day with occasional strong gusts....

Total distance covered from Victoria, B.C., to end of Day 273 (by daily DMGs):22,194 n.ml

Distances (at 1900GMT): East Cape, N.Z.: 1603 n.ml. to SW; Tahiti: 536 n.ml. to NNE; Tubuai (Iles Australes): 246 n.ml. to NE; Rurutu (Iles Australes):232 n.ml. to NNE.

Position, as posted to www.Winlink.org and www.Shiptrak.org (using my US callsign KC2IOV):

TIME: 2019/07/03 19:00GMT LATITUDE: 26-07.63S LONGITUDE: 152-54.15W

COURSE: 040T SPEED: 4.3kt

WIND_SPEED: 22kt WIND_DIR: ESE SWELL_DIR: ESE SWELL_HT: 4.0m CLOUDS: 80%

BARO: 1028.6hPa TREND: 1 AIR_TEMP: 21.0C SEA_TEMP: 26.0C

COMMENT: Gusty, cloudy day again... Expect wind to 25kt for next few days still

Tuesday 10am NZT (Mon 2200GMT) Finished with morning radio Nets a short time ago - making good contact now with Fiji, Tonga and French Polynesia but getting more difficult to make contact with NZ/Aus Nets.

Sailing close to the wind, as we are, means that we're heeled almost all the time and often pounding into the seas. It's not a very comfortable or fast point of sail! I'm making good use of the hinged steel restraint beside the chart table seat that gives an arm rest there and stops me from falling onto the floor as we heel over!

Seas are quite rough now - swell is coming more from ESE with a shorter interval and with a good-sized wind chop on top. Apparent wind is around 20kt - much more and we'll need to take in another reef...

A lot of cloud around, often quite large, so gusty conditions again, making boat speed vary quite a bit in addition to effect of swell.

Weather forecast is showing this increased wind will hold over next few days - 20-25kt is expected, with bigger swell for a couple of days at least.

I've changed course slightly to come off the wind a touch more - should help with both speed and heeling.

12:30pm After a long time making good speed in strong wind, we've slowed right down again - there's a big cloud close by and it's killed our wind...

2pm We were soon sailing at speed again and very well heeled over. Seeing the wind get up to over 24kt quite often, and with a new weather forecast giving a large area of 30kt winds very close by, I decided it was time for another reef - so we now have the 2nd reef in and we're heeling a lot less ... and I'm feeling a lot more comfortable, as well.

Two birds seen while I was reefing - a dark petrel (Parkinson's?) and another, quite large, with white underbody.

5pm I thought the wind had eased quite a bit but it's actually still 24kt or just under - being well reefed down and the wind being less than 30kt seems to make all the difference. We're making a reasonable speed without being heeled over so much that moving from one side of the cabin to the other feels like climbing Everest with the added danger of being thrown to the opposite side of the cabin with some force. It's dark now and some stars can be seen through the open hatch in between a few clouds. The wind generator (Superwind) is putting around 10A net gain into the batteries (as well as keeping the instruments and AP running)

Seems this strong SE wind, typically in July, is called a 'Maramu' in Polynesia and is caused at this time of year by a big, settled High pressure area to the S - just as we have now. It often blows for up to two weeks and can be very strong - 30kt or more - as I'm seeing!

It's been nice to be able to leave the sliding companionway hatch open most of the time without the worry of cold air coming down into the cabin to cool it down. Even though the occasional wave washes over the fore deck in rough seas and onto the hard top, the hatch area is protected and gets none of that water - except a little from the damaged window which usually drains into the cockpit without getting down below. Only in heavy rain has some water got down below from around the edge of that window and that was some time ago - heavy rain like that does not seem to occur very often.

Wednesday 4:30am NZT (Tues 1630GMT) First hint of light in the sky - dawn beginning. Low cloud on E horizon, mainly clear overhead. Wind up to 30kt - rough conditions as the seas catch us and toss us around - a bit too heeled over at times, despite being well reefed down!

5am Pink edges to many of the grey clouds around. Hoping they don't stop me from seeing the eclipse when the sun appears - hopefully, in between them soon.

Dark petrel seen flying nearby - caught a glimpse of its bill - definitely a light colour.

5:15am Wind has eased - now down a little to 25kt but seas still very rough and we're well heeled. Holding on tightly to stay safe in the companionway - too rough to be watching from the cockpit. Sun seen well between clouds ahead. I'm wearing dark sunglasses and squinting with almost closed eyes - can clearly see top of sun is dark - over 2/3rds is obscured - makes sun into a thick crescent shape, lying on its back. Edges of clouds prove useful for sighting the eclipse, reducing sun's glare but clouds generally are getting in the way.

6:30am Obscured portion of the sun has moved down to right-hand corner - just under 1/4 is dark now.

6:50am A long low line of grey cloud is about to get in the way of further sightings - sun disappears behind the cloud - end of eclipse for me, but not bad - saw a lot, despite clouds, and very lucky to be in the right place at this time - very few others will see it until it gets to Chile for a brief glimpse of it, just before their sunset today.

____________________________________________________

A note from Allen, ZL1AYH, about the eclipse around 1800GMT on 2nd July (see photo of map posted previously showing path of eclipse): Note image added by Web Team

" It will reach Chile but at sunset and the totality is shorter. In fact the Astronomers there are rather excited as it is the first time a total eclipse has ever passed over the (newer) largest telescopes in the world."

*****************************************************

While sailing around the world, I'm trying to raise funds to help support the superb life-saving work done by the RNLI (Lifeboats) in Britain each and every day of the year, regardless how bad the weather. In fact, the worse it is, the more likely they are out there, helping someone in distress - whether a swimmer, surfer, small boat or big ship, night or day, summer or winter. They are all volunteers with normal day-jobs who respond immediately to a call and it is a charity - no government funding - so they rely on our help to fund their intensive training and maintain their equipment.

It would be great if you would take a moment to click on the Lifeboats link here (https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Jeanne-Socrates2), if you'd like to show your support for my efforts at sailing solo, nonstop, unassisted around the globe, trying to set a World Record as the oldest person to do so, by donating something towards the great work the RNLI do every day. If a lot of people put in even a small amount, it all adds up... Thanks a lot! If you can help, it will be very much appreciated. Let's see if we can reach my target!

***************************************************

1900GMT (= 7 a.m. NZT) - end of Day 272. We made 105 n.ml. DMG, measured in a straight line between the two 1900GMT positions.

Total distance covered from Victoria, B.C., to end of Day 272 (by daily DMGs):22,112 n.ml

Distances (at 1900GMT): East Cape, N.Z.: 1525 n.ml. to SW; Tahiti: 615 n.ml. to NNE; Tubuai (Iles Australes): 327 n.ml. to NE

Position, as posted to www.Winlink.org and www.Shiptrak.org (using my US callsign KC2IOV):

TIME: 2019/07/02 19:00GMT LATITUDE: 27-12.04S LONGITUDE: 153-50.90W

COURSE: 047T SPEED: 4.5kt

WIND_SPEED: 25kt WIND_DIR: ESE SWELL_DIR: ESE SWELL_HT: 4.0m CLOUDS: 25%

BARO: 1030hPa TREND: 1 AIR_TEMP: 20.0C SEA_TEMP: 25.0C

COMMENT: Solar eclipse - 70% obscured. Strong wind/rough seas - Maramu

-----

At 02/07/2019 19:00 (utc) our position was 27°12.04'S 153°50.90'W

HAPPY CANADA DAY! ....Monday 1st July

Monday 8am NZT (Sun 2000GMT) Hope my Canadian friends are having a good long weekend holiday!
It's mainly bright and sunny now, but with quite a few big clouds around, giving the usual gusts under them, with lulls in between, so our speed is up and down - varying a lot - the story of the last few days. Presently heeled a lot under one of them, making around 5.4kt (actually seeing result of swell - up to 6.4kt or more on a wave and then down to 4.2kt on its backside)

2:40pm Wind died right down again - to just 8kt, in a very light shower, with a big cloud overhead and off to port - but back up again now, so making rather better speed on a close reach. Not seeing any birds today - will look out around sunset when, if they're around, that's when they'll usually be seen. Posting a photo of bird I probably saw yesterday - Parkinson's Petrel - from the excellent, beautifully illustrated, bird book - 'Albatrosses, Petrels and Shearwaters of the World' by Derek Onley and Paul Scofield.
Pancakes for Canada Day today...

4pm Wow .... Nutella and raspberry sauce made for a very rich combination on those pancakes...!
No birds seen... but a faint rainbow seen before sunset, as sun was getting low.

5:30pm Drifting around in circles yet again....! Very frustrating...! Wind just died.

5:50pm Finally back on course at 3.5-4kt, moving in a straight line - great!

8pm Wind down to SE 8kt ... this will be a slow night....

9pm More going around in circles - several times - impossible to stop it in such light wind giving almost no boat speed, once genoa starts flapping and then gets backed, along with mainsail... round we go... Grrr!!!

Tuesday 4am NZT (Mon 1600GMT) Well before dawn and a good wind at present so a fair speed being made under a mainly clear, starry sky.

6:45am Bright sunshine. Clear overhead, some cloud on horizon - lined up along the wind direction - as in Trades. Sailing close to wind, so heeled all the time and often pounding into the seas - not a very comfortable or fast point of sail!
Also, being on starboard tack means I'm being leaned inboard from the chart table seat - I'm making good use of the hinged steel restraint that gives an arm rest there and stops me from falling off the seat and onto the floor!
Boat speed is still varying up and down quite a bit both with swell and as wind changes. Hopefully, it will be up more than down today.
____________________________________________________

A note from Allen, ZL1AYH, about the eclipse around 1800GMT on 2nd July (see photo of map posted yesterday showing path of ecipse):
" It will reach Chile but at sunset and the totality is shorter. In fact the Astronomers there are rather excited as it is the first time a total eclipse has ever passed over the (newer) largest telescopes in the world."

*****************************************************
While sailing around the world, I'm trying to raise funds to help support the superb life-saving work done by the RNLI (Lifeboats) in Britain each and every day of the year, regardless how bad the weather. In fact, the worse it is, the more likely they are out there, helping someone in distress - whether a swimmer, surfer, small boat or big ship, night or day, summer or winter. They are all volunteers with normal day-jobs who respond immediately to a call and it is a charity - no government funding - so they rely on our help to fund their intensive training and maintain their equipment.

It would be great if you would take a moment to click on the Lifeboats link here (https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Jeanne-Socrates2), if you'd like to show your support for my efforts at sailing solo, nonstop, unassisted around the globe, trying to set a World Record as the oldest person to do so, by donating something towards the great work the RNLI do every day. If a lot of people put in even a small amount, it all adds up... Thanks a lot! If you can help, it will be very much appreciated. Let's see if we can reach my target!
***************************************************

1900GMT (= 7 a.m. NZT) - end of Day 271. We made 82 n.ml. DMG, measured in a straight line between the two 1900GMT positions. Going round in circles in little wind doesn't make for a good DMG!

Total distance covered from Victoria, B.C., to end of Day 271 (by daily DMGs):22,007 n.ml

Distances (at 1900GMT): East Cape, N.Z.: 1423 n.ml. to SW; Tahiti: 713 n.ml. to NNE; Tubuai (Iles Australes): 430 n.ml. to NE

Position, as posted to www.Winlink.org and www.Shiptrak.org (using my US callsign KC2IOV):
TIME: 2019/07/01 19:00GMT LATITUDE: 28-24.37S LONGITUDE: 155-16.79W
COURSE: 055T SPEED: 5.2kt
WIND_SPEED: 12kt WIND_DIR: SE SWELL_DIR: SE SWELL_HT: 2.5m CLOUDS: 10%
BARO: 1027.6hPa TREND: 0 AIR_TEMP: 20.0C SEA_TEMP: 25.0C

HAPPY CANADA DAY! ....Monday 1st July

Sunday 8:30am NZT (Sat 2030GMT) The Cape petrel I saw an hour ago together with an all-dark bird is no longer in sight now. It was definitely attracted to 'Nereida' and kept circling around before settling for a rest in the water nearby. Further N than I'd expect to see one but they are seen as far N as 25S (we're about 30S now). Also not seeing now the other bird seen yesterday also - solitary, all-dark, slim-winged, mainly gliding with only occasional flaps of wings - that was also circling around not so very far away early today.
Choice of ID for that bird seems to be between Flesh-footed or Short tailed Shearwater or Parkinson's Petrel... Similar in size and all three are all-dark birds but without clear view of bill and feet, not possible to distinguish between them. Most likely, from distribution notes and slim wings, to be a Parkinson's Petrel.

The cloud cover seems quite thin, although there is an area of dark grey cloud off to port which looks more like a rain cloud. Wind is lighter and so we've slowed down - it's not looking as though we'll be getting today the same gusty conditions under big clouds that we've had over the past few days. Forecast is for light wind over today.
Quite a big southerly swell is very noticeable, at 4m every 8-9 seconds, and then there's a small surface wind chop on top of that.

Midday 8kt of SE wind under bright but mainly cloudy sky ... slow! About to have a nap - have cooked beans for soup and will complete making it later. On reflection, realise I got to sleep late last night - not enough ... so time to make up for that.

3:35pm 12 kt of S wind and sun getting quite low already in a mainly clear sky with few clouds. Cabin temperature 22.6C/70F and sea temperature well over 24C/75F - getting warmer!

8pm Wind keeps dying - we went round in a circle just before - no wind = no steerage... Just managed to gybe around and get back on course... but sails keep flapping as wind disappears.

10.45pm - Galloping along at speed now.... in wind under a rain cloud, well heeled and noisy...

11:45pm Wind died away completely after another rain squall - went around in a circle again... Now almost back on track, but not quite - difficult keeping course when no wind to give speed - drifting NE at 2-3kt, waiting for the wind to fill back in... Speed dropping...
Seems this is the pattern for tonight... Slow, slow, quick, quick, slow....
Must get to sleep, if I can....

Monday 6am NZT (Sun 1800GMT) Bright sunny day with a few clouds around - still gusty under them, with lulls in between, since the clouds around are still big... Low DMG as a result :( Still seeing big region of wind from SE quadrant ahead for next few days - all the way to Polynesia - excellent!
____________________________________________________

A note from Allen, ZL1AYH, about the eclipse around 1800GMT on 2nd July (see photo of map here showing path):
" It will reach Chile but at sunset and the totality is shorter. In fact the Astronomers there are rather excited as it is the first time a total eclipse has ever passed over the (newer) largest telescopes in the world."

*****************************************************
While sailing around the world, I'm trying to raise funds to help support the superb life-saving work done by the RNLI (Lifeboats) in Britain each and every day of the year, regardless how bad the weather. In fact, the worse it is, the more likely they are out there, helping someone in distress - whether a swimmer, surfer, small boat or big ship, night or day, summer or winter. They are all volunteers with normal day-jobs who respond immediately to a call and it is a charity - no government funding - so they rely on our help to fund their intensive training and maintain their equipment.

It would be great if you would take a moment to click on the Lifeboats link here (https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Jeanne-Socrates2), if you'd like to show your support for my efforts at sailing solo, nonstop, unassisted around the globe, trying to set a World Record as the oldest person to do so, by donating something towards the great work the RNLI do every day. If a lot of people put in even a small amount, it all adds up... Thanks a lot! If you can help, it will be very much appreciated. Let's see if we can reach my target!
***************************************************

1900GMT (= 7 a.m. NZT) - end of Day 270. We made 91 n.ml. DMG, measured in a straight line between the two 1900GMT positions. A slow day yesterday - lots of light wind in between gusts under clouds.

Total distance covered from Victoria, B.C., to end of Day 270 (by daily DMGs):21,925 n.ml

Distances (at 1900GMT): East Cape, N.Z.: 1344 n.ml. to SW; Tahiti: 789 n.ml. to NNE; Tubuai (Iles Australes): 512 n.ml. to NE

Position, as posted to www.Winlink.org and www.Shiptrak.org (using my US callsign KC2IOV):
TIME: 2019/06/30 19:00GMT LATITUDE: 29-16.17S LONGITUDE: 156-27.75W
COURSE: 055T SPEED: 5.5kt
WIND_SPEED: 15kt WIND_DIR: SSE SWELL_DIR: SSE SWELL_HT: 3.0m CLOUDS: 30%
BARO: 1024.5hPa TREND: 2 AIR_TEMP: 20.0C SEA_TEMP: 24.0C
COMMENT: Gusts under clouds still, but not too many clouds. Sunny day.

Saturday 8am NZT (Friday 2000GMT) Bright sunny day with quite a few large clouds around - so might be in for another gusty day. Swell still a good 3.5m/12ft from S, so plenty of motion but not too bad.

Finishing my breakfast cereal with nuts, seeds and dried fruit, with a glass of pineapple juice on the side (along with vitamins C and D), having posted my daily reports.

1:30pm Sky has a lot of cloud cover now and we're often rushing along at speed, heeled over on a close reach. Wind, from SE, is around 15kt, but much more in gusts - varies a lot under the clouds in strength and a little in direction. Sun is often getting out.

Actually saw two birds just now, as I trimmed the sails - possibly petrels, seemed to be all-dark, swooping around on slim, fixed wings. Hadn't seen any earlier today and put that down to lighter wind and maybe getting closer to tropical waters. Certainly, the water colour, when the sun was shining, was hinting at the lovely deep turquoise blue of the tourist brochures. We're presently well-heeled in the stronger wind under a cloud, so I'm sitting on the port (leeward) bunk - but on a cushion with a sheet of plastic below it, protecting it (and me!) from the settee which is still very damp from the knockdown. Cabin temperature is 21C, so air is not warm enough yet to dry much out.

Have spent a time clearing up a bit but can't do much with a lot of clothing and bedding which are still very damp from seawater - or from the sea air, which has almost the same effect.

Finished the lentil soup I made the evening before last, so now soaking some small white and larger pink beans ready for a thick, hearty meal-in-one soup. Will probably add a little barley together with chopped tomatoes & green beans, along with either chicken, ham or beef - I'll see what takes my fancy at the time.

Think I'll get some pancake mix ready for later - so easy to cook and very enjoyable although the maple syrup is finished - but maybe I'll use some honey instead, with a little of the raspberry sauce from Hobart. Think that's really meant for dribbling over ice cream - but there's none of that within quite a few hundred miles of here. I reckon some Nutella would work quite well as a chocolate flavour on the pancakes and might work very well with the raspberry sauce also.

It's really great that, for once, the weather is playing ball! The big, deep 1040hPa High over New Zealand, slowly drifting E, is giving this big area of settled SE wind that we're benefitting from. As we move NE, wind will slowly become more ESE, then E - at which point we'll be heading N towards Tahiti in strong SE Trades and then on towards Hawaii, crossing the Equator and the ITCZ (Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone - or Doldrums) which is usually somewhere around 8N, on the way.

7:45pm Had a very enjoyable ham radio session on 7160 - lots of contacts with New Zealand and Australia. Batteries kept well up by wind generator (Superwind) so no power problem nowadays.

Was told by Al, ZL1AYH, that there will be a solar eclipse along my path around 1800GMT on Tuesday 2nd July ... Must look out for that on Wed morning (NZT) - hope it's not too cloudy! That's just past sunrise for my position near here.... Will check on path it will be taking - at best, I'll see a good partial eclipse, not totality.

9:30pm Wind keeps dying down a lot more than coming up under a cloud - not so many clouds now, perhaps? Means we've slowed down a lot.

Have had some useful suggestions by email on use of spinnaker halyard as topping lift and ways to avoid chafe... looking into them!

Sunday 6am (Sat 1800GMT) Sun rose a short while ago and is shining brightly through one of the few gaps in the light grey cloud that's covering most of the sky.

We've been at slow speed most of the night - wind now is only 9-10kt and we're making up and down around 4.4kt - slow progress just now...

Running generator for an hour, along with water-maker, and charging computer and iPhone - regular early morning events.

Pancake mix is waiting to be cooked for breakfast - didn't get around to frying in last night's rough seas - calmer now.

Speed has dropped again while I've been writing - to around a mere 3.7kt - we shan't be breaking any distance records for today's DMG!

Just had a note from Allen, ZL1AYH, about the eclipse on 2nd July:

" It will reach Chile but at sunset and the totality is shorter. In fact the Astronomers there are rather excited as it is the first time a total eclipse has ever passed over the largest telescopes in the world."

7am Lovely to see a Cape petrel attracted to 'Nereida' - kept circling around and then settled in water nearby. The other bird seen yesterday - solitary, all-dark, slim-winged, mainly gliding with only occasional flaps of wings - was also circling around, not so very far away. Shearwater? Petrel? Must check in my bird book...

I was on deck, checking direction of wind and swell, using ship's compass - one reason I keep a note of current Magnetic Variation all the time in my ship's logbook- presently standing at 18E, so 18 degrees needs to be added to compass readings to give True directions. (I can never understand why anyone even thinks of quoting a Magnetic course to others a distance away.... Only time it would be appropriate is to give a 'course to steer' to a helmsperson at the wheel, watching the ship's compass. )

*****************************************************

While sailing around the world, I'm trying to raise funds to help support the superb life-saving work done by the RNLI (Lifeboats) in Britain each and every day of the year, regardless how bad the weather. In fact, the worse it is, the more likely they are out there, helping someone in distress - whether a swimmer, surfer, small boat or big ship, night or day, summer or winter. They are all volunteers with normal day-jobs who respond immediately to a call and it is a charity - no government funding - so they rely on our help to fund their intensive training and maintain their equipment.

It would be great if you would take a moment to click on the Lifeboats link here (https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Jeanne-Socrates2), if you'd like to show your support for my efforts at sailing solo, nonstop, unassisted around the globe, trying to set a World Record as the oldest person to do so, by donating something towards the great work the RNLI do every day. If a lot of people put in even a small amount, it all adds up... Thanks a lot! If you can help, it will be very much appreciated. Let's see if we can reach my target!

***************************************************

1900GMT (= 7 a.m. NZT) - end of Day 269. We made 109 n.ml. DMG, measured in a straight line between the two 1900GMT positions.

Total distance covered from Victoria, B.C., to end of Day 269 (by daily DMGs):21,834 n.ml

Distances (at 1900GMT): East Cape, N.Z.: 1254 n.ml. to SW; Tahiti: 869 n.ml. to NNE; Tubuai (Iles Australes): 601 n.ml. to NE

Position, as posted to www.Winlink.org and www.Shiptrak.org (using my US callsign KC2IOV):

TIME: 2019/06/29 19:00GMT LATITUDE: 30-06.08S LONGITUDE: 157-54.63W

COURSE: 055T SPEED: 4.4kt

WIND_SPEED: 13kt WIND_DIR: S

SWELL_DIR: S SWELL_HT: 4.0m SWELL_PER: 9s CLOUDS: 95%

BARO: 1024.9hPa TREND: 0 AIR_TEMP: 20.0C SEA_TEMP: 24.0C

COMMENT: Dull, grey day with good-sized S swell and wind chop on top.

Friday 8:45am NZT (Thurs 2045GMT) Wind has just picked up and we're now galloping along at around 6kt. Looks as though this could be a gusty day with spurts of speed and lulls in between. Sky has lots of large, light grey clouds, with sun getting out between them, and several light showers can be seen falling not so far away - there's even a faint rainbow in the distance, well astern. Cabin temperature just got up to 20C/68F but it feels cool - not discarding all my fleeces just yet.

Albatross and a few other birds are soaring around nearby.

Have been chatting twice daily to cruisers in the Fiji area on S.Pacific Cruisers net - they're all hunkering down for a big 'blow' expected in two days' time - several moved anchorage to be protected from the expected wind (and seas) direction - up to 50kt gusts forecast this morning for Sunday. I'm also in contact with a Net in French Polynesia. Means I can keep in touch with cruising friends down this way - lovely to have a long chat with friends last seen in Mexico a year or more ago, before they started on their Pacific crossing.

SSB/HF radio on board cruising boats is, to my mind, an essential, both for safety reasons and for communication. The Nets provide a useful way for a group of people to share information on events/places in the area and help each other dealing with equipment problems, as well as sharing weather info and, most importantly, warnings of dangers. Not something that can be done via a one-to-one personal telephone/satellite connection.

Most of the day was a repeat of this morning's strong wind in a prolonged gust, speeding along and heeling well to port under a cloud, possibly bringing some light rain, with the time in between gusts spent struggling to make way in light wind .. until the next acceleration was felt starting up, as we came under the influence of another big, grey cloud. All in quite a big S swell which had us rolling around a lot, very often.

8:30pm Just had to adjust our course to 070T (from 060T) and ease the mainsheet - wind has dropped and veered far more to S, from SSE-SE over most of the day, so sails were nearly backed a few times before I got on deck to sort things out.

Dark night with no moon and only very hazy stars seen. Still some thin clouds around but not so many large ones as earlier during the day, so mainly just ambling along at low speed - around 3-4kt only.

Saturday 3:30am NZT (Fri 1530 GMT) Sailing well in wind from SSE-SE, so adjusted heading to get back on rhumb-line course to 25S 150W - just SSW of Tubuai, in the Iles Australs of French Polynesia. We were making 5.8kt when adjusted course, but now wind is down again, so speed has dropped to around 5.3kt. Swell clearly well up, judging from SOG which varies a lot depending on whether we're being taken along by a wave or slowed down, as we drop down on the back of a wave.

Mainly clear sky, with stars of Southern Cross 'pointers' clear astern and bright crescent moon high up, almost dead ahead, behind the sails.

Checked for, and replied to, emails - back to my bunk ....

6:45am Bright sunny day with a few clouds around - maybe 20%. Swell still a good 3.5m/12ft from S, so plenty of motion but not too bad.

Having my breakfast cereal with nuts, seeds and dried fruit, with a glass of pineapple juice on the side (along with vitamins C and D), while I get reports ready for posting after 1900z.

*****************************************************

While sailing around the world, I'm trying to raise funds to help support the superb life-saving work done by the RNLI (Lifeboats) in Britain each and every day of the year, regardless how bad the weather. In fact, the worse it is, the more likely they are out there, helping someone in distress - whether a swimmer, surfer, small boat or big ship, night or day, summer or winter. They are all volunteers with normal day-jobs who respond immediately to a call and it is a charity - no government funding - so they rely on our help to fund their intensive training and maintain their equipment.

It would be great if you would take a moment to click on the Lifeboats link here (https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Jeanne-Socrates2), if you'd like to show your support for my efforts at sailing solo, nonstop, unassisted around the globe, trying to set a World Record as the oldest person to do so, by donating something towards the great work the RNLI do every day. If a lot of people put in even a small amount, it all adds up... Thanks a lot! If you can help, it will be very much appreciated. Let's see if we can reach my target!

***************************************************

1900GMT (= 7 a.m. NZT) - end of Day 268. We made 118 n.ml. DMG, measured in a straight line between the two 1900GMT positions. Disappointing - I'd hoped for better but we too often slowed down a lot in between the frequent strong gusts.

Total distance covered from Victoria, B.C., to end of Day 268 (by daily DMGs):21,725 n.ml

Distances (at 1900GMT): East Cape, N.Z.: 1145 n.ml. to SW; Tahiti: 973 n.ml. to NNE; Tubuai (Iles Australes): 712 n.ml. to NE

Position, as posted to www.Winlink.org and www.Shiptrak.org (using my US callsign KC2IOV):

TIME: 2019/06/28 19:00GMT LATITUDE: 31-05.85S LONGITUDE: 159-41.21W

COURSE: 056T SPEED: 5.3kt

WIND_SPEED: 16kt WIND_DIR: SSE SWELL_DIR: S SWELL_HT: 3.5m CLOUDS: 20%

BARO: 1025.3hPa TREND: 1 AIR_TEMP: 20.0C SEA_TEMP: 23.0C

COMMENT: Not too many clouds around so maybe less gusty today?

Midday Friday 28th June Two photos that were taken soon after sunrise this morning - around 6am NZT (Thursday 1800GMT) A stop-start day today - sailing at speed under frequent big clouds, often bringing showers, but slowing right down in very little wind in between... But at least the wind is, and will be, consistently from SE, which is great for heading ENE over the next several days.

Thursday 8:45am NZT (Wed 2045GMT) Urgent job of the day - getting to course computer in aft cabin with spare control head and long spare cable and connecting up.

Heaved to a while ago - need peace and quiet and no distractions while working on autopilot wiring problem... Will take a time to get work done and we're slowly drifting hove-to in the meantime.

With course computer off and plotter on, have had no error messages on the plotter - it's been peaceful! Will switch off plotter while working to avoid shorting or damaging it.

2pm About to get underway again... Bright sunny day with quite a few big clouds around, giving frequent gusts and occasional light showers.

3:45pm NZT Sun is just setting. Pleased to say we're sailing under autopilot - with no beeping plotter giving error messages and no 'No Pilot' coming up on the AP control head display. The other good news is I did a bit more connecting up - of the Depth, Wind and Speed instruments to power in the cockpit - so they are all working now, in 'stand alone' mode, not connected to the Seatalk bus, so plotter not affected. Unfortunately, getting no wind direction, only speed.

Saw several birds this afternoon - including a black-headed, grey-bodied Light-mantled Sooty Albatross and a couple of other albatrosses, as well as several all-black birds - could be White-chinned petrels since we are just within their range although these seem slimmer and generally lighter-looking, soaring on fixed wings most of the time. Hoping to see them again tomorrow, to note more detail for ID purposes. Seems the Black-browed albatross is also common here so must take careful note of bill colour of birds seen, to separate them. They're very different, with Black-browed having a yellow bill, which is very distinct from the mainly black bill, with yellow lines on it, of Buller's - as shown in my photos posted off Timaru.

7pm Wind is clearly dying - sails are beginning to flap in the light air and our speed drops right down, at times, to almost nothing.

Friday 5:20am NZT (Thurs 1720 GMT) Sky quickly getting light, with orange-pink light preceding sunrise showing below broken, small grey clouds on E horizon, clear sky overhead. Pressure is well up at 1023hPa, sea temperature is 22C/72F and air in cabin is less - at 19C/66F.

Wind still down around 10kt, from SE - apparent wind is just for'd of the beam.

We're making steady but not spectacular progress ENE, on a course of 060T.

Running generator and water-maker for an hour - mainly trying to get water tank filled although gauge is not showing how full the tank is. It was showing 1/4 full over a week ago but now shows nothing and if I leave the water-pressure pump switched on, it often comes on again as though there's little water in the tank. It has started to make funny noises, so maybe it's now faulty or there's an airleak in the system. I have a foot-pump back-up to get water from the tank but that won't help for showers. Must check to see if I've a black shower-bag stored somewhere.

6am Sun rose ten minutes ago and there were large pink clouds to W, in sky over opposite horizon, and a slim, silver, crescent moon high up overhead.

Albatross and a few other birds are soaring around nearby.

****************************************************

While sailing around the world, I'm trying to raise funds to help support the superb life-saving work done by the RNLI (Lifeboats) in Britain each and every day of the year, regardless how bad the weather. In fact, the worse it is, the more likely they are out there, helping someone in distress - whether a swimmer, surfer, small boat or big ship, night or day, summer or winter. They are all volunteers with normal day-jobs who respond immediately to a call and it is a charity - no government funding - so they rely on our help to fund their intensive training and maintain their equipment.

It would be great if you would take a moment to click on the Lifeboats link here (https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Jeanne-Socrates2), if you'd like to show your support for my efforts at sailing solo, nonstop, unassisted around the globe, trying to set a World Record as the oldest person to do so, by donating something towards the great work the RNLI do every day. If a lot of people put in even a small amount, it all adds up... Thanks a lot! If you can help, it will be very much appreciated. Let's see if we can reach my target!

***************************************************

1900GMT (= 7 a.m. NZT) - end of Day 267. We made 55 n.ml. DMG, measured in a straight line between the two 1900GMT positions. Lost 7hrs while hove to, fixing AP and also Wind/Depth/Speed in cockpit.

Total distance covered from Victoria, B.C., to end of Day 267 (by daily DMGs):21,607 n.ml

Distances (at 1900GMT): Wellington, N.Island, N.Z.: 1254 n.ml. to SW; East Cape, N.Z.: 1027 n.ml. to SW; Christchurch, S.Island, N.Z.: 1387 n.ml. to SW; Tahiti: 1083 n.ml. to NE

Position, as posted to www.Winlink.org and www.Shiptrak.org (using my US callsign KC2IOV):

TIME: 2019/06/27 19:00GMT LATITUDE: 32-03.14S LONGITUDE: 161-41.85W

COURSE: 059T SPEED: 5.0kt

WIND_SPEED: 11kt WIND_DIR: SE SWELL_DIR: SSW SWELL_HT: 3.0m CLOUDS: 70%

BARO: 1023.5hPa TREND: 2 AIR_TEMP: 19.0C SEA_TEMP: 22.0C

COMMENT: Sunrise 1 hour ago. Wind very light.

Wednesday 10am NZT (Tues 2200GMT) Wind backed to SE soon after dawn so we're on a close reach now, making 5kt in wind around 15kt. Earlier grey clouds have given way to a bright sunny day with just a few big puffy white clouds.

Finished with the early morning radio Nets and posting reports, so time for breakfast now.

Plotter continuing to beep often - still waiting to find out which instrument to take out of circuit in order to lose that annoying and frequent noise..

11:20am Blue sky with just a few clouds - 10% perhaps - but air feels cold. Big SSW swell - easily 4-5 m/15ft but very well spaced apart. Also smaller SE swell - giving choppy seas from mix of swell directions.

Just had to re-boot the Aurora terminal - wasn't giving wifi signal as it should have done - OK now.

About to see if I can get some sleep despite the beeping plotter... Feeling too tired to do much clearing up, as I should be.

1:20pm Did manage some sleep, so that's good, but not enough.

Clear blue sky with a few small clouds and bright sun - feels as though the Tropics aren't too far away although cabin temperature is only 20.6C so not exactly getting to Tropical temperatures just yet. Making 4.5-5kt in a SE wind.

Dug out some rubber gloves - now to clear out the water that collected under the head washboards during some rain a few nights ago and has been sloshing around ever since... Have put out a Couple of very wet towels to dry in the cockpit... Maybe, slowly, I can put out some of the still-damp things to dry.

3:30pm Sun getting low now - that's one problem with not changing my clock yet - sunset comes rather early! Sky fairly clear - still with only one-third cloud cover. Swell still noticeable from SW at well over 3m/10ft. Pleasant sailing conditions ... and likely to continue for several days more.

Finished drying off under washboard in head - nice to have that job done and out of the way.

Checked into Pacific Seafarers' Net on 14300kHz a short time before.

More than ready for some food now - just needs heating up - some chilli con carne plus some extra sweetcorn with a mug of soup before and a small chocolate brownie afterwards.

8:30pm Went rushing up on deck on hearing the horrid noise of the boom crashing around and the sails slatting... The wind had totally died but we were still in a 3-4m SW swell - so we were rolling around with very little wind in the sails and the boom trying to swing from side to side. I wondered where the wind was and saw that the wind generator blades were not turning. Realised that the problem was possibly due to a passing rain cloud since the decks were wet... and so the SE wind finally came back and we're underway ENE again but not very fast, with wind only just over 10kt.

11:45pm A long session on 7163 - nice to renew contacts with familiar people but I was happy to get back to my bunk. Managing to sleep and ignore the plotter beeping - it usually goes away after a time...

Spoke to Robert in S.Africa earlier in the evening about the plotter/AP problem - advice given was to wire an AP control head totally independently to course computer in hope that resolves problem... Too complicated to try to troubleshoot existing installation without knowing exact wiring details, so best to take it out of use entirely. Will tackle that first thing tomorrow - in daylight.

Thursday 6am NZT (Wed 1800GMT) Dawn breaking - sun rising below grey clouds on horizon dead ahead. scattered cloud around, sailing well in ESE wind.

Frequently getting error messages on AP and plotter displays - including 'No pilot' on AP display/control head. Urgent job of the day - getting to spare control head and cable and accessing course computer in aft cabin....

7am Heaved to a short while ago in slight rain and increased wind from big cloud - need peace and quiet and no distractions while working on problem..... Have spare control head(s), now need to dig out spare cable to connect up. Will take a time to work on connecting up and we're gently and slowly drifting hove-to in the meantime.

****************************************************

While sailing around the world, I'm trying to raise funds to help support the superb life-saving work done by the RNLI (Lifeboats) in Britain each and every day of the year, regardless how bad the weather. In fact, the worse it is, the more likely they are out there, helping someone in distress - whether a swimmer, surfer, small boat or big ship, night or day, summer or winter. They are all volunteers with normal day-jobs who respond immediately to a call and it is a charity - no government funding - so they rely on our help to fund their intensive training and maintain their equipment.

It would be great if you would take a moment to click on the Lifeboats link here (https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Jeanne-Socrates2), if you'd like to show your support for my efforts at sailing solo, nonstop, unassisted around the globe, trying to set a World Record as the oldest person to do so, by donating something towards the great work the RNLI do every day. If a lot of people put in even a small amount, it all adds up... Thanks a lot! If you can help, it will be very much appreciated. Let's see if we can reach my target!

***************************************************

1900GMT (= 7 a.m. NZT) - end of Day 266. We made 102 n.ml. DMG, measured in a straight line between the two 1900GMT positions.

Total distance covered from Victoria, B.C., to end of Day 266 (by daily DMGs): 21,552 n.ml

Distances (at 1900GMT): Wellington, N.Island, N.Z.: 1199 n.ml. to SW; East Cape, N.Z.: 973 n.ml. to SW; Christchurch, S.Island, N.Z.: 1332 n.ml. to SW; Tahiti: 1136 n.ml. to NE

Position, as posted to www.Winlink.org and www.Shiptrak.org (using my US callsign KC2IOV):

TIME: 2019/06/26 19:00GMT LATITUDE: 32-34.42S LONGITUDE: 162-35.09W

COURSE: 273T SPEED: 0.7kt

WIND_SPEED: 12kt WIND_DIR: SE SWELL_DIR: SW SWELL_HT: 3.5m CLOUDS: 60%

BARO: 1021hPa TREND: 2 AIR_TEMP: 19.0C

COMMENT: Hove to in SE wind and light rain - need to fix AP / plotter problem

Tuesday 8:10am NZT (Mon 2010GMT) Sun trying to get out between a few breaks in cloudy sky - some small blue patches. Rolling around downwind in 3m seas and wind from WSW-SW of ~15kt. About to go on deck to gybe onto our preferred course of 075T and shake out more sail to speed us up - very slow just now and genoa not being very effective - keeps collapsing. Likely to need to pole it out but will wait until we've gybed and are on course to decide on that.

10am Grey skies and no hint of sun...
A big problem with the topping lift gone - had to shake out 2nd reef before the boom was high enough, with wind in enough sail, to pass over the bimmini framework - no way could I lift it up to get it over with the 2nd reef still tied in. I've now left it on the framework, supported partly by it, while I think through the situation - not ideal since we're running downwind and the boom should be sheeted out as far as possible to maximise speed. We can only make due E with difficulty, as things are.
Wondering about using the spinnaker halyard brought aft around the mast - but chafe will be a problem if I do that. Only other available choice is the 2nd genoa halyard.... but I'd prefer to keep that in reserve for the genoa, in case of a problem of failure with the present genoa halyard. Also, the spinnaker halyard is slightly thicker, so should be stronger. Took away the old topping lift from the boom end.
Having some breakfast while I ponder my options, in case I've overlooked something.

11:30am Some good news - the Low that was threatening is definitely no longer a threat - and maybe does or will not even exist - in any weather model! Means that we can head directly to a WP at 155W, or even 150W, and head N up the Pacific, roughly toward Hawaii via Tahiti, from there - in SE Trade winds initially.

Decision - go with spinnaker halyard - and keep fingers crossed it lasts and doesn't chafe through until after my return...

2:20pm Unbelievable how long some things take! The nice thing was working with so many birds around - albatrosses and petrels. Took a time freeing the spinnaker halyard so it would lead well around the mast top, then taking it back, keeping tension on so it didn't get tangled anywhere, attaching to aft end of boom and then coming back to mast, keeping tension on the spare line for as long as possible and finally winching in and closing the mast jammer... Job completed, with the boom held just nicely above the bimini framework and its weight taken by the spinnaker halyard - now under the title of 'topping lift'.
So then the mainsail could be sheeted out to where it needed to be for running downwind and a preventer firmly attached to the boom end to keep it in place before making a course adjustment.
Next job was to raise the pole to starboard, ready to take the genoa and go 'goose-winged' (or 'wing-on-wing') - another long job, especially rolling around in present 3m/10ft seas. Finally done and waiting to be used. The beauty of the system using three lines (up, fore, aft) is that the pole is independent of the sail and can be left in place if the sail is wanted on the other side for a time.
With the genoa upwind ('to weather'), held firmly on the pole, and the mainsail sheeted out downwind ('to leeward') we can sail on a much broader reach (more downwind) than otherwise - the genoa works well, held on the pole, and is not blanketed by the mainsail. Time to furl it in a little and take it over before adjusting our course some more. Then some lunch... I've worked hard for it!

3:30pm Still a fair number of birds around. Wind from WSW at 12-15kt. Another excellent job done - climbed up and removed a bit of string caught around the Superwind hub - wasn't too difficult, despite swell, and the windgen's blades are now spinning merrily again. Good to have its help charging the batteries.

4pm Suddenly today, have been getting 'Heading Not Available' messages on plotter.... On and off, beeping continually... Damn!!!

11pm Wind has died right down overnight - we're creeping along at 2-3kt - probably all night long.
Will turn off plotter so I can sleep - sometimes silent for a long time, other times it sounds every few seconds... Often it stops by itself. I'm suspecting one of the two AP control heads must be causing the problem now but not sure which one can be safely disconnected without causing an AP control problem.

Tuesday 2:15am NZT (Mon 1415GMT) Wind died, so very little boat speed and difficult to maintain our course.
Having to sleep in snatches at chart table in between dealing with frequent "Heading Not Available" messages that come up on plotter - often self-correcting but not always... Turning off the plotter didn't work - then got NO PILOT messages on AP control head!
We're drifting due N at just over 1kt, with bow pointing 057T. Wind has backed to S, it seems, judging from our drift. Time to take genoa off the pole and to port, if so.

3am Very wet on deck - it clearly rained a short while ago. A lovely starry sky, moon high and just out from behind clearing clouds to NE.
Took the genoa off the pole and over to port and took up on the mainsheet to bring the mainsail more aft - we're nearly on a beam reach now. Speed is better - 3.5-4kt instead of 1-2kt - and so is our course - no problem making our preferred course of 062T now. Wind is about 12-15kt from S-SSE.

5am Still trying to get somewhere with plotter error message problem. Trying to make contact with my reliable Raymarine person in SA but no joy so far. Now seems clear to me that one of the two AP control heads (one of which, in cockpit, is not very easy to access behind) must be causing the problem - but so far I'm not clear which one to disconnect - so very little sleep overnight... I'm tired!!!

6am Daybreak a short while ago. Wind had died back down again and we were making only 2-2.5 kt and struggling to keep on course. Went on deck to find that wind has backed more - to SE - so we're on a close reach now. Sheeted in mainsail and our speed increased immediately - making around 3.5-4kt now, in wind of just over 10kt.
Lots of grey clouds around - some showers not far away.

 

****************************************************
While sailing around the world, I'm trying to raise funds to help support the superb life-saving work done by the RNLI (Lifeboats) in Britain each and every day of the year, regardless how bad the weather. In fact, the worse it is, the more likely they are out there, helping someone in distress - whether a swimmer, surfer, small boat or big ship, night or day, summer or winter. They are all volunteers with normal day-jobs who respond immediately to a call and it is a charity - no government funding - so they rely on our help to fund their intensive training and maintain their equipment.

It would be great if you would take a moment to click on the Lifeboats link here (https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Jeanne-Socrates2), if you'd like to show your support for my efforts at sailing solo, nonstop, unassisted around the globe, trying to set a World Record as the oldest person to do so, by donating something towards the great work the RNLI do every day. If a lot of people put in even a small amount, it all adds up... Thanks a lot! If you can help, it will be very much appreciated. Let's see if we can reach my target!
***************************************************

1900GMT (= 7 a.m. NZT) - end of Day 265. We made 77 n.ml. DMG, measured in a straight line between the two 1900GMT positions. Very slow overnight in light wind.

Total distance covered from Victoria, B.C., to end of Day 265 (by daily DMGs): 21,450 n.ml

Distances (at 1900GMT): Wellington, N.Island, N.Z.: 1104 n.ml. to SW; East Cape, N.Z.: 872 n.ml. to SW; Christchurch, S.Island, N.Z.: 1237 n.ml. to SW; Tahiti: 1235 n.ml. to NE

Position, as posted to www.Winlink.org and www.Shiptrak.org (using my US callsign KC2IOV):
TIME: 2019/06/25 19:00GMT LATITUDE: 33-27.13S LONGITUDE: 164-19.78W
COURSE: 060T SPEED: 4.1kt
WIND_SPEED: 12kt WIND_DIR: SE SWELL_DIR: SSW SWELL_HT: 2.5m CLOUDS: 80%
BARO: 1019.4hPa TREND: 2 AIR_TEMP: 19.0C
COMMENT: Wind backed to SE at daybreak

Monday 8:30am NZT (Sun 2030GMT) Very dull, overcast sky. Wind from NNW now and seas still very choppy with only a 5-second interval but down from last evening. Wind supposed to be around 23-26kt, according to weather files, but seems to be quite a lot less - nearer 12-15 kt, I'd say. We're only making around 4.6kt so will unfurl genoa. Still thinking about untying a reef - maybe after breakfast...

9:15am Glad I didn't unfurl the genoa or let out the third reef - wind now up to 25kt or more - the forecast was right! I actually furled in genoa to the third reef mark - ready for a possible 'blow', with wind possibly increasing even more in gusts - to over 30kt.

Plenty of birds around, enjoying the strong wind - one albatross looks like a Laysan but I need to check. Has a lot of black markings on its underwing and a yellow bill.

Noticed the topping lift is trailing behind in the sea - seems to have parted near the mast head. Must retrieve it when things calm down but no rush for time being since not using motor and no chance just now that it will get tangled in prop but must get it in very soon. Has been doing a good job supporting the boom since the problem with the kicker several months ago when its rivets let go - but clearly not up to the task in the rough conditions encountered over the last few months. Its absence will cause a problem from time to time - no way I can replace it, unfortunately.

CHUN I NO.11 - nos 2,4,6,7 are all fishing boats (Chinese?) about 4-7 miles off - one due to pass pretty close..... Hope they keep clear!

....The one that was about to get within one mile has now slowed right down - presumably to let us pass ahead and avoid a close encounter - excellent!

..... A second that was due to get close has turned around to head S.

Called both on VHF radio but no reply although they must have heard me calling since within 3 miles. Had a look but neither is visible in these seas.

Wind still well up, seas have increased as well and we're now making about 4.6kt.

The Superwind is living up to its name and putting in up to 14A in this strong wind.

Time for breakfast - still not had that yet....

12:20pm Think we're into a lull, although I'm hoping it's an improvement in conditions from now on... Just had a couple of hours of hell - in 35-40kt winds, big seas, at 4-6m & 8 secs interval, well heeled and being tossed around by each successive foam-swept wave which frequently washed over the decks and into the cockpit.... As soon as I went to ease the mainsheet, I got totally doused with water twice in quick succession - TG this time I'd raised the hood on my foulie jacket so didn't get too much down inside. All very unpleasant and I have to say I was constantly worried and wondering if we'd be OK for much longer, we were being heeled and tossed around so very much. Felt very much like survival mode.... Definitely one of those times when you wonder what you're doing out here!

I noticed the Superwind was not turning any more - looks as though a short piece of line has got caught around its hub. Hope I can release that once we're into calm seas sometime soon.

With the topping lift gone, and having eased the mainsheet to try to heel less, the boom was moving a lot. I think it was being held by the bimini steelwork when it was centred but easing meant it was no longer supported and the vang/rod-kicker was loose and not working to give the support it is designed to. (It's a gas-filled system that pushes up to support the weight of the boom and a pulley system on it is tensioned to keep the boom down as required.)

A big bang! ...Just got really knocked sideways suddenly by a big wave - we didn't quite broach but a near thing...

12:45pm Wind still abated... hope it stays down! Might just be a lull.. A lot quieter but wind still in mid-20s.

The Chinese fishing boats are still around but keeping a distance away - 6 miles or more..

Time to grab some brunch and check weather info again... I'm not in a rush to shake out any reefs just yet...

Once this Front has passed over, the wind is likely to back quite quickly to NW, eventually easing and coming from W by midnight, then easing further and becoming WSW-SW 17kt tomorrow, if the forecast is correct.

3pm Wind seems to have died right down so we're struggling to make our course with little boat speed. Need more canvas but I'm worried in case the forecast winds of 26kt should arrive again - with higher gusts... Raining now...

Unfurling some genoa would help speed, and not too difficult to furl in again if needed.

Light beginning to fade early with so much grey cloud.

6pm More rain - haven't had much for some time - good to wash the salt off the boat!

Wind back up, around 25kt, with higher gusts, so good to have third reef in still. Genoa also still well furled. No problem making our course of 070T with boat speed back up to 5.5-6kt.

Just had another knock from a slightly breaking wave on the beam - always a slight shock when it happens - unexpected ... and boat jerks suddenly sideways, to leeward (downwind).

Radio has been going well over today - have spoken (on 14165) to Rick, VE7TK, in Victoria B.C., with excellent signals both ways just after sunset, to California, Oregon and Arizona and also to Melbourne, Australia, and then, just after dark, on 20m, to Fiji (on the S. Pacific Cruisers Net, on a maritime frequency).

Running generator - with windgen jammed by string, and so not turning, having to be extra careful to keep an eye on battery state of charge.

10pm Feels relatively calm now, with wind well eased from its earlier intensity and seas a lot more gentle, although still rolling us around. Sails still well-reefed overnight in case of possible gusts. Should be fine to shake them out in the morning, when weather will definitely be more settled.

Tuesday 3am NZT (Mon 1500GMT) Dark night with little help from moon behind thick cloud layer in light rain. Was woken by noise of boom trying to gybe and banging into bimini frame - wind had backed a lot, to W, so running downwind now. Struggled into foulies and boots.

Bimini frame was stopping the very low boom from gybing - a good thing but had to get boom onto a tensioned preventer and ease mainsheet more for a run. Clearly, gas-filled rod-kicker is no longer pushing up on boom to help keep it in place correctly - reason for having attached topping lift some months ago to keep it above framework.

Retrieved broken topping lift from trailing in sea from aft end of boom (along with several bright, tiny, phosphorescent beings that had, unfortunately for them, attached themselves to the line). Unfurled a lot more genoa - need more sail but will wait until daylight to shake out third reef in main. Slow now, running in lighter wind.

Battery charge is fine for now. Back to my bunk for some more sleep.

Tuesday 7am NZT (Mon 1900GMT) Mainly cloudy sky with a few small blue patches - cloud beginning to break. Rolling around downwind in 3m seas from WSW-SW of ~15kt. Need to gybe onto our preferred course of 075T and shake out more sail to speed us up - very slow just now and genoa not being very effective - keeps collapsing. Likely to need to pole it out but will wait until we've gybed and are on course to decide on that.

****************************************************

While sailing around the world, I'm trying to raise funds to help support the superb life-saving work done by the RNLI (Lifeboats) in Britain each and every day of the year, regardless how bad the weather. In fact, the worse it is, the more likely they are out there, helping someone in distress - whether a swimmer, surfer, small boat or big ship, night or day, summer or winter. They are all volunteers with normal day-jobs who respond immediately to a call and it is a charity - no government funding - so they rely on our help to fund their intensive training and maintain their equipment.

It would be great if you would take a moment to click on the Lifeboats link here (https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Jeanne-Socrates2), if you'd like to show your support for my efforts at sailing solo, nonstop, unassisted around the globe, trying to set a World Record as the oldest person to do so, by donating something towards the great work the RNLI do every day. If a lot of people put in even a small amount, it all adds up... Thanks a lot! If you can help, it will be very much appreciated. Let's see if we can reach my target!

******************************************************************************

1900GMT (= 7 a.m. NZT) - end of Day 264. We made 96 n.ml. DMG, measured in a straight line between the two 1900GMT positions.

Total distance covered from Victoria, B.C., to end of Day 264 (by daily DMGs): 21,373 n.ml

Distances (at 1900GMT): Wellington, N.Island, N.Z.: 1022 n.ml. to SW; East Cape, N.Z.: 796 n.ml. to SW; Christchurch, S.Island, N.Z.: 1157 n.ml. to SW; Tahiti: 1301 n.ml. to NE

Position, as posted to www.Winlink.org and www.Shiptrak.org (using my US callsign KC2IOV):

TIME: 2019/06/24 19:00GMT LATITUDE: 33-52.28S LONGITUDE: 165-46.66W

COURSE: 043T SPEED: 3.3kt

WIND_SPEED: 12kt WIND_DIR: WSW SWELL_DIR: WSW SWELL_HT: 3.0m CLOUDS: 100%

BARO: 1014.1hPa TREND: 0 AIR_TEMP: 20.0C

COMMENT:Downwind;need to gybe onto 075T & shake out reefs.

Sunday 10:30am NZT (Sat 2230GMT) Overcast sky has given way to broken cloud so seeing some blue sky and bright sunshine.

With the cabin temperature reaching just over 20C/68F, I've removed two top fleece layers and a thick lower one - at last! Nice to have less thicknesses on - not such a Michelin man now.

Reduced sail earlier in 20+ kt wind from N - down to 1st 'reef' mark in genoa and 2nd reef in main. Seas rough still and washing the decks frequently.

1pm Back down below after long session on deck under cloudy sky - sunshine gone. Wind 25kt, gusting 35kt - was definitely over 30kt. We had been really well heeled for quite a time. Very difficult moving around or doing anything with big seas on the beam banging into us and rolling us around, especially when heeled like that. Decided time to reef down mainsail again - to 3rd reef... and also furled in genoa some more. Decks were frequently under water - toe-rails especially were often well awash as seas came onto us and heeled us over.

Expecting wind to begin to back towards NW soon. Will try to follow it around (how I miss Fred when doing that!) so we end up heading NNE, finally.

The Low that was threatening next Tues/Wed, and losing me sleep, seems to be less of a worry now and is expected to head more ESE so we should, hopefully, be able to keep well out of its way as it passes us.

Think I need a short nap to make up for lost sleep...

3:40pm Happy that Aurora is now back receiving weather and other emails. Had been getting "No mail on server" messages which was clearly not so since weather downloads come in several times each day. Presently catching up with download of 16 emails...!

9pm Seems the Low that was threatening is possibly no longer forecast to cause a major problem....

Monday 4am NZT Wind has died down a bit but seas still up. Totally overcast sky with moon's position just discernible by faint patch of light from above cloud layer - not managing to light up sky to any useful extent ...pretty dark on deck.. Wind on the beam more, from NW-WNW direction. Boat only making 4kt in the lighter wind. Will release the reefs in daylight - only 4 hours away. Thought about unfurling to full genoa but found more wind than expected, so leaving until daylight also.

Water sloshing around in the head below the washboard - will need to remove that when light enough - presume it's from cockpit hard top which is leaking around the damaged port pane in the windscreen - was letting in water often when waves washed over it yesterday in the rough seas.

7am NZT (Sun 1900GMT) Very dull, overcast sky. Wind from NNW now and seas still very choppy with only a 5-second interval but down from last evening. Wind supposed to be around 23-26kt, according to weather files, but seems to be quite a lot less - nearer 12-15 kt, I'd say. We're only making around 4kt so will shortly untie a reef and unfurl some genoa, hoping to pick up speed.

****************************************************

While sailing around the world, I'm trying to raise funds to help support the superb life-saving work done by the RNLI (Lifeboats) in Britain each and every day of the year, regardless how bad the weather. In fact, the worse it is, the more likely they are out there, helping someone in distress - whether a swimmer, surfer, small boat or big ship, night or day, summer or winter. They are all volunteers with normal day-jobs who respond immediately to a call and it is a charity - no government funding - so they rely on our help to fund their intensive training and maintain their equipment.

It would be great if you would take a moment to click on the Lifeboats link here (https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Jeanne-Socrates2), if you'd like to show your support for my efforts at sailing solo, nonstop, unassisted around the globe, trying to set a World Record as the oldest person to do so, by donating something towards the great work the RNLI do every day. If a lot of people put in even a small amount, it all adds up... Thanks a lot! If you can help, it will be very much appreciated. Let's see if we can reach my target!

***************************************************

1900GMT (= 7 a.m. NZT) - end of Day 263. We made 117 n.ml. DMG, measured in a straight line between the two 1900GMT positions.

Total distance covered from Victoria, B.C., to end of Day 263 (by daily DMGs): 21,277 n.ml

Distances (at 1900GMT): Wellington, N.Island, N.Z.: 928 n.ml. to SW; East Cape, N.Z.: 700 n.ml. to SW; Christchurch, S.Island, N.Z.: 1066 n.ml. to SW; Tahiti: 1391 n.ml. to NE

Position, as posted to www.Winlink.org and www.Shiptrak.org (using my US callsign KC2IOV):

TIME: 2019/06/23 19:00GMT LATITUDE: 34-23.83S LONGITUDE: 167-36.49W

COURSE: 071T SPEED: 4.2kt

WIND_SPEED: 15kt WIND_DIR: NNW SWELL_DIR: NNW SWELL_HT: 3.0m SWELL_PER: 5s

CLOUDS: 100% BARO: 1015.5hPa TREND: 0 AIR_TEMP: 20.0C

COMMENT: Sailing: ENE in NNW wind - down a bit... Seas still lumpy and rough but less so

Saturday 11am NZT (Friday 2300GMT) A bright sunny day with plenty of broken cloud. Making good speed E in N wind but seas are a bit rough - lumpy with two different swells, one from NE at 2m and another from S at 1m

Will be celebrating 'official' crossing of the Date Line later - but will keep to NZT for moment - very convenient and puts off repeating a day & going backward in time for a while. Date Line is very 'wiggly' anyway - there are places to the NE of here which also keep to NZT - so I'm in good company!

Time for a quick nap - sails should be fine - wind expected to be consistently from N over today and tonight but I'll probably take in a reef at sunset since wind is likely to have increased enough to need that by then.

3:45pm Cabin temperature is just over 20C/68F and I'm beginning to feel over-heated...! Will be removing one or two layers very soon - great!

Wind is N at around 17kt and we're making good progress ENE. Sun is beginning to get low and I'll be tying in the first reef before dark - wind is expected to increase more overnight and we're heeling a lot already, so time to reef down a bit.

4:45pm Darkness is nearly here - rather early, with a lot of grey cloud everywhere now from the Front approaching. The first reef is tied in - always takes a time getting it seen to. Slows us down from the previous 5.8kt we were making but with the wind expected to pick up to 20kt overnight and stay there, so best to tie it in now while I can easily see what I'm doing. Tomorrow afternoon, it's likely to increase to 25kt and even more overnight, staying well up overnight into Monday, with heavy rain likely at times, as the Front passes over.

7pm Enjoying a small 'Date Line' celebration... Cashews, chunks of feta cheese with black Kalamata olives, and a very tasty pate de campagne on crackers... All accompanied by a glass of Pinot noir and some very nice, relaxing music.

Midnight Still going quite well, although not fast enough .... I don't like seeing the wind dropping as it has now..... our speed drops right down with it... It's supposed to be about 22kt...!

Sunday 6:30am NZT (Sat 1830GMT) Sunrise not far off. Heeling a lot, so time to reduce sail in 20+ kt wind from N - down to 1st 'reef' mark in genoa and 2nd reef in main. Seas rough still and washing the decks frequently.

****************************************************

While sailing around the world, I'm trying to raise funds to help support the superb life-saving work done by the RNLI (Lifeboats) in Britain each and every day of the year, regardless how bad the weather. In fact, the worse it is, the more likely they are out there, helping someone in distress - whether a swimmer, surfer, small boat or big ship, night or day, summer or winter. They are all volunteers with normal day-jobs who respond immediately to a call and it is a charity - no government funding - so they rely on our help to fund their intensive training and maintain their equipment.

It would be great if you would take a moment to click on the Lifeboats link here (https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Jeanne-Socrates2), if you'd like to show your support for my efforts at sailing solo, nonstop, unassisted around the globe, trying to set a World Record as the oldest person to do so, by donating something towards the great work the RNLI do every day. If a lot of people put in even a small amount, it all adds up... Thanks a lot! If you can help, it will be very much appreciated. Let's see if we can reach my target!

***************************************************

1900GMT (= 7 a.m. NZT) - end of Day 262. We made 125 n.ml. DMG, measured in a straight line between the two 1900GMT positions.

Total distance covered from Victoria, B.C., to end of Day 262 (by daily DMGs): 21,160 n.ml

Distances (at 1900GMT): Wellington, N.Island, N.Z.: 817 n.ml. to SW; East Cape, N.Z.: 583 n.ml. to WSW; Christchurch, S.Island, N.Z.: 960 n.ml. to SW; Tahiti: 1471 n.ml. to NE

Position, as posted to www.Winlink.org and www.Shiptrak.org (using my US callsign KC2IOV). Abbreviated version today:

TIME: 2019/06/22 19:00

LATITUDE: 34-48.33S

LONGITUDE: 169-55.80W

COURSE: 082T

SPEED: 5.5

COMMENT: Sailing: ENE in N wind still. Seas lumpy; on close reach