Monday 10th December 2012
A day of even calmer conditions than yesterday....and set to continue for 2-3 more days.... We shan't be getting very far if today's progress (or lack of it) is anything to go by! We made just 50 miles to 3pm today ... and several times just drifted around in a big circle in no wind, heading north for a bit with some current.
It's really nice to have the wind info on display - I can glance that way every so often to make sure we're making the best course and/or speed possible, depending on our wind angle...
It's been a very relaxing day! Even the clearing away, after the wind transducer work, of spares and tools etc into the forepeak locker waited until this afternoon. Knowing this weather is set to continue doesn't exactly urge me into rushing to get things done! It was great to be on a pretty even keel so I was able to stow things in the port locker without eveything trying to fall out on top of me - as is usual on port tack when heeled!
I decided to take advantage of running the generator and watermaker in these calm conditions to wash some clothes through, so everything is clean. It was warm enough to strip off and wash them out and they're now dripping in the cockpit - one of the short preventer line extensions under the boom makes a good, safe clothes line when we're close-hauled! Something I can't begin to think of doing in the Southern Ocean - being heeled well over and tossed around in big swell and strong conditions makes doing washing like that totally impractical most of the time.
Just before that, we'd had a short, light shower - which finally brought enough wind for us to make 2kt in the right direction - southward!! Around sunset (0240GMT/6.40pm PST), we were still making way nicely - with SOG still around 2kt but occasionally getting up to 3.5 kt - great!! Sunset is getting noticeably later as we move south (we're in the Southern summer) - and the light is lingering in the sky for much longer, too.
I'm very tempted to take a swim, being hot and sticky over the day -I noticed some gooseneck barnacles have attached themselves to the stern water line, below the sugar-scoop steps - could do with cleaning them off. They definitely slow us down and if left will grow very large. Maybe tomorrow, if it's calm again, I'll tie myself on securely and do that...
Propane supply to galley seems fine - so don't know what happened yesterday evening when gas seemed to burn low...
24hr DMG at 3pm: 50 n.ml. - slow!! Cape Horn was 2675 n.ml. away & our nearest land, Easter Island, 425 n.ml. away to ENE, with Pitcairn Island 713 n.ml. to the WNW (both getting further away now) . Punta Gatera, just S of Valdivia (Chile) is 2245 n.ml. to the ESE and New Zealand's East Cape (its closest point to us) is 3200 n.ml to the WSW.
I hear the exactEarth website (see below) is showing our track nicely now.
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For my daily position and track:
See my website's 'Travels' page - go to www.svnereida, open 'Travels', then click on "Where is Nereida?"
http://www.exactearth.com/media-centre/recent-ship-tracks/tracking-nereida/ - courtesy 'exactEarth' using their polar-orbiting satellites -, especially good nearer the poles, i.e. should be good when in the Southern Ocean.
Unfotunately, having run out of lithium batteries for the GPS tracker unit, the other website can no longer keep my track up-to-date - it stopped on 17th November...