Tuesday 1:30pm Tahiti/Hawaii time (Tues 2330GMT) This feels like true Trade Wind tropical sailing! Another lovely sunny day, with cloudless, hot blue sky and good wind... Wind seems to have died down a bit more - and seas a little also - so not quite so uncomfortable as earlier today and yesterday but the consequence is a slower boat speed. We're making around 6-6.5kt instead of around 7kt now, so there won't be the same 160-mile DMG seen tomorrow as today. I was delighted to see that figure - definitely worth the discomfort (for a short time)! (Later: Actually made 154 n.ml 24hr DMG to 1900Z today - not bad!)

Spending a lot of time each day, checking weather information in order to plan what looks like the best route to take, so as to stay in the best wind to get N quickly.

I keep trying to change our course slightly, in hope that wind has veered a little - but keep having to change back as we begin to luff up... (i.e. get too close to the wind, so sails are unhappy and aren't drawing so well)

Having a bit of a struggle at times with my can opener - this is the spare, so I hope I've a back up! Opened shrimps to go with chick peas, mixed in with mayonnaise for lunch. No cooking required...

My left ankle keeps swelling - result of too little exercise, I think, and too much sitting around, so I'm trying to flex and circle my feet frequently throughout the day, as well as raising that ankle high when I'm resting.

7:40pm Just had a good demonstration of how useful the SSB radio is to cruisers and why they should all have one on board. A situation developed on 'Water Music', a 45ft vessel with four people on board, en route to the small island of Niue, in the S.Pacific, two days off still. A water leak developed... sea water... So far, they haven't been able to find its source, although they have managed to clear the bilges of water using three pumps (two electric, one manual) - but more is coming in...
At the beginning of every regular cruisers' SSB radio Net session, there is a call for any emergency or priority traffic. So 'Water Music' were able to get immediate assistance at this evening's 'PolyMagNet' (Net based in French Polynesia) and were quickly put in radio contact with Tahiti JRCC (Joint Rescue Coordination Centre) - taking care of the area where they are now. A lot of boats monitored the communication and some were able to help with a relay when needed.
Not only Papeete JRCC were there to take details and stand by in case the situation deteriorated but also, because a standard emergency radio frequency was being used, which is monitored all the time by search and rescue organisations, a US Coastguard cutter, based in Samoa, came on, to check if they could be of help and also Taupo Maritime Radio in New Zealand came on and confirmed they had noted all the information and the NZ MRCC (Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre) were standing by, in case of need also.
All a joint effort, with immediate communication between different people at that time made possible only due to the use by all concerned of SSB/HF radios. Satellite phones have their place, at times - but they can't replace the SSB radio which allows several people in different places to take part at the same time and contribute - important in an emergency or urgency situation if valuable help is to be given.

Midnight Sailing continues well... Making 7kt SOG (speed over ground) in slightly increased wind! Dark but starry sky with no moon and few clouds.
'Water Music' came up twice more, on the hour, to report their status to Taupo Maritime Radio. They felt the situation was finally under control well enough that they could wait overnight and report in to Taupo Radio and the 8am (Tahiti time) PolyMagNet to give an update as they proceed on to Niue. Hopefully, they'll get some well-needed sleep, with someone on watch overnight, keeping an eye on the bilge water level.

Wednesday 5:10am Tahiti/Hawaii time (Wed 1510 GMT) First light - dawn breaking - sunrise not far off. Making 6.6-6.9kt under a sky with quite a few scattered clouds. Wind still from E at around 15-18kt and we're bouncing around and heeling over in good 2m seas. Sea temperature is slowly decreasing - now at 34.0C from yesterday's 35.0C.
All in all, not much change from yesterday - Trade Wind sailing means long tacks with the same sail plan. Not a lot of work, just now, except that it requires quite a bit of effort getting from one side of the cabin to the other - climbing uphill or lurching downhill, needing the many various hand holds in the cabin to make it happen safely!

7am Wind seems to be getting less - up and down a bit, just now...
Have been checking latest weather info and adjusting course slightly as a result.
Time for some breakfast.... Keeping an eye on our speed - if wind stays down, will release first reef.
Pleased to find my left ankle did not swell up at all yesterday - must keep up with the flexing/rotating movements.

8:30am Gusty conditions under frequent large clouds - boat speed varying a lot ... up and down constantly.
'Water Music' came up on Net to report all under control but they still don't know where the leak is coming from. They should arrive in Niue tomorrow but will keep in touch with Taupo Maritime Radio in the meantime.

__________________________________________________
Far North (Queensland) ABC (Cairns) interview went out on air last Thursday morning and a link will be posted when available.
*****************************************************
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 ye before sunrise.ar, 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, 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!

(I hear that some readers might need to talk to their bank BEFORE trying to make a donation to the RNLI since many US banks routinely block foreign transactions unless
they are notified in advance.)
***************************************************

1900GMT (= 9 a.m. LT = Tahiti/Hawaii time) - end of Day 308. We made 154 n.ml. DMG, measured in a straight line between the two 1900GMT positions. Nice to see another good 24hr DMG.

Total distance covered from Victoria, B.C., to end of Day 308 (by daily DMGs): 25,427 n.ml.

Distances (at 1700GMT): Cape Flattery LH: 2054 n.ml. to NNE; Honolulu: 387 n.ml. to W; Papeete, Tahiti: 2333 n.ml. to S; Cabo San Lucas, Mexico: 2273 n.ml. to E; San Francisco GG: 1773 n.ml. to NE.

Position, as posted to www.Winlink.org and www.Shiptrak.org (using my US callsign KC2IOV):
TIME: 2019/08/07 19:00GMT LATITUDE: 21-17.30N LONGITUDE: 150-57.62W
COURSE: 015T SPEED: 5.6kt
WIND_SPEED: 13kt WIND_DIR: E SWELL_DIR: NE SWELL_HT: 1.8m CLOUDS: 45%
BARO: 1017.9hPa TREND: 1 AIR_TEMP: 29.0C SEA_TEMP: 34.0C
COMMENT: Bright sushine, scattered clouds, wind up & down - gusty under clouds

Sunday 10:30am Tahiti/Hawaii time (Sun 2030GMT) A lovely warm, sunny day of pleasant sailing in good wind... Nice to have caught a few things and fixed them before they led to a major crisis.

Unfurled staysail but not seeming to have made a lot of difference to our speed. Ought to shake out the first reef- but slightly worried about possible squalls later in the day...

2pm Had a siesta to make up for very early start on boat jobs today.
Wind well up - making just over 7kt - sailing well with first reef in (glad it wasn't shaken out!), heeled somewhat but will stay with present sail plan for now and maybe tie in 2nd reef before nightfall, if wind and speed still well up then.

9pm Wind still well up at 18-20t from E so making good speed and excellent progress N. Leaving just first reef tied in for time being, although feeling pretty rough with seas having built more in stronger wind.

Tuesday 8:30am Tahiti/Hawaii time (Tues 1830GMT) Bright sunny day with scattered cloud - white cumulus. Made excellent progress at good speed overnight. Wind seems down a bit though from last evening and has also backed more to ENE from E- so not able to make quite the course we were - have had to fall off the wind a touch so as not to be too close-hauled now. A bumpy ride again and difficult moving around down below in a well-heeled boat, jerking around all the time... Makes for minimal meal preparation.
Spending a lot of time checking weather and route to take in order to stay in best wind N!

__________________________________________________
North (Queensland) ABC (Cairns) interview went out on air Thursday morning and a link will be posted when available.

*****************************************************
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, 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!

(I hear that some readers might need to talk to their bank BEFORE trying to make a donation to the RNLI since many US banks routinely block foreign transactions unless
they are notified in advance.)
***************************************************

1900GMT (= 9 a.m. LT = Tahiti/Hawaii time) - end of Day 307. We made 160 n.ml. DMG, measured in a straight line between the two 1900GMT positions. Excellent!

Total distance covered from Victoria, B.C., to end of Day 307 (by daily DMGs): 25,273 n.ml.

Distances (at 1700GMT): Cape Flattery LH: 2193 n.ml. to NNE; Honolulu: 407 n.ml. to WNW; Papeete, Tahiti: 2180 n.ml. to S; Cabo San Lucas, Mexico: 2319 n.ml. to E; San Francisco GG: 1886 n.ml. to NE.

Position, as posted to www.Winlink.org and www.Shiptrak.org (using my US callsign KC2IOV):
TIME: 2019/08/06 19:00GMT LATITUDE: 18-44.36N LONGITUDE: 151-11.67W
COURSE: 000T SPEED: 7.1kt
WIND_SPEED: 18kt WIND_DIR: ENE SWELL_DIR: ENE SWELL_HT: 2.5m CLOUDS: 60%
BARO: 1017.6hPa TREND: 1 AIR_TEMP: 30.0C SEA_TEMP: 35.0C
COMMENT: Close to wind - heeled, bumpy ride.Bright, sunny day

Sunday 10:30am Tahiti/Hawaii time (Sun 2030GMT) Creeping along at around 1kt in very little wind - only just about holding our course with difficulty.
Just downloaded latest weatherfaxes and satellite photos - TS Flossie is weakening and in two days' time will be a 'normal' non-threatening Low pressure system to N of Hawaiian Island chain with remnants of TD Erick and Gil not appearing anywhere.
The two cyclones have caused me another long delay on my circumnavigation - instead of being nearly halfway to Cape Flattery now, we're only about to start from E of Hawaii Big Island in two days' time.
The weather ahead is looking most unusual with the normal N.E. Pacific High pressure system being chopped in two by a big Low becoming a trough over the next 1-2 weeks - so getting N under sail alone, without the use of the motor, will not be as simple as it usually is... I'm still feeling optimistic and hoping to be back before the end of August - fingers tightly crossed that happens... It's going to be close.

Today's major project, while conditions are fairly calm, is to try to finish dealing with emails - thought I was well on my way to finishing but now see I've still plenty to deal with... Also saving the many photos and videos I've been taking - wouldn't want to lose those! Space is getting limited, so need to upload/save them to a hard drive to make space on the memory card.

1pm "Beep, beep, beep,...." - the AP control was insistent. "Off course"... We were hove-to in very little wind, drifting WSW... The wind had shifted and we were drifting downwind. I took the helm and guided us around in a gybe and got us on course, close to the wind - our SOG was SSE - not good! Steered us around again, gybing, until we were hove-to again - drifting WSW at just under 2kt with bow pointing WNW in 7kt wind.
Decided to take genoa over to port side, putting us on starboard tack, to see what course we could make.... With bow pointing 325T, we're now making 290T - better, heading N - good - although also heading W - not so good... but only at around 2kt. Wind is forecast to stay well down but expected to veer to ENE later today and ESE by midnight, becoming a good E wind by this time tomorrow - when Flossie's remnant Low should be well off to the NW, over the island chain. So our COG should improve with time today, becoming more N, even NNE tonight.

2:10pm Difficult to maintain a course - sails get so easily backed in the light wind as the 2m swell knocks us about and we end up hove-to again... Around we go... We're presently makng 280T on starboard tack at ~ 2.5kt. If we end up heaving to again, I'll just let us drift until the wind comes up more and we can make way sensibly again.
Time for another weatherfax and satpic... and some food.

2:45pm Just finished another ham radio session on the Hawaiian Afternoon Net - I had excellent copy on everyone and was again made to feel very welcome.

Later took a lovely refreshing deck shower in the hot sun - why does having clean hair make me feel so good?

6:25pm 259T looks like our course - but we're actually turning around slowly in circles as we drift WSW. Makes me feel like an ice-skater! As is the custom, I'd lashed the wheel to windward on finding that we'd gone hove-to, yet again - but the wind was so light, that just made us go around in circles clockwise, even after reducing the genoa.

9:45pm Decided there's absolutely no point in trying to sail until the wind comes up over 8 kt (i.e. windgen blades are turning!) - not happening at moment, although we're now drifting 280T.... Just went on deck to check conditions - lovely fresh night air with stars everywhere, some haze, but no wind. It should slowly start filling and veering towards SE overnight as Flossie passes us by - maybe not strong enough to sail until morning. But from then on, we should be able to sail nicely for quite a few days - maybe all the way to Cape Flattery ...I live in hope!!

Monday 8am Tahiti/Hawaii time (Mon 1800GMT) Happy B.C. Day to all in/from B.C.!
Beautiful sunny day with almost clear sky and a long, smooth, 2m swell from E. Underway at last in good E wind, making 4.5kt, having finished with some pretty important jobs.
Was up at first light at 5:30am and went on deck to stick some reinforcing patches over an area on the mainsail that needed attention. In going to centre the boom, for easier sail access, I noticed that the outhaul shackle pin had come completely undone - luckily, the first reef line shackle was still in place that was also attached to the same shackle and the boom outhaul ring was also held down by a soft shackle for extra security. No wonder the sail shape has been not too good lately!
Sunrise was almost exactly at 6am Hawaii/Tahiti time. The wind was clearly up nicely from the E, although not strong, and the sea-state was gentle.
In dealing with the outhaul problem, I noticed the first reef line was badly chafed by the ring aft of the reef cringle near the boom - so the chafed end had to be cut off and the line re-attached around the boom. (A sail tie held it in place in the meantime)
Once that was done, I wanted to get underway - but decided the starboard genoa sheet really needed to be replaced - I'd noticed it was badly chafed in one place a while ago but we've not needed it since we've been mainly on starboard tack (wind from starboard side) recently, heading N in winds from the E quadrant. Best to replace it now, while that was easy to do, rather than have it suddenly give way under use later on sometime - that could be nasty!
I'd also noticed that the damaged windscreen windows had been leaking rather a lot in heavy seas or rain - so replaced some small lengths of loose Gorilla tape in hope it would be more water tight.
Finally got to the mainsail - and dealt with a few small areas where it was either torn or nearly holed... Just sticky tape reinforcing on the one side of the sail I could get to, but better than nothing.
Feeling happy I caught the outhaul and reef line problems in time, preventing a major issue on releasing the first reef (which I'm about to do now to give better speed) and good to feel secure in knowing the genoa sheet won't give way in use later.
Think today will be a lovely warm, sunny, sailing day...

__________________________________________________
North (Queensland) ABC (Cairns) interview went out on air Thursday morning and a link will be posted once available.

*****************************************************
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, 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!

(I hear that some readers might need to talk to their bank BEFORE trying to make a donation to the RNLI since many US banks routinely block foreign transactions unless
they are notified in advance.)
***************************************************

1900GMT (= 9 a.m. LT = Tahiti/Hawaii time) - end of Day 306. We made 22 n.ml. DMG, measured in a straight line between the two 1900GMT positions. Mostly drifting back & forth... and around in circles while hove-to in no wind....

Total distance covered from Victoria, B.C., to end of Day 306 (by daily DMGs): 25,113 n.ml.

Distances (at 1700GMT): Cape Flattery LH: 2343 n.ml. to NNE; Honolulu: 474 n.ml. to NW; Papeete, Tahiti: 2023 n.ml. to S; Cabo San Lucas, Mexico: 2381 n.ml. to ENE; San Francisco GG: 2013 n.ml. to NE.

Position, as posted to www.Winlink.org and www.Shiptrak.org (using my US callsign KC2IOV):
TIME: 2019/08/05 19:00GMT LATITUDE: 16-06.11N LONGITUDE: 151-35.37W
COURSE: 004T SPEED: 4.6kt
WIND_SPEED: 12kt WIND_DIR: E SWELL_DIR: E SWELL_HT: 2.0m SWELL_PER: 8
CLOUDS: 5% BARO: 1015.4hPa TREND: 2 AIR_TEMP: 31.0C SEA_TEMP: 35.0C
COMMENT: TD Flossie gone NW. Underway at last - lovely sunny day

Hope my friends in B.C. are having a good long weekend holiday, to celebrate B.C. Day on Monday!

Saturday 11:30am Tahiti/Hawaii time (Sat 2130GMT) Wind up ... a band of rainshowers and raincloud ahead, to port and to starboard - right across our path! Furled in some genoa to keep our speed down to below the 6kt I'd been seeing. With TS Flossie still approaching, don't want to get ahead of it - want it to pass ahead of us instead, so need to keep speed down for that reason.

11:45am Well, speed came down - too much ... Light rain and plenty of grey cloud overhead and wind has backed, so very hard on wind now - part reason why speed has dropped so much Came off the wind a touch but now it has died down even more in light rain, so speed still low - windgen only just spinning.

1pm Wind has veered to SE quadrant and still very light - 5kt or less - Superwind not turning at all. Full genoa again but not doing very much and edge of light grey cloud ahead, dark grey cloud well astern, decks wet everywhere, hardly moving. Flossie must be NE now but a good distance away. Suspect we'll be in light winds now for maybe a day or more - until Flossie passes due N of us, when wind will be from S - that is supposed to be on Monday. If I'd realised we were going to be so slow now, I'd have left the genoa fully unfurled earlier and enjoyed some speed for a time!

Feeling famished - time for a tuna lunch.

1:45pm Heavy rain again but still little wind. Grey cloud has spread overhead and blue sky ahead at edge of cloud has vanished from sight.

2:45pm Creeping along at 2kt or less in very little wind - just about holding our course. Just looked at latest forecast - Tropical Depression 8-E, at 15N 123W, is now following behind TS Flossie... Hope that doesn't cause us any problems...

2:50pm Just finished a very enjoyable ham radio session on the Hawaiian Afternoon Net - all islands represented and there were several people I've spoken to before now. I had excellent copy on everyone and was made to feel very welcome - thank you all for that! Disappointing that I shan't be able to meet with some of you by stopping - one of the drawbacks of a nonstop voyage is not being able to meet face to face with any of the many radio contacts I've made... Not just now, for sure.

We're still crawling along in very light wind from ENE at around 2kt...

Forecast on Tropical Depression 8-E, now named Gil, received later:

TROPICAL STORM GIL NEAR 15.0N 122.4W 1006 MB AT 2100 UTC AUG 03 MOVING WNW OR 285 DEG AT 10 KT. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS 35 KT GUSTS 45 KT.

24 HOUR FORECAST TROPICAL STORM GIL NEAR 15.5N 125.6W. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS 35 KT GUSTS 45 KT.

48 HOUR FORECAST TROPICAL DEPRESSION GIL NEAR 15.5N 129.2W. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS 30 KT GUSTS 40 KT.

72 HOUR FORECAST DISSIPATED..... Good news!

Midnight Sky fairly clear - brighter stars visible everywhere. Still only light winds, as expected ... making N-NNW. Winds expected to continue, even lighter possibly, over next 24hr, becoming northerly before swinging to southerly near end of period, finally becoming E.

Sunday 3:10am Just had to gybe around with wind more from NNE, possibly. Now heading NW for a time - will either have to heave to or head ESE if necessary, to avoid getting too far W.

6:50am Bright, sunny, calm day - mostly blue sky with just a few cumulus around - 10% maybe. Saw a bird flying close to sea - like a pair I saw yesterday - but not seeing well enough to get details - possibly a petrel, definitely not a booby, frigate, albatross or storm petrel! White below, long, dark upper wings, head marked with dark markings on white - maybe black cap, collar and/or breast... Tried to take photos yesterday but just too far away. Must keep camera handy...

Changed course, after gybing around - had an alarm set to wake me to make sure we avoided getting too far W. Took a time, in light N-NNE wind of around 10kt, to adjust course - now making ENE-E (080T) at around 2kt.

Back to bunk for a little more sleep before Polynesian Magellan Net at 8am - twice-daily SSB check-in and enjoyable chats with the cruisers on that Net. Sometimes manage still to chat also with the SoPacNet in Fiji area but usually propagation is far better in evenings - getting difficult to make contact on 6MHz now I'm so much further away. A lot of familiar boat names and friendly people after several weeks of chatting on the two Nets.

__________________________________________________

North (Queensland) ABC (Cairns) interview went out on air Thursday morning and a link will be posted once available.

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

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, 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!

(I hear that some readers might need to talk to their bank BEFORE trying to make a donation to the RNLI since many US banks routinely block foreign transactions unless

they are notified in advance.)

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

1900GMT (= 9 a.m. LT = Tahiti/Hawaii time) - end of Day 305. We made 61 n.ml. DMG, measured in a straight line between the two 1900GMT positions.

Total distance covered from Victoria, B.C., to end of Day 305 (by daily DMGs): 25,091 n.ml.

Distances (at 1700GMT): Cape Flattery LH: 2344 n.ml. to NNE; Honolulu: 497 n.ml. to NW; East Cape, N.Z.: 3639 n.ml. to SW; Papeete, Tahiti: 2010 n.ml. to S; Cabo San Lucas, Mexico: 2366 n.ml. to ENE; San Francisco GG: 2008 n.ml. to NE.

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

TIME: 2019/08/04 19:00GMT LATITUDE: 15-54.58N LONGITUDE: 151-15.95W

COURSE: 071T SPEED: 2.1kt

WIND_SPEED: 10kt WIND_DIR: NNE SWELL_DIR: NE SWELL_HT: 2.0m CLOUDS: 10%

BARO: 1014.6hPa TREND: 2 AIR_TEMP: 30.0C SEA_TEMP: 35.0C

COMMENT: TS Flossie passing to NNE - light winds, dying more;

I hope my friends in B.C. have a good long weekend holiday - Happy B.C. Day! I'll be celebrating with you on Monday!

Friday 10am Tahiti/Hawaii time (Fri 2000 GMT) Bright, sunny day with lots of scattered light cloud around but very few grey clouds, so heavy overnight rain seems to have cleared away. Swell quite big, from NNE at 2.5-3m and quite close, so pretty rolly conditions. Making good speed at 6.4 kt. Getting warm.

12:30pm Was busy writing email when realised we were heeling, accelerating... and sunlight had disappeared with a big cloud overhead - a rainsquall...! Took in a lot of genoa, since easy to do, and left main with first reef... Expected the heavy rain and strong wind to stop soon and be back into sunny calm weather, once we'd get beyond the edge of the dark grey cloud overhead that I could see ahead ... but not so! Beyond that dark cloud was an extensive area of lighter grey rain cloud with plenty of wind still... Big seas tossed us around like a toy boat in a bath tub... Not enjoyable!
Just downloaded the latest satpic - it's showing a SE trailing band of cloud from TS Erick (to our NW) joining up with a trailing WSW band of cloud from below TS Flossie (to our ENE - still a good distance away) - and we seem to be right in the middle of it all. Hopefully, we'll leave it behind soon, as we head N into clearer skies...
12:50pm Must get something to eat - it's been so rough I've only had a handful of almonds so far today. Think things are calming down now - some sunshine is getting through...

7:25pm Heavy rain and an increase in wind - so we were speeding along at 6kt for a short time while the rain lasted. Very short-lived and we hardly heeled at all - unusual but welcome! Busy with evening radio Nets and contacts - all very pleasant and sociable, as usual. Nice to chat to Gil, N2GG, in New Mexico, tonight - we could neither of us hear the other yesterday but clear tonight - great!

Saturday 6:30am Tahiti/Hawaii time (Sat 1630GMT) Sailing gently in 2.2m swell and wind of around 10-12kt from NE, making COG of 355T with bow pointing due N. Wind only just filling the main when the swell moves the boat around, so not going very fast just now - only making around 4kt despite the full genoa I just let out from overnight. Keeping the first reef in for time being, in case of squalls - have had frequent rain overnight but only rainclouds now seen are astern of us or on a distant horizon ahead. might shake it out later.
Sky mainly covered in cloud of one kind or another - a real mix of cloud types, with mostly a thin, well-broken layer overhead and plenty of blue sky showing... A pleasant-looking morning.
Found three small flying fish on deck from overnight - and every so often, see a small shoal of tiny ones take off, glistening in the light, close to the water surface, as we disturb them on passing through.
Running the generator and watermaker and about to have breakfast (looking forward to opening a fresh mango juice) before latest downloads of weather info and any incoming emails. Spent quite a time last evening catching up with emails - still some to deal with but nearly up to date.
Decided I ought to measure out my remaining cereal - have made the daily portions (using a measuring cup) rather smaller as a result! Glad I did that now...
_____________________________________________________

North (Queensland) ABC (Cairns) interview went out on air Thursday morning and a link will be posted once available.

*****************************************************
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, 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!

(I hear that some readers might need to talk to their bank BEFORE trying to make a donation to the RNLI since many US banks routinely block foreign transactions unless
they are notified in advance.)
***************************************************

1900GMT (= 9 a.m. LT = Tahiti/Hawaii time) - end of Day 304. 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 304 (by daily DMGs): 25,030 n.ml.

Distances (at 1700GMT): Cape Flattery LH: 2395 n.ml. to NNE; Honolulu: 547 n.ml. to NW; East Cape, N.Z.: 3589 n.ml. to SW; Papeete, Tahiti: 1949 n.ml. to S

Position, as posted to www.Winlink.org and www.Shiptrak.org (using my US callsign KC2IOV):
TIME: 2019/08/03 19:00GMT LATITUDE: 14-53.90N LONGITUDE: 151-06.08W
COURSE: 000T SPEED: 4.2kt
WIND_SPEED: 12kt WIND_DIR: ENE SWELL_DIR: NE SWELL_HT: 2.5m CLOUDS: 80%
BARO: 1013.9hPa TREND: 2 AIR_TEMP: 30.0C SEA_TEMP: 36.0C
COMMENT: TS Flossie soon to pass to N - might need to heave to, to stay clear

Hope those of you in B.C. have a good long weekend holiday - Happy B.C. Day! I'll be celebrating with you on Monday!

Thursday 2:10pm Tahiti/Hawaii time (Thurs 1400GMT) Been very busy in galley area - a lot to deal with, so not just a quick simple job. Usual weatherfaxes and satpics download is about to start and have had t deal with a power supply problem to the Aurora. For some reason, a 12V cigar plug supply decided to go down - so had to change that plug and check the system was powered up and then re-boot the Aurora software - hopefully, all will be OK from now - pinging seems too be showing everything is back to normal - so I'll get the latest Miami and Hoolulu TC Erick and TC Flossie info now.

4pm Been busy solidly - weatherfax from Honolulu not being transmitted - spoke to Office - she confirmed she wasn't hearing noise of Weatherfax being transmitted - nothing coming out just now - "The 'tech' will be in tomorrow morning"...!!
In meantime, she gave me updated position etc for Flossie - moving 290T at 16kt - excellent - if it keeps that up, will be well out of our way quite soon and heading to NE of Big Island - so they'll be pleased if she misses them! Also seems to be continuing to weaken - now a Tropical Storm.
Our speed is well down now, 2.5kt, in light wind of 5kt or less... Not going anywhere just now ...

4:35pm Brilliant! Just checked out the shower on deck. There's enough water in the tank now to allow the system to be pressurised - and stay pressurised .... meaning the deck shower works - great news!
Heating up my food for later - with no refrigeration in use, need to bring to boil and hold it there for a few minutes each day, to make sure it stays good.

9pm Short rainshower - enough to give more wind so our SOG was suddenly up at well over 5kt - but not for long ... Speed is back down now to around 3kt - rain has stopped.
Downloading latest batch of weatherfaxes - it's nice that, once started, I can get on with something else while they download. Interestingly, they're coming in fine - I reckon someone forgot to throw a switch earlier and that's why they weren't transmitted...!
Time for food and then, once weatherfaxes have finished, to my bunk for sleep... Might check night sky first, if rainclouds have moved away.

10pm Wind well up and from ENE, unexpectedly. Making excellent speed - often over 7kt. Probably just rain clouds but might last overnight into tomorrow morning - good to be making speed one more. Expecting E wind - so maybe that's what just arrived?

Friday 1am Tahiti/Hawaii time (Fri 1100GMT) Making around 6.5kt in rain and ENE wind. Furled in quite a lot of genoa a short while ago, on seeing our speed suddenly go up to 6-7kt, ready for gusts expected overnight. Wind will be up and down as we come under and exit from under rain clouds. Back to my bunk...

5:55am Dawn breaking with vivid colours in a cloudy sky - frequent rain overnight, decks wet. Unfurled some genoa to speed us up from 4-5kt to around 6kt, as rain died away - might have tied in rather too much overnight bt better too much than too little in possibly squally upcoming conditions. Adjusted our course, in wind from NE quadrant, to head for a distance off Cape Kumukahi on Big Island's E coast.

8am Sunny, bright day with lots of scattered light cloud around but very few grey clouds so heavy overnight rain seems to have cleared away. Swell quite big, from NNE at 2.5-3m and quite close, so pretty rolly conditions. Making good speed at 6-6.5 kt. Getting warm already.
__________________________________________________
North (Queensland) ABC (Cairns) interview went out on air yesterday morning and a link will be posted once available.

*****************************************************
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, 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!

(I hear that some readers might need to talk to their bank BEFORE trying to make a donation to the RNLI since many US banks routinely block foreign transactions unless
they are notified in advance.)
***************************************************

1900GMT (= 9 a.m. LT = Tahiti/Hawaii time) - end of Day 303. We made 99 n.ml. DMG, measured in a straight line between the two 1900GMT positions.

Total distance covered from Victoria, B.C., to end of Day 302 (by daily DMGs): 24,925 n.ml.

Distances (at 1700GMT): Cape Flattery LH: 2470 n.ml. to NNE; Honolulu: 633 n.ml. to NNW; East Cape, N.Z.: 3508 n.ml. to SW; Papeete, Tahiti: 1845 n.ml. to S

Position, as posted to www.Winlink.org and www.Shiptrak.org (using my US callsign KC2IOV):
TIME: 2019/08/02 19:00GMT LATITUDE: 13-11.50N LONGITUDE: 150-45.85W
COURSE: 332T SPEED: 6.0kt
WIND_SPEED: 15kt WIND_DIR: NE SWELL_DIR: NNE SWELL_HT: 2.5m CLOUDS: 80%
BARO: 1012.2hPa TREND: 2 AIR_TEMP: 32.0C SEA_TEMP: 36.0C
COMMENT: O'night rain cleared away, a few grey clouds - not many;

Wednesday 10:30am Tahiti/Hawaii time (Wed 2030 GMT) Bright, sunny and warm already... No wind (windgen blades not turning), drifting WNW while hove-to - just went around in a circle with slight swell knocking us around. Very peaceful, rocking quite often, sometimes a lot more. TC Erick due to pass N of us this afternoon, several hundred miles away - a good distance.
Downloading latest batch of weatherfaxes and checking latest gribs - usual breakfast time occupation.

Once Erick has passed, there'll be a short time with some S winds, and then possibly some E wind or perhaps nothing for a few days until Flossie passes by, also N of our position but not until after the weekend.

It's already a difficult time, waiting & drifting for so long when I should be well on my way N to finishing, so I'm going to have to get on with some useful projects so as not to feel this long time waiting around has been totally wasted.... Galley clear-up and more on mainsail repair are today's projects!

11am Drifting NW, with bow pointing NNW. Occurred to me that I'd best get on with sail repair now, in case Erick passing by to our N later brings rainclouds.

2pm S wind kicked in enough, just after midday, to get sailing - not very fast, since wind was only 10kt or less - often not enough (under 7kt) to get wind generator blades rotating but at least we're moving in the right direction, still a week away. Quite possible that the wind won't last very long . The boom preventer is essential - swell is now a pronounced 2.5-3m from NNE so, without the preventer, the boom would often be swinging around wildly.
I'd just finished with what was urgently needed on the sail repair when I felt increased wind and realised we could get underway again. I delayed shaking out the 2nd reef until I'd patched up quite a good-sized tear that was just within reach from the cockpit.

2:30pm Time for a siesta while another load of weatherfaxes and satpics download - feeling quite tired - probably because raising mainsail is hard work without the electric drill 'cranker' available to help with the winching.

3pm Wind seems to be dying - only making 2-3kt now... Windgen not turning...

4:25pm Windgen still not turning - so wind under 6kt.... making 2.5kt!

6:40pm Last light in sky after sunset - still underway in SSE wind of 5-10kt - making only around 3.5kt SOG... TC Erick now due N of us, a good distance away but giving a good-sized 3m NNE swell...

Decided to celebrate being underway (never mind the speed!) by having a 'sundowner' while enjoying the lovely pink clouds at sunset - in company with a pair petrels...! (Had the last few roasted cashews with my drink - but have lots of almonds left!)
About to make a meal of diced ham plus chick peas and chopped tomatoes with additional tomato purée - trying to ring the changes on the food side, as certain items are finished...

9pm Sitting out in the cool night air in the cockpit, enjoying my late meal of ham, chick peas and tomatoes which is proving tasty and was very easy to prepare.
Watching for meteorites as I eat. Spotted my favourite constellation - the Dolphin (Delphinus) high above, not far from Cygnus, the Swan.
Wind still well down - no windgen motion - so creeping along at about 3kt NW.

10:45pm Wind came up a little with some rain - we were making around 4.5-5 kt for a time, but not for long.

Thursday 4:30am Tahiti/Hawaii time (Thurs 1400GMT) FIRST OF AUGUST _ unbelievable that we're still on passage with another four weeks or so (hoping for less, but doubtful) to our finish...!!!!
Gybed onto starboard tack in light rainshower and in darkness. Wind from SE now and died down a lot after the rain so now making just 4kt instead of earlier 6kt I'd noticed as I went up on deck to organise the gybe in the rain..

5:30am Dawn breaking and wind dying more... down to 3.5kt SOG now. Grey rainclouds off astern and to starboard - dramatic line of them, as they rise high up, with pink streaks of higher cloud behind them, lit up by rising sun - as yet unseen.
There are two good-sized swells running, both around 2.5m or more - one from N (from TC Erick), the other from SE (wind direction) - making for lumpy seas, but they're well-spaced so not causing too much rolling around.

6am Dolphins! I've been on deck for quite a time, enjoying the changing cloudscape and colours with sunrise. Suddenly realised we had company - a group of dolphins - small, very dark grey with very recurved, small dorsal fin, were swimming alongside and around the bow, often in twos and threes. Quite small and rarely jumping - only saw two leaping out of the water in half an hour of watching them.
The sun was finally completely above the horizon at 5:50am and shone brightly from under the long line of grey rainclouds - now thinning and no longer looking so showery .
While it's cooler, think I'll make some pancakes for an early breakfast...

7:40am Adjusted course slightly to come off the wind a tad more - very downwind but we can just make it... Don't want to head too much towards the Big Island of Hawaii since TC Flossie is due to hit there on Monday so I don't want us to get too close to her track.
Pancakes were good - have learned not to use too much Nutella - very sweet, although nice and chocolate-y. Raspberry sauce from Hobart is far less sweet and makes a good, fruity complement.
Will make some coffee while on first of today's projects - galley clear-up - after posting this, then on to poling out the genoa at some point, if not too rolly, and then on to wading through a backlog of emails - some outstanding from several days now...

9am Wind just veered to SSE - adjusted course since difficult to maintain downwind couse in swell.. Windshift maybe due to 'cloud effect' - several large clouds seen close by.
____________________________________________________

Far North (Queensland) ABC (Cairns) interview went out on air yesterday morning and link will be posted once available.

*****************************************************
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, 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!

(I hear that some readers might need to talk to their bank BEFORE trying to make a donation to the RNLI since many US banks routinely block foreign transactions unless
they are notified in advance.)
***************************************************

1900GMT (= 9 a.m. LT = Tahiti/Hawaii time) - end of Day 302. We made 74 n.ml. DMG, measured in a straight line between the two 1900GMT positions. Drifting S, hove-to, until after midday Wed.

Total distance covered from Victoria, B.C., to end of Day 302 (by daily DMGs): 24,826 n.ml.

Distances (at 1700GMT): Cape Flattery LH: 2531 n.ml. to NNE; Honolulu: 734 n.ml. to NNW; East Cape, N.Z.: 3459 n.ml. to SW; Papeete, Tahiti: 1760 n.ml. to S

Position, as posted to www.Winlink.org and www.Shiptrak.org (using my US callsign KC2IOV):
TIME: 2019/08/01 19:00GMT LATITUDE: 11-46.83N LONGITUDE: 149-50.99W
COURSE: 327T SPEED: 4.4kt
WIND_SPEED: 12kt WIND_DIR: SE SWELL_DIR: N SWELL_HT: 2.5m CLOUDS: 70%
BARO: 1011.9hPa TREND: 1 AIR_TEMP: 32.0C SEA_TEMP: 37.0C
COMMENT: Waiting on wind to back to E for course change to NW.

Tuesday 10:30am Tahiti/Hawaii time (Tues 2030 GMT) TC Erick comes closer - due to pass N of us tomorrow afternoon.
Downloading latest batch of weatherfaxes and checking latest gribs.
Also getting regular text updates over the day on Erick and Flossie from Honolulu and Miami.
As of now, seems our position is fine - clearly don't want to get too close, of course, and expect Erick to pass to N of our position tomorrow. Was good to see it heading WNW instead of due W yesterday...
Will almost certainly heave to sometime today, to make sure of being well S as Erick passes by - and that will leave just Flossie to worry about...

12:50pm Rain just came in - so I had to stop the job I was doing on the mainsail... Probably a complete waste of time (and tape), but I just felt I had to try to do something to reinforce where it was torn along the leech - below all the previous leech edge repairs (between batten pocket and third reef point).
Started with sail repair tape (only have spinnaker lightweight tape left now) but that proved very difficult to get nicely into place ... perched high up and with the boat rolling around all the time. So I reverted to Gorilla tape around the edge and onto both sides of the sail - at intervals along the edge. Was adding some more sail repair tape over the torn sail edges in between - but then the rain came in. Might help for a few days of sailing.. or might come completely undone very quickly - but at least I've done what I can to try to improve things...
Time for a short siesta before some lunch.

10:15pm Beautiful night with a refreshing breeze and almost no cloud. Just turned the wheel to gybe around and heave to - boat's bow is now pointing ENE-E-ESE in N-NE wind of 12-15kt and we're drifting due S at about 0.5kt - I just 'stopped the boat' by heaving to. The wind had dropped and has been highly variable for last few hours, and with TC Erick approaching, the wind will be shifting a lot, so it's simpler like this - we'll follow the wind around as it changes direction with Erick's approach.
It feels very calm and peaceful now. Think I'll sleep well tonight.
As I went towards the wheel in the cockpit, I had to stop and admire the night sky with its many stars - and just then, a meteorite flashed across - awesome!

Wednesday 5:20am Drifting still, at 0.7kt, hove-to in very little wind - under 5kt - with first light of dawn beginning in a mainly clear sky with very thin cloud in places overhead but big clouds over E and S horizons. Bow pointing NE-ENE but we're drifting SW, so the wind, what little there is, is from NE quadrant. rolling a lot in swell from N - Erick is getting closer to N of here and sending a swell our way - coming onto us just for'd of our beam, hence our rolling so much.

5.35am Pink-topped clouds in E - sunrise beginning... Drifting due S just now in N swell - not very big but close. Full daylight now but no sign of sun as yet - behind those big clouds on horizon ahead.
Back to my bunk for more sleep.

8am Bright, sunny day with still little or no wind - blades of Superwind not turning and we were drifting (backwards!) WSW, just changed to W, at well under 1kt, bow pointing NNE, rolling in 1.5m swell, hove-to.

____________________________________________________
"QSO Today" podcast of interview with Eric, 4Z1UG, is at:
https://www.qsotoday.com/podcasts/VE0JS

Link to the Adelaide ABC interview about my Equator crossing is:
https://www.dropbox.com/l/scl/AABxD90n-HB3iQfK-iF5EdSDK2zXs4iF3DU

Link to the Far North (Queensland) ABC interview (2 days ago) goes out on air this morning and link will be posted once available.

*****************************************************
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, 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!

(I hear that some readers might need to talk to their bank BEFORE trying to make a donation to the RNLI since many US banks routinely block foreign transactions unless
they are notified in advance.)
***************************************************

1900GMT (= 9 a.m. LT = Tahiti/Hawaii time) - end of Day 301. We made 21 n.ml. DMG, measured in a straight line between the two 1900GMT positions. Drifting, while mainly hove-to since last evening.

Total distance covered from Victoria, B.C., to end of Day 301 (by daily DMGs): 24,752 n.ml.

Distances (at 1700GMT): Cape Flattery LH: 2559 n.ml. to NNE; Honolulu: 808 n.ml. to NNW; East Cape, N.Z.: 3438 n.ml. to SW; Papeete, Tahiti: 1706 n.ml. to S

Position, as posted to www.Winlink.org and www.Shiptrak.org (using my US callsign KC2IOV):
TIME: 2019/07/31 19:00GMT LATITUDE: 10-52.56N LONGITUDE: 148-59.42W
COURSE: 273T SPEED: 0.9kt
WIND_SPEED: 4kt WIND_DIR: E SWELL_DIR: N SWELL_HT: 2.0m CLOUDS: 50%
BARO: 1010.9hPa TREND: 1 AIR_TEMP: 31.0C SEA_TEMP: 36.0C
COMMENT: Hove-to, avoiding hurricane Erick, passing by to N today.

Monday 10:30am Hawaii/Tahiti time (Mon 2030 GMT) Rolling around a lot, every so often - from side to side. Not much wind, maybe 8kt from NE, but quite a big swell which really heels us over. Overcast sky - grey cloud with frequent but light showers. Very quiet with so little wind. Trying to download latest weather to see which way Erick is heading - due W or slightly more WNW as it heads this way... A big difference from my point of view!

11:25am Just had a reassuring chat with Peter, ZL1PWM. According to the usually very reliable ECMWF (European weather model), Erick is expected to be at 15N 150W on Wed 31 July (2 days' time) at 5pm LT and at 17N 160W on Fri 2 Aug (4 days' time) at 5pm LT. We are presently at 10 30'N 147 45'W and won't be going any further N than 12N, maybe a lot less since wind is expected to stay very light or disappear in these parts, to S of Erick's track.

Erick is a very tight, contained system, with its strong winds not reaching out very far from its centre.

Feeling pretty tired - not enough sleep overnight - will lie down very soon, after a late breakfast...

2:30pm Rain, again... Not very heavy this time, and with only about 12-15kt of wind, so not so very strong, but prolonged and coming from a totally grey, cloudy sky, not an isolated raincloud as has happened often, recently.

Just finished chatting to Kier Shorey of ABC Radio Far North (Queensland) in Cairns, Australia about my journey, now into Day 300 - unbelievably long and now longer due to the need to avoid the two hurricanes threatening this week!

Feel a bit less tired after catching up on some sleep before our chat but will probably take another siesta after some lunch.

Speed around 2.5-3 kt and heading WNW still. About to have some more water - feeling parched... Good to know that the watermaker is working fine. Cabin temperature is around 32C/90F.

Downloaded more weather info on Erick and Flossie from both Honolulu and Miami Hurricane Centre. They are both forecast to move more WNW from now on so we should be fine on our present course and (very low!) speed, expecting to stop around 12N and heave to once we get there. The main unknown is how long it will be before we can safely move on again - I'm hoping to make use of wind behind Erick as it passes to our N, but need to know that Flossie will not be a problem if I do that.

4:45pm Sun well hidden now by darker grey clouds, threatening rain again - no longer any blue patches visible in sky. Rocking and rolling a lot in the swell. No wind - Superwind blades not turning. Nearly time to check in to Pacific Seafarers' Net.

Have been looking in bird book - seems the bird I saw a day or so ago was a petrel because of the wing shape, among other things - but there are so many different ones I need to see it again to check its features in more detail. A photo would be helpful but it's often really difficult to get a good enough photo of a fast-moving, unexpected bird passing close by... Often the camera just isn't nearby, anyway.

5:30pm Heavy but short-lived rainfall - boat speed increased to 4.5kt for a time, with sudden wind, but back down to rolling around in little wind now, at just over 2kt. Getting near to sunset - light beginning to fade.

8:45pm Wind is clearly well up - we're making 3.5-4.5 kt - but, of course, now I don't want the increased speed! Hopefully, it's a passing big cloud and we'll slow down soon. Otherwise, when we reach a certain waypoint, we'll have to heave to so as not to make any further headway - but we're some distance away from there still.

Overnight, plenty of clear gaps between the occasional big clouds around to see the many bright stars. Wind has been fairly steady and we've been making 2-3kt on 290T - trying to parallel the course being followed by Erick so as not to have it get any closer. Didn't need to heave to overnight since WNW course kept us from making much northing.

Tuesday 8:20am Sun is already getting hot, shining from gaps in between the many clouds around. Swell is a good 3m from NE and quite close, so plenty of rolling around - especially when swell from another direction (E-ESE) combines.

Downloading latest batch of weatherfaxes and checking latest gribs.

Also getting regular text updates over the day on Erick and Flossie from Honolulu and Miami.

As of now, seems our position is fine - clearly don't want to get too close, of course, and expect Erick to pass to N of our position tomorrow. Was good to see it heading WNW instead of due W yesterday...

Will almost certainly heave to sometime today, to make sure of being well S as Erick passes by - and that will leave just Flossie to worry about...

____________________________________________________

"QSO Today" podcast of interview with Eric, 4Z1UG, is at:

https://www.qsotoday.com/podcasts/VE0JS

Link to the Adelaide ABC interview about my Equator crossing is:

https://www.dropbox.com/l/scl/AABxD90n-HB3iQfK-iF5EdSDK2zXs4iF3DU

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

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, 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!

(I hear that some readers might need to talk to their bank BEFORE trying to make a donation to the RNLI since many US banks routinely block foreign transactions unless

they are notified in advance.)

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

1900GMT (= 9 a.m. LT = Tahiti/Hawaii time) - end of Day 300. We made 64 n.ml. DMG, measured in a straight line between the two 1900GMT positions.

Total distance covered from Victoria, B.C., to end of Day 300 (by daily DMGs): 24,731 n.ml.

Distances (at 1700GMT): Cape Flattery LH: 2550 n.ml. to NNE; Honolulu: 820 n.ml. to NNW; East Cape, N.Z.: 3449 n.ml. to SW; Papeete, Tahiti: 1707 n.ml. to S

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

TIME: 2019/07/30 19:00GMT LATITUDE: 10-53.32N LONGITUDE: 148-37.54W

COURSE: 290T SPEED: 2.1kt

WIND_SPEED: 12kt WIND_DIR: NE SWELL_DIR: NE SWELL_HT: 3.0m SWELL_PER: 5s

CLOUDS: 80% BARO: 1011.4hPa TREND: 1 AIR_TEMP: 32.0C SEA_TEMP: 36.0C

Sunday 10am Tahiti/Hawaii time (Sun 2000 GMT) Light overcast over most of the sky and seas very confused and lumpy with swell from both NNE and SE at 2m/12ft.

More studying of weather info from various sources - looks as though the first system, 'Erick', might dissipate as it passes Hawaii whereas the second, 'Flossie', could intensify a lot as it closes on the Big Island - not clear which way it will then head. If it heads N, we'll be able to get underway sooner and sail NW and then N - I'll have to wait for a few more days to see how it looks nearer the time.

Presently, we're heading towards a WP at 13N and approximately 150W, expecting to heave to once it's reached, to wait for a clear safe passage onward NW to the channel between Oahu and Kauai.

I'm about to go up on deck to reef down - there would be less time spent hove-to if we can slow down more on our way to the WP.

There's likely to be extremely light wind to the S of both systems - so we could well end up becalmed if it isn't possible to get underway as soon as 'Erick' passes to N of us.

3:20pm Calm and peaceful - just gliding along, at slow speed under a bright but cloudy sky and in seas that have lain right down, although every so often a big wave comes along to test my handholds... Feeling very warm sso a fan on above me where I'm sitting on my bunk - almost dry...

Took in the 3rd reef earlier and furled in more genoa, trying to slow us down as much as possible, to reduce the time we'll spend hove to.. Just had a siesta and waiting for an interview with ABC Far North in 3/4 hour - their Monday - my Sunday.

4:50pm Just mended a rather useful LED flashlight - pleased it turned into a really simple, quick project - the switch had become stuck in the 'on' position but once the unit was opened up and the batteries removed, it didn't take much to persuade the switch to move back into its correct position - so it's working well again now. A well-cooled tea to celebrate - with the Tim Tam I didn't get to yesterday...!

It's calm enough to think about making some pancakes - not been having them so often with the seas having been so rough lately, but cooking makes the warm cabin even warmer.

5:30pm Have just been sent a screen shot of the AIS signals around Hawaiian islands - a lot of activity there - will have to keep a very careful watch when closer.

It also looks as though 'Flossie' is expected to wind up into a pretty bg hurricane by 31 July - three days' time.

8:30pm Downloading weatherfax updates, having finished with several radio scheds - always enjoyable chatting to radio friends!

Changed course slightly with change of plan - now heading to 12N, rather than 13N, after seeing latest Hurricane Centre's graphics showing Erick's likely wind speeds and centre position at different times over next few days.

Monday 1am Hawaii/Tahiti time (Mon GMT) Excellent propagation to Florida and E. coast of USA tonight - good to chat to ham radio friends there on 40m/7163kHz - several I've not spoken to for a while.

2:30am Wind has totally died, so very difficult holding any course... Drifting... Difficult to sleep with AP unable to hold us on course...

3:45am Drifting SE at 0.1kt with full lock to port but no response since absolutely no wind... Nothing to be done until some wind comes up again... Trying to get some sleep...

5:30am Light wind just filled in, so back on course WNW, making around 2kt. Sleep...

8:30am Rolling around a lot, from side to side - not much wind, maybe 8kt from NE, but quite a big swell. Overcast sky- a lot of broken light grey cloud with just one tiny patch of blue seen. Trying to download latest weather - might need to heave to even sooner, depending on whether Erick heads due W or takes a slightly more northerly track in heading this way...

Feeling pretty tired - not enough sleep overnight - will try to get some soon...

____________________________________________________

"QSO Today" podcast of interview with Eric, 4Z1UG, is at:

https://www.qsotoday.com/podcasts/VE0JS

Link to the Adelaide ABC interview about my Equator crossing is:

https://www.dropbox.com/l/scl/AABxD90n-HB3iQfK-iF5EdSDK2zXs4iF3DU

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

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, 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!

(I hear that some readers might need to talk to their bank BEFORE trying to make a donation to the RNLI since many US banks routinely block foreign transactions unless

they are notified in advance.)

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

1900GMT (= 9 a.m. LT = Tahiti/Hawaii time) - end of Day 299. We made 56 n.ml. DMG, measured in a straight line between the two 1900GMT positions. Going slowly under minimal sail.

Total distance covered from Victoria, B.C., to end of Day 299 (by daily DMGs): 24,667 n.ml.

Distances (at 1700GMT): Cape Flattery: 2549 n.ml. to NNE; Honolulu: 880 n.ml. to NNW; East Cape, N.Z.: 3452 n.ml. to SW; Papeete, Tahiti: 1680 n.ml. to S

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

TIME: 2019/07/29 19:00GMT LATITUDE: 10-25.66N LONGITUDE: 147-38.60W

COURSE: 303T SPEED: 3.0kt

WIND_SPEED: 8kt WIND_DIR: NE SWELL_DIR: ENE SWELL_HT: 2.0m CLOUDS: 100%

BARO: 1012.5hPa TREND: 2 AIR_TEMP: 31.0C SEA_TEMP: 36.0C

COMMENT: Going slowly, hoping to avoid TS Erick - will heave to soon...

Saturday 11am Tahiti/Hawaii time (Sat 2100 GMT) Spending all my time poring over different versions of the grib files with speed and course varied, trying to figure out my best course of action....

Also looking at satpic of cloud cover and weatherfaxes showing isobaric charts for up to 3 days ahead.

Everything I look at relies on the weather model predicting the track of the first Low and the following Tropical Depression accurately... The TD is shown to be heading to the Big Island of Hawaii by next Saturday/Sunday and intensifying as it gets closer but the main problem seems to be avoiding the first Low - there's time enough to avoid the TD following along behind it...

12:45pm Overcast but bright sky - making 5.5-6 kt on broad reach - just adjusted course slightly to stop headsail from flogging occasionally.

Time for a siesta - I'm mentally exhausted from all the acrobatics my brain has been performing, looking at different weather/course/speed scenarios...

3pm Sky is overcast and wind has died - we're crawling along at around 3.4kt .... My hope of getting N quickly to avoid the Low pressure system coming along soon isn't working out. Unless we pick up speed very soon, we shan't be able to make a good enough distance N.

I sat up in the fresh air in the cockpit, gazing around while having some scrambled egg and I'm about to have some blue cheese on crackers - having to do something positive to cheer myself up with the lack of progress likely ahead! Looking more and more likely that we'll have to heave to for several days to let the Low and the TS E6 pass by at a safe distance..... Grrr!!!

We're nearly out of the ITCZ region - I'm not totally clear if we avoided it or not - I think we have and it's back tomorrow, after we've passed on beyond 10N. Certainly, we've only had a few small showers today and there are no big towering alto-cumulus clouds around, to give stormy squalls.. but we're certainly getting a very light wind just now... in the Doldrums ...?

3:45pm Suddenly, we're making around 6kt! Had to adjust our heading slightly in the windshift due to a light grey raincloud spreading overhead from well off to starboard and on downwind to port astern - just a touch of rain, although I'm seeing more falling in the distance - but it's giving wind - which will probably die away again, once we've passed out from under the cloud. Nice to see some better speed for a time.

4:10pm Raincloud has moved on downwind - and we're back to crawling along at around 3-3.5kt. Wind generator blades have stopped turning, so wind must be below 7kt.

Making a mug of tea - I'll need to let it cool down a lot before drinking it - it's too hot to drink a hot drink - cabin temp is 32.5C - it's a lot fresher up in the cockpit. I'll treat myself to a Tim Tam with my tea.... still a few left, ...intended for special occasions.

7pm Dark, dark night with heavy rain just now - SOG suddenly shot up to well over 6kt for a short time ... but now back down to around 3kt or even less - seeing 1.5kt at times... Struggling to make way and stay on course.

[9am Sunday 28th July: Seems the rain we had overnight was from the ITCZ:

ITCZ 08N140W 10N155W 05N180W. ISOLATED MODERATE TSTMS WITHIN 120 NM OF ITCZ.]

8:15pm Rainsquall - heavy rain and strong wind which must have shifted into the NE quadrant since had to adjust course well to NW to prevent sails from luffing up (being too close to the wind) - major wind shift from SE wind just prior to then!

8:45pm All calm now - making NNW at around 4kt or more in NE wind still - think we just came into the NE Trades from SE Trades... a more sudden transition than I expected....

11:05pm Accelerating again - intead of a sedate 4-4.5kt, we're making 6-6.5kt ...under cloud... up on deck to check things out...

12:20am Finally dried off and in dry clothes ... I was soaked from head to toe - and then some...! Wind is a lot less now but seas are still rolling us around a lot - they always take a lot longer to lie down after the wind has died down... The prolonged, heavy rain has finally eased somewhat.

The weather gods clearly decided that tonight was the night for a thorough deck shower, although I'd never intended one in the dark of a midnight storm, nor had I felt this to be the right time to rinse out the salt in my hair. Be that as it may, I've had a good rinse off all over and the sails have certainly been well rinsed off, as well as the decks.

I had a bit of a fight to get the second reef in, with the dark night and the strong wind (easily 25kt or more, judging by our speed - over 7kt - and the sound it made) not making that so easy - no moon to help with that tonight. Took in a fair amount of genoa also - it was full when the wind got up.

Time for a quick snack - a cereal bar. The rain hasn't quite stopped yet and we're rolling about a lot in much less wind now - our speed is down to just 4-5kt.

Of course, now that we should not go too fast (or far), we're making excellent speed - racing along most of the time, in fact. We'll probably need to heave to once we reach 13N - the first Low has been upgraded to likely hurricane/cyclone status - and named 'Erick'... something to avoid, clearly... and the second system is close behind ('Flossie') and expected to intensify also.

No avoiding them, it seems, if we continue on northward, so we must stop well to the S of them and wait for them to pass, or at least wait to confirm their heading and speed, before continuing on.

Unbelievable that we're having to avoid another cyclone (let alone two!) - I thought one (in the Indian Ocean, in March) was one too many, and it cost me a painful week of time then, and here we are with a repeat of the scenario - and maybe quite a few days lost again.

Sunday 3am Tahiti/Hawaii time (Sun 1300 GMT) Another lot of heavy rain a while ago and we're still making 5.7kt, NNW. Back to my bunk ...

7:20am Have had several emails about TS Erick - so just to set minds at ease and clarify present situation .....

Change of plan ...Will likely heave to heave to for a time - possibly at 13N 150 40W - 300 ml to go... 3 days away. Will wait to see how the two tropical storms pan out and get underway again when clearly safe to do so - probably heading to S of Hawaiian island chain and then between Kauai and Oahu to head N on final leg...

Heavy rain seems to be gone, for time being... but seas from both NE and ESE are rocking us about a lot.

Forecast from Honolulu:

... VALID 0000 UTC JUL 28 2019.

.72 HOUR FORECAST HURRICANE ERICK NEAR 15.0N 142.1W. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED

WINDS 75 GUST 90 KT.

EXTENDED OUTLOOK...USE FOR GUIDANCE ONLY...ERRORS MAY BE LARGE.

.96 HOUR FORECAST HURRICANE ERICK NEAR 16.5N 146.5W. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED

WINDS 70 GUST 85 KT.

.120 HOUR FORECAST TROPICAL STORM ERICK NEAR 17.0N 151.0W. MAXIMUM

SUSTAINED WINDS 55 GUSTS 65 KT.

______________________________________________________

"QSO Today" podcast of interview with Eric, 4Z1UG, is at:

https://www.qsotoday.com/podcasts/VE0JS

Link to the Adelaide ABC interview about my Equator crossing is:

https://www.dropbox.com/l/scl/AABxD90n-HB3iQfK-iF5EdSDK2zXs4iF3DU

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

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, 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!

(I hear that some readers might need to talk to their bank BEFORE trying to make a donation to the RNLI since many US banks routinely block foreign transactions unless

they are notified in advance.)

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

1900GMT (= 9 a.m. LT = Tahiti/Hawaii time) - end of Day 298. 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 298 (by daily DMGs): 24,611 n.ml.

Distances (at 1700GMT): Cape Flattery: 2573 n.ml. to NNE; Honolulu: 935 n.ml. to NNW; East Cape, N.Z.: 3443 n.ml. to SW; Papeete, Tahiti: 1647 n.ml. to S

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

TIME: 2019/07/28 19:00GMT LATITUDE: 09-48.55N LONGITUDE: 146-55.79W

COURSE: 312T SPEED: 4.7kt

WIND_SPEED: 14kt WIND_DIR: NE SWELL_DIR: NE SWELL_HT: 2.2m CLOUDS: 95%

BARO: 1013hPa TREND: 0 AIR_TEMP: 30.0C SEA_TEMP: 36.0C

COMMENT: Heading to WP - likely to heave to... ready for TS Erick & TS Flossie

Friday Midday Tahiti/Hawaii time (Fri 2200GMT) Quite a lot of cloud - but mainly scattered light clouds, no big grey rainclouds seen.
Running generator and watermaker. Had a small worry when I saw no water was coming through to the tank - but then, thinking maybe some air had got into the system since last run a few days ago, I ran it for a few minutes un-pressurized and then pressurized it again - problem solved - to my relief! I've been keeping every bottle I can find, small or big, filled with water all the time, just in case...

Still making an excellent speed ... 6.5-7kt. On checking the latest weather info, it looks as though the small Low coming W soon should stay behind us, if we can keep up a good speed, and the Tropical Depression coming next week is also likely not to pose a problem so long as, again, I can keep us going at 5.5-6 kt on average - in that case, we'd be through the Island chain by the time it reaches the Big Island.
We're likely to see some light winds over the next 1-2 days but, fingers crossed, the ITCZ might prove fairly benign, for a change - I live in hope!
Time for a midday siesta...

2:15pm An almost completely overcast sky - very few patches of blue. Noticeable following sea - swell from the SSE, added to the previous SE swell.
Downloading a weatherfax - isobaric chart of SE part of N Pacific and a satellite IR photo of clouds ('satpic').

Forecast from Honolulu: ITCZ FROM 08N154W TO 06N170W. ISOLATED MODERATE TSTMS WITHIN 90 NM OF ITCZ.
Great! Means that here, around 146W, there is NO ITCZ to worry about. We're E of 154W and the region noted... Good news! We're nearly at 7N now, expect to pass 8N overnight and 9N by this time tomorrow.... so likely not to suffer from any major 'convection' in passing through this region where normally the ITCZ is present.
Satpic being downloaded now is showing the cloud cover I'm seeing but mostly just to W of here. Humidity is around 70% and cabin temperature around 32C/90F so a bit warm and muggy...
Grabbing my hairbrush and going on deck, into the cooling breeze - need to keep my hair under control and untangled!

5:30pm Very quiet, peaceful downwind sailing. Wind has dropped and I'm debating letting out a reef - but night is coming on very soon, so unless our speed drops a lot more, I'm inclined to leave the reef in overnight.

Very grey sky, mostly covered in light rainclouds - had a short, very light shower an hour ago.
Enjoyed a mug of broccoli and cauliflower soup before my meal of salmon just now - but had to leave it quite a while to cool down - it's too warm to be drinking hot soup!
A pair of red-footed boobies seen earlier and another bird, possibly a shearwater... dark upper, light below with black breast or chin (just below its head) and thin wings, flying close to the water.

8:15pm Feeling really frustrated just now - speed dropped, so shook out the second reef I'd been thinking about and our speed went up for a short while - but now wind has dropped a lot more and we're struggling to make 3.5kt.
Cloud has almost completely cleared away to leave a beautiful starry sky - but the wind left with the cloud...
Outlook is for more of the same, it seems. So my hopes of keeping ahead of the oncoming weather systems might be dashed - meaning another delay to my finish if we need to avoid the systems rather than sailing fast enough to keep ahead of them. The second system is looking to develop in a particularly nasty way..

Saturday 4:25am Tahiti/Hawaii time (Sat 1425 GMT) Woken by heavy rain in the darkness. Not too much wind and not heeled over too badly - glad of my clear screen that kept the open companionway hatch area fairly dry, despite the middle zip being partly open. Hope the rain rinsed off the boat - everything had become sticky with a salty film.

We put on some speed under the raincloud but speed was later back down to around 5kt and likely to decrease.

5:45am Soon after the rain came sunrise, just around 5am - I was able to see the dramatic dark grey rainclouds towering up very clearly - always makes for a good photo-opportunity! A pink cloud high up to port, towards the W, was a pretty sight as was the silver crescent moon high overhead.
Changed course in fair wind from E, now. Getting concerned about the Low coming along soon and the probable Tropical depression following it next week. If we can't keep up a good enough speed to keep ahead of them, I'll have to take avoiding action...

8:45am Downloading satpic of cloud cover and weatherfaxes giving isobaric charts for up to 72hr/3days of forecasts. They add usefully to the GFS gribs I'm already getting for weather info.
Looking at problem Low and TD - seems that anything over 5kt would be fine to stay out of their way, but the faster, the better! All relies on the weather model predicting the track of the first Low and the following Tropical Depression accurately... Holding our present NNW course looks the best - means heading E of the Big Island, not S of it, as originally hoped... The TD is shown to be heading to the Big Island of Hawaii by next Saturday/Sunday and intensifying as it gets closer ... Will keep a careful watch in case change of plan is needed.
Making 5.5kt now and rolling a bit as we sail NNW downwind.

______________________________________________________
"QSO Today" podcast of my interview with Eric, 4Z1UG is published now at https://www.qsotoday.com/podcasts/VE0JS

Link to the Adelaide ABC interview about my Equator crossing is:
https://www.dropbox.com/l/scl/AABxD90n-HB3iQfK-iF5EdSDK2zXs4iF3DU

*****************************************************
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, 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!

(I hear that some readers might need to talk to their bank BEFORE trying to make a donation to the RNLI since many US banks routinely block foreign transactions unless
they are notified in advance.)

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

1900GMT (= 9 a.m. LT = Tahiti/Hawaii time) - end of Day 297. We made 128 n.ml. DMG, measured in a straight line between the two 1900GMT positions.

Total distance covered from Victoria, B.C., to end of Day 297 (by daily DMGs): 24,506 n.ml.

Distances (at 1700GMT): Cape Flattery: 2632 n.ml. to NNE; Honolulu: 1040 n.ml. to NNW; East Cape, N.Z.: 3405 n.ml. to SSW; Papeete, Tahiti: 1570 n.ml. to S

Position, as posted to www.Winlink.org and www.Shiptrak.org (using my US callsign KC2IOV):
TIME: 2019/07/27 19:00GMT LATITUDE: 08-20.84N LONGITUDE: 145-56.60W
COURSE: 335T SPEED: 5.8kt
WIND_SPEED: 13kt WIND_DIR: E SWELL_DIR: E SWELL_HT: 2.0m CLOUDS: 90%
BARO: 1012.9hPa TREND: 2 AIR_TEMP: 31.0C SEA_TEMP: 37.0C
COMMENT: Raincloud ahead....

Thursday 10am Tahiti/Hawaii time (Thurs 2000 GMT) Was just about to write: "Another bright, sunny day with a few scattered white clouds..." when I realised sun had disappeared and our speed had dropped a lot - grey cloud overhead, rainclouds to starboard (upwind) and also off to port - grey and cloudy ahead, also.. Blue sky and scattered white clouds have been left astern - we're under a long band of rainclouds... but no rain, so far....

11am Dark grey cloud passed well astern and we got just a small amount of light rain as it passed over. By chance, we happened to pass right in between two big clouds! Sky looks to be clearing ahead. Speed was back to 5.8kt for a brief time but wind now only 10kt and our speed down to 4.5-5kt, at best.

Have been studying updated weather info - a Tropical Depression is forecast to move towards Hawaii from ESE as we start heading that way in 3-4 days' time from 10N. Looks as though only slightly N of similar track that I'd planned to sail, so will need to keep a careful watch.... It's hurricane season now. But first we have to get through the ITCZ (Doldrums) below 10N.

Midday Back to sunshine and scattered, light cloud - but wind still down, around 10-12kt, so our speed is also down.

Tightened the grease gland on the rudder shaft - we keep getting some water in the bilges from a leak there and having to pump it out fairly regularly. Made it easier to access, so gland can be tightened more often.

Busy clearing up in the galley. Any plastic items going into the garbage always need to be rinsed with seawater to prevent them from getting smelly while being stored away for landfall - after squashing flat, if possible.

I'm having to remind myself of the opposite circulation around Highs and Lows, now we're back in the Northern Hemisphere after so many months in the S. The winds around Lows are now blowing anticlockwise about their centre and around High pressure systems, wind direction is clockwise.

For several days, Magnetic Variation was a nice easy 10 degrees E but where we are today, it has become 9E.

3:15pm Big grey raincloud off to port - must surely have passed over us and I didn't notice - too busy with weatherfaxes and updating logbook... Making 5.7kt in about 15kt SE wind - pretty steady conditions, just now...

ITCZ ( VALID 1800 UTC JUL 25): " ITCZ FROM 08N148W TO 07N165W TO 09N180W. ISOLATED MODERATE TSTMS WITHIN 120 NM OF ITCZ."

10:30pm Have been making excellent speed for several hours now - looking at weather coming up, seems the only way to beat it is by keeping up a good speed - so into 'race mode' now... for as long as I (and my nerves!) can keep it up... Hope squalls stay away...

Soon will head due N through ITCZ and then will head NW towards Honolulu. Once through Hawaiian Island chain, will head N on 160W or so. Have to get around the N. Pacific High pressure system... Can't go through middle of it or I'll run out of wind! (Have had several emails asking about my route back to Victoria, B.C. - must work with expected/prevailing winds - can't head NNE all the way back from here - just won't work... no choice but to go a roundabout way!)

Friday 5am Tahiti/Hawaii time (fRI 1500GMT) Day breaking - first light in E. A few stars still seen and crescent moon high up in clear sky overhead. Only cloud in sky is a band over E and N horizons.

Just changed course in good wind, to head almost due N now.

ITCZ, if present, is ahead - one day's sail away, at 7-8N...

Making good speed at around 7 kt on beam reach in SE wind.

Back to my bunk for more sleep...

8:30am Lovely sunny day with quite a lot of light, scattered cloud - no grey clouds seen just now. More solid cloud layer ahead, light & scattered cloud in blue sky astern.

Making excellent speed still, as overnight - at around 7kt... Just changed course to due N for getting through ITCZ as quickly as possible - if we're lucky, we won't see much of it, but who knows? "What you see is what you get"...!! Downloading satpic, as I type this, to see where convection was positioned a short time ago... Looks like a broad swathe of cloud a bit further ahead just now...

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

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, 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!

(I hear that some readers might need to talk to their bank BEFORE trying to make a donation to the RNLI since many US banks routinely block foreign transactions unless they are notified in advance.)

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

1900GMT (= 9 a.m. LT = Tahiti/Hawaii time) - end of Day 296. We made 145 n.ml. DMG, measured in a straight line between the two 1900GMT positions. Excellent SOG!

Total distance covered from Victoria, B.C., to end of Day 296 (by daily DMGs): 24,378 n.ml.

Distances (at 1700GMT): Cape Flattery: 2743 n.ml. to NNE; Honolulu: 1147 n.ml. to NNW; East Cape, N.Z.: 3310 n.ml. to SW; Papeete, Tahiti: 1448 n.ml. to S

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

TIME: 2019/07/26 19:00GMT LATITUDE: 06-14.48N LONGITUDE: 145-39.83W

COURSE: 358T SPEED: 7.0kt

WIND_SPEED: 17kt WIND_DIR: SE SWELL_DIR: SE SWELL_HT: 2.5m CLOUDS: 40%

BARO: 1012.2hPa TREND: 2 AIR_TEMP: 31.0C SEA_TEMP: 35.0C

COMMENT: Good speed and course in good SE wind.

Wednesday Midday Tahiti/Hawaii time (Wed 2200 GMT) Another bright, sunny day with a few scattered white clouds. Making just under 6kt in 15kt wind from SE . Seas are still 2m so being tossed around at times but mainly smooth sailing. Full genoa, two reefs in main and on course of 030T.

Fishing vessels N - NW of us... Hope we continue to stay well apart....

Very relaxing, warm day - about to catch up on sleep, as usual around this time, with a gentle breeze blowing down from a small fan - lovely!

3pm Getting meal ready - tuna with some mayonnaise

Latest on ITCZ:

ITCZ FROM 08N146W TO 07N170W TO 06N179W TO 10N170E TO 10N160E.

SCATTERED MODERATE TSTMS FROM 09N TO 03N BETWEEN 148W AND

171W.

Looks as though we'll just catch the E end of it near 145W - hopefully, we might get lucky and not see any major convection giving nasty squalls or rainstorms.

Slowed down a tad with wind down to around 15kt now but still sailing well. On the same good course of around 030T - keeping us clear of fishing fleet as well as giving good wind angle for later on when we head towards Hawaii in the NE Trades.

5:45pm Sun getting low.-- getting noticeably later as we get further N. Continuing steady wind and good sailing...

Thursday 5:30am Tahiti/Hawaii time (Thurs 1530GMT) Full daylight. Wind came up a bit overnight - noise of boat moving faster through water woke me up! A lot of light cloud around but no rain clouds in sight - hoping for another day of no squalls. Cabin temperature 30C or more.

Enjoying lovely Trade Wind sailing - very smooth just now.

8:30am Downloading weatherfaxes, grib files and satpics. Seeing a Tropical Depression forecast to move towards Hawaii from ESE as we start heading that way in a few days' time from 10N - will need to keep a careful watch.... It's hurricane season now. But first we have to get through the ITCZ (Doldrums)

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

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, 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!

(I hear that some readers might need to talk to their bank BEFORE trying to make a donation to the RNLI since many US banks routinely block foreign transactions unless

they are notified in advance.)

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

1900GMT (= 9 a.m. LT = Tahiti/Hawaii time) - end of Day 295. We made 132 n.ml. DMG, measured in a straight line between the two 1900GMT positions. Another good day of Trade Wind sailing - without any squalls.

Total distance covered from Victoria, B.C., to end of Day 295 (by daily DMGs): 24,233 n.ml.

Distances (at 1700GMT): Equator: 243 n.ml. to S; East Cape, N.Z.: 3166 n.ml. to SW; Papeete, Tahiti: 1307 n.ml. to S; Honolulu: 1223 n.ml. to NNW; Christmas Island: 662 n.ml.to WSW; Fanning Island: 760 n.ml. to WSW

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

TIME: 2019/07/25 19:00GMT LATITUDE: 04-02.78N LONGITUDE: 146-39.56W

COURSE: 034T SPEED: 5.7kt

WIND_SPEED: 15kt WIND_DIR: SE SWELL_DIR: SE SWELL_HT: 2.0m CLOUDS: 40%

BARO: 1012.8hPa TREND: 2 AIR_TEMP: 30.0C SEA_TEMP: 36.0C

COMMENT: Bright, sunny, SE Trades - sailing in steady wind, no squalls, SSE of fishing fleets.

Tuesday 11am Tahiti/Hawaii time (Tues 2100 GMT) Bright, sunny day with 20% scattered white clouds. Making over 6kt in around 20kt wind from ESE - seas are well up at over 2m so a bit rough and being tossed around a lot. Well heeled over under full genoa and two reefs in main and on course of 034T.
Downloading satellite photo showing clouds over Pacific and running generator.
Time for (my usual!) late breakfast - will have extra dried fruit and mango juice - we're in 'Equator-crossing' party mode today!

12:45pm Suddenly it's feeling very much calmer - we're gliding along and bouncing gently, not pounding into the seas as we were... The wind and seas must be from more 'abaft the beam' now... Very much pleasanter! This is true Trade Wind sailing, at last.

I've run out of toilet paper... Have been busy cutting up paper from a roll of kitchen tissue!

4pm Wind down a little, so speed nearer to 5kt now but still smooth sailing under mainly blue sky.
Chatted to Stuart Stansfield, of ABC Adelaide Radio, about this morning's Equator crossing and the last few days' sailing. (Link to podcast is on my website 'Interviews' tab)
No sign of any fishing vessels so far.

Sunset Enjoyed a small G&T with a few cashews - found two cans of tonic I'd been keeping were almost empty - corroded aluminium cans had lost most of their content - so no choice (!) - had to empty them and have a small drink (thanks for the nice gin, Randy!) Also enjoyed some blue cheese I'd found low down in the fridge - plenty for several days to come - hoping it will last long enough for a birthday treat mid-August.
Later, enjoyed a meal of chicken breast chunks and asparagus in a white sauce - a very tasty celebratory meal followed by dark chocolate and the last of the mango & dark spiced rum punch.

11pm Calculated distance off of nearest fishing vessels, on assumption of making 5kt directly heading towards us - nearest would arrive close around 7am LT ...

Wednesday 2am Not long finished a one hour radio session with Jim, WB2REM, in Florida, via a phone patch using his radio on 7163kHz and remote/internet link - a lot of people came up from all over the US and Canada and also S.Africa and US Virgin Islands. Good to chat, even if briefly, to so many sending their good wishes - thanks to all of you!
Spent a short time enjoying the cool breeze on deck - almost a clear sky with bright half-moon and the brighter stars shining from between just a few small clouds. Seas not too bad but on the beam, so being thrown around quite often.
Making fair speed, around 6kt just now - wind better than earlier tonight.
Back to my bunk for more sleep... No fishing vessels seen on AIS within at least 20 miles or so and alarm set in case any might try to come too close later.

8am Bright, sunny day - pleasant Trade Wind sailing, although a bit bumpy on close reach into 2m seas, trying still to make Easting while it's possible.
Seems ploy of heading 030T is working - fishing vessels seem to be keeping N - NW of us... Hope we continue to stay well apart... All have stayed well over 25ml away since none seen on AIS display. Ones headed S last night seem to have turned back to head N now - good!

Downloading a lot of weather faxes from Honolulu has been taking up quite some time - should be able to download fewer from now on, now I've seen what they contain. Useful to see satellite photos of cloud cover and to see position of ITCZ.

Photos show crossing Equator yesterday from S to N - at 4:18a.m. LT / 14:18 GMT (Tuesday 23rd July 2019)

*****************************************************
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, 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!

(I hear that some readers might need to talk to their bank BEFORE trying to make a donation to the RNLI since many US banks routinely block foreign transactions unless
they are notified in advance.)

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

1900GMT (= 9 a.m. LT = Tahiti/Hawaii time) - end of Day 294. We made 122 n.ml. DMG, measured in a straight line between the two 1900GMT positions. Another good day of Trade Wind sailing without squalls.

Total distance covered from Victoria, B.C., to end of Day 294 (by daily DMGs): 24,101 n.ml.

Distances (at 1700GMT): Equator: 130 n.ml. to S; East Cape, N.Z.: 3035 n.ml. to SW; Papeete, Tahiti: 1186 n.ml. to S; Honolulu: 1290 n.ml. to NNW

Position, as posted to www.Winlink.org and www.Shiptrak.org (using my US callsign KC2IOV):
TIME: 2019/07/24 19:00GMT LATITUDE: 02-10.06N LONGITUDE: 147-47.79W
COURSE: 031T SPEED: 5.4kt
WIND_SPEED: 15kt WIND_DIR: SE SWELL_DIR: ESE SWELL_HT: 2.0m CLOUDS: 30%
BARO: 1012.5hPa TREND: 2 AIR_TEMP: 30.0C SEA_TEMP: 36.0C
COMMENT: Bright sunny day - no squalls so far..

Sunday 1:30pm Tahiti/Hawaii time (Sun 2330 GMT) What a contrast to yesterday's squally weather! The sky has been mainly blue with just a few clouds - occasionally large but never threatening. The wind has been good at 15kt or more and has consistently allowed us to head more NNE - no backing wind under grey rain clouds, so far today. All very pleasant since even the seas are more spaced apart, so although still over 2m, it doesn't feel so rough.

Have been busy with emails and studying fresh weather faxes and grib files - trying to figure out the best route to take towards Hawaii - I'd like to make for the channel between Kauai and Oahu if possible but must get a good angle on the NE Trades - so heading more E whenever we can just now, since that probably won't be possible in winds further N.

4:10pm Sunset - lovely deep orange globe sinking into the dark sea wih very little cloud around.

Wind getting up a little - boat speed has increased to around 5.5t from 4.5kt - still no squalls - a lovely relaxed day today!

Later: Was chatting on PolyMagNet (Polynesian Magellan Net) to other cruising boats in French Polynesia - invited them all to my 'Equator-crossing party'!

Getting ready the 'tipple' I'll be giving to Neptune as we cross over... making sure it's handy since might still be dark, although could be ~1500Z = 5am Tahiti time which will be closer to dawn, maybe. All depends on wind strength overnight.

8:30pm Continuing with a very pleasant sail at around 5kt in calmer seas - just bobbing around in swell and wind chop, nothing too violent.

Sky mostly clear but a bit hazy with a hint of thin cloud, stars everywhere... A dark night - no moon as yet.

Getting to sleep soon, after chatting with Colin, VK6CI, to check on fishing vessels heading my way - seems overnight will give no cause for concern but could come close tomorrow afternoon unless they change course...

3:25am 03.62 ml from Equator! Went on radio (7155) and immediately heard a familiar voice on frequency- Gil, N2GG, in New Mexico - coming over very loud and clear. Will be keeping me company, along with several others on the radio, as we cross the Equator around 4:30am/1430GMT - that will be fun!

Checking emails - several congratulatory ones in expectation of imminent crossing....

4:18:23am/14:18:23 GMT was exact time of my Equator crossing! Was wonderful to do it in company with so many ham radio friends from both USA, Canada and Australia who got the word and came on frequency to help me celebrate the moment! Thanks to all of you!

On deck to give Neptune his obligatory tipple - a touch of rum - and I kept him company with a small rum punch - made good use of my remaining mango juice...

Making good speed in 15-20kt ESE wind, double-reefed main, full genoa, 2.2m seas - not too close but tossing us around a bit, a hint of half-moon and plenty of cloud - even a slight touch of refreshing rain - all very pleasant and enjoyable!

5:15am Back to my bunk for some sleep before dawn. Party later today - music, nice snacks and a good meal - and maybe a G&T.... I'm feeling great!

5:35am First light before dawn... sleep...

8:20am Bright sunny day with very little cloud. Making ~6kt in 20kt wind from ESE - seas well up so a bit rough. Well heeled over. Course around 030T. Downloading weatherfaxes.

Last night, it looked as though by keeping to this course we stood a chance that most of the big fishing fleet above 01N will be to our W, although three vessels were then heading S to cross our path later today. I'll be in contact later with Colin, who has Internet, to check on their latest whereabouts and course. Hopefully, we'll all stay well clear of each other - maybe there'll even be someone who can speak English over the VHF radio to help in that?!

Looks as though we'll have to cross the ITCZ around 6-7N - I was hoping it might disappear for a time on our path as we get closer, just as it has to W of 175W... but not looking like that just now.

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

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, 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!

(I hear that some readers might need to talk to their bank BEFORE trying to make a donation to the RNLI since many US banks routinely block foreign transactions unless they are notified in advance.)

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

1900GMT (= 9 a.m. LT = Tahiti/Hawaii time) - end of Day 293. We made 122 n.ml. DMG, measured in a straight line between the two 1900GMT positions. Good to celebrate Equator crossing with a half-decent DMG!

Total distance covered from Victoria, B.C., to end of Day 293 (by daily DMGs): 23,879 n.ml.

Distances (at 1700GMT): Equator: 22 n.ml. to S; East Cape, N.Z.: 2913 n.ml. to SW; Papeete, Tahiti: 1076 n.ml. to S; Honolulu: 1360 n.ml. to NNW

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

TIME: 2019/07/23 19:00GMT LATITUDE: 00-22.47N LONGITUDE: 148-45.30W

COURSE: 034T SPEED: 6.4kt

WIND_SPEED: 18kt WIND_DIR: ESE SWELL_DIR: ESE SWELL_HT: 2.2m CLOUDS: 10%

BARO: 1012.1hPa TREND: 0 AIR_TEMP: 30.0C SEA_TEMP: 35.0C

COMMENT: Crossed Eq at 1418Z - in company with radio friends!

Equator crossing by this time tomorrow, hopefully! Party time! Join me in raising a glass to Neptune/Poseidon for safe passage onward in the Northern hemisphere.

Sunday 10am Tahiti/Hawaii time (Sun 2000 GMT) Another raincloud just passed ahead - now downwind to port ... Furled in some genoa as we got closer to the cloud and mainsail was still slightly de-powered from previous cloud encounter to avoid reefing - wind wasn't too strong this time, so that all worked fine. Will look ahead to see how cloudy-looking it is to decide whether tying back in the first reef would be a good idea.
Several small shoals of tiny blue-grey flying fish took off as we came by - skimming the waves with 'wings'/fins outstretched at complete right angles to their bodies - so funny to see them!

10:45am Finished tying first reef back in - a very large area of rainclouds hereabouts - unfurled genoa to give more speed. Of course, shortly after tying in the first reef again, the wind died and backed a bit more - so we're now crawling along at only 3.5kt at best and onto a course W of N again - on a close reach still.

Still downloading weatherfaxes from Honolulu - need to remind myself of their content to see which ones to download on a daily basis. Very useful for seeing where the ITCZ is now and where it's forecast to be, as well as getting weather info for now and over next few days.

12:30pm In no wind, drifting at 1.5kt SSW - wind had backed a lot in heavy rain just before, under big cloud, so suddenly the sails were backed... and we're now hove-to, waiting for some wind to come back so that we can get underway again. Totally cloudy, rainy, squally conditions so far today!

1:30pm Just back down after a rough, stormy session on deck... Wind came back - with a vengeance! Easily got up to over 25kt in no time... Started furling in some genoa and was very glad to have first reef tied in. But with such strong wind, soon had to ease the mainsheet a lot because we were far too heeled over - made working on deck very difficult but soon after managing that, tied in second reef and furled in more genoa. Seas got up quickly in the strong wind and are still pretty rough just now.

2pm Seas well up even though wind has eased a lot, so our speed has dropped a lot as well.
Just realised that, as well as having had no breakfast, I haven't posted yesterday's reports, having been so busy with different things so far today - will post it now!

2:40pm Enjoying a bowl of thick bean and ham soup - skipped breakfast. Speed is well down now - wind has died again and we were only making just over 2kt in 7-10kt of E wind, so unfurled some genoa which increased our speed to 3kt - must release some more... Just noticed a fresh tear close to the leech between the 2nd and 3rd reef points and a couple of small tears elsewhere.
Having quite a good upper body work-out on the winches today...

4:20pm Another squall came by earlier - just back down below now, after taking in some more genoa just after the sun had set, while still enough daylight to see by. Best to be on the safe side overnight, although sky seems to be clearing so maybe we've seen the last of the squally weather - seas are still rough though - close and steep-to. With a touch less canvas, things seemed to calm down a bit.
3-5 Frigate birds came by, looking as though they fancied perching at the mast top around sunset - something they like to do... Two of the birds were slightly smaller - boobies, perhaps? We're not far from the Kiribati group of islands to WNW - presume that's where they came from.

This is what affected us today:
.TROUGH 02S150W TO 07S140W MOVING W 25 KT. E WINDS 20 TO 25 KT
WITHIN 200 NM E OF TROUGH. ISOLATED TSTMS WITHIN 120 NM W OF TROUGH.
.24 HOUR FORECAST TROUGH DISSIPATED. E WINDS 20 TO 25 KT N OF 06S
FRROM 158W TO 148W.
.48 HOUR FORECAST E WINDS DIMINISHED TO 20 KT OR LESS.

9pm A solitary fishing vessel came S towards us - but changed course to ESE when about 15ml off to our NNE - I wondered if it did so because they saw our AIS signal and realised we would otherwise be getting close?
Looks as though no worries tonight - all fishing vessels are well clear just now.

Monday 5am Tahiti/Hawaii time (Mon 1500 GMT) "Boisterous sailing" overnight in strong wind. A few big scattered clouds... starry sky overhead. Suddenly, the moon came out from behind a cloud high up - it was as though a flashlight had suddenly been turned on, lighting up the rough seas - we're pitching and tossing a lot.

8am A big raincloud off to starboard, upwind - some rain, some increased wind, but nothing major to deal with - excellent! Plenty of sunshine and not many other clouds around, although a band of cloud ahead, far in the distance.
Found a big flying fish in the cockpit - a fresh fish meal today! Scaling them takes no time at all - their scales are so large, there aren't that many.
Wind seems to be from due E, possibly just S of E, so we're able to make a better course now - not far from the NNE I've been wanting for several days.
Seas still pretty rough with 2.5m swell and a good wind chop on top.

*****************************************************
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, 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!

(I hear that some readers might need to talk to their bank BEFORE trying to make a donation to the RNLI since many US banks routinely block foreign transactions unless
they are notified in advance.)

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

1900GMT (= 9 a.m. LT = Tahiti/Hawaii time) - end of Day 292. We made 104 n.ml. DMG, measured in a straight line between the two 1900GMT positions.

Total distance covered from Victoria, B.C., to end of Day 292 (by daily DMGs): 23,757 n.ml.

Distances (at 1700GMT): Equator: 85.5n.ml. to N; East Cape, N.Z.: 2793 n.ml. to SW; Papeete, Tahiti: 967 n.ml. to S; Honolulu: 1438 n.ml. to NNW

Position, as posted to www.Winlink.org and www.Shiptrak.org (using my US callsign KC2IOV):
TIME: 2019/07/22 19:00GMT LATITUDE: 01-25.47S LONGITUDE: 149-41.02W
COURSE: 022T SPEED: 5.0kt
WIND_SPEED: 15kt WIND_DIR: E SWELL_DIR: E SWELL_HT: 2.5m CLOUDS: 30%
BARO: 1012.9hPa TREND: 2 AIR_TEMP: 30.0C SEA_TEMP: 35.0C
COMMENT: A lot less cloud. Big flying fish in cockpit. <86ml from Equator.

Saturday 2:30pm Tahiti/Hawaii time (Sun 0030 GMT) Very relaxing, pleasant, slow sailing day today, with mainly just a few light clouds and a band of large white clouds presently astern to port.... plenty of sunshine. Wind not very strong, maybe around 10kt, still from ENE, so still not able to make our preferred NNE heading.

Hoping for stronger wind in a couple of days' time but expect ENE wind in meantime, with no ESE wind expected until we've almost reached the Equator - in 3 days, maybe.

5:45pm Sun getting low, near sunset. Having some of my good, thick soup after having fixed the mainsheet traveller line. I'd not noticed that I'd allowed the line to over-ride on the winch while bringing the traveller to windward ... Fortunately, I knew that when I replaced the line in Timaru recently, I'd made it very long, so I was able to cut it close to one end, after tying the traveller in place, to release it from the winch and re-run the line around the blocks and tie it off at at that end. (Couldn't use my usual running hitch.)

9:30pm Wind definitely up a bit this evening - making better speed... but it's getting more bumpy - pounding into swell, close-hauled, as usual.

Sunday 2:45am Tahiti/Hawaii time (Sun 1245 GMT) Moon high up lighting up the scene - just a few clouds and plenty of the brighter stars visible. A little bit bumpy in fair-sized swell as we make our way just W of due N towards the Equator.

Running the generator for a short time with voltage having dropped - clearly wind not quite strong enough to give both autopilot (AP) and batteries the charge needed to keep them both up.

Making quite a good speed on a close reach - can't make course any further to E of present one.

3:40am Cargo vessel to NW - expected to pass 8ml off in an hour's time - no problem!

4:30am Cargo vessel passing several miles ahead, heading WNW - all good.

7:55am Wind had died down again but is now back up more - we were making 2kt or less half an hour ago, but now 4kt. Also changed course, with wind having veered a little - so now COG is just E of N - good.

Full mainsail - just spent a time (and effort!) raising it and shaking out first reef for better speed - hope I don't regret it! No squalls in sight .... for time being... Will be keeping a careful eye out for them.

8:45am Downloading weatherfax showing satpic of cloud cover over E.Pacific - useful to be able to see it.

Had a very kind email from Jim Corenman of Sailmail, trying to be of help now that the use of Winlink has run into problems due to lack of USA Third Party Agreements with so many other countries being visited by, or close to, cruisers. Their use of Winlink is for everyday emailing to get weather info, post their position and keep in touch with family and friends - so this new problem is a sudden unexpected and unwelcome surprise for many of us.

Suddenly found us heeling and accelerating..... Heavy rain under big, grey cloud - jumped up on deck to deal with squall... heeling like mad with no first reef tied in... damn!!

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

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, 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!

(I hear that some readers might need to talk to their bank BEFORE trying to make a donation to the RNLI since many US banks routinely block foreign transactions unless

they are notified in advance.)

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

1900GMT (= 9 a.m. LT = Tahiti/Hawaii time) - end of Day 291. We made 113 n.ml. DMG, measured in a straight line between the two 1900GMT positions.

Total distance covered from Victoria, B.C., to end of Day 291 (by daily DMGs): 23,653 n.ml.

Distances (at 1700GMT): East Cape, N.Z.: 2700 n.ml. to SW; Papeete, Tahiti: 865 n.ml. to S; Honolulu: 1513 n.ml. to NNW

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

TIME: 2019/07/21 19:00GMT LATITUDE: 03-08.44S LONGITUDE: 149-52.32W

COURSE: 009T SPEED: 4.5kt

WIND_SPEED: 10kt WIND_DIR: E SWELL_DIR: E SWELL_HT: 2.0m CLOUDS: 95%

BARO: 1012hPa TREND: 0 AIR_TEMP: 30.0C SEA_TEMP: 35.0C

COMMENT: Wind veered after we came out from under rain cloud

Friday 10am Tahiti/Hawaii time (Fri 2000 GMT) On a broad reach, struggling to make 2.5 kt. Sky completely covered with grey cloud and there's a good 2m swell from SSE with another swell from E.

11:40am Suddenly I realise we've picked up speed - go up on top - grey cloud ahead to port and light rain. Making 5.5kt with apparent wind just abaft the beam - from ESE, so SE true wind. Not a lot and will probably die down soon enough... Already seeing some blue patches to starboard and we're slowing down.

Have been busy in galley, clearing/cleaning and preparing bean and barley soup plus discovered a last onion hidden in the papers in the onion crate that I thought was empty and had brought aft to clean out. So the very last fresh onion has been chopped up to add into the 'hearty soup' I'm making - diced ham and some green beans to be added very soon, once dried white beans have finished cooking in pressure cooker.

11:50am Speed down to 2.5kt again, blades of windgen hardly turning - so wind down to 6-7 kt now.... Struggling to keep on course and make way. Sun beginning to get out.

2pm Took in a good amount of genoa ten minutes ago, looking ahead at a dark grey raincloud with rain falling ... Also changed course to try to pass it upwind, having not long before been rushing along at around 7kt, as another big area of cloud passed overhead, giving us strong wind to sail at speed for a change. This is why I've kept the first reef in, as we pass through this area of frequent rain clouds... We were not over-powered as the first rain cloud passed by - not over-heeled, although reaching 8kt a couple of times... But that had no rain, whereas this next one did have - so I was a bit wary and took in some headsail so as not to be caught out.

As it is, we're down now to around 5kt so, if there are no other threatening dark clouds ahead upwind, it's time to unfurl some of the genoa to speed up again while we can.

2:30pm Another wide band of rain clouds ahead, so will keep genoa part-furled until past them - easy to let out but takes time to get in...

Had a lot of rain under a big area of raincloud with strong wind - furled in genoa a lot more but managed with just the one reef - so wind must have stayed under 30kt although we were well-heeled over as we sped along at around 6 kt or more for quite a time.

After that, winds were light, so progress was very slow again. Kept checking wind direction to see if we could make any more Easting - don't want not to be able to make Oahu/Kauai (Hawaii) because of wind angle not working out in NE Trades.

8:30pm Several good radio sessions this evening, including to Victoria, B.C. Always nice to chat to other cruisers on maritime frequencies but there was also very good propagation to Australia tonight on 20m so had quick chats with several people I know on the amateur ANZA Net on 14183kHz - very enjoyable.

Heard from friends with Internet that the Taiwanese fishing vessels I've been trying to steer clear of are off to the NE and well out of the way - for over a day, probably - good news, so I was able to relax for the time being. There's another group of fishing vessels closer to the Equator, due N of here, so will need to keep an eye on them over the next two days.

Saturday 12.45am Tahiti/Hawaii time (Sat 1045 GMT) Was sitting up late, beyond midnight, having just finished some emails, and went to check on our progress. Suddenly realised we were heeling and accelerating.... A squall!

Jumped up on deck to furl in some genoa, cursing myself for forgetting to do that around sunset, as I'd intended to, for overnight... Went to take in on genoa sheet (control line) but saw I'd not furled enough in - so back to other side of cockpit to furl in more, then back again to tension the sheet. A dark night with the moon behind a lot of thick cloud so not giving its usual helpful light.

Being close-hauled, trying to make as best a course as possible, means that's really important to get right - if we're too close to the wind, the genoa will luff up (flaps madly!), the wind gets behind it, and we'd end up effectively heaving to, if I let it happen, but I keep us going around in a circle (gybing), until I get us back on course. Happens especially easily in very light winds with the usual good 2m swell knocking us about - far too often... very frustrating with the frequent wind shifts giving no warning...

After things calmed down finally, I left the genoa furled in and got to my bunk.

7am Making fair progress in gusty conditions under scattered light clouds with plenty of sunshine. Wind not very strong, maybe around 10kt, and determinedly from ENE, so still not able to make our hoped-for NNE heading, now we've passed the Taiwanese vessels E of here.

Weather outlook is for stronger wind in a couple of days' time but expect to keep ENE wind until then - damn! Not much sign of any good ESE wind before almost reaching the Equator, hopefully 3 days away, but it should then hold ESE until around 7N, when we'll be getting close to the squally, unpredictable ITCZ (Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone).

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

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, 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!

(I hear that some readers might need to talk to their bank BEFORE trying to make a donation to the RNLI since many US banks routinely block foreign transactions unless

they are notified in advance.)

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

1900GMT (= 9 a.m. LT = Tahiti time) - end of Day 290. We made 101 n.ml. DMG, measured in a straight line between the two 1900GMT positions.

Total distance covered from Victoria, B.C., to end of Day 290 (by daily DMGs): 23,540 n.ml.

Distances (at 1700GMT): East Cape, N.Z.: 2628 n.ml. to SW; Papeete, Tahiti: 754 n.ml. to S; Honolulu: 1748 n.ml. to NNW

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

TIME: 2019/07/20 19:00GMT LATITUDE: 04-58.88S LONGITUDE: 149-26.80W

COURSE: 347T SPEED: 4.2kt

WIND_SPEED: 10kt WIND_DIR: ENE SWELL_DIR: NE SWELL_HT: 2.0m CLOUDS: 60%

BARO: 1012.6hPa TREND: 2 AIR_TEMP: 30.0C SEA_TEMP: 36.0C

COMMENT: Wind backed still, so can't make preferred NNE

Thursday 10:15am Tahiti/Hawaii time (Thurs 2015 GMT) Heavy rain but no wind just now so only making 0.5-1.5 kt - won't be getting far today at this rate! Quite a large cloud - seems we're in an area of rain today so hopefully we'll get a good wind to move on with, occasionally.
Glad I put back earlier the half of the storm screen I'd taken away a couple of days ago - it's keeping the companionway area dry and I can leave the hatch there open to down below for air.

11:40am That big grey raincloud mass is being left astern and there's broken cloud, some rising high, with big patches of blue sky ahead. Wind is from ESE-SE and we're making 3.4kt.
We were soon making for another grey raincloud ahead - I was happy to see it off our port bow (downwind) as we got closer to the rain - moving well out of our way!
I keep having to watch our course, not to get too close to the wind as it constantly shifts around with any cloud that is nearby.
I need some more sleep - should be OK since I usually get woken if we start accelerating and/or heeling with increased wind - in good time to get on deck to see to whatever needs doing.

3:45pm Under an overcast sky with a thin layer of dull white and grey cloud, making a steady 3.0kt, in seas well down in little wind. The edge of the solid cloud layer can be seen well astern and to starboard - light blue sky with many large white clouds rising dramatically high up - cumulus and/or cumulo-nimbus types. Ahead, a white line of clouds off to the W against a grey background of mixed cloud and overcast.
Had a good sleep, interrupted a couple of times by needing to check on sails and course with genoa flapping noisily as a warning.
Running the generator and watermaker now - batteries getting slightly low. Haven't been needing to run the generator very often with the wind generator working well in the stronger winds - but not much wind now, so good to be able to to up the batteries this alternative way.

5pm Had a lovely deck wash - great to have clean hair for a change!
About to check in to Pacific Seafarers' Net - and then I'll be opening a small tin of wild salmon to celebrate feeling fresh-washed!
Warning from Peter, ZL1PWM, of 6 fishing vessels at 06S between 146W and 149W - which puts me heading to where they are, about 75 miles N of here - not good news!

7:30pm Have been circling in no wind ... very frustrating! Ended up drifting 330T in SE-ESE wind of maximum 4-5kt possibly - at least that's in a straight line and roughly N.

8:55pm Just spoke to MRCC NZ to see if they have any further info on the fishing vessels to the N - Samantha phoned back to confirm details but pointed out that the data was 24hrs old! Heading N-NW is possibly the best option to try to keep out of their area... which I was already doing...

9:45pm Rain! So we picked up speed for a time - up to 5.5kt at one point! Now decreasing - down to 4kt as I write this... and rain has eased. Staying on a course of NNW until I have more info on fishing vessels later tomorrow. Hope they don't move W of where they are just now.

11:25pm Just went circling around again (gybed) after the genoa luffed up with boat speed having dropped to under 1kt and it ended up backed with combination of swell and very light wind - maybe wind was backed due to cloud nearby. Whatever the reason, we gybed and went round in a circle until I was able to get us back on course - but NW this time, not NNW as before... SOG 3-4kt just now..
Very diffiult to do the right thing when you hve only the vaguest of ideas where the wind is coming from! Lots of cloud around - hiding moon, so it's difficult to see exactly what's happening - especially trying to deduce the wind direction in the dark... Windgen blades are hardly turning so wind is below 7kt and windgen is not so reliable for showing wind direction.
Must get some sleep...

Friday 6:15am Tahiti&Hawaii time (Fri 1615 GMT) Raining. Daylight before sunrise. Mostly cloudy, grey sky with hint of orange in clouds to E. On broad reach, making 2.3 kt.

7am Was headed NW still, from overnight, but changed to 350T, since wind seems to be from E just now, and speed went up - now around 3.5kt.
Hair still feeling delightfully clean and shiny - wonderful! Running generator to top up batteries.

8:50am Wind down but we're still making around 3.5kt, on 354T, but slowing down, I think. Sky completely covered with grey cloud, but no rain falling at the moment, and a good 2m swell from ESE.

*****************************************************
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 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!

(I hear that some readers might need to talk to their bank BEFORE trying to make a donation to the RNLI since many US banks routinely block foreign transactions unless
they are notified in advance.)

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

1900GMT (= 9 a.m. LT = Tahiti time) - end of Day 289. We made 66 n.ml. DMG, measured in a straight line between the two 1900GMT positions. Light winds in between occasional increased wind under rainclouds.

Total distance covered from Victoria, B.C., to end of Day 289 (by daily DMGs): 23,439 n.ml.

Distances (at 1700GMT): East Cape, N.Z.: 2569 n.ml. to SW; Papeete, Tahiti: 658 n.ml. to S; Honolulu: 1748 n.ml. to NNW

Position, as posted to www.Winlink.org and www.Shiptrak.org (using my US callsign KC2IOV):
TIME: 2019/07/19 19:00GMT LATITUDE: 06-35.65S LONGITUDE: 148-59.17W
COURSE: 353T SPEED: 2.5kt
WIND_SPEED: 8kt WIND_DIR: ESE SWELL_DIR: SSE SWELL_HT: 2.0m CLOUDS: 100%
BARO: 1013hPa TREND: 2 AIR_TEMP: 31.0C SEA_TEMP: 36.0C
COMMENT: Light wind again - slow progress N. Fishing vessels 80ml ahead...