Today's Report
July 27/10 0800 JST
Position: 19°34'N, 159°10'W
A northwest-bound current gave him plenty of time to enjoy a gorgeous full moon and rich canopy of stars last night, as he did an impressive 113 nm under sail, but just 28 nm toward port during the period.
Since he was positioning to the SE for another long tack back up, yesterday's 0.9 knt counter-current both dropped his speed and kept him from making much easterly progress, but you could tell he clearly didn't mind: "It's a beautiful night, with a big full moon," he enthused. He said he'd already starting to see a few falling stars that will increase in intensity until the Perseid Meteor Shower reaches its annual peak in the second week of August.
Honolulu is now 120 nm to his NE, giving him an ETA of 3 days.
No problems were reported.
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Winds were a brisk 18-22 kts out of the NE at the time of his call. On ClearPoint, they were predicted to reduce today, becoming 13 out of the ENE, then falling steeply to 6-9 kts E as he enters the trade wind shadow of Big Island, which reaches 200 nm out to the west. So before then he will begin his tack toward Honolulu. If the winds stay mainly out of the east it could be the last tack he will have to make.
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We found a blog by a yachting couple who are on their way from Chile to New Zealand. It's extraordinarily well written by Rhian Salmon, an Antarctic research scientist who is on what appears to be her first major small-yacht voyage. Her boat partner is Andy Whittaker, a professional mountaineer and adventurer.
What particularly caught our eye was the mention elsewhere that the two were on a mooring the night that the Chilean tsunami devastated a village in the Juan Fernandez (Robinson Crusoe) Islands. They saved the lives of several young islanders who had been washed out to sea. Here's the link to her vivid account.
Meanwhile, Saito-san was 500 nm away in Valdivia -- just 10 miles upriver from similar tsunami conditions on the coast. Rhian's account of the event, as they fought off houses floating in the water, shows how narrow Saito-san's own escape might have been had he made his repair stop at some more-exposed coastal port.
***
Distance in last 24 hours: 113 nm over ground / 28 nm DMG
Heading: 110°
Reported boat speed: 5.0 kts
Average boat speed: 4.7 kts
Engine: 0 hrs
Generator: 14.25 hrs
Weather: Clear, sunny skies
Temperature: 26.6° C
Barometer: 1013 hPa
Wind (from): 18-22 kts NE, expected to be 13 kts ENE, then 6-9 E
Waves: 1.6 m
Current (from): 0.7 kts SE (unfavorable)
Sails: Mainsail 2-pt reef, genoa headsail 70%
Position Map
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| 28 nm DMG was all the northbound current would allow on a SE tack. 120 nm to Honolulu. |
