Day 548 [April 3/10] -- More of the same under warming conditions as he crosses into tropics

Today's Report

April 3/10 0800 JST

Position:

21°58'S, 76°11'W (South Pacific Ocean, 1,116 nm from Valdivia)

Virtually no change from yesterday, though the temperatures are starting to edge up in the past 2 days up by about 2° C, or 3.6° F. Yesterday he crossed the Tropic of Capricorn, at the 23° 26' parallel, so he has officially entered the tropics. At the present progress he'll reach the Equator in about 20 days. 

We had been under the impression that as he went through the Horse Latitudes he'd be caught in mostly windless conditions. Turns out the winds stayed brisk, and, in fact, this part of the world is not affected.

The Horse Latitudes are the subtropic latitudes between 35 and 30 degrees south (and north). In other oceanic areas this region, under a ridge of high pressure called the subtropical high, receives little precipitation and has variable winds mixed with calm. It got its name from the desperate actions of Spanish sailors who sometimes jettisoned dying horses after weeks on weeks of failed winds under searing, parched skies.

Instead, Saito-san saw winds of 15 - 19 kts, and crossed over the area under sails only, assisted by the engine only a few times when gybing. True to form, it never rained, though skies stayed mostly overcast.

He had a bit of good luck yesterday: after the sun came up he found a fresh squid on deck. It was quickly invited to breakfast.

***

Distance in last 24 hours: 117 nm

Distance completed: 18,612 nm

To Yokohama: 9,658 nm (distance remaining: 34.2%)

Heading: 356

Reported boat speed: 5.5 kt (day's average: 4.9 kt) under sail only

Weather: Partly cloudy 

Temperature: 20.0° C

Barometer: 1010 hPa (steady)

Wind (from): Favorable 15-18 kt SSE -- expected to be 13-17 kt SSE next 19 hrs

Waves: 2.0 m

Current (from): 0.2 kt NNW

Engine rpms: 0 hrs

Generator: 11.0 hrs

Sails: Genoa 0%, staysail 100%, mainsail 2-pt reef

Position Map (click to enlarge)

Day 547 [April 2/10] -- Winds ease as Saito-san enjoys the ride

Today's Report

0800 April 2, 0800 JST

Position:

23°56'S, 76°05'W (South Pacific Ocean, 989 nm from Valdivia)

While remaining favorable from the SSE, the winds eased for most of yesterday and so did boat speed under sails only, at 4.9 kts. The day's 118 nm was the least DMG since leaving Valdivia a week ago. However, there's certainly no particular rush and Saito-san is being encouraged to take it easy and just enjoy the downhill ride.

"Not bad," he reported today on the boat's performance. "No change," he noted, of following winds that have continued now for 6 days with variations of less than a few degrees on the wind indicator.

Meanwhile, back in Tokyo this morning, winds accompanying a large front were 35-40 kts steady as shown on Clearpoint, with gusts likely hitting 50 kts.

Listening to the roar from the comfort of home, or struggling to walk to the subway, it gave us a taste of what Saito-san experienced during his two punishing Cape Horn passages with winds and waves on the nose, temperatures near freezing in 4-10 meter seas, and spray-drenched misery that continued for days on end.

The "easy" bit he's on now is Saito-san's equivalent of a day cruise.

***

Distance in last 24 hours: 118 nm

Distance completed: 18,495 nm

To Yokohama: 9,775 nm (distance remaining: 34.6%)

Heading: 357

Reported boat speed: 5.0 kt (day's average: 4.9 kt) under sail only

Weather: Overcast 

Temperature: 19.0° C

Barometer: 1012 hPa (steady)

Wind (from): Favorable 12-14 kt SSE -- expected to be 16-18 kt SSE next 19 hrs

Waves: 2.0 m

Current (from): 0.3 kt ENE

Engine rpms: 0 hrs

Generator: 11.5 hrs

Sails: Genoa 0%, staysail 100%, mainsail 2-pt reef

Position Map (click to enlarge)

Day 546 [April 1/10] -- Solid progress as he passes a key milestone

Today's Report

April 1/10 0800 JST

Position:

25°54'S, 76°09'W (Pacific Ocean, 844 nm from Valdivia)

Another good day of progress as Saito-san passed a key milestone, breaking the 10,000 nm distance remaining to Yokohama. That means he has just 35% of the voyage still to go. 

He reported "no change" from yesterday, as the winds hit a groove the past 4 days that has not deviated more than a few knots below or above 18 out of the S or SSE. He said this morning the compass was pegged on "000."

***

Distance in last 24 hours: 139 nm

Distance completed: 18,377 nm

To Yokohama: 9,893 nm (distance remaining: 35.0%)

Heading: 000

Reported boat speed: 5.5 kt (day's average: 5.8 kt) under sail only

Weather: Partly cloudy 

Temperature: 18.0° C

Barometer: 1012 hPa (slight rise)

Wind (from): Favorable 14-18 kt SSE -- expected to be 18 kt SSE next 19 hrs

Waves: 2.0 m

Current (from): 0.3 kt NW

Engine rpms: 0 hrs

Generator: 10.5 hrs

Sails: Genoa 0%, staysail 100%, mainsail 2-pt reef

Position Map (click to enlarge)

Day 545 [March 31/10] -- A bit slower as genoa takes a break

Today's Report

March 31/10 0800 JST

Position:

28°10'S, 76°42'W (Pacific Ocean, 722 nm from Valdivia)

Saito-san reports that the port-side genoa sheet became entangled in a shroud during the night and has made it necessary to keep the genoa closed until seas flatten and he can work the sheet free, including the possibility of having to go aloft. 

As well, he said in his previous call that the 1st reefing line had parted on the main and so until it is repaired the mainsail can only be raised to the second reefing point. (There are three reefing points on the main.)

This means he will continue for the next few days under reduced sails, with the result that his average speed dropped yesterday by about 1.5 kts to 5.2 kts for the 24-hour period. At the time of his call boat speed under sail was 5.5 - 6.0 kts. That's still enough to make quite good progress under the steady, following winds and gradually flattening seas.

The running rigging is thus starting to see some fatigue, as can be expected from normal wear & tear. And while certain items can be replaced or mended, the opportunity to do that safely must be chosen carefully. 

The staysail is now fully open, the main at second reef, and the genoa fully closed.

No earthquakes were reported yesterday, for the second day in a row. NBSDIII is now far enough distant from the seismic area, and in deep ocean, so it is no longer considered a potential hazard to him. He's 300 nm off the Chilean coast. 

***

No word yet on the missing Japanese sailor. We received a call from an old Saito friend in Texas, Tokio Rogers, who is a HAM radio operator and followed Saito-san on previous circumnavigations, providing him regular radio-based messages and relaying news from home. Although a long-time Texas rancher now with her husband Luke, she is a Japanese expat and said she will listen as well from her base station near Austin for any distress signals that might be made in her native language from the Southern hemisphere. She also reminded us of the good luck rattlesnake rattle they gave Saito-san, which he still carries with him. He had one of the Indian totems with him on his 2005 non-stop circumnavigation.

As well, we received an email from Sue Richards, Site Manager of Noonsite, a web page for cruising sailors. She said they have posted the details as well on the part of the web page devoted to alerts on missing vessels.

***

Distance in last 24 hours: 124 nm

Distance completed: 18,238 nm

To Yokohama: 10,032 nm (distance remaining: 35.5%)

Heading: 018

Reported boat speed: 5.5 kt (day's average: 5.2 kt)

Weather: Overcast 

Temperature: 20.0° C

Barometer: 1008 hPa (down)

Wind (from): Favorable 16-22 kt S -- expected to be 18 kt S next 7 hrs, then 18 out of SSE

Waves: 2.5 m

Current (from): 0.3 kt NW

Engine rpms: 4.5 hrs. 1500 rpm

Generator: 6.0 hrs

Sails: Genoa 0%, staysail 100%, mainsail 2-pt reef

Position Map (click to enlarge)

Day 544 [March 30/10] -- One more 'best' as the winds stay fair

Today's Report

March 30/10 0800 JST

Position:

32°33'S, 76°05'W (Pacific Ocean, 599 nm from Valdivia)

The winds have continued steady and fair, and NBSDIII has apparently loved it as much as Saito-san, achieving another voyage record day -- the third day in a row -- of 160 nm under sail alone. He's now 599 nm out of Valdivia, taking advantage of the perfect wind conditions he had rarely seen when bashing often upwind under a combination of sail and motor. 

Fuel use at the moment is just for the generator, which sips a liter an hour compared to the much larger quantities of the engine at different RPMs, and depending on the condition of the seas and strength of headwinds. 

He had a bit of a surprise yesterday when the auto-pilot suddenly stopped working for no apparent reason. He gave it a rest for a few hours, went through several checks, and it went back to normal operation. He said the batteries look fine so he has no idea what caused the momentary disruption. Otherwise he reports that everything is fine onboard and temperatures are slowly warming up.

No earthquakes were reported today in the area.

***

No further word has been received on the missing Japanese sailor Mr. Chinami. He went missing March 11 as he approached Cape Horn from the Pacific side. A notice was posted yesterday evening on International Boatwatch Network, thanks to the assistance of Linda Kruk of Clearpoint Weather, and Bill Sturridge of Maritime Mobile Service Network.

The wife of Mr. Chinami has been informed of the alert and expressed her great appreciation through her English-speaking friend Mena Sato in Fukuoka, Japan, where they live. Mena-san was the person who first alerted us to the emergency and the worldwide sailor support network has quickly responded. A photo of Kifu can be seen below.

We also received a message yesterday from Mr. Hanaoka in Punta Arenas, on the Strait of Magellan, that he is alerting local fishermen. Hanaoka-san speaks Spanish, English, and Japanese and is familiar with the area as the owner/operator of a fishing company there. He was also instrumental in assisting Saito-san during his nearly 10 months there.

35-foot Kifu, shortly before leaving Fukuoka, Japan in 2008

***

Distance in last 24 hours: 160 nm (best DMG of voyage under sail only)

Distance completed: 18,114 nm

To Yokohama: 10,156 nm (distance remaining: 35.9%)

Heading: 332

Reported boat speed: 7.0 kt (day's average: 6.7 kt)

Weather: Clear and sunny 

Temperature: 17.0° C

Barometer: 1012 hPa (steady)

Wind (from): Favorable 15-24 kt S -- expected to be 18 kt S next 13 hrs, then 15 out of SSE

Waves: 2.5  m

Current (from): 0.4 kt S

Engine rpms: 0 hrs 

Generator: 10.0 hrs

Sails: Genoa 30% open, mainsail 1-pt reef (sailing only)

Position Map (click to enlarge)

Day 543 [March 29/10] -- Another 'best' sailing day, but close shaves on 3 seaquakes

Today's Report

0800 March 29, 2010 JST

Position:

32°33'S, 76°05'W (Pacific Ocean, 463 nm from Valdivia)

Another great day under sail, this time boosting his voyage record DMGUSO* :) to 156 nm. Winds were constant and fair, at 18 - 24 kts from the south, on seas of 2 - 3 meters.

*DMGUSO: Distance Made Good (Under Sail Only)

We've been watching an advisory service on earthquakes and see that no less than three large seaquakes have occurred (see position map) in the past 9 hours. Had he been a day or so behind, he would have been within 30 - 45 nm of their epicenters. However, thanks to his excellent progress he was well away -- about 200 nm northwest at the time the worst of the three, at 5.9 magnitude, occurred.

The smartphone app-based advisory service, Epicenter, gives the lat / long and time of quakes anywhere in the world on a near real-time basis. It uses the data supplied from the USGS here.

***

Yesterday we sent out an urgent request on behalf of the family of another Japanese sailor, Mr. Keiichi Chinami, who has gone missing near Cape Horn since March 11.

We want to thank Linda Kruk of Clearpoint Weather for forwarding our message on to Bill Sturridge, who sent us the following response. I am repeating it here for anyone interested, as well as to alert other sailors to the emergency service by this worldwide network of radio operators, the Maritime Mobile Service Network.

Hi
I am a net control with MMSN and do not wish to raise hope without facts, but two stations have reported hearing a Japanese call on frequency (14.300usb used for emergency traffic when other means not available) in last three days. Too weak to copy pointing south from Florida. I have been able to communicate with vessels in this area on occasion.

It would be helpful to have more information for the Net control stations. A description and or photo of the vessel. The MMSI#. A description of the type and size of life raft. Also the Sat phone # as we have a contact with a Marine radio station that can put out calls to both the MMSI DSC and the Sat phone. Also his heading and average speed at last contact if known. Weather conditions in the area at that time would also help if reported by Mr. Keiichi Chinami. We all wish the best for him and will listen and put out calls to his station.

William F. Sturridge KI4MMZ

We had already told Saito-san about the emergency, and confirmed this morning that he had not been trying to raise Mr. Chinami, thus was not the "Japanese call" the two MMSN stations reported.

We were informed by Saito-san that his own radio has been out of commission for some time. He expressed his own concern for the missing sailor.

A 24-hour stream of MMSN radio transmissions is available here.

***

Distance in last 24 hours: 156 nm (best DMG of voyage under sail only)

Distance completed: 17,954 nm

To Yokohama: 10,316 nm (distance remaining: 37.0%)

Heading: 331

Reported boat speed: 6.5 kt (day's average: 6.5 kt)

Weather: Overcast 

Temperature: 16.0° C

Barometer: 1012 hPa (slightly down)

Wind (from): Favorable 15-24 kt S -- expected to be 22 kt S next 19 hrs

Waves: 2.0 - 3.0 m

Current (from): 0.25 kt S

Engine rpms: 0 hrs 

Generator: 10.5 hrs

Sails: Genoa 30% open, mainsail 1-pt reef (sailing only)

Position Map (click to enlarge)