Today's Report
June 4/11 0800 JST
Position: 23°47'N, 178°32'W
Remaining to Yokohama finish: 2,323 nm / 8.5% (16 - 27 days)
A lot of fingers will be crossed as Saito-san tests the engine about noon his time to see if his laborious patch of the engine exhaust hose works. He has been attempting to seal the gap in the hose through multiple coatings of glue, hours of cure-time, then a final layered wrap of duct tape.
Whether the motor actually overheated is not yet determined. If it did, then it is expected that the raw water pump and impeller are "fried" along with the exhaust hose. If a hole was just blown in it, thus the appearance of exhaust smoke, and not smoke from over-heating, it may mean Saito-san can get the engine back working again.
In any case, he made relatively good progress under sail during the period, making 76 nm over ground, and reducing the Yokohama distance to 2,323 nm by 0800 this morning. Last night he was complaining that boat speed had fallen to just 2.5 kts due to weak easterly winds. This morning both the winds and his spirits had perked up as NBSDIII moved along at 4 kts, thanks to more favorable wind from the ESE.
[Click to enlarge]
***Distance in last 24 hours: 76 nm DOG
Total distance completed: 25,482 nm
To Yokohama: 2,323 nm (measured)
Average daily DMG over last 7 days: 120 nm (measured)
ETA: 16 days (if motor-assisted @ 6 kts); 27 days (if sailing @ 3.5 kts)
Heading: 240°
Reported boat speed: 4.0 kts (sailing)
Average boat speed: 3.4 kts
Weather: Mostly overcast, scattered rain; warm
Temperature: 26° C
Barometer: 1020 hPa
Wind (from): 10-12 kts ESE
Waves: 1.5-2.0 m
Sails: Genoa 90%, staysail 0%, mainsail 3pt reef
Engine: 0 hrs
Generator: 10 hrs
[Weather and wind forecasts are from ClearPoint Weather, a Saito 8 contributing sponsor.]
