Day 977 [June 6/11 JST] -- Dead Air Welcomes Him Back to the East

Today's Report
June 6/11 0800 JST 

Position:  23°20'N, 179°41'E
Remaining to Yokohama finish:  2,243 nm / 8.2% (ETA: 26 - 30 days)

Last night he told us that the wind had stopped, the seas were flat, and "it's like a big, big pond." The currents were even pushing him back a bit east as NBSDIII drifted in the dead air. He predicted a long night as he dealt with changing wind directions.

This morning he reported that the winds were slightly better, and confirmed he'd had a largely sleepless night as the wind moved around the compass and forced him to jibe 3 separate times. About midnight he crossed the International Dateline ("Welcome back to the East!" we kidded him). By 0800, pushed by a gentle breeze from the SSW, he was sailing at about 2.5 kts. This was a decided improvement over the average 1.3 kts he realized over the entire 24-hour period.

He moved 31 nm overground since yesterday but due to his southerly heading to gain better wind areas to the south, he progressed only 20 nm toward Yokohama.

ClearPoint Weather suggests that better winds will come within the next 48 hours.


[Click to enlarge]
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Distance in last 24 hours: 31 nm DOG
Total distance completed: 25,488 nm
To Yokohama: 2,243 nm (measured)

Average daily DMG over last 4 days of sailing: 54 nm (measured) 
ETA: 28 days (if sailing @ 3.3 kts)

Heading: 240°
Reported boat speed: 2.5 kts
Average boat speed: 1.3 kts
Weather: Rain yesterday morning, clearing; warm
Temperature: 26.5° C
Barometer: 1018 hPa 
Wind (from): 5-7 kt SSW
Waves: 1.0 m
Sails: Genoa 90%, staysail 0%, mainsail 3pt reef
Engine: 0 hrs
Generator: 12 hrs

[Weather and wind forecasts are from ClearPoint Weather, a Saito 8 contributing sponsor.]