A Conjunction of Wanderers

Where Next?
Bob Williams
Sat 14 May 2011 03:16
Noon Position: 18 31.5 S 167 46.0 W
Course: West Speed: 5 knots
Wind: South, F3 gentle breeze
Weather: Mostly sunny, warm, slight seas
Day's run: 134 miles

At last I have very little to say, it was a very pleasant night last night, a gibbous moon shone for most of it, throwing its silver shimmer over Sylph and the surrounding sea, a gentle breeze blew and we beam reached comfortably across a slight sea towards the south west. This morning we have reached the latitude of Niue, a small island sticking its head up out of nowhere, now about 100 miles to the west of us. It doesn't have a decent anchorage to speak of, no fringing coral reef, no atoll, just an oceanic mountain sticking its tip out of the depths. But I figure we will sail past anyway and have a look and if conditions are favourable I may try to anchor off the small town and get ashore for a leg stretch and look around. With this in mind we have altered course due west and are now running wing on wing square before the gentle easterly breeze. Much better.

Something of interest, or at least I think so, which I noticed while planning morning stars the other day, if you get up just before sunrise and look to the east about 15 to 20 degrees above the horizon you will see three planets all lined up, two superior, namely Jupiter and Mars, and one inferior, Venus. Not much help from a navigational perspective but I would have thought rather an unusual occurrence. I imagine all the crazy astrologers will be ecstatic.

Baking some bread.

All is well.