Saturday 16 August – Wind

Where Next?
Bob Williams
Mon 18 Aug 2014 20:49

Noon Position: 55 50.3 N 154 51.4 W
Course: North east Speed: 6 knots
Wind: South F5 strong breeze
Sea: moderate Swell: south east, 2.5 meters
Weather: overcast, cool
Day's run: 128 nm.

Things have gone pretty much according to plan. The winds came, they blew, we reefed, we sailed, the seas got a bit rough, we bounced around a bit, and we made good time overnight. The worst of the low passed through at about 2100 last night when the barometer got down to 991 HPa, and since has been slowly rising. We are now running wing on wing, the main single reefed to port, and the jib, partly rolled up on its furler, poled out to starboard. The swell has built up but is even and regular, so, while we are rolling about a bit, the motion is relatively smooth. I am now picking up the weather forecasts on VHF from Kodiak, which tell me that overnight the wind will continue to veer into the west and ease to fifteen knots, making for a good run the rest of the way to Kodiak, except perhaps for when we round Cape Chiniak and have to make ground to the north west into Chinaik Bay. However by then (our ETA at Cape Chiniak is sometime tomorrow afternoon) we should be in the lee of the land, the swell should be behind us and the seas relatively smooth.

All is well.