Day 30 - Yet Still More Pleasant Sailing

Where Next?
Bob Williams
Wed 12 Jan 2022 23:19
Noon Position: 46 08.7 S 149 56.5 W
Course: E by S Speed: 4 knots
Wind: NNE, F3 Sea: slight
Swell: NNE, 1 meters
Weather: partly cloudy, mild
Day's Run: 123nm

We continue to enjoy a gentle breeze from the north, though it has veered a little, heading us, so we are not quite making our desired course of east. We are currently close reaching so I could come a little harder onto the wind but I reckon our VMG (velocity made good in the direction we want to go, ie east) would likely get worse and the ride would be less comfortable. At this stage I am happy to lose a little ground to the north as it makes very little difference in the big picture. Also, last night Mark reported Coconut's latitude as 46 30S so if we want to stay in about the same latitude as her then we need to head a little south anyway. She now lies about 130nm ahead so we continue to haul her in and I reckon at this rate of closure we should have her potentially within visual range in about six days.
Dear reader, please do not worry. All this pleasantness will end soon enough and I am sure that I will have more exciting stories to tell all too soon, but hopefully not too exciting nor too soon from my perspective. In the meantime, the forecast remains for winds to increase to 30 knots sometime Friday so I am sure this will keep us on our toes. Indeed, while I am enjoying all the nice weather I think some strong breezes around now would likely be a good thing to better prepare us for the gales we will no doubt have to deal with as we start heading into higher latitudes in the approaches to the Cape.
But until then I am making the most of the balmy conditions.

All is well.