Day 155 – A Spot of Sewing

Where Next?
Bob Williams
Tue 17 May 2022 08:40
Noon Position: 09 09.2 S 095 15.6 E
Course: SSW Speed: 3 knots
Wind: SE Force 2
Sea: slight Swell: S 1.5 m
Weather: sunny, hot
Day’s Run: 58 nm

Winds still continue very light. While it would of course be nice to have a little more wind, I am pleased that at least the swell has at last settled down to something a little more benign – long, low and smooth. Sylph now sits in the water with only the slightest pitching motion, so even the lightest zephyr is able to hold her sails full and keep her moving. Thus I am well satisfied with our progress to the south but regret that we are getting further from our lay-line to Cocos-Keeling, now 64 miles to the east. At this stage the wind would have to shift well into the south so that we could go onto the opposite tack for it to make sense for us to still try to round Cocos-Keeling, and as such a shift is very unlikely I am pretty much resigned to giving up on the idea.
I am advised by the Ineffable that winds will increase significantly when we get south of ten degrees. At noon we were just over nine degrees south so I shall be keeping a close eye on the wind so as to change down to number two headsail in good time. For now though the light-weight genoa is definitely the sail of choice.
While progress has been slow, the light winds and now smoother sea is ideal for getting a few chores done. I would like to do some more painting on deck but it is way too hot, so instead this forenoon I broke out Sylph’s trusty hand-cranked Singer sewing machine to make a new windvane cover. The cover I started the voyage with is still going strong, somewhat to my surprise I confess as it is a few years old and I would have thought that it would have succumbed to UV degradation a few thousand miles back. Anyway, we now have a spare cover ready to go if we need it so that makes for a little more peace of mind.
All is well.