Noon position: 38 58.5 S 146 43.6 E
Course: NE Speed: 4 knots
Wind: variable - light air
Sea: rippled Swell: SW/SE 0.5 meters
Weather: overcast, cool
Day's run: 95 nm

We held the soldier's breeze until 2100, some fifteen miles short of the traffic separation scheme (TSS) off Wilsons Promontory, when the wind faded and left Sylph wallowing in the SW swell. Not wishing to drift at the entrance of a traffic separations scheme with many large merchant ships potentially converging on us in the middle of the night, I resorted to the faithful BRM. We transited the TSS entirely under motor via the inshore traffic zone close to the southern tip of mainland Australia, thereby keeping well clear of all the big ships.

At 0400 we were past Wilsons Promontory and the TSS and were rewarded with a light breeze out of the west. I rolled out the jib, poled to port, and set Sylph up to run wing-on-wing before the cool steady breeze. I turned in to the sound of of Sylph's chortling bow wave and the gentle swish of water sweeping pass the hull lulling me to sleep (not that I needed much lulling at this stage), fingers and toes crossed that the light breeze might hold.

It did not. I was up on deck again an hour later, dropping the pole and trying to coax Sylph to sail to the once more fading breeze, now from the SE. I managed to get her sailing smoothly at 1.5 knots and tried to get some more sleep.

We continued thus until 0800, drifting more than sailing, when again a light breeze rose out of the west, greeting the pale sun weakly breaking through the grey sky on the opposite horizon. Once again I poled the jib out to coax Sylph to run before the light fair breeze. But, like the sun, it was all too much effort, the breeze dying as the sun hid itself behind the low grey overcast sky. Eventually, just before noon, I had to accept that we were going nowhere, which is fine if there is a wind in the offing, but there is not. According to the forecast there we can expect nothing but light variable airs in this patch of ocean for the next several days. However, if we can work our way to the east about sixty miles or so we should pick up favourable winds again, which I am hopeful might carry us all the way to Sydney.

So the plan for now is to sail when we can, motor when we can't, and work our way towards the promised fair wind in the east.

All is well.