Noon position: 37 56.3 S 149 12.3 E
Course: NE Speed: 5.5 knots
Wind: W, F4 - moderate breezer
Sea: moderate Swell: SE 1.5 meters
Weather: overcast, cool
Day's run: 75 nm

With the return of a light SW'ly breeze we were able to shut down the BRM shortly after midday. I set the spinnaker which had us averaging about two knots but later in the afternoon the breeze was too light even for the spinnaker, which did not seem to be adding much to Sylph's speed as it was regularly collapsing and chafing over the forestay. I poled the jib out in its place as, while less efficient than the spinnaker, the poled out jib does not suffer from chafing.

At 1850 the light air was backing into the south, so I furled the jib and set the code zero for a broad reach. We continued thus, slowly negotiating our way in between the numerous oil rigs, until just before midnight when, with the wind freshening slightly, I replaced the code zero with the working jib once more. We could probably have carried on with the code zero but I figured I would be more relaxed and therefore be able to get a bit more sleep with the smaller and more robust jib up than worrying about the large light code zero.

We cleared the last of the oil rigs just after midnight and Sylph sailed on during the rest of the night largely unattended on my part until 0800 this morning. I was expecting the wind to firm up from the south as we progressed east but instead it became very fitful, blowing first from one direction, then going light, then blowing from the opposite direction, with a confused sea making for an uncomfortable motion. I spent the next hour and a half trimming sails and adjusting course to make the most of what breeze there was when, at 0930, the fight between the various winds came to an end with a fresh NW breeze suddenly claiming victory.

We reached across the winning breeze to the NE, rapidly closing the Victorian coast, and as we did so the wind backed into the WSW. Now we run almost square before it, with the jib poled out to port.

As we round Gabo Island the wind is forecast to follow the coastline, backing around into the SE. With a little luck the windvane self-steering will follow the breeze around for a run up the NSW coast. And, again according to the forecast the wind will remain in the SE until late Saturday so, with just under 300 miles to Sydney, at an average of 100 miles a day we might be able to carry the breeze all the way through to Sydney.

All is well.