Strong Wind Dividends
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Noon
Position: 31 46.5 S 152 51.4 E The strong to near gale force winds have paid dividends in the form of an excellent day's run. While conditions were uncomfortable overnight, now we are enjoying a fresh sunny day running wing-on-wing before a gentle SW breeze. The only small drama we experienced was a small rogue wave breaking over the stern late yesterday afternoon, mostly leaping past the cockpit and straight down the companionway where I happened to be standing without my foul weather jacket. I saw it coming but only had time to duck into it so ended up a bit wet. The chart and log book also got a bit damp and I suspect some moisture got into the laptop which was sitting on the saloon table at the time. When I opened it this morning to write up today's web-log entry it started to shut down erratically and then I smelt an acrid burning smell. Initially I did not realise where the smell was coming from as it was very feint but when I recognised it as an electrical smell I checked the laptop and it was indeed feeling hot in one spot. Having experienced a lithium battery fire once before with a runaway tablet, I was not at all keen to have a repeat experience on the saloon table right in my lap. I immediately closed the lid and placed the laptop in the cockpit. Fortunately no flames erupted and the hot spot cooled down; however, I think it is safe to conclude that this piece of equipment is now certifiably kaput. Now I am using the old standby Windows 8 machine which hopefully will keep running until I have the opportunity to purchase a new laptop. One other minor incident was one of the lines for the starboard lazy jacks chafing through, which I will fix this afternoon now that the weather as eased. As mentioned yesterday, this evening the winds are forecast to be light and variable, turning to light head winds tomorrow afternoon, but as long as conditions are not too uncomfortable and we are making some progress in the right direction, my plan is to press on. All is well. |