A Bouncy Night
Where Next?
Bob Williams
Tue 3 Feb 2026 09:48
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Noon Position: 37 08.6 S 138 33.7 E
Course: ESE Speed: 4 knots Wind: NE, F3 gentle breeze Sea state: 3 - slight Swell: S 1.5 meters Weather: sunny, mild Day’s Run: 93 nm
The wind remained fresh from the SE overnight, and we remained close-hauled on the port tack, with a reef in the main and the jib rolled down to 80%, making the best ground we could in the right direction. It has been a bouncy ride with
Sylph well heeled over, her lee rail mostly awash, and lots of spray over the deck. This morning I found that the tail end of the code zero had been dragged in the water probably for most of the night, damaging its sail bag but hopefully not the sail
itself. The wind has now eased and backed into the NE and we are enjoying a pleasant beam reach under full sail. Now that conditions have eased and are more comfortable, later this afternoon I will pull the code zero out of its bag and see if I can repair
the sail bag.
The forecast is for light variable winds later this evening before picking up again from the SW tomorrow afternoon. From Thursday on, it looks like winds will remain mostly light for several days. Another problem I discovered only a moment ago is that the main
solar panels are not charging, something else I will try to resolve this afternoon. In the meantime I might motor for a bit during the light patches to get some charge into the battery. As mentioned yesterday, we will continue to make the most of whatever
we get. If we need to there are a number of places we can pull into for fuel and victuals.
All is well.
And another problem has just revealed itself – the laptop is not recognising the satphone so I cannot send this blog update. Bother! Will have to sort out later.
Later: I thought I had it figured, namely a dodgy cable. I got the laptop and satphone talking to one another but then my mail app wouldn’t work. Now I am back in phone range so sending this post a little late.
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