Day 11 - Tatt av vinden - 1800 UTC

Tatt av vinden
Bjørn Larsen
Tue 24 Apr 2018 19:15
Position: 7:36.7 S 112:46.3 W
COG: 260
SOG: 7.0
Current: 1,3/ 260 gr.
Sea temperature: - C
Wind: ca 18 kn ESE.
Sailed last 24 hours: 158 nm.
Distance to Fatu Hiva: 1553 nm
Weather: Nice weather. The night was also nice. Half moon the first half of the night. It set just before two a clock.
 
Yesterday afternoon we saw a big black shark fin near the boat. Thrilling. But bathing is not on the schedule anyhow.
Yesterday we had to take down the old HF antenna. It should have been done in Shelter Bay, but it was not. Now we had to take down the 7,5 m long fiberglass whip in the conditions we all know out here (big waves and wind). The operation involved the whole crew. To make shure the wind vane was not hurt we took it off, changed to manual steering (Eva). Anne Sofie took a good grip on the whip, and Bjørn cut it off with the saw. Then it was pulled into the boat. Everything went according the plan, and now the pieces are in the boat, nothing into the sea. The windsteering still does its work. In these stable wind conditions it had to be corrected only once during the night.
 
Today a new bread is in the owen. That is always a high of the day. This evening we should reach the half way point, and I guess that will be celebrated just before it happens in the cockpit, if the weather stays the way it is.
 
Airmail which is used for sending emails over SSB has a propagation program to guide the user to find the usable frequences. So far Panama has come up as the best alternative, except for to day. Today, for the first time Manihi cam up on top. Manihi is an atoll in the Tuamotus. Yes, French Polynesia is “closing” in.
 
The weather is very nice, the waves are tolerable, but nice weather also means that your gard is down, so when writing this, came the one sea that sent a spray with a cascade of water over the deck, and the water very quickly found its way to the companion way where the hatch was open – as it use to be in good conditions. Some of the water concequently came into the interior. It has happened before – something you never learn...
 
This morning I was not able to make cotact with “Alutia” on the radio. For “Alutia” (and for listeners): I suggest that we tomorrow at 1530 UTC start on 8107 kHz.
 
Everything is well on board. (Bjørn has started to read about anchoring conditions in Hanavave. Can it mean that he looks forward to drop anchor?)
 
 
 
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