Worrall Wind Update - Day 5 to Suwarrow

UTC/Local Time: Monday, August 23 0000/Sunday, August 22 1400

Latitude: 13 54.866 S
Longitude: 158 46.844 W

Course Over Ground: 275 at 6+ knots
Wind Direction: East South East, 18 knots
Sea Swell: 1.5 meter seas, occasional side rollers 2.5 meters
Sky: 20 %
Barometric Pressure: 1014

Update: Day 5 - So Far...a Nice Day!

Sure glad yesterday is over. We weren't the only ones dealing with the rocky rollies, variable winds. When we got on the Sea Farer's Net last night, our friends on Pincoya didn't respond to roll call. They had been behind and below us about 60 miles and we surmised that they were busy managing a squall. There seemed to be more of a squall line in that direction. We were getting a little anxious and listened to the end of the roll call. Finally, Pincoya came on the radio.

Indeed they had been caught in a super squall with 50 knot gusts of wind. Their whisker pole that dropped into the water the day before, broke its internal line collapsing the pole and wrapping the jib. The winds also lifted their staysail off of the deck and unwrapping that too. They had had their hands full. It took them 2 hours to clean up the deck. They are now running their sails a little more conservatively. It only takes a couple of scares like that to double and triple reef when squalls are about.

There was only one small rain squall at 4:00 a.m. this morning. We had run pretty slowly all night with a triple reef and a small jib. Russ was on watch. We changed watches about 2:30 A.M. If I am not too sleepy, I'm trying to let Russ sleep a little longer, and then I sleep a little longer. It's easier for me to sleep a couple hours later in the morning than trying to take a nap in the afternoon. Russ seems to be able to drop off in the afternoon for a power nap.

We tacked northwest all night. I saw one lighted vessel last night on my watch. It wasn't a sailboat, and it didn't have an AIS identification. At first we thought it was one of the other sailing boats with which we left Bora Bora. It seemed to be standing pretty still, so we surmised it was a fishing vessel.

By morning we were about 30 miles above our course line, but it looked like a gybe to the west - southwest would angle us back to our next waypoint. Over the course of the morning, the winds have become a little more constant, and the swells have calmed down a bit. Little by little we have let out more and more jib so we are now running between 6-7 knots. If we can keep up this pace (Ha!) we should get to Suwarrow in two more days. It's been so pleasant, I fixed breakfast burritos this morning and have a hamburger-eggplant stir fry planned for this evening if I can stand still long enough in the galley. Plan B is leftover soup. That's we had last night when the seas were so rough.

We've spent most of the morning listening to Master and Commander. It's been pretty uneventful today. It's about time.

All is well on Worrall Wind.