Day 11 Passage to Christmas Island
Good news everybody the high pressure system seems to have dissolved into a uniform east trade wind and we are now doing 7 to 8 kts down wind. We have 300 nautical miles remaining and should arrive Friday morning if we can keep sailing at 6 kts. It looks like the Indian Ocean will be full of surprises as we continue west to South Africa. Other then that, we had a great spinnaker run all through the night and kept up 6 kts in 3 to 4 knots of apparent wind. Now we fish again for some sushi.
Current Position: UTC22:18, 10deg 48.8min South, 110deg 40.0min East, COG 270deg-M, SOG-6.8kts, wind 11kts, Sunny Skies
Thanks,
Jacques
Day 9 Passage to Christmas Island
Yesterday I downloaded a weather grib from my SSB radio to my computer to review current weather conditions that exist ahead of our current position. Currently there is a large low pressure system that is dipping down from the equator like a sharp knife. The barometer reading forecasted for the low pressure system is to be 1008MB. Currently the ship barometer is fluctuating between 1014BM and 1010MB witch is astonishing thing to witness. What is more amazing is that on the Pacific ocean the barometer readings would only change by decimal points not whole numbers. Currently as we approach this low the barometer will drop 5 whole bars. Once we are at 1008MB we will be in the middle of the low pressure system and the wind will be a mix of swirling directions and light, but less then 24 hours later a very big high pressure system is charging its way up from the southern Indian Ocean. It is indicated as a barometer pressure of 1020MB with winds 25 to 30 knots clocking from the south to the east direction as it moves by. Currently we have 463 nautical miles to go and ,hopefully we will be at anchor on Christmas Island when this high pressure system runs by. If not it should be lots of fun and get out your board shorts as we will be surfing the 3 meter swell it bring. As for our crew and systems onboard Dragonsbane all is well.
Current Position: UTC 21:33, 11deg 20.1min south, 113deg 26.6min East, SOG 7.4kts, COG 289deg-M, Barometer 1014MB, partly cloudy, Swell 1.5 meter and growing
Thanks,
Jacques
Day 8 Passage to Christmas Island
What an exciting night we had last night. Starting at 01:30am the wind picked up to 18plus kts and we had to get the spinnaker down. We had been running down wind with the spinnaker for almost 15 hours averaging 7 knots in 8 to 12 knots of wind. When the wind picked up as a cloudy front rolled in over head the wind conditions were border line for our current sail pattern. As Ben eased out the pole sheet on the windward side Dragonsbane naturally turned up in the 18kts of wind and caused her to lay down into the ocean. Quickly instructed to turn the helm down wind and pop the leeward sheet all the way off the primary winch, Dragonsbane popped right back up. The spinnaker now flogged out in front of us. Ben snapped on and ran forward to pull the spinnaker sock down and did so. Nothing like a good dose of excitement early in the morning. After switching to a poled jib sail and no main we all settled in for the night. My shift began with company from Sarah as we had the joy of weaving the needle through a maze of 4 ships deadhead in a obvious shipping lane. Its not always fun playing chicken with such large ships but we managed and only came within 0.3 nautical miles to one of the four ships. The rest were easily passed by 1 nautical mile and you had to struggle to see the night watch crews “just kidding”.
Current Position: 21:31utc, 11deg 31.8min South, 115deg 55.4min East, COG 283deg-M, SOG 6.2kts, Swell 1 meter, Cloudy Skies,
Thanks,
Jacques
Passage to Christmas Island Day 7
We continue to sail averaging 150 nautical miles in 24 hours. The crew seems to be adjusting well to the passage and everybody is beginning to find there roles and learning more about trimming the sails on Dragonsbane. Shifts are 3 hours and leaves lots of time for reading, day dreaming, and of course fixing stuff. The ocean still gives us surprises but mostly shooting stars at night and ships during the day continue to pass us close but it must just be the area of the ocean.
We are about half way to Christmas Island this morning and have about 745 nautical miles remaining. I am not so sure about the anchorage we will have to be in because there is no real protection from swell or wind from the north to west. Hopefully the wind continues to come from the east south east so we can have a few days rest before moving on. More things to weigh on my mind as we get closer to Christmas Island.
Current position: 21:29UTC, 11deg 46.7min South, 118deg 27.7 East, COG 285deg-M, SOG 6.6kts, WS 12kts, WD 90deg, Swell 1 meter, Clear Skies
Thanks,
Jacques
Passage to Christmas Island Day 6
Well we had a great meal cooked by Jade last night. She cooked up fish cakes and they were great. As for the rest of the crew we got caught up in a little nervous boat shadowing. At roughly 16:30 a junk fishing boat approached us from our beam and then turned to our course and shadowed us for about a hour before turning off. Made me a bit jumpy seeing this type of boat following us in such a close range for so long. But after I could finally see the starboard side of the ship it was clear they were dragging fish nets and I am guessing they were trying to maneuver around us. Anyway all is well and looking forward to another fun day of sailing.
Current Position: 11deg 58.7min South, 121deg 18.3min East, UTC 17:58, COG 260, SOG 6kts, Swell 1 meter, Sunny clear skies.
Thanks,
Jacques
Passage to Christmas Island Day 5
It was a busy day that started out with a few problems. I wanted to run our fresh water maker but it kept popping the breaker. After I tested the breaker and checked the continuity of the wire it looked to be in good shape. I then checked our new raw water boost pump that my dad had installed in New Zealand. I discovered that the raw water pump electric motor housing seal must have leaked in saltwater and rusted out the electrical and motor components of the pump. In a nut shell the new raw water pump was toast. I then found our old boost pump that works only when the diesel engine is not running and reinstalled it along with new wiring. The good news is that I was able to get the whole system back on line and made 13 gallons of fresh water. My new game plan is to run the water maker for a hour each day using solar power as my energy source during high noon.
To add to the day of issues we have been fishing each day with no real results. The day began with a small tuna but not big enough to keep according to my friend Jade, I only saw sushi. Later that day as I was head deep in the bilges of Dragonsbane yelling at the water maker we caught a tuna that ripped out the fishing line but then we lost it. Found out that the double hook I put on was not wire tied together and the tuna bumped the hook off the line, very frustrating. But the good news is that in the afternoon we hooked into a Indo-Pacific Dog Tooth Tuna that Cary reeled in and filleted it up for the team. I cooked it up using our Kiwi Alice friends recipe of FEB fish, “Flour, Egg, and then the Bread Crumbs” pan fried with potato’s on the side. It was a tasty fish with lots more to come being a 4 foot 20lbe tuna.
We also had a full day of wind shifts and sail changes that Ben spear headed with Cary, Sarah, and Jade. Changes many times from spinnaker, to jib, jib on a pole, main to spinnaker and so on. We also passed a drilling platform and Ben had a VHF radio conversation with a nice Irish man. All in all it started out bad but turned into a good day A!
Current Position: UTC 18:10, 11deg 55.7min South, 123deg 42.6min East, COG 310deg-M, SOG 5kts, WS 12.5kts, WD 45deg, Swell >1meter, Sunny clear skies
Thanks,
Jacques
Passage to Christmas Island Day 4
After a day of clocking wind from 180deg South to 0deg North settling down at 45deg North East we sail down wind. Now we are listening to Carmon Act 1 of the opera to enjoy the evening sunset. As we sail into the star lit night smells of fresh bread made by Ben and chocolate chip cookies prepared by Sarah intensify the emotion to the sea passage. I hope for continued god weather but this evening a low cloudy sky is stocking us across the Torras Straight. What will the night hold, we will see.
During the night the wind once again fell off to 2 knots and we are motoring inching our way north west to area of wind. I download some weather gribs this evening and looks like a trough of wind lays north of our position so we will try for that and hopefully find some wind.
Current Position: 12deg 03.3min South, 125deg 58.8 min East, UTC17:54, COG 270deg, SOG 5.9kts, Motoring, Clear skies
Thanks,
Jacques
Passage to Christmas Island Day 3
Once again the wind at night dropped off to less then 5 knots and we in response sailed at 2 knots. It made for great sleeping but not so great for distance over ground. At 3:15 we turned the engine on and motor sailed till 9am as the morning wind filled in at 15 knots. We are currently sailing at 8 Knots making up for a very slow night and evening. We are hoping to maintain our current speed and wind for the next 140 nautical mile to get out of the shadow of Australia were the wind is organized and steady.
Current Position: 12deg 05.5min South, 127deg 44.8min East, UTC20:51, COG 269, SOG 7.7kts, WS 15kts, WD 180deg, swell <1 meter, Sunny and Clear, 80deg F, Water Temp 90.7deg F
Thank,
Jacques
Passsage to Christmas Island Day 1
Currently sailing at a blistering 3 knots against a 1 knot current. Our wind has been increasing to 20 knots but slowly decreases to 5 knots through out the day. It has been a real challenge with wind direction and wind speed. We continue to make sail changes every few hours to keep us going. Once again we have seen three sea snakes and like always I still hate snakes, we saw a turtle. The crew is coming along and learning more about Dragonsbane everyday.
Current Position: 12deg 12.6min South, 128deg 52.1min East, UTC06:02, COG 269deg, SOG 3.4kts, WS 8kts, WD 180deg, Swell <1 meter, Sunny, Air Temp 83deg F, Water Temp 90deg F
Thanks,
Jacques
Off to Christmas Island
Jacques, Cary, Sarah, Jade, Ben
Well off on another passage from Darwin Australia to Christmas Island. It’s also the beginning of the Indian Ocean Crossing. I have a full crew now including myself Cary, Ben, Jade, and Sarah. It should make the long passages much easier and fun with a boat full of loony toons. I will as always post everyday our Lat and Long as we sail for the next 12 Days.
Thanks,
Jacques
I am Back to Blogging!
To help us transition back into new blogging post I have posted within a few photos of the past three weeks of my small adventures in Australia. I ended up flying from Darwin to Brisbane, to Sydney, then back to Brisbane to hangout with some new and old friends. I have enjoyed my time in Australia and have a new appreciation for its grand size and realize that there is nothing between coastal cities but rocks and sand mostly. My only real disappointment was how extremely expensive everything cost. For example a 6 pack of domestic beer is average $20 dollars and food if eating out at a average establishment would coast between $15 to $20 which is mostly À la carte. Besides the expense it has a lot of great people and travelers that adventure here everyday and that was fun to meet them.
Sydney Opera house, touched the white tiles that make up the roof. Bucket list checked off!
To me it looks like a rough day, Sydney Museum of European Art. I got lost here for hours looking at art and watching the people wondering what they were thinking.
Modern Art Gallery in Sydney. I think this pretty much sums up the South Pacific.
This Lady caught my eye on the brick wall walking around. She will getcha by the eyes!
Just a OZ frog
I learned that Kangaroo makes great sandwiches, yum!
So cute!
Yup Australia has Dinosaurs, I wonder how they taste?
Carry the pro at work in the Northern Territory national park taking pictures.
Just s huge python hanging out in the public park Darwin
Man I hear clocks ticking, tic, toc, tic, toc
Crocodile got some air time.
My beloved Kite birds, I love these guys. They are true beauty in the most real form.
Absolute beauty, I want to be one. I could watch for hours.
Did I mention I am not a snake person but I was told she was cute so why not give her a hand!
My dad loved this thing until it tried to curl up around him.
Thank you,
Jacques
The Whole Wide World Slide Show
Please enjoy a slide show to music! I hope you enjoy it, just listen to the music and it will let you know were some of the photos are from.
Thanks, Jacques
Backside of The World ;)
Thank you once again for following my blog. It has been a hard road thus far into the deep blue sea. I know you think I may be mistaken that being unemployed sailing the great blue ocean could be so rough. You may think its cocktails, white sand beaches, and one adventure after another. Well you are right, there are white sand beaches with beautiful sunsets, there are cocktails with gin, rum, and there are dark mysterious adventures. But the white sand beaches are empty and I walk them with my good buddy Cary and dad wishing the whole time for a true love to be with me instead. I drink the cocktails swapping sailing stories and information about far off places not to enjoy them, but to find out how to survive the next ocean passage into an unknown country trying to import a sailboat and her crew without going to jail, or running aground. I do this with idea that I will find myself or my purpose in life, to recreate myself for the better. To give up all worldly possessions and live on the straight and narrow edge with daily cup full’s of near chances to carve up my soul. To try to do what I preach not just say it and stand by as others follow through. Storms, whales, logs, nets, and cargo ship near misses are now piling up in my mind and in my bones. I wonder were this journey will take me now on the brink of the Great Indian Ocean with a short number of days to cross her. As of now I know no more then what I started and each day I redefine my idea of happiness. I am not after the secret to life but just the million dollar question I have asked all my life, what is my purpose on this earth. Should I add to mankind or just survive till the end of my days with happiness in my heart? Should I peel back the layers of my soul to find what makes me tick no matter the cost or repercussion brought on by society? Should I just move forward into the great unknown called life and see what happens. I am not sure but I think family, friends, and rum will help. But right now one thing is for sure I am on a sailboat named Dragopnsbane on the back side of the world looking west into the sunset for that family, friends, and that love my life. My heart swells thinking about you all and that makes me happy. But I am fearful of things to come. I SAY BRING ON THAT BLUE OCEAN HORIZON, I will deliver myself, this Dragonsbane, and my heart to you all soon. LIFE IS WHAT WE MAKE IT, I AM GOING TO MAKE IT GRAND OR DIE TRYING!
Sincerely
Jacques Henry
We Made it!
Well we made it to Darwin! Now Sleep !
Day 15 Passage to Darwin
90 nautical miles to go and they are turning out to be some very difficult miles to go. We have a 3.5 knot opposing current slowing us down to 3 kts and the wind is becoming less and less. We still have to sail through a narrow channel called Howard channel which unfortunately will be at night once again . We are also 5 nautical miles right of course trying to inch our way back to our course line without having to tack the boat. If we have to tack we will being going the wrong way and any chance of making it to Darwin by mid morning will be lost. I sure hope that we can pull our current route off and maintain 6kts of speed so we can clear in tomorrow with customs. I sure would like to have a beer on land tomorrow. I miss land, its just so stable and refreshing to walk more then 20 feet in the same direction don’t you think?
Big Smile,
Thanks,
Jacques
Current Position: 11deg 35.2min SOuth, 131deg 34.5min East, COG 186degM, SOG 6.2KTS, WS 12.5 ktss ESE, Clear Skies, Swell less then 1 meter
Day 14 Passage to Darwin “Holy SNAKES!”
Ok, so we are cruising along the coastal waters of north Australia anywhere from 100 to 4 nautical miles out. Today was the third time that we saw a sea snake on top of the water. It was a large snake about 3 or 4 feet long with black diamonds on it back and a tan/white under belly. At first I thought it was a small log but when it swam quickly away from the boat I was shocked to see a snake. Cary and I have our minds running wild about snakes on boats now. We have slowed down to 4 knots to time our passage through the Dundas Straight and then onto the Clearance Straight as the current can run up 6 knots. Sense we are going so slow all I think of is a snake crawling up on our sugar scope which is only a few inches off the water and has direct access to my buttocks. So now we have to deal with sea snakes and soon salt water crocodiles in Darwin Bay, I am starting to wonder why I am sailing into Australia. I am not even on land and there’s so much that can kill me.
Current Position: UTC05:50, 10deg 48.4min South, 132deg 49.5min East, COG 260degM, SOG 4.2kts, Wind 12kts ESE, CLear SKies
Thank you,
Jacques
Day 13 Pasage to Darwin “Seagull”
Well to add to the list of hitting thing on this voyage we had another little incident. As we were eating our dinner in the cockpit we noticed like most evening night seagull’s trying to land on Dragonsbane but they always fall off when the boat rolls or jumps or whatever. But this seagull thought it would be a good idea to try and land on the back of the wind generator. I had shut the wind gen down a few times as I notice the seagull trying to commit suicide flying into the blades of the wind gen. But the odds finally ran out on this seagull and as he cleverly flew up to the wind gen all I heard was a loud bonk and the seagull was down floating dead on the ocean. I sure do feel bad for the bird that was just trying to take rest way out here in the middle of the ocean. Unfortunately I didn’t notice in time to save that birds life. As for the rest of us we are doing well and looking forward to the rip currents and channels that await us in the last 340 nautical miles to go. I sure hope that we catch the tide/currents in our favor as we come into Darwin. I was told by our cruising friends off Calico Jack that there is a 20 foot tide in Darwin which makes things a bit difficult.
Current Postion: UTC02:44 10deg 45min South, 135deg 17min East, COG 261deg, SOG 6.8kts, WS 12kts SES, CLear SKies
Thanks,
Jacques
Day 12 Passage to Darwin “Fish Net!”
Around 03:00am traveling within the charted shipping lane I approach the first of two large ships that transmitted a AIS signal but didn’t identify vessel type. The ship did appear to be at anchor just outside the shipping lane with multiple flood lights. As the ship disappeared behind me I could see the same type of ship about 5 nautical miles ahead all lit up like Friday night lights. About half way between the two ships I struck a fish net that had large floats on it but because it was pitch black out I could not see it laying in the water. This was a clear shock because I am in the shipping lane. The net hooked first the keel and began sinking and I could hear the horrible sound of the net sawing across the bottom of Dragonsbane then slipped off the keel and hook the rudder, completing the second abuse to Dragonsbane. At that point all was on deck to see what the heck was going on. The net popped off the rudder and we continued down the center of the shipping lane. At this point I thought that we must of hit a drift net that made its way into the shipping lane. With Everybody on edge we continued for an hour and I handed off the helm to my dad for his shift 04:00 am to 08:00am. At this point we were parrel with the second 200 meter ship. As I was heading down to go to sleep we ran into the same MFing net. I jump onto the deck looked out and you could see from the side of the 200 meter ship a massive fishing net be retrieved or being held off the ships mid deck area. I was so pissed off at this point and the net once again scrapping across our haul sounding like we were ripping the boat apart snapped off the bottom of Dragonsbane. Not one VHF radio call from the dam fishing vessal was put out to us or any visual light aids indicating that the two fishing vessel had a 5 mile long fishing net strung accross the entire shipping channel. That was some world class bullshit and I just want to say WHAT THE HELL! During our the morning SSB radio net control a cruising boat that is about 30 miles ahead of us noted the same experience and there rudder has a collapsible hydraulic lift. There rudder collapsed when they hit the same fishing net. Not sure were I can report this but I may be wrong but I am pretty sure you cant have a fishing net across an entire shipping lane. Anyway everything appears to be in working order and all is well on aboard as we make our last 500 nautical miles to Darwin through this never ending gauntlet of shit.
Current Postion: UTC05:30, 10Deg 41min SOuth, 137deg 32min East, COG262degM, SOG 6kts, WS 16kts ESE, Swell 1 meter, Cloudy Skies,
Thanks,
Jacques Henry
Day 11 Passage To Darwin “Shipt Dead Ahaead!”
It was a very exciting evening last night when I took over watch at midnight from Cary. Cary was have the time of his life traveling 10 to 12 knotes with current racing through the shipping lane. When I came out on deck and looked ahead it was difficult to make out navigational maker lights and the shore lights were lit up like a Christmass tree. So Cary waited for me to get my bearings on were the shipping lane was and the forth coming nav aids. It was funny how Cary put it “its like riding blind on the line”. Its funny because at night you cant really see anything in front of you, you rely on your compass, nav lights, and charts that you have drawn a line to follow. So after Cary went down to sleep I was alone yet again on a beautiful star lit night.
About 30 minutes into my shift I was approaching the Prince Whales shipping channel at the very tip of Queensland Australia Province. The VHF radio erupted into shipping chatter and the one indication of a ship in front of me was a small sailing vessel nothing more. So I continued hugging the far right side of the shipping lane. Then a hale to a sailing vessel sailing south bound please respond. I looked at my compass and I was heading west bound so gave it no thought. Yet again the cargo ship haled and I responded not knowing if I was the sailing vessel or the one a mile in front of me. I was told to pass red to red running lights and continue. At the same time I had the radar running and looking up the channel I could see something that looked like a Island right in my path on the wrong side of the shipping lane. Looking out over the water I could see 3 red lights one blinking, and two sold red. SO I new the blinking had to be a nav aid and the other two had to be ships. Between the radio chatter and the speed at 10 knots the situation was escalating fast so I maintained my course when the cargo ship radio to say they could only see my green running light so a turn 90 degrees straight out of the shipping channel confirming he saw red and then a great big ship appeared out of the dark night and passed us with in a two boat length. The ship was deadhead of us the whole time and he was taking up the entire shipping lane. Then right behind him was another tug boat pushing a barge through the channel which I navigated without a problem because he was on the right side of the shipping lane. Finally after we made it out of the channel and back into the ocean we calmed down and everybody else went back to bed, what a exciting night.
CUrrent Position: 02:39UTC, 10deg 33min South, 140deg 30min East, COG 270degM, SOG 5kts, CLear Skies, Swell <1 meter
Thanks,
Jacques
Day 10 Passage to Darwin
Well we made it through the hole in wall to the Torres Straight. We have begun our weaving around and between rocks, islands,shallow water, and coral reefs that are so close to the shipping channel that you could pee off the deck and hit the beach. We are starting to see shipping traffic and have been contacted by the Australia Coast Guard twice. Once a helicopter flew over and around us, radioed us for our current information which we provided. So far our arrival in Australia waters has been a good experience and we are looking forward to landfall in Darwin on Monday. But for now we are sailing through a narrow shipping channel littered with obstacles so night sailing will be much more exciting to do. Most of all after not seeing land for 9 days I woke today to see a island covered with trees and we all have become much happier to finally see real progress.
Current Position: 06:25UTC, 10deg 21.9min South,142deg 42.3min East, COG 245deg M, SOG 7.1Kts, WS 19kts, Swell >1 meter, Party Cloudy Skies, Air Temp 89deg, Water Temp 93deg
Thank You,
Jacques
Day 9 Passage to Darwin FISH ON!
Today was another exciting day of reading and catching a huge fish for Cary. To back up a bit I left my hand line out over night to see if I could land a fish during the night or see if I could catch something weird. When I checked the line that is made of 1000 lbs strength para cord tied to a steel cable I thought I would not lose anything. The steel 1500lbs cable with lure attached had been bitten off during the night by something. Anyway this afternoon Cary grabbed the reel and hooked into a huge Mahi Mahi. Cary battled the fish for about a hour and finally got it close enough to the boat for me to gaff and kill it. It weighted in at 30.1 lbs and was about 4 feet long. Not bad for a days work out on the blue ocean, the freezer is full.
Thank You,
Jacques
Curret Position: 5:33UTC, 9deg 38.7min South, 144deg 38.5min East, COG 318degM, SOG 7kts, Current 1.5kts, Cloudy Sky, Swell <1meter
Day 9 Hit a Whale OOOpss
Late in the morning day Cary was on watch and we were sitting in the cockpit looking out over the ocean. Dragonsbane as normal was rolling back and forth in the ocean swell when something odd happened. I realized that Cary is one attractive guy, he hits fucken everything logs, cocnuts, WHALES! We both heard a loud thud and the front of Dragonsbane shift as if it was hit by a large wave witch we thought had happened. But I was thinking that it was a very odd sound to make and then we saw a whale. I jumped up looked off our port stern and saw what looked like a Sperm Whale blow air out. Then right behind us was a huge bloom of brown, black, and yellow matter that looked like the whale crapped his own pants. Then I saw the whale go down again and disappear. I quickly went below to do a inspection of the forward bow area to see if there had been any damage or water coming through. My dad had been laying in the front bow bunk and said that was a really loud wave. I said we hit a WHALE,MAN! He then checked the hull too but we found nothing. Based on the depth of the whale and impact I believe that it glanced off our port bow right below the water line and doing so crapped his pants in shock of hitting something in the middle of the ocean. I think we shocked the whale just as much as we were and he looked to be in good condition just a bit shocked. Besides hitting a whale all is well onboard and we are 50 nautical miles from starting our entrance into the Torres Straight. We will be entering the hole in the wall of the great barrier reef around 2am or 3am and then the fun begins. We will be on the look out for reefs, rocks, ships, whales, and logs for the next 1000 nautical miles. I am kind of excited to just see spits of land here and there as the only closest thing to land we have seen in the last 9 days is a cargo ship.
What a Smile!
Thanks,
Jacques
Current Position: 06:03UTC, 10deg 50.9min South, 146deg 13.3min East, COG 280degM, SOG 7.1kts. Swell 1-2meters, Air Temp 95deg F, Water temp 92degF, Cloudy Skies, One Whale
Day 8 Passage to Darwin Aus
The wind has eased up for us and is now down to 15 knots or less and the swells are 1 meter or less. We still have the problem of pitch poling back and fourth which is so frustrating when cooking or moving about the boat. Tried fishing today but only had a small bit with no fish to show for it. We also ran the water maker and made some fresh water. Sense we made more fresh water we all took a long salt water bath and then washed down with fresh water. Finished another book called the Unbroken and it was a great read. Anyway all is well onboard. 1,212 nautical miles to go!
smile, SMILE!
Thanks,
Jacques
Current Position: UTC 04:48, 11deg 35.8min South 148deg 37.9min East, SOG 5kts, COG 280degM, WS 15kts, Swell>1meter, Cloudy sky with a few squalls around us, Air Temp 95degF, Water Temp 92.1deg F
Day 7 Passage to Darwin AUS
Not to much to talk about today other then making 150 nautical mile days will put us in Darwin in 9 more days. We 1326 nautical miles to go and the ocean is still lumpy and bumpy as we rock are way across the Coral Sea. Last night around 3am we crossed paths with two cargo ship heading Australia. We were hailed from the first ship then sail behind it and then we hailed the second ship and sail in front of it. It was kind of cool to thread the needle we out here in the middle of the ocean.
On a cooking note I baked a loaf of bread and made pizza for dinner. I have not tried ether so who knows if its going to taste good. It also seems that my computer is starting to do all kinds of odd things so I hope its not going to crash on me, knock on wood. The ocean loves to eat electronics even if you keep them dry the salt in the air just eats them. The salt air also eats your cloths as I am finding out in the last few month. Most of my cloth are so bleached by sun and salt I can see through them. I know when I get home I think I will burn all my sailing cloths or maybe they will just desegregate into thin air.
Current Position: UTC05:49 12deg 12.1min South, 150deg 49.9 min East,COG 276degM, SOG 6.5kts, Swell 2 meters, Cloudy with chance of Squalls, Air temp DAM HOT!
Thanks,
Jacques
dragonsbanevoyage 