Friday 4:30am LT (Thurs 2000GMT) Slightly hazy sky, but a bright, full moon and the brighter stars shining clearly through. Getting quite rough with wind waves well up in stronger wind - 25kt or more now, from NNE, and slowly increasing overnight to the 30-35kt, with stronger gusts, expected over the day coming up. Furled in a bit more genoa - has slowed us down to just over 4kt for now, but with wind increasing that's fine, since I want to get some more sleep.
8am Had just furled in remainder of genoa, with wind increasing more (so just small staysail now), came down below - heavy rain started up. Pressure has dropped to 1000.2 hPa with Low getting closer. Came off wind a touch more - can't make our preferred course just now.
8:15am Thought pressure was rising - saw 1000.8 - but then dropped to 999.2...
11:45am Having breakfast and feeling a lot warmer after taking a long time drying off and putting on dry upper body layers and warm socks - lower body layers were kept dry by my overtrousers after twice being dumped on by waves as I was furling in the staysail. I could feel one load of water getting down inside all my clothing...
Now lying to the JSD (Jordan Series Drogue) - deployed it around 9am after seeing the updated weather files in already strong conditions (wind 30-35kt, seas pretty rough and big). If I'd continued on, winds were expected to be sustained 40-50 kt with higher gusts for half a day, and seas would have built more - so decided I needed to deploy the JSD to stay safe until this system moves away finally to the SE.
Pressure now is 992.7hPa and we're drifting at 1.3-1.8kt. Very soon after deploying the JSD we were drifting at 2-3 kt when wind was a lot stronger.
2:20pm Pressure 988.6hPa, wind and seas well up. Getting to my bunk after a nice hot lunch - warm and safe there!! Lots of pitching and rolling - being tossed around but JSD keeping us safe
3pm Pressure 987.9hPa .. 3.45pm pressure 986.0 5pm 986.1 Wind from N now, drifting fast: ~2.3kt!
8pm Dark but moon shining brightly. Wind very strong and noisy. Drifting at 2.7-3.1 kt SE - so wind must be from nearer to NW now.
Took a photo of digital barometer display showing sharp pressure drop to 986 earlier, now rising quickly - isobars on this Low are very close together.
Second photo shows storm prediction in a few hours' time - even more than the 35kt or so we're getting presently, and likely to have gusts to higher. Note the 9m/30ft seas forecast. I'm hoping that with the wind being from WNW means we'll be taken away from that area.
Must get to my bunk for some sleep.
3:40am Friday LT (1900GMT Friday) Drifting E now, inW wind - so moving away from Low system hopefully.
Just got pooped - a lot of water got below ... I got wet at chart table close to companionway while preparing this... Computer and instruments OK, TG! Dry clothes (and me!) now a bit wet.... Rigged up screen beside area to prevent getting so wet if pooped again... Hope not!
1900GMT (= 3 a.m. LT) - end of Day 198. We made 60 n.ml. DMG, over the 24 hr period, measured in a straight line between the two 1900 GMT positions. Includes 18hrs of drifting a lot in very strong winds.
Total distance covered from Victoria, B.C., to end of Day 198 (by daily DMGs):17,529 n.ml.
Distances (at 1900GMT): Cape Leeuwin LH (SW Australia): 701 n.ml. to NNW (513 n.ml. to WP due S of Cape - now passed); Melbourne (VIC, Aus): 819 n.ml. to ENE; SE Cape,Tasmania,LH: 882 n.ml. to ESE; SW Cape, NZ: 1750 n.ml ESE.
(571 n.ml. SE of Albany in W.Australia, 653 n.ml. WSW of Adelaide, S.Australia)
Position & weather report for 1900 GMT posted to www.Winlink.org and www.Shiptrak.org (using my US callsign KC2IOV):
TIME: 2019/04/19 19:00GMT LATITUDE: 41-08.81S LONGITUDE: 127-11.85E
COURSE: 091T SPEED: 2.8kt
WIND_SPEED: 40kt WIND_DIR: W SWELL_DIR: WNW SWELL_HT: 7.0m
BARO: 1000.1hPa TREND: 2 AIR_TEMP: 13.0C SEA_TEMP: 14.0C
COMMENT: Lying to JSD, drifting a lo
8am Had just furled in remainder of genoa, with wind increasing more (so just small staysail now), came down below - heavy rain started up. Pressure has dropped to 1000.2 hPa with Low getting closer. Came off wind a touch more - can't make our preferred course just now.
8:15am Thought pressure was rising - saw 1000.8 - but then dropped to 999.2...
11:45am Having breakfast and feeling a lot warmer after taking a long time drying off and putting on dry upper body layers and warm socks - lower body layers were kept dry by my overtrousers after twice being dumped on by waves as I was furling in the staysail. I could feel one load of water getting down inside all my clothing...
Now lying to the JSD (Jordan Series Drogue) - deployed it around 9am after seeing the updated weather files in already strong conditions (wind 30-35kt, seas pretty rough and big). If I'd continued on, winds were expected to be sustained 40-50 kt with higher gusts for half a day, and seas would have built more - so decided I needed to deploy the JSD to stay safe until this system moves away finally to the SE.
Pressure now is 992.7hPa and we're drifting at 1.3-1.8kt. Very soon after deploying the JSD we were drifting at 2-3 kt when wind was a lot stronger.
2:20pm Pressure 988.6hPa, wind and seas well up. Getting to my bunk after a nice hot lunch - warm and safe there!! Lots of pitching and rolling - being tossed around but JSD keeping us safe
3pm Pressure 987.9hPa .. 3.45pm pressure 986.0 5pm 986.1 Wind from N now, drifting fast: ~2.3kt!
8pm Dark but moon shining brightly. Wind very strong and noisy. Drifting at 2.7-3.1 kt SE - so wind must be from nearer to NW now.
Took a photo of digital barometer display showing sharp pressure drop to 986 earlier, now rising quickly - isobars on this Low are very close together.
Second photo shows storm prediction in a few hours' time - even more than the 35kt or so we're getting presently, and likely to have gusts to higher. Note the 9m/30ft seas forecast. I'm hoping that with the wind being from WNW means we'll be taken away from that area.
Must get to my bunk for some sleep.
3:40am Friday LT (1900GMT Friday) Drifting E now, inW wind - so moving away from Low system hopefully.
Just got pooped - a lot of water got below ... I got wet at chart table close to companionway while preparing this... Computer and instruments OK, TG! Dry clothes (and me!) now a bit wet.... Rigged up screen beside area to prevent getting so wet if pooped again... Hope not!
1900GMT (= 3 a.m. LT) - end of Day 198. We made 60 n.ml. DMG, over the 24 hr period, measured in a straight line between the two 1900 GMT positions. Includes 18hrs of drifting a lot in very strong winds.
Total distance covered from Victoria, B.C., to end of Day 198 (by daily DMGs):17,529 n.ml.
Distances (at 1900GMT): Cape Leeuwin LH (SW Australia): 701 n.ml. to NNW (513 n.ml. to WP due S of Cape - now passed); Melbourne (VIC, Aus): 819 n.ml. to ENE; SE Cape,Tasmania,LH: 882 n.ml. to ESE; SW Cape, NZ: 1750 n.ml ESE.
(571 n.ml. SE of Albany in W.Australia, 653 n.ml. WSW of Adelaide, S.Australia)
Position & weather report for 1900 GMT posted to www.Winlink.org and www.Shiptrak.org (using my US callsign KC2IOV):
TIME: 2019/04/19 19:00GMT LATITUDE: 41-08.81S LONGITUDE: 127-11.85E
COURSE: 091T SPEED: 2.8kt
WIND_SPEED: 40kt WIND_DIR: W SWELL_DIR: WNW SWELL_HT: 7.0m
BARO: 1000.1hPa TREND: 2 AIR_TEMP: 13.0C SEA_TEMP: 14.0C
COMMENT: Lying to JSD, drifting a lo
