Sunday 10:20am New blade is now in place on wind generator - and it's putting in charge! Sat on top of the stern arch supports to do it and hugged the pole! Wasn't so bad and didn't take long.... Managed it just as the wind suddenly started to get up, so only just in time.
I had to lash the radar in place firmly to stop the top of that pole and all its antennas etc from moving about. Will need to keep a good eye on the lashing to make sure it keeps doing a good job.
11:15am Grey sky and NNW wind. We're underway, headed NE with mainsail hoisted! Of course, the halyard had got caught around some mast steps near the mast top but didn't take too long to free. Pity about the torn area at the leech lower down, meaning I can't raise the sail beyond third reef - but definitely better than nothing! As soon as I can, I'll add some 'tabling' to the sticky-backed sail-repair tape I've stuck there on both sides as a temporary fix.
Still have no plotter or speed/depth/wind - the circuit-breaker 'pops' every time I try to switch on so I need to find an alternative source of power to get them working again.
A dark-grey-winged albatross was flying around as we moved off and the wind generator is spinning happily and putting in a few amps over and above the autopilot consumption - nice to see!
Time for breakfast... and I must get some sleep soon - really missed out on that with the charging problem happening well before dawn.
Midday, and I think the wind is less now - I definitely miss the Wind display!
Contacted MRCC NZ to update them on situation on board.
Need to replace circuit breaker/switch with a fresh switched/fused power supply.
I have some paper charts but they're not very detailed.
Have been working on replacing the circuit breaker/switch with a fresh switched/fused power supply to the plotter.
Cape petrels flying around frequently, along with the usual lone albatross - always coming close as though inquisitive to see what's going on.
6pm Bad news - think I killed my plotter... :-( ... and possibly the other instruments also, although maybe I can get them going as 'stand-alones' if I can power them up separately, away from the Seatalk bus. In checking how to power the plotter up, I touched a live supply - not a good idea unless you're about to throw it away in the bin anyway - which was not my plan.... Now that I've made up a nice combination of switch and in-line fuse, it turns out, on testing with power supply turned on , that nothing happens - no plotter or any other instrument display... Extremely annoying to think I could have been so careless - otherwise I think the plotter would have been working now.
So glad I found the missing mainsail slide-track stop - meant I could hoist the mainsail and get underway far sooner than expected, although present very light and/or N wind doesn't make for progress NE.
Spoke to Meri who runs Bluff Fishermen's Radio. She asked my for my posn ad COG/SOG details. If she's in contact with a fishing vessel nearby, she'll make sure they know I'm close to them.
8:50pm Light rain and no wind - have furled in genoa while we drift around. Spoke to Tapo Maritime Radio a short while ago and they confirmed no traffic anywhere nearby. They're keeping an eye on 'Nereida' on their AIS screen - nice to know, when I'm drifting in no wind...!
To my bunk for some long-overdue sleep - have had none since well before dawn.
Monday 5am NZT (Sun 5pm GMT) Some wind has arrived from NNW - we're 10 ml SE of Dunedin on the Otago Peninsula.. Unfurled genoa and now making abut 2.5 kt sailing upwind, making a NE course - headed offshore. Wind generator putting in a slight net charge over autopilot (AP) use.
Back to my bunk for a little more sleep.
6:15am Unable to keep NE course - wind must have veered a little - making due E now... Back for half an hour of more sleep...
7am Lovely line of orange light getting under cloud layer in east - stil dark but dawn not far away. Making course slightly to N of E now - wind must have backed a tad.
Busy posting updates and getting weather downloads. Emailing minimal via radio now - please do not expect replies very soon - radio use being kept to absolute minimum to conserve battery power.
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While sailing around the world, I'm trying to raise funds to help support the superb life-saving work done by the RNLI (Lifeboats) in Britain each and every day of the year, regardless how bad the weather. In fact, the worse it is, the more likely they are out there, helping someone in distress - whether a swimmer, surfer, small boat or big ship, night or day, summer or winter. They are all volunteers with normal day-jobs who respond immediately to a call and it is a charity - no government funding - so they rely on our help to fund their intensive training and maintain their equipment.
It would be great if you would take a moment to click on the Lifeboats link here (https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Jeanne-Socrates2), if you'd like to show your support for my efforts at sailing solo, nonstop, unassisted around the globe, trying to set a World Record as the oldest person to do so, by donating something towards the great work the RNLI do every day. If a lot of people put in even a small amount, it all adds up... Thanks a lot! If you can help, it will be very much appreciated. Let's see if we can reach my target!
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1900GMT (= 7 a.m. NZT, 12 hrs on) - end of Day 235. We made very little distance over the 24hr period, since mainly drifting around, well S of Dunedin, in light wind, getting work done
Total distance covered from Victoria, B.C., to end of Day 235 (by daily DMGs): 19,963 n.ml. up to last report (Day 233) + an unknown amount - but not much!
Distances (at 1900GMT): Dunedin, South Island, NZ: 20 n.ml. to NNE. (No others easily avilable without plotter working)
Position & weather report for 1900 GMT, posted to www.Winlink.org and www.Shiptrak.org (using my US callsign KC2IOV):
TIME: 2019/05/26 19:03GMT LATITUDE: 45-56.62S LONGITUDE: 171-01.51E
COURSE: 070T SPEED: 2.5kt
WIND_SPEED: 10kt WIND_DIR: NNW SWELL_DIR: SW SWELL_HT: 1.5m CLOUDS: 95%
BARO: 999.9hPa TREND: -2 AIR_TEMP: 14.0C SEA_TEMP: 14.0C
COMMENT: N-NNW wind again, after drifting in no wind most of night - dawn light starting
