Tuesday 8am Generator on, watermaker running and updates being done - still sailing ENE, although trying to head NNE - wind direction not helpful.
Albatross and Cape Petrel came and rested in the water beside the boat as I adjusted sails before - perfect camera shot - but no camera to hand just then ... :-( They looked expectant, as though hoping for me to throw them some food. Lovely to see them so close up.
Trying to head up the coast while getting on with repairs - keep having to interrupt for sail trim or to adjust course. Swell not very much, which is helpful.
Big weather system coming by over weekend - looking into stopping in a harbour up the coast not too far away to finish repairs safely but the N winds forecast will not make heading N very easy.
Midday Just noticed we were heading WSW with wind change - gybed around and we're now heading NNW at 3.5kt Pressure is well down at 990.9hPa - deep Low approaching. Glad I'm not in the Tasman Sea right now!
12:30pm Generator oil is being drained, ready for refilling with fresh - badly needs it.
Have been speaking to Colin, trying to troubleshoot plotter wiring problem. All taking a time but has to be done.
1pm On deck to deal with sails and course... Saw five Cape Petrels resting together in the sea nearby and an albatross near the boat also. Wind has died so they have to work harder when flying - not much gliding possible...
2:25pm Just spoke to the Commodore, Kevin Murdoch, of the N.Otago Yacht and Powerboat Club in Oamaru Hbr about coming in and picking up a buoy (under sail) in the harbour sometime over the next day or so in order to get my repairs done. I've had to gain permission from both NZ Customs and Quarantine to do so. Has meant quite a lot of phoning around but finally has turned out OK - thanks to all concerned. I just have to get there first - presently almost no wind and difficult to keep a course.
Replacing genset oil, then back to plotter/instruments wiring problems.
8:30pm Celebrating another big step forward in my repairs with a small glass of wine - plotter is NOT dead, nor is circuit-breaker! Just needed an expert like Robert Galley in Glencairn, near Simon's Town, S.Africa, to take me through a few steps to test out what was the root cause of the problem - the cockpit instrument circuit turned into the answer. Once taken out of the equation, plotter and circuit-breaker work fine... Now I need to get the cockpit instruments powered up as stand-alones, off the Seatalk bus - I'd like to have wind info especially - in doing that, I'll try to see whether it's an individual display or a wiring run that's giving the problem. Thanks a lot, Robert! I'm feeling so much happier and positive tonight.... Tomorrow, I'll try to track down a possible dud battery. If I can find that and take it out of the battery bank, that should improve the charging situation tremendously.
Heading SSE at moment - light wind from NE is making it difficult to head N as I'd like to. But there's supposed to be a SW wind later tonight so that will allow us to head NE - to Oamaru Hbr to complete our repairs
Wednesday 1am NZT (Tues 1300GMT) Brilliant stars in a very clear sky after rain has cleared away. Southern Cross high up, Milky Way clear to see ... no moon yet.
Wind is up and from SSW, so we're making good speed due N at 5kt after furling in some genoa to slow us down a touch from the 5.5-6kt we were making. Need to get just N of latitude of Oamaru Hbr but do not want to go too far N.
Batteries are getting a good charge from the Superwind in the stronger wind conditions.
2am Wind has died down a bit - to 15 kt, perhaps? Speed down to 4-4.5 kt - we're due E of Oamaru now 20 n.ml. off, so any more northing is a bonus - expecting N wind later, around midday.
4:20am Course change to WSW to head for a point just N of Oamaru Hbr - about 22 ml away. Hoping the forecast N wind comes up later in the morning. Clear, starry sky, with half-moon shining high astern, reflecting in slight waves, and low cloud layer near E and S horizons. Rolling about in the slight well. Back to my bunk...
7am Wind beginning to veer - will go W before ending up from N - none of which is very helpful for heading WNW, as we need, to get to Oamaru.
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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 237. We made very little distance again, over the 24hr period, since mainly trying to get N slowly, NE of Dunedin, in light wind, getting work done and wanting arrival at a point well N of Oaramu hbr entrance around midday..
Total distance covered from Victoria, B.C., to end of Day 237 (by daily DMGs): 19,963 n.ml. up to last distance calculation (on Day 233) + an unknown amount - but not much! Will be updated next time - now have plotter avaialble to do it!
Distances (at 1900GMT): Oamaru harbur: 20 n.ml.Dunedin, South Island, NZ: 59 n.ml. to SW.
Position & weather report for 2000 GMT, posted to www.Winlink.org and www.Shiptrak.org (using my US callsign KC2IOV):
TIME: 2019/05/28 19:00GMT LATITUDE: 45-01.33S LONGITUDE: 171-28.58E
COURSE: 258T SPEED: 2.0kt
WIND_SPEED: 6kt WIND_DIR: SSE SWELL_DIR: S SWELL_HT: 1.5m CLOUDS: 10%
BARO: 990.9hPa TREND: 2 AIR_TEMP: 14.0C SEA_TEMP: 14.0C
COMMENT: Heading for Oamaru Hbr to complete repairs