Day 248 Fri-Sat 7-8 June 2019 GMT ... Repairs ongoing in Timaru
Please note - apologies, but emails are mostly not being replied to now in order to conserve battery power - a lot less power is needed to download them (please make them short) than to send replies to them. Many thanks to so many of you for sending supportive messages - they're much appreciated!
Saturday 9:45am NZT (Fri 2145 GMT) Wind less than the 24kt of earlier... down to 13-16kt now. Sun is shining... clouds clearing... Pressure has jumped up to 1000.5hPa from 996hPa two hours ago.
2:45pm Wind still strong - very gusty - often well over 20kt but down to 10kt in lulls.
Thinking about leaving - Magnus, Timaru Pilot, says the N wind forecast to follow this S-SW wind could come in anytime tomorrow from morning onward - no telling! So I'm thinking to leave just before midnight. I'll be able to check on conditions outside the harbour when Magnus goes out to guide in a couple of ships due to berth here tonight - 8pm and midnight
Have been busy improving the sail repair lower down... Some stitching and some patching with sail repair tape, now I've found the missing roll.
6pm Sunset was glorious, around 5pm,but I was too busy by then, clearing up down below, to be ready for possible passage-making tonight, to photograph it.
Was busy on deck all afternoon. Lashed boom to mast with sturdy Spectra line and spent rest of time repairing mainsail more with a mix of stitching and use of sticky-backed sail repair tape. Was unusual for the boat to be heeling as it was in the frequent strong gusts hitting us.
Just listened to the weather forecast for this area - Rangitata (named after nearby river). SW easing to 25kt tonight, becoming N 10kt by morning, then light variable...
7pm Chatted with Gordy - mainly about weather. As was finishing, got phone call from Pilot Magnus - to say wind was dying, so if I wanted to get away ... it was now or never! He said I had an hour to move away before a big ship was due to enter the port - I rushed to get ready, raise sails and drop the buoy mooring line - wind was definitely becoming very light but we just managed to drift very slowly N out of the harbour and avoid both the lit buoys and the incoming ship. Was essential to hand steer all the way until well away from the harbour entrance in the light and fickle wind.
10:20pm Very rolly in quite big swell and very little wind. Weather forecast said 25kt SW winds now - maybe more wind further out to sea... so not keen to head out any faster. Will see what tomorrow brings... just happy to have managed to get away from the port and be underway once more. But very many thanks to Timaru port, and to Magnus in particular, for their generosity in allowing me to lie to the buoy for as long as it took, while my repairs were being done.
Trying to head E now but it's a bit of a struggle in such light winds.
11:20pm NZT Wind has veered WNW so had to gybe the sails. A 6kt wind makes for difficult course-keeping...
Sunday 3am Lights of Timaru still visible astern under clear starry sky - setting crescent moon, looking large and deep yellow, hanging just above the town. Runnning generator for autopilot use - putting in lots of amps.... Great! Will need to keep a good eye on state of battery charge.
Wind better now - 10kt from WNW. Still slow - haven't yet shaken out third reef in mainsail that was used when leaving port. Will do that in daylight soon - no sign of any strong wind so no real need for third reef, but taking it easy...
7am Dawn light colouring the E sky - a little low cloud there but nowhere else. No sign of land now. Gentle conditions as we head E towards Chatham Islands in slowly increasing 15kt WNW wind. Swell a little less than earlier in the night. Feeling a little sad to be leaving Evans Bay in Timaru port and this part of New Zealand - some very kind people there who would have liked to have helped if they could - but understood they couldn't.
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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) - end of Day 248. We made 25 n.ml. DMG, since leaving Timaru, measured in a straight line between the two positions.
Total distance covered from Victoria, B.C., to end of Day 248 (by daily DMGs): 20,151 n.ml.
Distances (at 1900GMT): Timaru, S.Island, N.Z.: 25 n.ml to W; Chatham Islands, N.Z.: approx. 490 n.ml. to E.
Position, as posted to www.Winlink.org and www.Shiptrak.org (using my US callsign KC2IOV):
TIME: 2019/06/08 19:00GMT LATITUDE: 44-22.15S LONGITUDE: 171-50.95E
COURSE: 090T SPEED: 3.6kt
WIND_SPEED: 14kt WIND_DIR: WNW SWELL_DIR: SW SWELL_HT: 3.0m CLOUDS: 5%
BARO: 1007.7hPa TREND: -2 AIR_TEMP: 11.0C SEA_TEMP: 13.0C
COMMENT: Underway.Sailed off Timaru buoy 7:30pm -just enough wind.