Time to switch into a new time zone - geographically, we're now into GMT-9hr but I'll change straight into PDT, meaning a 3 hour (GMT-7, instead of GMT-8) time change due to summertime, so I'll be in sync with people in the 'Pacific NW' (B.C. and Washington/Oregon) and also California.
Monday 2:30pm LT = PDT (Mon 2130 GMT) Quite bright with sun getting through thin, broken cloud layer. Making excellent speed - seeing 8kt at times and averaging over 7.2kt, heading almost E. Small staysail and storm jib working well with full main - just eased the mainsheet a touch. Expect wind to become less and our speed with it at some point soon enough - so enjoying the speed while it happens.
Have spent the usual long time on looking over weather info and trying to second-guess weather ahead and different projected courses and speeds, as well as dealing with some emails - lots more to answer, though... Going to need to have a blitz on that, with lots of really brief replies to get up to date.
About to have a siesta while we speed along nicely. Wind will start veering later.
7pm PDT Light beginning to fade. Was getting more misty in the far distance as the afternoon wore on but nothing much. Now there are fine drops of moisture on the air and a very much reduced visibility - definitely looking and feeling more like fog.
Wind has veered a little and is dropping - we're making ~6kt now and no longer speeding along at ~7kt or more - had to ease the mainsheet for a broad reach.
Enjoying a mug of tea after a good helping of my beans, ham & tomatoes concoction. Not sure what to call it - rather too thick and 'hearty' for a soup but not a stew. I'm inclined towards 'broth' but that's probably just another word for a (thick?) soup. Maybe I should stick with 'thick, hearty soup'?
The time change to PDT isn't affecting me unduly - I'm used to going by GMT (=UTC) anyway for most important things over the day - weather downloads, position reporting, radio scheds etc. Breakfast is usually rather erratic in timing, tending to be, until very recently, after posting the daily reports, and a meal later on has usually been in response to feeling hungry or seeing that it's about to get dark or the sun is about to set, rather than at a set time. Changing time zones so often on this trip has resulted in a lot of flexibility needed in that respect.
8:40pm Still daylight although very dull - a sign of being rather far ahead now in "ship's clock time". Fog seems to have lifted - maybe it will drop down later? Wind a lot less - speed down to ~5.2kt now. Just checked in to Pacific Seafarers Net: 0310 GMT = 8:10pm PDT
Tuesday 1:30am PDT (Tues 0830 GMT) Just finished a long, chatty ham radio session (after some sleep beforehand!) - mainly VK (Australia) stations but also Oregon (USA), New Zealand and Fiji - good propagation around this time on the 40m band. Really great to make contact with so many sending good wishes now we're so close to finishing... Thanks to all of you!
2:30am Wind definitely dying - now only making around 3kt.
8:30am Foggy and everything dripping wet again but, hopefully, will dry out later if fog lifts.
Only 450 n.ml. from Cape Flattery - that would normally equate to around four days of sailing (i.e. arrival on Saturday, if averaging 5kt, which would have been perfect timing!) - but we're creeping along at only ~2.5kt. We've slowed down even more than earlier but at least we are moving due E in a straight line, more or less.
Cargo vessel 'Lord Byron' passed about 4ml to N some time ago, on way to Singapore - ETA is 19th Sept.
Found these position reports amusing - noted today in my Winlink folder. We moved 20 ml in about 7hrs overnight... (and we're still slowing down...!):
TIME: 2019/08/27 09:55 GMT TIME: 2019/08/27 16:48 GMT
LATITUDE: 48-16.22N LATITUDE: 48-17.79N
LONGITUDE: 136-45.07W LONGITUDE: 136-15.61W
COURSE: 090T COURSE: 090T
SPEED: 3.5kt SPEED: 2.3kt
COMMENT: Slowing down - High ahead. COMMENT: Slowed right down - High ahead.
11:30am Enjoying a fresh coffee after clearing up in the galley. Used fresh water from water-maker and water pressure was good while generator was running and freshwater pump was working fine. Brighter now fog has lifted but sun struggling to get out from behind cloud layer...
Sails are slack - moving every which way with the swell and not able to do much in such light wind. Wind generator blades have been still for several hours... Managed to change our drift from ESE to ENE - don't want to lose any Northing if I can help it... Making ~1.5kt - DMG today will not be very good, despite excellent speed this time yesterday onward - c'est la vie! ... Que sera, sera!
ETA: ...?? Tell me! (Or ask the weather gods...)
DTF: Victoria Hbr (Ogden Pt breakwater): 515 n.ml.; Cape Flattery (~60n.ml. from Victoria Hbr entrance): 455 n.ml to E
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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, 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!
(I hear that some readers might need to talk to their bank BEFORE trying to make a donation to the RNLI since many US banks routinely block foreign transactions unless
they are notified in advance.)
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1900GMT = midday PDT (Pacific Daylight Time) - end of Day 328. We made 108 n.ml. DMG, measured in a straight line between the two 1900GMT positions. Really excellent speed over y'day morning: ~7kt. Great shame the wind died so it couldn't be kept up.
Position, as posted to www.Winlink.org and www.Shiptrak.org (using my US callsign KC2IOV):
TIME: 2019/08/27 19:00GMT LATITUDE: 48-17.64N LONGITUDE: 136-09.91W
COURSE: 086T SPEED: 1.5kt
WIND_SPEED: 5kt WIND_DIR: SW SWELL_DIR: SW SWELL_HT: 1.4m CLOUDS: 100%
BARO: 1020.5hPa TREND: 0 AIR_TEMP: 22.0C SEA_TEMP: 22.0C
COMMENT: Slowed right down - in High pressure... Headwinds soon...!