Sunday 25th November 2012
Found yet another two good-sized flying fish in the cockpit this morning!
The day started like so many recently - rough seas and almost total light-grey cloud cover, broken midday by some hot sun which didn't last long. But eventually, by late afternoon, the sky had almost completely cleared and we were in bright sunshine - with a near-full moon all set to shine brightly tonight.... Sea temperature today was a consistent 30.6C, ending at 30.1C by this evening - well down on the 33C of yesterday.
Wind has stayed around 15kt, gusting up and down a bit from ESE-E, with continuing 2.5-3m seas, steep at times, that we're heading into on a close reach - so still not comfortable! The Equatorial current is W-flowing and still affecting our course, but with the wind having backed slowly to East, we're closer to making our preferred S course now, with a COG of 185-190T by this evening.
Equator-crossing is looking likely to be very early on Monday, during darkness hours, not long before dawn - around 1200GMT/4a.m.PST. Will have to postpone the main party to daytime - but will thank Poseidon/Neptune with a toast and a tipple once we're safely over the line....
24hr DMG at 3pm: 108 n.ml. Golden Gate Bridge 2214 n.ml. & Strait of Juan de Fuca 2860 n.ml. away at 3pm & our position was then 1424 ml. from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The Equator was 61 n.ml. due S and the Galapagos Islands, 1675 n.ml. to the E, with Hiva Oa, in the Iles Marquises of French Polynesia, our closest land at 1321ml off, to theSW. I could be there by early December if I changed course!!
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For my daily position and track:
See my website's 'Travels' page - go to www.svnereida, open 'Travels', then click on "Where is Nereida?"
http://www.exactearth.com/media-centre/recent-ship-tracks/tracking-nereida/ - courtesy 'exactEarth' using their polar-orbiting satellites - good everywhere, especially nearer the poles, i.e. should be good when in the Southern Ocean.
http://oceantracker.net?event=nereida - courtesy "Oceantracker' using geo-stationary satellites with good coverage until level with Valparaiso, Chile, probably.... Then coverage again from 1000ml WSW of Australia, onward to past New Zealand...