5pm Tuesday 27th June
Oh well - another day of regular 0.0 kn Boatspeed and Wind displays & rocking & rolling going nowhere. And just to tease me, 2-10 minutes of nice wind three times over the day - just enough to get me all excited and trim the sails frantically thinking that at last I was getting out of my 'hole'!
Just had another mug of hot soup as I gazed out on the big swells coming across a smooth grey sea, surrounded and topped by white fog & cloud. The sails are flapping around again - every time I change things the whisper of wind swings around to the opposite direction & backs the sails - change again. Or take the genoa in and leave things alone for a bit, waiting for better wind - don't like to do that - feels too much like giving up! The swell increases the problem - I have the preventer on the main to stop it swinging & banging around in the swell - so that's another thing to change on each change of tack. My finger tips are quite smooth & shiny from all the rope handling! Not much chance to relax in these conditions - unlike when the winds are constant (at least in direction).
Have played a lot of music - especially Bob Marley: "Don't Worry About a Thing" (- 'cause every little thing's going to be all right) & "Don't Give Up the Fight" !!! Thought of singing first one to the fleet at rollcall (even got out my guitar to try out accompaniment) - but may pass on that! Good for dancing to (I've got a tiny dance floor on 'Nereida' between the galley & chart table!)
I'm still managing to keep to my WSW rhumbline course - weatherfaxes show winds offshore west of SF but nothing inshore tomorrow so getting west is vital just now. Then need to get south if possible as the expected high develops in its 'usual' place from late Wed to Thurs on. Maybe being here may turn into a good thing if it puts me just on the edge of the new High ie with a good gradient to give reasonable winds down to Hawaii. Have to stay optimistic!!
No more chats to the rest of the 'back pack' - they're too far ahead to be within VHF range.
The fog has closed in now to within 5-10 boatlengths. I try not to look at the COG when we're drifting like this - it usually shows me going NE at anything up to 1.3knots! AIS has been so useful - shows me boats nearby but also means I can use the radar much less, meaning a big saving in power consumption.
The good news today is that I finally figured out why my charger for the main PC has been so erratic - sometimes OK, frequently off - turns out the plug adapter was faulty (and rated at too few amps) - changed it for another and - hey presto! - 'nada mas problema' .
Just saw 4 knots of wind - must go & see if I can coax us into the right direction! Then it's time for a good meal before rollcall at 9pm.
Cheers,
Jeanne
"Nereida"
In the floppy Pacific, too close to SF & shore