December 7, 2018
Day 64
Noon Position: 44 25S 43 51W
Course(t)/Speed(kts): E 4
Wind(t/tws): SWxS 14
Sea(t/ft): SE 10
Sky: Clear here; a front moving in from the S, the next system
10ths Cloud Cover: 5
Bar(mb): 1008+, falling with purpose (1002+ as I type five hours later)
Cabin Temp(f): 59
Water Temp(f): 55 (warm)
Relative Humidity(%): 77
Sail: Working jib full; broad reach
Noon-to-Noon Miles Made Good (nm): 109
Miles since departure: 8650
Avg. Miles/Day: 135
My concern about today’s system moving in over yesterday’s sea was ill-founded. There was enough of a gap, and now we ride ...
Read More
Larry Cheek’s essay on not giving up sailing will strike a chord with any of us who are looking back at 60. Like it or not, there comes a time when, as Leonard Cohen put it, you “ache in the places where you used to play.” That’s no reason to quit, though. Sailboats, no matter their size, have never been easier to handle than they are now. Spars are lighter than ever and with modern fibers, so are ropes. Sails roll away in minutes. Sheets can be trimmed at the press of a button. Ground tackle that would give a ...
Read More
 |
| Abilash Tomy’s replica of Suhaili – now sunk |
I have followed the online comments about the rescue of Susie Goodall, some with bemusement and some with disdain. Before I explain let’s recap what happened. Susie Goodall, a 28 year old British sailor was competing in the https://goldengloberace.comGolden Globe Race when her yacht was pitchpoled in the Southern Ocean. The yacht was dismasted and in
...
Read More
#251. Rachel Slade is the acclaimed author of ‘Into the Raging Sea,’ the heartbreaking account of the sinking of the American merchant ship ‘El Faro.’ With a degree in political science from Barnard College and a Master of Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania, Rachel began her journalism career as the design editor at Boston magazine and moved up the masthead to executive editor. After a decade on staff, she became a full-time freelance writer in 2016. Incredibly, ‘Into the Raging Sea’ is her first book. Rachel & I discussed her background growing up on the water, her interest in ... Read More
Day 63
Time: 1600 local (gmt-3)
Position: 45 52S 44 18W
Only time for a post card tonight. Mo is working through the southerly arm of a low to the N. Forecast of 30 has built to a standing 35 to 45 with winds mostly over 40. SE is becoming slowly S wind and is creating a real witches brew of seas, which Mo handles with aplomb so far. But we don’t have the full S wind yet.
I carried the blow on the beam as log as was practical so as to keep a NE course. But for the ...
Read More
December 5, 2018
Day 62
Noon Position: 48 14S 45 52W
Course(t)/Speed(kts): NExE 7
Wind(t/tws): SE 20 – 23
Sea(t/ft): SE 5
Sky: Low and Gray
10ths Cloud Cover: 10
Bar(mb): 1012
Cabin Temp(f): 52
Water Temp(f): 50
Relative Humidity(%): 82
Sail: Three reefs in main and working jib. Close reaching.
Noon-to-Noon Miles Made Good (nm): 141
Miles since departure: 8403
Avg. Miles/Day: 136
If it were a merry-go-round, you’d gently step off and stand in the shade of that oak tree for a while. But it’s not. It’s the ocean; it’s the south, and your merry-go-round is a boat. ...
Read More
December, 2018
Day 61
Noon Position: 49 47S 48 33W
Course(t)/Speed(kts): ENE 7
Wind(t/tws): NWxW 20
Sea(t/ft): NW 3 and 8 (granddaddy swell under local small sea)
Sky: Cumulus and alto cumulus
10ths Cloud Cover: 9
Bar(mb): 1008+, steady
Cabin Temp(f): 59
Water Temp(f): 45
Relative Humidity(%): 70
Sail: Working genoa and main; one reef in main. A reach tending toward broad reach.
Noon-to-Noon Miles Made Good (nm): 152
Miles since departure: 8262
Avg. Miles/Day: 135
Steady winds continue from the NW, and on them we make steady progress. But that is about to change. Tonight wind will back a ...
Read More
Credit to the schooner Mary Day for lighting up Camden Harbor nights with her Christmas tree main-topmast, but yesterday Gizmo became the rare vessel equipped with four different solid-state Doppler pulse compression radars. Given the Simrad Halo24 announced in October, and the Raymarine Quantum 2 introduced last February, all four major marine navigation electronics brands now offer this valuable technology. And while the timing isn’t ideal, I’m excited about adding the two new radomes to the Garmin Fantom 24 and Furuno DRS4D-NXT Doppler models already being tested.
Navico (Simrad, B&G, and Lowrance) Halo24 radar underside
Actually, near-freezing air temperatures do ...
Read More
Hi Virtual Voyagers!
Yes, this post is not one of our usual posts. But we thought many of you would enjoy hearing from Randall for a change. The night before Randall set sail he made time to chat with one of our friends/advisors Matt Rutherford. Matt holds the honor of being the first person to non-stop through the North West Passage and sharing his epic single handing experience has been such a gift Randall in his preparations.
In the following interview you can hear Matt and Randall chat about his upcoming voyage. They talk at length about the perils of ...
Read More
December 3, 2018
Day 60
Noon Position: 50 54S 52 07W
Course(t)/Speed(kts): ENE+ 6+
Wind(t/tws): NWxN 12
Sea(t/ft): NW 2
Sky: Thin Stratus
10ths Cloud Cover: 2
Bar(mb): 1016, falling
Cabin Temp(f): 61
Water Temp(f): 43
Relative Humidity(%): 67
Sail: Main and working jib, full. Reaching.
Noon-to-Noon Miles Made Good (nm): 163
Miles since departure: 8110
Avg. Miles/Day: 135
After the Cape Horn rounding, my wife was kind enough to send me a slug of comments from the Figure 8 site. Many thanks to all you Virtual Voyagers for the support and congrats.
In those comments, I found a few ...
Read More
