Thursday 6 March 2014

Nongsa Outboutnd Afternoon Day 4

Hi everyone,
This evening we are motoring SE at a steady 4.5 knots. There's a very light NW wind of about 4 knots, so there's not much apparent wind at all! We are at 02 30.2S 109 05.4E where the sea is pretty flat, the horizon is very hazy and there are a few ships about but none close by at present. We're hoping to see some stars tonight - they always make night watches more interesting and cheerful.

This morning we motored for 5 hours. After that we sailed, making 2 to 3 knots of boat speed until mid-afternoon when the wind died further and we couldn't get more than a knot of boat speed. So the engine went on at 1500 and has been on since.

We stuck to the sailing for the first 300nm and were lucky to have good sailing conditions for so long. We now have about 600nm to go to Bali, which is about the range we have with the fuel onboard. We'd like one day's decent sailing to keep some "insurance" in the tank but are in a good position fuel-wise overall. The engine is running very well and the insulation panels fitted at Nongsa were certainly worth the effort.

Each day we have a short "happy hour" at the 1500 watch change. Today we had crackers and our last fresh tomato, with a soft drink. At the 1800 watch change we normally have a cooked meal but tonight we went straight to dessert and each had a large bowl of pineapple pieces which we had pre-chilled in the fridge. They were excellent. Funny how food becomes so important on a boat and small treats are relished!

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