At noon today we were at 13 03N 076 16W steering 220M, sailing under 2 reefs and 1 furl at 5.5 knots. The wind was 18G22 from the ENE. Our noon to noon distance over the ground was 149nm. Distance to go was 274nm. A little more than a Fremantle to Geraldton.
RTOFS Ocean Current Prediction
Yesterday afternoon we gybed to the WNW. This was to avoid strong winds and less positive current in our path. Once we got back into the SW-flowing current (visible in the GRIB file above) the sea state improved and we were out of the stronger wind. Our friend on OCC sv White Malkin went straight through and reported "a blowy night for sure" this morning. He gained about 30nm on us but sustained some damage.
We gybed back to the SW at 0300 this morning and were then doing a steady 7+ knots over the ground, with over a knot of current helping us along. That's persisted all morning - nice!
Last night we had another HF/SSB "impromptu" net. We spoke with OCC sv Metzi in Sint Maarten and OCC sv Altimate in Cuba. This morning we took part in both Coconut and Cruzheimer's HF/SSB nets. Both net controllers reported a strong signal from us which is always good to hear.
Some evenings we're manually sending a position report into the Amateur Radio HF/SSB APRS system. For the hams we're doing so using JS8Call. You can view this alternate set of position reports at aprs.fi which is in addition to the much more reliable position reports via our Zoleo satellite communicator to PredictWind (link at the top-right of this page).
As we close the coast the weather is becoming more cloudy and the air more humid. Currently hazy and overcast with small cumulus under thin mid-level stratus.
Trust all's well where you are.
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