2007-06-18

One of the great things about onboard HF email is that we can get weather
maps known as grib files. They are surface wind projections, and really
have been pretty accurate, and helpful in deciding which course to lay when
conditions won't allow us to follow the rhumb line. But like all
predictions, they aren't perfect. We were supposed to have about 7 knots
SSW from yesterday right thru today. Well, a couple hours before dark we
had to drop the spinnaker because it won't stand up in less than about 4
knots wind, and we didn't have that. By midnight we had the outboard idling
in gear to maintain steerage way. That let us take advantage of the few
little puffs of breeze that did come along, but the whole night only gave us
a total of 18 miles. Then at dawn it filled in from the east at about 8
knots, and there it stayed all day. Too high a point of sail to use the
spinnaker, but a nice comfortable reach with all plain sail up, for about
4.5 knots average. Quite pleasant.
It was an odd radio day. We're too close to Fiji now to get good
reception on the Rag of the Air. The 8 megahertz signal just skips right
over us on its way to the ionosphere. So we made contact thru a relay with
George in Opua NZ back to Jim in Fiji. Lower frequencies have shorter skip
angles, so I had Jim come up on a 4 megahertz frequency after the Rag was
over, and we had a good conversation about how the Also Island business was
going, and what the power cat I'm drawing should have for capabilities.
We're both anxious to start that project. Then, at 3:00 PM we came up for
the Pacific Seafarers rollcall, to find that there was no land station on
frequency qualified to be net control. Turns out they were all away for
fathers day functions. But that was to our advantage, as Don got his rig
tuned up perfectly in Canton Ohio, and we had a pretty good contact for
about 10 minutes on the Seafarers frequency. I know it was hard work for
Don to hear our weak little signal on his end, but he got most of it, and
his signal was booming in. Right after we talked I finished what I hope
will be a better antenna for that frequency, and I'm back to thinking about
getting a little signal amplifier. There's just something magic about
having a conversation with a friend halfway around the planet using a couple
of little black boxes.
I'm pleased to say that the onset of darkness hasn't hurt the wind much.
It's swung a bit more north of east, so it's now forward of the beam, giving
the boat a bit more of a lurch as it bucks the waves. But boatspeed is
about the same, 5 knots, and the wind generator has higher windspeed over
the deck, so we're charging enough that I doubt I'll have to start the gas
generator tonite. That's a blessing. All is well at 20 degrees, 10 minutes
south and 179 degrees east. Ted