Skippers log #42
42 40s 155 36e at 11:45 GMT
Thanks for turning the fan on. Now lets rotate the wind 60 degrees left and increase its strength a bit. I have head winds and not able to make my course, but that is fine, as I needed to get a little bit east before making a northeast heading. The reason is that the high pressure systems have been centered more in the Tasman Sea, and I want to skirt around the bottom then the right hand side to keep the wind. Minoru was becalmed last night as I kept moving. Today he was doing 5 knots, when I was doing 7 knots, and I was able to pull back what I had lost to him. He now leads me by about 60 miles. The windvane steered, so I had my hands free to rest. I read and spent some time behind the computer, then fixed potatoes for dinner. On deck I noticed hundreds of terns circling. Never seen such a flock before. There is no shipping out here. I am thinking about going fishing tomorrow. See what lurks here.
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Skippers log #43
41 59s 158 49e at 10:00 GMT with 1,050 miles to go.
The wind has gone light in the Tasman parking lot, and I have found myself a parking space. Time to blow again, friends. It worked last time. The sky is clear. I can clearly see the Southern Cross, the Big Dipper and Orion's Belt. It has just gone dark, and more stars are appearing. Its the kind of night to see shooting stars and satellites streaking across the horizons. I hope I will not be up all night as I can do with a good series of naps and not have to nurse the boat. My satphone is giving trouble and I am not able to complete calls before it shuts down. Sometimes I can't even make calls. It is a problem with my antenna and beyond my scope on board. I put out a fishing line today. Maybe there is something fresh lurking out here. Neil's Bait and Tackle on John's Island, SC said that the hooks are real sharp and we will see what bites. I only need a half pounder. Nothing big.
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Skippers log #43
41 41s 159 37e at 16:15 GMT
I have just had a mid-ocean collision with some kind of floating object. It is middle of the night, pitch dark on deck with no moon with 12-14 knots wind and a calm sea. 30 minutes ago I went down for a nap, and was rudely awaken by a radical change in motion and noise of a dull thud. My instant thought was that we had run hard aground. The collision stopped this vessel in its tracks. At the time we were doing between 6 and 7 knots. Contents in the galley were thrown off the stove. I do not know what we hit, but whatever it was, was big enough and heavy enough to stop a 7,000 kg boat instantly. I have surveyed the boat as best as I can in the dark and can see no evidence of damage. I will continue sailing and re-survey the boat at first light. I do not appear to be in any danger.
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Skippers log #44
40 48s 160 52e at 10:45 GMT
Last nights collision has left me with damage below the water line. At dawn this morning I surveyed the situation. At the water line on the bow is a bit missing. Whatever I hit was a large solid object. I am taking some water, but conditions are very calm and the flow is minimal. I will have to come out of the water in Auckland. This is a nuisance as I was not planning to lift out. It is a posibility that it was a semi-submerged container crate, but I have no way to confirm this. I am the third vessel in our fleet to have hit something in the Tasman Sea. For a sea with very little shipping, this is bad. I have not seen much signs of pollution as I did in the Atlantic. I have had no wind today, drifting with my light asymmetrical spinnaker, the one with the Netcare logo on it, flown off the bowsprit set. I have not seen more than 4 knots of wind in the last 10 hours, and much of the time is is zero. Minoru has the same conditions, 14 miles to my northeast. At least in these conditions, my feet have fully recovered. Today was warm enough to strip completely for the first time in 6 weeks. I spent the day in the cockpit trying to coax some speed out of my boat. The best I have been able to do is 3 knots for 10 minutes, then drifted for hours. My phone is not letting me make calls, which is most frustrating. I was hoping for a Sunday arrival, but that is out of the window now. I'll get there when I get there. I did go fishing, only to have something break the like this afternoon. So there is fish here, but stronger than my 25 lb tackle. Will set another line tomorrow. I saw a sunfish and a dolphin, plus there are many birds circling. A few small fish jumped around.
