11/03/2022 Day 18
Latitude 55 45.79S
Longitude 171 07.75E
Barometer 996
Air Temp 7C
Hi all,
Well things have been progressing well here as I am increasing my lead ahead of Fedor and catching up on my old position from the 2017 record. The forecast was showing that I would get caught by that lull last night and while the winds had eased for a few hours I had enough winds to keep a steady boat speed, which was great. The winds moved from the west to the north and then all the way around to the east from around 4am onwards so while I actually managed to get to bed before midnight, I didn't managed to get a long sleep in but I must have gotten more than I have in other nights because even though I was up and down a few times from 4am I actually felt slightly refreshed for the first time in a while. Not fully rested but getting up wasn't such a chore this morning.
That was until I poked my head outside and took stock of the weather. I have been quietly hoping that this lull was going to give me blue skies and sunshine, instead I managed to get dense fog, and air so moist that I was instantly damp as soon as I ventured outside. It was not the sunshine I had placed an order for and given that I am so far south at the moment the temperature is dropping every day, I decided to spend a little of today hibernating inside where it was 3 degrees warmer...
Now that the winds were blowing from the east and I was trying to sail east it meant that I was now sailing close hauled. The winds were still 10-15 knots which meant that I was creating enough apparent winds that we were leaning over quite a lot. Close hauled sailing means that the sails are in as close or tight as you can get them, and the boat ends up leaning over on a rough 40-degree angle and sailing like that. The jobs list I had planned for today was going to be 10 times more difficult due to the winds, so I ended up postponing them until tomorrow. The winds are expected to back around tomorrow morning and move from the East to the North and finally to the west. When this happens, I can ease the sails out and the boat should be fairly flat making my jobs list a lot easier to achieve.
After my normal chores, I found myself curled up in a ball in the navigation station reading a good book. I think it had just been the reset button that I needed. For dinner tonight I made my 'solo sailors' version of comfort food. Using a wrap I add some vegan cheese in the centre, two tablespoons of baked beans and some more cheese, salt and pepper and then I fold it up into a pocket before slowly toasting it in the frypan, this becomes a melted cheesy gooey pocket of deliciousness that I am sure that this sounds horrible to you land lubbers but it hits the spot nicely out here on the high seas. I call them pizza pockets.
So now I am full and slightly warm, and I am about to heat up the hot water bottle before jumping into bed. Before I go, I would like to take a moment to thank the degree sponsors for your support.
There is only one degree sponsor tonight.
170 East - SV Laylah II - so a huge thank you to Karen and Pete for your support. I met this cruising couple in Albany and they became a part of the welcome party and ended up becoming a sponsor of the trip so thank you for believing in my voyage.
Goodnight all.
A NOTE FROM MUM
Hello All,
So, for all those who have been asking and waiting patiently, the Limited Edition Beanies are now available in Lisa’s shop. She went to great lengths to source these. They are Australian Made from 100% Marino Wool of natural colour.. Each Beanie features a badge for ANTARCTICA 2022.. These are a great memento or gift for anyone living and breathing Lisa’s journey alongside her.
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