Calms, Whales and Headwinds
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Noon position: 38 12.3 S 148 00.4
E The highlight of yesterday was a visit by two humpback whales just after midday who came right up to Sylph while we lay becalmed and drifting. They were clearly curious as to what Sylph was, perhaps suspecting that she may have been one of them, but after an hour of swimming around her, some tail slapping, and one of them even 'spy-hopping', that is sticking its head out of the water for a good look around, they presumably determined that Sylph was not going to join them so they continued on their way. And a short while later, a small breeze arrived and we were able to set some sail and get old Sylph moving once more. The breeze was out of the east and we worked our way to the north to be close to the coast anticipating the wind to freshen from the NE. But overnight the wind fell light and variable again, and while I was able to keep Sylph moving for most of the night roughly in the right direction, overall we lost ground due to a west setting current of about one knot.As dawn approached the wind at last started to freshen and by mid forenoon it had picked up to a moderate to fresh breeze. Expecting it to freshen further in the afternoon, I put a reef in the main and furled the jib down to 80%. We have been tacking against the now fresh headwind, trying to avoid getting too close to the oil rigs though it seems each time I tack the wind shifts just a bit and we end up heading straight for one. Hopefully we won't get into any trouble for getting too close to them. Since 1000 we have been on the starboard tack, heading NNW, giving up some distance in order to close the coast again and get a bit of shelter from the land. This seems to be working with the seas remaining relatively flat in the fresh breeze. I figure we will make up the distance lost when we tack back onto port with increased speed in the smoother seas and, more importantly, the ride should be a lot more comfortable. This evening the wind is forecast to back into the NW which will mean a nice beam reach along the Victorian coastline until we reach Gabo Island, where I estimate we will arrive sometime tomorrow afternoon. By then we should have strong W'ly winds (a gale warning has been issued for tomorrow) which means we should continue to enjoy a lee from the land as we turn to the north and hopefully make good speed up the NSW coast. At this stage if conditions are not too uncomfortable I intend to continue up the east coast until conditions become less than tolerable, at which time I will see where we are and pull in somewhere appropriate. All is well. |