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Monday, March 9, 2026

Pacific Ocean, 789NM SSW of Catalinia

We finally hit the proper convergence zone, and so the night went with fickle winds, heavy rain, and some thunder in the distance.

What a difference the hard dodger and the new backdrop make in these conditions! One could sit on watch outside, and stay perfectly dry!

By midmorning the sky cleared, and we could actually enjoy some sailing with the wind on the beam. Now approaching dinner time we reached the next calm patch, and this time we decided to punch through it under engine power.



From the logbook

Time Position Course Speed Log Weather Remarks
09.03. 0:00 Z 1°11'0"S 85°9'4"W 312° 2.1kt 13609.5NM wind 3.3kt 204° baro 1007 hPa Autopilot deactivated
09.03. 0:00 Z 1°11'0"S 85°9'4"W 325° 2.6kt 13609.5NM wind 3.2kt 193° baro 1007 hPa Autopilot activated
09.03. 0:06 Z 1°10'54"S 85°9'14"W 314° 1.1kt 13609.8NM wind 4.4kt 236° baro 1007 hPa Autopilot deactivated
09.03. 0:06 Z 1°10'54"S 85°9'15"W 321° 2.6kt 13609.8NM wind 3.6kt 205° baro 1007 hPa Autopilot activated
09.03. 0:25 Z 1°10'35"S 85°9'47"W 309° 1.7kt 13610.4NM wind 2.2kt 234° baro 1007 hPa Autopilot deactivated
09.03. 0:27 Z 1°10'33"S 85°9'49"W 273° 0.3kt 13610.5NM wind 5.6kt 263° baro 1007 hPa Autopilot activated
09.03. 0:29 Z 1°10'34"S 85°9'48"W 178° 1.2kt 13610.5NM wind 3.6kt 242° baro 1007 hPa Autopilot deactivated
09.03. 0:29 Z 1°10'34"S 85°9'48"W 188° 1.1kt 13610.5NM wind 4.4kt 246° baro 1007 hPa Autopilot activated
09.03. 0:30 Z 1°10'35"S 85°9'48"W 201° 1.6kt 13610.5NM wind 4.6kt 245° baro 1007 hPa Port side tack for a change
09.03. 1:00 Z 1°11'24"S 85°9'58"W 172° 2kt 13611.3NM wind 6.3kt 236° baro 1007 hPa Hourly position log
09.03. 1:25 Z 1°12'13"S 85°10'13"W 206° 2.2kt 13612.2NM wind 5.6kt 258° baro 1008 hPa Running lights didn't automatically come on and the overide didn't work either. Took me an hour to notice with all the babysitting Nipa. They are on now.
09.03. 1:29 Z 1°12'21"S 85°10'16"W 200° 2.8kt 13612.4NM wind 5.6kt 251° baro 1008 hPa Restarted the shelly2 plugin to fix Shelly connectivity with Signal K
09.03. 1:43 Z 1°12'53"S 85°10'26"W 204° 2.3kt 13612.9NM wind 4.9kt 266° baro 1008 hPa Autopilot deactivated. Starbuck on.
09.03. 1:59 Z 1°13'25"S 85°10'31"W 284° 2.8kt 13613.6NM wind 16.3kt 166° baro 1008 hPa Sails down, motoring
09.03. 2:00 Z 1°13'26"S 85°10'32"W 303° 1.3kt 13613.6NM wind 16kt 169° baro 1008 hPa Hourly position log
09.03. 2:05 Z 1°13'29"S 85°10'42"W 264° 3.1kt 13613.8NM wind 12.7kt 164° baro 1008 hPa Motor stopped, sailing with Main, Genoa 1
09.03. 2:09 Z 1°13'33"S 85°11'0"W 240° 3.7kt 13614.1NM wind 14.1kt 163° baro 1008 hPa 100 degree windshift out of nowhere. Motor assisted rolling in of genoa. Starbuck on
09.03. 2:10 Z 1°13'34"S 85°11'3"W 257° 4.4kt 13614.2NM wind 12kt 157° baro 1008 hPa Sails set: Main (1st reef), Staysail
09.03. 3:00 Z 1°14'40"S 85°13'31"W 272° 2.8kt 13616.9NM wind 5kt 175° sea state 2/10 clouds 4/8 baro 1009 hPa Hourly position log
09.03. 3:13 Z 1°14'49"S 85°14'1"W 267° 2.5kt 13617.4NM wind 6.1kt 160° baro 1009 hPa PacSeaNet
09.03. 3:23 Z 1°14'47"S 85°14'22"W 273° 2.5kt 13617.8NM wind 4.5kt 166° baro 1009 hPa Sails set: Main (1st reef), Genoa 1
09.03. 3:24 Z 1°14'47"S 85°14'24"W 274° 2.3kt 13617.8NM wind 5.1kt 163° baro 1009 hPa Autopilot activated
09.03. 3:35 Z 1°14'46"S 85°14'44"W 260° 1.4kt 13618.1NM wind 2.3kt 152° baro 1009 hPa Autopilot deactivated
09.03. 3:37 Z 1°14'46"S 85°14'46"W 242° 1kt 13618.2NM wind 3.8kt 148° baro 1009 hPa Autopilot activated
09.03. 3:38 Z 1°14'46"S 85°14'48"W 266° 1.2kt 13618.2NM wind 2.8kt 154° baro 1009 hPa Autopilot deactivated
09.03. 3:39 Z 1°14'46"S 85°14'50"W 270° 1.6kt 13618.2NM wind 2.8kt 153° baro 1009 hPa Autopilot activated
09.03. 3:40 Z 1°14'46"S 85°14'50"W 272° 1.3kt 13618.2NM wind 3.6kt 151° baro 1009 hPa Autopilot deactivated
09.03. 3:42 Z 1°14'46"S 85°14'53"W 248° 1.3kt 13618.3NM wind 3.3kt 145° baro 1009 hPa Autopilot activated
09.03. 3:43 Z 1°14'47"S 85°14'54"W 270° 1.3kt 13618.3NM wind 2.3kt 137° baro 1009 hPa Autopilot deactivated
09.03. 3:45 Z 1°14'47"S 85°14'57"W 248° 1.2kt 13618.3NM wind 3.2kt 158° baro 1009 hPa Autopilot activated
09.03. 3:53 Z 1°14'46"S 85°15'8"W 271° 1.6kt 13618.5NM wind 4.4kt 133° baro 1009 hPa Autopilot deactivated
09.03. 3:57 Z 1°14'46"S 85°15'12"W 285° 0.9kt 13618.6NM wind 3kt 162° baro 1009 hPa Autopilot activated
09.03. 3:58 Z 1°14'46"S 85°15'12"W 277° 0.5kt 13618.6NM wind 2.3kt 156° baro 1009 hPa Autopilot deactivated
09.03. 4:00 Z 1°14'46"S 85°15'15"W 311° 0.3kt 13618.7NM wind 2.3kt 196° baro 1009 hPa Hourly position log
09.03. 4:22 Z 1°14'39"S 85°15'36"W 289° 2.4kt 13619NM wind 4.3kt 210° baro 1009 hPa Autopilot activated
09.03. 4:32 Z 1°14'33"S 85°15'59"W 304° 2.1kt 13619.4NM wind 1.2kt 159° baro 1009 hPa Autopilot deactivated
09.03. 4:40 Z 1°14'29"S 85°16'7"W 320° 1.5kt 13619.6NM wind 2.1kt 178° baro 1010 hPa Sails set: Main (1st reef) not enough wind for steering
09.03. 4:50 Z 1°14'21"S 85°16'16"W 312° 1.7kt 13619.8NM wind 2kt 145° baro 1009 hPa Sails down, motoring
09.03. 4:52 Z 1°14'22"S 85°16'17"W 228° 0.6kt 13619.8NM wind 1.8kt 161° baro 1009 hPa Autopilot activated
09.03. 5:00 Z 1°14'51"S 85°16'35"W 205° 4.5kt 13620.4NM wind 2.4kt 138° sea state 2/10 clouds 6/8 visibility 7/10 baro 1009 hPa Bergie on watchp
09.03. 5:10 Z 1°15'21"S 85°16'53"W 186° 1.5kt 13621NM wind 7.9kt 244° baro 1009 hPa Motor stopped, sailing with Main (1st reef), Genoa 1
09.03. 6:00 Z 1°17'49"S 85°17'39"W 202° 3.2kt 13623.6NM wind 7.9kt 278° baro 1009 hPa Light rain, and another non-AIS fishing ship ahead
09.03. 6:19 Z 1°18'28"S 85°18'5"W 130° 1kt 13624.4NM wind 1kt 304° baro 1009 hPa Autopilot deactivated
09.03. 6:27 Z 1°18'32"S 85°18'6"W 237° 1.7kt 13624.5NM wind 4.8kt 45° baro 1009 hPa Autopilot activated
09.03. 7:00 Z 1°18'53"S 85°18'36"W 247° 2.3kt 13625.2NM wind 3.5kt 306° baro 1008 hPa We shall designate these two fishing vessels #3 and #4 of the trip
09.03. 7:26 Z 1°19'1"S 85°19'0"W 194° 0.9kt 13625.6NM wind 1.6kt 178° baro 1008 hPa Autopilot deactivated
09.03. 7:26 Z 1°19'1"S 85°19'0"W 308° 0.7kt 13625.6NM wind 1kt 197° baro 1008 hPa Autopilot activated
09.03. 7:27 Z 1°19'1"S 85°19'1"W 356° 1kt 13625.6NM wind 1.5kt 183° baro 1008 hPa Autopilot deactivated
09.03. 7:35 Z 1°18'54"S 85°19'5"W 332° 1.2kt 13625.8NM wind 7.1kt 186° baro 1008 hPa First flash of lightning, over a minute (20km) away
09.03. 7:48 Z 1°18'44"S 85°19'26"W 270° 1kt 13626.2NM wind 8.4kt 195° baro 1008 hPa Sails set: Main (1st reef)
09.03. 8:00 Z 1°18'36"S 85°19'44"W 313° 1.7kt 13626.5NM wind 5.7kt 181° baro 1008 hPa Hourly position log
09.03. 8:13 Z 1°18'32"S 85°20'0"W 275° 0.9kt 13626.8NM wind 5.8kt 182° baro 1008 hPa The hard dodger and backdrop are a game changer on nights like this: it is pouring rain and here I'm sitting dry and comforfable, keeping watch
09.03. 9:00 Z 1°18'13"S 85°21'1"W 265° 0.9kt 13627.9NM wind 4.3kt 129° baro 1008 hPa Hourly position log
09.03. 9:41 Z 1°18'21"S 85°21'35"W 249° 1.2kt 13628.5NM wind 8.1kt 134° clouds 8/8 baro 1008 hPa Thunder still about 20km away
09.03. 10:00 Z 1°18'31"S 85°21'48"W 287° 0.3kt 13628.7NM wind 3.1kt 142° baro 1008 hPa Hourly position log
09.03. 10:57 Z 1°18'42"S 85°22'17"W 278° 0.4kt 13629.3NM wind 3.4kt 132° baro 1009 hPa Fishing boat lights on our starboard side. Boat #5
09.03. 11:00 Z 1°18'43"S 85°22'19"W 245° 1.1kt 13629.3NM wind 4.3kt 108° baro 1009 hPa Suski on watch
09.03. 11:02 Z 1°18'45"S 85°22'20"W 220° 2.3kt 13629.3NM wind 4.8kt 111° baro 1009 hPa Autopilot activated
09.03. 11:03 Z 1°18'47"S 85°22'22"W 224° 3.1kt 13629.4NM wind 6.4kt 101° baro 1009 hPa Sails set: Main (1st reef), Genoa 1
09.03. 11:20 Z 1°19'25"S 85°22'57"W 224° 2.5kt 13630.2NM wind 8.7kt 118° baro 1009 hPa Sails set: Main (1st reef), Genoa 1 (60% furled) wind picking up, can't yet see a reason, so reefing genoa just in case
09.03. 11:48 Z 1°20'24"S 85°23'50"W 210° 1.9kt 13631.6NM wind 6kt 130° baro 1010 hPa Thunder, 11 seconds
09.03. 12:09 Z 1°20'43"S 85°24'8"W 28° 0.3kt 13632NM wind 4kt 226° baro 1010 hPa Autopilot deactivated
09.03. 12:11 Z 1°20'42"S 85°24'8"W 12° 0.3kt 13632NM wind 3.3kt 249° baro 1010 hPa Sails set: Main (1st reef) inside the rain wind turning wildly but staying same.
09.03. 12:14 Z 1°20'40"S 85°24'8"W 17° 0.9kt 13632.1NM wind 6.8kt 253° baro 1010 hPa Autopilot activated
09.03. 12:18 Z 1°20'36"S 85°24'7"W 29° 0.8kt 13632.1NM wind 3.5kt 258° baro 1010 hPa Autopilot deactivated
09.03. 12:19 Z 1°20'36"S 85°24'7"W 148° 0.4kt 13632.1NM wind 4kt 250° baro 1010 hPa Autopilot activated
09.03. 12:21 Z 1°20'36"S 85°24'7"W 249° 0.4kt 13632.1NM wind 2.8kt 272° baro 1010 hPa Autopilot deactivated
09.03. 12:22 Z 1°20'36"S 85°24'7"W 356° 0.6kt 13632.1NM wind 1.2kt 272° baro 1010 hPa Autopilot activated
09.03. 12:24 Z 1°20'35"S 85°24'7"W 327° 0.4kt 13632.1NM wind 2.2kt 251° baro 1010 hPa Autopilot deactivated
09.03. 12:54 Z 1°20'26"S 85°24'8"W 199° 1.1kt 13632.4NM wind 5.9kt 344° baro 1010 hPa Autopilot activated
09.03. 12:55 Z 1°20'27"S 85°24'7"W 90° 0.8kt 13632.4NM wind 6.4kt 357° baro 1011 hPa Autopilot deactivated
09.03. 12:57 Z 1°20'28"S 85°24'7"W 223° 2.9kt 13632.5NM wind 9.7kt 12° baro 1010 hPa Autopilot activated
09.03. 13:00 Z 1°20'31"S 85°24'11"W 238° 1.7kt 13632.5NM wind 8.3kt 17° baro 1011 hPa Hourly position log
09.03. 13:01 Z 1°20'32"S 85°24'13"W 239° 3kt 13632.6NM wind 9.4kt 21° baro 1011 hPa Sails set: Main (1st reef), Genoa 1 (30% furled)
09.03. 13:33 Z 1°20'50"S 85°24'56"W 263° 1.3kt 13633.4NM wind 1.6kt 44° sea state 3/10 clouds 8/8 visibility 5/10 baro 1011 hPa This is just ridiculous. The wind goes whatever, waves go washing machine. Rain buckets down.
09.03. 13:34 Z 1°20'50"S 85°24'56"W 270° 1.2kt 13633.4NM wind 1.7kt 28° baro 1011 hPa Autopilot deactivated
09.03. 13:35 Z 1°20'50"S 85°24'57"W 223° 0.7kt 13633.4NM wind 3.3kt 37° baro 1011 hPa Autopilot activated
09.03. 14:00 Z 1°21'0"S 85°25'28"W 259° 2.1kt 13634NM wind 8kt 37° baro 1011 hPa Hourly position log
09.03. 14:17 Z 1°21'2"S 85°26'11"W 271° 3.5kt 13634.7NM wind 9.9kt 43° baro 1012 hPa Sails set: Main (1st reef), Genoa 1
09.03. 14:25 Z 1°21'2"S 85°26'41"W 261° 2.9kt 13635.2NM wind 8.9kt 29° baro 1012 hPa Autopilot deactivated
09.03. 14:26 Z 1°21'3"S 85°26'42"W 162° 0.6kt 13635.2NM wind 8.8kt 44° baro 1012 hPa Autopilot activated
09.03. 15:00 Z 1°21'34"S 85°26'53"W 226° 1.3kt 13635.9NM wind 5.2kt 77° baro 1011 hPa Hourly position log
09.03. 15:51 Z 1°23'5"S 85°27'42"W 200° 3.8kt 13637.6NM wind 9.7kt 77° sea state 3/10 clouds 8/8 visibility 7/10 baro 1011 hPa Todays bird is swallow-tailed gull
09.03. 16:00 Z 1°23'34"S 85°27'53"W 197° 3.9kt 13638.1NM wind 11.2kt 68° baro 1011 hPa Hourly position log
09.03. 17:00 Z 1°26'55"S 85°28'57"W 202° 4.4kt 13641.6NM wind 10.5kt 51° sea state 2/10 clouds 8/8 visibility 7/10 baro 1011 hPa Bergie on watch
09.03. 17:56 Z 1°29'33"S 85°30'2"W 179° 2.6kt 13644.4NM wind 9.4kt 28° baro 1010 hPa There was something big floating in the sea , not quite container but maybe 2m×3m. Tons of birds standing on it made it quite visible
09.03. 18:00 Z 1°29'43"S 85°30'3"W 181° 2.5kt 13644.6NM wind 8.5kt 21° baro 1010 hPa Hourly position log
09.03. 19:00 Z 1°31'40"S 85°29'33"W 164° 1.5kt 13646.6NM wind 7.4kt 34° baro 1009 hPa Hourly position log
09.03. 20:00 Z 1°34'10"S 85°29'21"W 168° 2.6kt 13649.2NM wind 9.7kt 27° baro 1009 hPa Hourly position log
09.03. 21:00 Z 1°35'55"S 85°29'19"W 188° 2.5kt 13650.9NM wind 7.7kt 19° baro 1008 hPa Hourly position log
09.03. 22:00 Z 1°38'3"S 85°29'53"W 201° 1.1kt 13653.2NM wind 4.2kt 44° baro 1008 hPa Hourly position log
09.03. 22:08 Z 1°38'14"S 85°29'59"W 181° 1.6kt 13653.4NM wind 5.7kt 68° baro 1008 hPa Autopilot deactivated
09.03. 22:10 Z 1°38'16"S 85°30'0"W 196° 1kt 13653.4NM wind 4kt 70° baro 1008 hPa Sails down, motoring
09.03. 22:12 Z 1°38'20"S 85°30'6"W 217° 4.2kt 13653.5NM wind 2.8kt 71° baro 1008 hPa Autopilot activated
09.03. 22:19 Z 1°38'36"S 85°30'37"W 240° 4.7kt 13654.1NM wind 3.3kt 122° baro 1008 hPa It seems our shaft seal is leaking when motoring