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American Spirit II - Day 225; Pleasant Sailing Towards the Tip of Cape York; Mondy, August 18, 2014



Up at 6:00 AM. Relieved Jeanine who was on the 3:00 AM to 6:00 AM watch.

At 6:15 AM I jibed the main from starboard to port tack and changed our course heading to go under the Ripley Inlets instead of going around. That would save us 10 or 15 miles.

A cloudy sunrise.

At 7:05 AM Jeanine went to bed.

At 7:11 AM the New Grace, 361 foot cargo ship, was coming up behind us. They passed our starboard and then angled 30 degrees away from us, at 1.4 miles.

Its going to be mostly sunny today. Wind 11 knots and speed 5.4 knots. By 7:47 AM the wind had dropped to 5.4 knots and our boat speed was 3.4 knots. I think Cape Melville to my southeast may have cut off the wind.

At 8:30 AM a commercial fishing boat was coming up behind us pulling a skiff. I heard that boat's engines at 8:45 AM. At 9:00 AM the fishing boat veered away from us to the left 15 degrees and headed for an island.

From 9:10 AM to 9:21 AM we sailed thru large brown splotches of pollen on the water's surface. I waited to turn the motor on until after I had gotten thru it.

I turned the motor on at 9:22 AM. Our boat speed had dropped to 2.8 knots. Our speed with the engine on was 6.5 knots.

Joel got up at 9:15 AM as we were passing Finders Island and Stanley Island to port. King Island was to our starboard.

We went thru another pollen bloom from 9:35 AM to 9:45 AM.

At 10:01 AM I put up the canvas filler between the dodger and bimini due to the sun.

A late breakfast at 11:00 AM: scrambled eggs, cut up potato cooked in olive oil with spices added, chilled pear halves and raisin bread.

Our noon position was 14 degrees, 5 minutes South; and 144 degrees, 2 minutes East.

From 11:30 AM to 2:00 PM I took a nap.

At 2:16 PM the wind was 1.3 knots and our boat speed under motor with the main up was 6.6 knots. The wind picked up to 5.1 knots at 3:12 PM. At 3:46 PM we turned the engine off and put out the jib. The wind was now 10/11 knots and our boat speed 5.8 knots.

Sweet Pearl called us at 5:04 PM on VHF channel 72. They were 16 miles behind us and were planning on stopping at Morris Island at 10:00 PM for the night.

Dinner at 6:00 PM. Blackened T-Bone steak cooked on the grill; baked potatoes cooked in the micro wave; and garlic bread cooked in the oven. The sun set during dinner over the mountains of the Australian mainland. No green flash. Not possible over land.

I typed a log from 7:00 PM to 7:34 PM. And at 7:34 PM I tried to send logs and emails on the SSB. I was disconnected 4 times by the receiving station in the Philippines so I stopped trying at 8:00 PM. I'll try later.

I took a pre-watch nap from 8:00 PM to 9:00 PM before my 9:00 PM to midnight watch.

At 9:03 PM while still groggy from my nap, I accidentally hit a button on the chart plotter, turning off the auto pilot and jibing the boat. Oops. Noisy, especially as the traveler had not been secured on the port side. No damage. The wind was 15 knots and our boat speed 6.4 knots, with one reef in the mainsail and a full jib out. On a reach, starboard tack.

I turned the wind turbine off at 9:57 PM as it was discharging due to the house batteries being fully charged.

At 11:00 PM I put a reef in the jib to slow down the boat from 7.2 knots to 6.4 knots. Too many reefs and islands around. We're cruising. I shook the reef out of the jib a half hour later as the wind had dropped to 12 knots.

Joel relieved me a midnight. I was in bed by 12:15 AM, trying to shake a cold.

Because we're not using the motor a tremendous amount, our plan once we get to the top tip of Australia is to turn left and continue on to Darwin 730 miles away without stopping to refuel in Seisia. Getting into Darwin may be exciting as the tides and currents are huge; and there are many islands and reefs on the 2 approaches to our final destination, the Cullen Bay Marina. The tides are so great that we have to go thru a lock system to get to the marina. And the quarantine process for the boat will take 14 hours as we're tied up to a pontoon barge.

Brian Fox


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