S/V Nereida sails around the world - Day 117: Getting close to Gough Island, SSE of Tristan da Cunha

S/V Nereida sails around the world © Jeanne Socrates

Sunday 8pm - Making good speed in stronger NW wind - 5-6kt. Enjoyed my newly-made stew!

Passing S of Tristan da Cunha - 190 miles away. Expect to pass by Gough Island, 200 miles to its SSE, on Tuesday - hopefully in daylight, so I can enjoy the many birds when I get there. Will be in a High pressure system at that time, so likely to be making suitably slow progress past its dramatic steep cliffs and rocky outcrops - keeping well off, of course!

Monday 4:50am - Position and weather info just sent over radio - mostly grey, cloudy sky with a streak of a clearing along the E horizon - getting coloured, ahead of sunrise. Making good speed still at ~6kt. Gough Island 67 miles to E.

10:30am - Very bright overcast sky - feeling quite warm. Behind the protective storm screen in the cockpit, it's 23C/73F - not bad! Wind over 15kt, I'd guess, and seas well up - lots of white horses - a good Force 4-5. Rolling around a lot and making round 5kt.

Unfortunately, if we keep up this speed, we'll make Gough Island in darkness - that was not on my plan!

1pm - Had several chats by phone with Andy Repetto, Radio Officer on Tristan da Cunha, but was unable to make the radio contact I was hoping for. He could see 'Nereida' on AIS. He'll be checking his radio antenna shortly - must have a problem - he wasn't hearing me nor was I hearing him - but I know my radio is working fine...! Said he'd not long got back on station after his long Christmas break. He's had no radio contact with the S.African team on Gough Island since they arrived there last September - for a stay of a year! I'd hoped to chat to them but that is clearly not going to happen, unless on VHF Ch.16, possibly - but they'll probably be asleep!

1:45pm - Fine misty rain - almost foggy conditions. Temperature had dropped to 18C and the air was definitely feeling a lot cooler.

Was just relaxing, about to don my wet-weather gear ready for an expected gybe coming up in the rain, when I realised we were heading N! We were banging into the seas and feeling very uncomfortable. The expected Cold Front had just passed through and the wind had backed very suddenly from WNW to SSW - taking us from heading E to heading N. Hurriedly got my foulies on and went on deck to gybe around - now back on course towards Gough Island on a near-beam reach at 5kt on starboard tack.

6pm - Sun finally getting out first time today. Getting low - not far from sunset. Pressure up - High pressure area coming closer.

Will clearly pass Gough Island overnight - disappointing!!

1900GMT (=1800LT) - end of Day 117. We made 121 n.ml. DMG over the 24 hr period, measured in a straight line between the two 1900 GMT positions.

Total distance covered from Victoria, B.C., to end of Day 117 (by daily DMGs): 11,079 n.ml.

Distances (at 1900Z): Cape Horn LH: 2382 n.ml. to SW; Montevideo: 2174 n.ml to W; Buenos Aires: 2278 n.ml to W; Rio de Janeiro: 1990 n.ml. to NW; Cape Agulhas LH (SA): 1480 n.ml. to ENE; Gough Island: 23n.ml. to ESE

Position & weather report, for 1900 GMT, posted to Winlink.org and Shiptrak.org (using my US callsign KC2IOV):

Time: 2019/01/28 19:00GMT
Latitude: 40-12.94S
Longitude: 010-31.80W
Course: 092T
Speed: 4.4kt
Wind Speed: 12kt
Wind Dir: S
Swell Dir: SSW
Swell HT: 3.0m
Clouds: 30%
Baro: 1014.6hPa
Trend: 2
Air Temp: 16.0C
Sea Temp: 18.0C
Comment: Sun getting out - first time today. Gough Island 23ml to ESE

This article has been provided by the courtesy of the S/V Nereida.