Continuing Fair Weather
Where Next?
Bob Williams
Wed 20 Aug 2025 04:39
Course: ESE Speed: 4.5 knots
Wind: NNE, F3 gentle breeze
Sea: slight Swell: SW 1.5 m
Weather: sunny, cool
Day's run: 140 nm
We continue to make excellent progress in near ideal sailing conditions. A high pressure system continues to dominate with the barometer sitting at 1030 Hpa, making for clear blue skies by day and crystal clear starry nights by night. The breeze has continued gentle to moderate, mostly from the NE but backing more into the north as we rounded Cape Northumberland, meaning we have been sailing on a beam reach since our departure from Kangaroo Island. Overnight we had a reef in the main and a couple of rolls in the jib as the breeze freshened, but now as we cross Discovery Bay between Port MacDonnell and Portland, the wind has eased and we are back to full main and code zero.
Later this afternoon the wind is expected to veer back into the NE and freshen. Once we round Cape Nelson, some twenty miles ahead, our heading will be more E'ly and we will therefore likely be closed hauled on the port tack for the night and into tomorrow. However, a front is expected to pass through on Friday bringing favourable W'lies behind it. So the plan is to keep on going for Twofold Bay - ETA sometime Monday. After that fresh headwinds are expected for a few days so at this stage we will most likely take a break in Eden until the next favourable weather pattern allows us to continue up the east coast.
All is well.