The seastate has calmed enough for us to make sail again. With full main and #3 headsail we are gliding along at 5.5 knots in 7-10 knots just abaft the beam. A long groundswell from dead astern and about half a knot of favourable current is just a sweetener on top. Bliss! We will be anchoring south of Ile Moucha, six miles north of Djibouti, as we expect to arrive around 3am and there are unlit obstructions in Djibouti harbour.
Position 11° 56.508′ N 44° 03.040′ E
COG 247T
SOG 5.6kt
Made 143nm for the 24 h. Slow considering the wind but with only the small #3 headsail and big seas this is consistent with our conservative sail plane and the (unexpected) half a knot of current against us (GRIB showed a west setting current of up to a knot). Wind is now at 15-20 knots from the east with 2-3m easterly long period groundswell and shorter period NNE sea of about 1m over that. Still pretty rolly and not worth putting more sail up. We both got a solid 4 h sleep on our off watches as there was nothing to do for the watch keeper except stay awake, keep a lookout and hang on during the wild gyrations. Expect to make the anchorage in Djibouti in the early h tomorrow morning.
Position 12° 13.390′ N 45° 18.974′ E
COG 250T
SOG 5.4kt
Log 9,743 nm
Engine 215.0 h
Arbutus continuing up the Red Sea to Masawa. Southerlies kicked in for them this afternoon. Sunny Spells is 190 miles from Djibouti. Strong easterly winds, up to 30 knots and seas in the 2.0 to 3.0m range. Acalephe is 70 miles east of Sunny Spells, with similar wind and seas. Acalephe and Sunny Spells were both contacted by a Japanese Navy surveillance aircraft today and invited to ?call me if you need assistance?.
Position 12° 32.322′ N 46° 17.361′ E
COG 257T
SOG 5.8kt
166 miles for 24 h. Wind has been a pretty constant 15 to 20 knots from ENE since midnight. With only theÿ#3ÿheadsail and a little push from the current we are making a solid 6.5 knots towards Djibouti. At this pace we will arrive during daylight on Saturday 15/02/2020.
Position 12° 51.671′ N 47° 36.042′ E
COG 248T
SOG 6.2kt
Log 9,600 nm
Engine 215.0 h