Still tracking westwards - partly because we are still in the westerly setting South Equatorial or the South Sub Tropical Currents - they divide around about here and as we get further south, the South Sub Tropical will start to take us south down the South American coast. Ilhas Martin Vaz is at 20 S 29 W and I think we will probably pass quite close to the east of it. Sydney is at about 154 E so from Martin Vaz we will have 183 degrees of longitude to sail - a smidge over half the world and we will ignore great circles for the sake of a good story.
I gather the pissing-in-the-wind blast of squall, rain and lightning that I described some days ago made it into the Fitz Files in the Sydney Morning Herald. My Everest is scaled! Further down this fishpond we should also pass quite close to Tristan da Cunha and Pete has reminded me that last time we were in the big storm down there it lasted for 9 days, all the time over 40 knots and often gusting 60 with some of the biggest breaking waves we saw on that voyage. An indifferent destroyer of boats and psyches. Check it out in the first Berrimilla blog.
The moon is high above the masthead but dimmed and masked by high cloud. No stars. The world has no colour, only form and density and diffident sparkle under the moon. The sea is relatively gentle - SE swell, perhaps 2 metres, rolling not steep and Berri is flowing - 12 knots of breeze and about 4 over the ground - there's about 1.5 kts against us for a bit yet. We haven't adjusted the sheets or Kevvo for 24 hours - noice!
I think I may have the glimmer of a work around for the recalcitrance of this radio. Marc is checking with Icom and time will tell. I'll post the idea if it keeps it alive for a week or so.
