Position: 33d 23m N, 156d 33m W Course / Speed: 000d magnetic @ 5.5 kts.
The bad news is that we’re still motoring. The wind has shifted somewhat, but it is still too light for real sailing. We are continuing north, according to plan. Actually, the current conditions do match the forecast pretty well.
The good news is that since leaving Kaneohe, we’ve used less than 15 gallons of diesel. Since conditions are so calm, Rich decided to top off the main tank using the jerry cans we have stowed on deck. We are carrying 25 gallons in these cans, and we used 2-3/4 cans to fill the tank. This is a lower rate of consumption than I usually figure on, so we still have plenty of motoring range (we left Kaneohe with a total of 125 gallons of fuel).
Still, that’s not enough fuel to motor all the way home, so we eagerly anticipate the wind.
It’s another beautiful day, with clear skies and puffy clouds. We have been seeing a lot of debris in these calm waters, mostly floating bits of plastic and fishing floats.
We’ve not seen any ships for a couple of days, but now we are near the “STOLT SUN” (mmsi 319459000), a 538 ft tanker allegedly heading for Los Angeles. The strange thing is that he has made a U-turn and is now pointed back in our direction. I spoke with the officer on deck (he sounded Russian), and he has promised not to hit us. They are currently going only one-half knot, and according to our courses and speeds, we shouldn’t be approaching any closer than four miles. We are now ten miles from them, and we can just make them out on the horizon. Sometimes tankers are told to divert to another port, or delay their arrival, due to oil market price fluctuations. I suppose this could be one of those cases.
Regards, Paul / VALIS