Land Ho!
21 May 2014 | 21 15.2'S: 149 54.5E
Almost there! Diomedea has 39 miles to run to Mackay. We sighted land yesterday evening, High Peak Island, after some fast sailing with twin headsails. Of course, no sooner has night fallen than the wind gets up and then it is a sweaty drama getting under control. Gybing downwind was required in shifting wind directions. Diomedea was passed by the famous The World cruise liner. In fact she passed rather close in front of us, so we spoke with the officer of the watch to make sure they could see us! Diomedea has an AIS transponder so we show up on the screens of all the big ships and vice versa. I would never go to sea without this gadget. It is an incredible piece of safety kit. We have found the merchant mariners all very professional and courteous. We also feel that if we have actually spoken with the vessel, then our dialogue enters their ship's log and becomes a legal document. Just puts a little more onus on that vessel to not run us down!
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