All afternoon yesterday and again through the night we had very light winds. They were in the 6 to 9 knot (True) range. Plus, they were from the east. Since we are sailing due west, the apparent wind was only in 3 to 6 knot range. We had dropped the both sails when we lost our wind. I did not want the main up with such light winds because it would flog with each swell that passed under us. However, during my night shift, I unfurled the headsail as we had about 6 knots of apparent wind and I wanted to capture every knot I could. Thus, we motored sailed at about 5.5 to 6 knots.

Mary Margaret decided to let me sleep a bit so she stretched her second night shift from 3 hours to 5 hours. Boy, that extra sleep was very refreshing and I woke up feeling great! With that bit of extra sleep, I have now adjusted to overnight sailing and no longer feel tired. I tried to return the favor when I took the 0600 watch by telling her to just sleep in until she woke up naturally. However, in four hours there she was, bright eyed and bushy tailed!

Last night, as we approached Cape Wessel, at the top of the Wessel Islands, I could see a sailboat on our AIS. It was S/V Sukanuk, a 33 foot sailboat that we had last seen at Lizard Island. As we passed her this morning we were hailed and we had a nice chat. It is a British registered boat so I asked if they knew our friends on S/V Salamander. He said that Salamander had passed them as they both approached the Wessels, so he guessed that they would be about 10 to 15 nm in front of us now. This surprised me since we both left at the same time but we had veered 50 nm south when we left before we cut across the Gulf of Carpentaria. Salamander had decided that the winds were light enough to just head straight across. With our slow passage I figured that we would not see Salamander again until we reached Darwin. However, we may now see them as we approach Cape Don in a day and a half. Then again, the winds may die again and our hope would be wasted.

The spot forecast I downloaded last night shows winds in the 11 to 14 knot (true) range from the SE for the next few days. If that is correct, we should be able to continuing sailing and not use the engine. With those kinds of winds, we should average 6 to 6.5 knots. We shall just have to wait and see. The one thing that you can count on regarding weather: just wait a bit and it will change!

This morning, as I took the 0600 watch, Mary Margaret pointed out that the winds had returned so we turned into the wind and raised the main. With winds of 15 knots True off our beam, we shot up to 8 to 8.5 knots and it felt great! This lasted for about 6 hours when the winds eased back to 12 knots and dropped to be off our port stern quarter. This dropped our speed back to the 5.5 to 6 knot range.

While a bit slow, this passage has been wonderful so far. We just love to sail the open seas. It is so peaceful and as long as there is wind, we never get bored. It allows me time to do a lot of thinking and I end up putting life into perspective. We have had some cruising friends face some serious medical issues this year with two of them having to end their cruising days. How much time we have left to cruise is unknown but while we are cruising, we cherish every day. This is a very special lifestyle that will be hard to quit.

At 1230 today, we were at 10 52.29'S/135 48.76'E. We made 143 nm, averaging 6 knots. The winds are 12 knots True from the ESE. The apparent wind is 10 knots; 135 degrees from our port bow. We are making between 5.5 and 6 knots on a course of 272 degree true. The swells are from the SE at about 1.2 meters with a 4.5 to 5 second period. This all results in a very comfortable and easy sail!

A closing note: Early this morning, as we rounded Cape Wessel, we left the Gulf of Carpentaria and entered the Arafura Sea. I believe the Arafura Sea is part of the Indian Ocean. If I am correct, this is another milestone for us. While we have seen and swum in the Indian Ocean before, this is the first time we have sailed in it!