Beating into the force five to six winds in the morning hours was much less unpleasant than we had anticipated. We got out of the current by around 0300, and the waves settled down enough for us to mostly slice through them, with only occasional sheets of spray in the cockpit. With triple reefed main and the full Genoa jib, and the board down, we made a comfortable six knots in close to the right direction. The wind and seas diminished as we closed the Tasmania coast during the day, and we shook out all but one reef for the evening watch.

There was much chatter from the St Helens Maritime Rescue station today about watching our for an abandoned Sydney Hobart racing boat that was left adrift. Unfortunately, no position was given - not even approximate, so we have to keep a lookout for one other thing to run into. Late in the day, the shore station confirmed that the abandoned vessel was adrift near Lady Barron - nowhere near us.

We have seen several Sydney Hobart racers pass us today, heading back north.

By suppertime, the peaks of Tasmania’s east coast were close by and many albatross wheeled and circled us with the petrels and shearwaters - truly spectacular birds.

I spent some time today trying to resolve our battery charging issues. The solar regulator seems shot, so I jury rigged a switched direct connection from the panels to the battery circuit, with strict instructions to the watchstander to disconnect the solar panels before the battery voltage gets too high. But the batteries sometimes seem not to charge even with the panels directly wired to them. I tried checking fuses and connections, but the circuits all check out. I tried deploying the towed generator, but it also did not seem to charge the batteries. So I am perplexed, and will have to investigate further when I have time and access to more tools in Hobart.

Which is why we find ourselves uncharacteristically under power for two hours on the midnight watch now, to put some charge back on the batteries. Even though there is a pleasant sailing breeze blowing. We came close in shore north of Cape Tourville to find gentle winds to motor into. But after two hours of charging we are sure to sail again