Chagos to Seychelles - Day 6

Date: Sunday 9th August 2020
Local time: 23:45
Time Since Departure: 135 hours
Actual Speed: 5.3 knots
Average Speed for trip: 6.0 knots
Max Speed for trip: 11.5 knots
Distance Travelled so far: 809.8 miles
Distance to Destination: 250.3 miles
Time to destination: 46 hours
ETA: Tuesday 11th August, 10pm

The stars! Oh my god, the stars! It’s midnight and I have an hour left on my watch. I’ve just spent the last half hour staring at the most amazing sky I’ve ever seen.

The moon has just risen, but prior to that, the light cast by the stars alone was so bright I could see the horizon all around me, and make out everything on deck on the boat. I turned off our navigation lights, and switched off the displays of all the instruments, and it was truly breath taking.

But there was just one flaw in an otherwise perfect moment.

About 6 weeks ago, I read a news article talking about a comet that was going to be visible to the naked eye (but of course much better through binoculars) for most of July and August. Seemingly it was going to be amazing, and we figured that Chagos would be a great place to see it, with no artificial light for hundreds of miles.

But we hadn’t accounted for the fact that due to its position, and perhaps just some bad luck with unusual weather systems, every single night without exception, was cloudy (even when many of the days were sunny). So we never did get the chance to spot it.

Now I’m in the perfect position, and have probably two more opportunities. But I don’t know where in the sky to look anymore.

So if you’re reading this, can you please do a quick google search and see if you can confirm:

• Is the comet still invisible?

• where in the night sky do you need to look, and at what time, to see it?

Send me an email to steelsapphire@myiridium.net if you can help.