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A Distant Glow

We had a record night last night, getting AIS signals from vessels that were as much as 115 nm away. That's a lot farther than the typical range of 15-20 nm for an AIS-receiver. It must be due to some atmospheric phenomenon. 

As we sail along the coast of Java, we can see the distant glow of fishing boats off to our starboard side. They are everywhere, like a swarm of fireflies on the horizon. I can't quite make out the individual lights, but we sailed past them all night, so I'm going to say there were at least 200. It's sad to think that they are fishing with no regulations or restrictions, depleting the marine life and harming the ecosystem.

6500 nm seemed an almost impossible distance to sail when we left NZ, but now we have only 1500 nm left as we keep chipping away at the miles. I'm guessing we'll reach Sabang in 9 days, clear out in 2 days, and then head to Phuket in another 2 days. That's exciting. 

The wind has been up and down for the last 24 hours, so we've been motoring, sailing, motoring, sailing. At the moment, we are running around 150 degrees off the wind with just the head sail at about 6 knots. It's a smooth and comfortable ride, but I hope we get some more wind soon.

The next challenge will be crossing the Malacca Strait, one of the busiest and most strategic waterways in the world. It connects the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, and is used by thousands of ships every day. It is also a hotspot for piracy, smuggling, and environmental issues. We will have to be very careful and vigilant as we navigate through this narrow and congested passage.

I've heard there is a plan to build a bridge over the Malacca Strait linking Malaysia and Indonesia. I wonder how that will affect the shipping traffic and the marine environment in the future.



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