The morning started with absolutely flat seas and no wind.
\nIt is comfortable but not what one really wants with a sail
\nboat. A quick download of weather showed that little wind was
\npredicted for 36 hours as we pass through a ridge of high
\npressure. This made me worry about fuel consumption until a
\nbreeze unexpectedly arose in mid afternoon and then slowly
\nfreshened until it reached 16-18 knots. The engine went off as
\nthe boat heeled over with all her sails up. Unfortunately, a
\nstrong adverse current kept out speed to the 6.5 to 7.0 knot
\nrange when it should have been near 8 knots. It is after
\nmidnight now and the wind has slowed but we are still under sail
\nand headed in the right direction although slower than I would like.<\/p>\n
We knew about the adverse current from the informal cruisers
\nnet that we participate in every day at 5:30 pm on 6.241
\nmegahertz. Tom on Rasa Manis, two days ahead of us, has
\ncomplained loudly about the current on the net and now we
\nunderstand why. Seafari, one day ahead of Rasa Manis, reports
\nthat the current becomes ‘fair’ closer to Opua. That is still a
\nlong way off. In a couple of days only Sabbatical III and
\nAsylum will be left on the net unless Risho Maru and Yara soon
\nleave Nuku’alofa and join. Everyone else will already have
\narrived in New Zealand. Thirty (!) boats left Nuku’alofa last
\nSaturday and most should be finishing their passages this weekend.<\/p>\n
We have had nothing but clear days and night. There are more
\nstars visible than an any time since we left Rhode Island. But
\nit has been getting cold at night. Tonight I am in jeans, a
\nt-shirt covered by two sweatshirts, a wool cap, and socks and
\nboat shoes. I have not worn boat shoes since last year, but my
\nfeet were getting cold in sandals. The days are long and the
\nsun is hot, with great sunsets.<\/p>\n
Even though we still have plenty of fish in the freezer, it
\nseemed like a nice day to go fishing today so I put two lines in
\nthe water. I do not know what kind of fish they have here, but
\nthey sure must be big and strong. The rod bent over and the
\nreel started to unspool line at an alarming pace even as I
\ntightened the line brake. Finally the fish just tore apart the
\nsteel leader on my best lure and disappeared. At the same time
\nthe handline unspooled and the same thing happened. These were
\nthe lures that I used to catch my big tuna and mahi-mahi a few
\ndays ago, so I was sad to see them go. Perhaps this is fishes
\nrevenge.<\/p>\n
Here is our current position:<\/p>\n
Time: 00:50 local time Nov 9 or 12:50 UTC Nov 8<\/p>\n
Position: S 25 degrees 50 minutes, W 178 degrees 56 minutes<\/p>\n
Course over ground: 196 degrees magnetic<\/p>\n
M.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The morning started with absolutely flat seas and no wind. It is comfortable but not what one really wants with a sail boat. A quick download of weather showed that little wind was predicted for 36 hours as we pass through a ridge of high pressure. This made me worry about fuel consumption until a … <\/p>\n