Last nights sunset over glassy waters was beautiful.

So the wind never really came back enough to sail for very long, we tried a couple of times but wind was just not there. Settled into running one engine just above idle to keep forward progress and the autopilot able to steer the boat. Seas were so calm and flat, we both slept like rocks on our off shifts. Christine even let me have an extra hour to catch up.

WIth hopes of wind returning in the forecast and emails from Texas watching our progress, time for some bacon. Bacon always starts a day our right!

Well, winds didn’t get the message to rise and shine early. Was just before lunch when they started to fill in. It is always great after a ‘calming’ and the winds are coming back. The sea is flat, the wind is filling in. It’s like sailing on a lake, the waves haven’t had time to build with the wind yet, and so you get nice wind and no choppy seas.

We started the day with with an engine running making under 5 knots, we are ending the day with a now reefed main doing 8-9 knots and bouncing over the waves that have built through out the day. Not nearly as comfortable as motoring in the calm, but we are knocking off the miles.

Chicken Tuscany with a nice wine was for dinner, minus the wine. This is passage and gotta stay ready for whatever curve balls are thrown at you!

1100 miles to Fiji, if the winds keep up we will break the magical 1000 mile barrier tomorrow and be heading for the 1/2 mark in a day or two.

WInds are 18kn from the South East, seas are 1.5-2M (5-6 feet) and the boat is moving along at 7-8 knots with one reef in the main.

All well on board.

[tag Live,Passage,underway]

What a rude way to start the day! Just before day break the sails started to make racket, wouldn’t stay filled with air as we went over the waves.. I was asleep and had just dozed off when Christine woke me up and said there was a huge blob on the radar. Yup, sure enough, more than 3 miles deep and 10+ miles long and smack dab in our way and no clear way around it.

Rolled the jib and started to put the second reef in the in main. While putting the reef in the dreaded cold breeze arrived. Not gonna get this done in time. WhoooooooSH, the rain and the winds went from next to nothing to 30+ knots. Still groggy from waking up, dropped the main as quickly as possible and tied it down motored about in the driving rain for an hour. A morning shower to wake up is one thing, but cold and driving rain is just RUDE.

Oh well, all good! The boat got a fresh wash and Christine and I an impromptu bath. The wind took hours to regroup and organize.. We turned on engine and motored in our general path for 6 hours an least we told ourselves we were charging the batteries!

Around 3pm while we were watching the second feature film of the lazy day, the wind started coming form a consistent direction, at 5-7knots. Not quite enough but tried it any way and low and behold we are sailing again slowly but the batteries were well charged by now.

Forecast says tomorrow the winds should behave and push us along again. We are in touch with another boat behind us by 50 miles or so, they also had the wall of water to contend with today.

Picture: The calm after the Kaos.

Thought about going for a swim or a paddle board.

Distance to go 1250 miles.

The first 4 hours of today, our average was over 8.3 knots, now 20 hours later, its 5.9 knots and only going down as we are currently going 3.8 knots. Oh well, not in a hurry. The winds at the Fiji end of the journey look to be strong. Enjoying the peaceful sounds for a bit.

[tag Live,Passage,underway]

Another lovely nice sailing day. Winds picked up a little bit, and that means the sea did as well. It is not uncomfortable but you do feel the change. Coupled with a bit more wind we stowed the spinnaker from yesterday and are just use it working white sails. Still moving along quite well and easting and resting well.

Our forecast model and help from our shore side watch keep suggests we should try and get a little more north to pass a ‘no wind’ zone that is in the forecast in a couple of days so we are doing a little bit of that today. Our cross track error is climbing, that is the distance we have traveled away from the the straight line from start to finish. We have gone 100+ miles north of the straight line, that means we will have to come back those 100 odd miles when by the time we get to the destination. We are chasing the favorable winds to keep us moving and the seas that are not too rough.

Day after day things will start to blur, what day is it? How long have we been on this passage? Wasn’t that the same cloud we passed yesterday? We are not going in circles are we? 🙂

All good on board, just taking it easy. Bacon Breakfast tacos whats not to love

[tag Live,Passage,underway]