Return the normal everyday jargon and getting so say Yeah Naw! One day I hope to figure out if that means. Yes or No. š
This marks the first 400 nm down and on to the next mile stones.
Daytime run has been a bit better, started out sweet then a wimpy squall showed up. Wasnāt grown up, but just a bit of colder wind and spritzing shower, just enough to ruin a few hours of relatively comfortable sail. We will take it.
We have been knocking off the miles, and maintaining a decent course. We are approaching the Wednesday boats, well the slowest of them anyway. If the weather holds we should catch them in the dark. By catch, I mean stop in and see if the could spare a cup of sugar. Christine wants to make some cookies.
Red blob us, green below is Wednesday, green behind is our Thursday fleet.
The 2 red lines on the right are our previous runs down to NZ, that crazy one on the far right was when we were running from the cyclone. The boxes are about 60 miles square, thus we look close but still canāt see each other.
Going healthy for dinner Asian Chicken salad, courtesy of Becca on Halcyon so many years ago.
All good in Tuvalu š¹š», anchor down, engines off, anchor beer in hand
Anchor beer
Now to find customs and immigration to check in.. š
How cool is the name āFunafutiā, even has āfunā right in the name!
Will we be able to walk on solid ground without grabbing for the nearest palm tree?
Looks like we might chill out here for a week or so, looking for a bit better wind forecast. We will be heading south, and the forecasted winds are south east, we will wait for more east than south in the winds.
So time to explore a new place..and of course ponder/investigate the steering repairs.
Very little wind again today, sailed a bit, motored most. Motored at barely any speed, the engine was running at 1500 rpm, just maintaining forward progress and enough water flow over the rudders for auto pilot to keep us on course. We just needed to get closer to be able to arrive the pass at first light.
I managed to record some tracks from the āfishing fleetā that were going in an out of Majuro, so I can use them as reference when checking the charts. So the pass is where it says its is on the chart, so that is good.
What did we do all day? Was a nice day, again pretty hot without much wind. We prepared the boat for arrival. Stowed a lot of the passage safety gear. Since it was so freaking hot, we swapped our see through window shades to black out shades to keep the cabin cooler. Made water since we had the one motor idling. I cleaned some of the stainless, Christine did a load of laundry. We chatted with the commodore of the yacht club, and got the low down on what to expect when we arrive and how to find customs to clear in. Watched the last sunset of the passage, thanked the beautiful bright moon for keeping us company on the way here. Always nice to have a full moon guiding the way.
All in all a productive day,.
If you are checking our ātrackerā do not be alarmed, yes we are doing 1 knot. We got close, 40 miles left to go. The weather is pretty placid, with the exception of a few sprinkles, showers without too much extra wind to contend with. We are just ādriftingā about, and the current / winds are actually pushing in the direction we need to go. So listening to music, staying cool in the evening without the blazing fireball over head.
Just drifting at 1.7 knots
We will just chill out here, should be 20 miles from any āhard thingsā, for a few hours, 5 or 6. Afterwards, we will resume the journey towards the pass, to arrive there around 6am, or day break. Then another 2 hours across the lagoon to the town and anchorage, and the much anticipated āAnchor downā beer can be enjoyed, even if itās 8am. And yes, picking up a mooring is equivalent to dropping the hook, at least in my book.
Can see the light pollution of the big city in the distance, begging the question.. Are we in the right place?
