Day 10 - 04 40.46S 118 16.68W

Aurora_b
Mike and Liz Downing
Mon 10 May 2010 00:40
The winds have been stronger over the last 24 hours and been around 20-22kts most of the time. We have 2 reefs in the main and a well reefed genoa and we're still making 7.5 to 8.5kts over the ground. In these conditions there's no need to play with the sails, they stay fixed and the boat just goes! The daily run, without having to try very hard, was 177.5 miles which was pretty good. The sea has also come up and while the motion is okay below most of the time, a bigger wave every now and again causes the boat to corkscrew round and roll, so you need to be holding on when that happens! We've had clear skies, so no rain and during the night the stars are just awesome - so many and they seem so close. We have the southern cross standing out on one side and the plough on the other. With clear skies during the day, it's been lovely and sunny and the sea is so blue, with foaming white horses here and there. Apart from the occasional wave down the side decks, the water is staying where it's supposed to be - in the sea! The hydrovane has been steering all afternoon. It seems to cope better in rougher conditions.

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