Left Toau at 18.00 last night bound for Tahiti. It's about 220 miles to the south west and we left at 18.00 to give a planned passage of 2 nights and one day, so we arrive early on Friday morning, rather than risk arriving just before dark. So far we are on schedule. The weather in the Tuamotu Islands never improved - the strong winds and squalls continued throughout our stay at Toau. So not much snorkeling which was a shame, but we did brave the choppy seas to snorkel out to a fish trap in the lagoon that the 2 families who live on that part of the atoll had set up. It was better than any aquarium that we had seen - every type of reef fish was there, including Napoleon Wrasse bigger than us, and a black tipped reef shark. We still have no internet access, so the pictures will have to wait until we get to Tahiti. With the bad weather, the seas on this passage have been quite big, confused and lumpy, so we stay upright for a while and then roll violently from side to side. We've had 20 kts of wind most of the time, but one squall, just 20 minutes after we left, increased the winds up to 35kts - not what we really want! However, the overcast skies have gone and apart from the clouds with squalls, the sun has been out most of the time, which makes it a whole lot better. We also have a good moon most of the night, and sailing down moon beams is magical. Now that the clouds have gone, every one thinks the winds will drop out, but there's no sign of that yet.
