17.38.610W 159.42.333W

Ayesha II
Tue 1 Aug 2017 21:25
Hello from the Pacific now we are in to the 4th day of our passage to Tonga.

Yet again we are all waiting for the Trade Winds to kick in, the SSB Radio Net (where we all talk to each other and report conditions) showed the wind direction from ALL points of the compass varying from 8 knots to over 20! We currently have light wind of 9 to 11 knots but the angle is way forward of the middle (beam in nautical terms)of Ayesha which she absolutely loves and so even with a heavily reduced (2 reefs 'cos of squalls) mainsail but all the Genoa (front sail)we are managing over 7.5 knots. Last night we had to motorsail, which is where we have the sails up and the motor on as the wind was very light but with sails and engine working together we can use very low revs on the engine and so only use 4 litres of diesel an hour which is very economical (I know we carry 1500 litres but we still have a 1000 miles to go!).

We are all well and now back in the routine of watches/sleep/chat/eat/watches/chat/sleep/eat etc etc. Good day for laundry yesterday and Thursday with very little wind is looking good for the next washing load. We do not have a plumbed in washing machine as most yachts on this rally only a £60 portable one bought at a caravan/camping shop back home! It is brilliant, works on the 240v here on board and cleans the clothes just by agitating them. Has a spin cycle which is not very good but we do not tend to use it as the clothes dry quite quickly once hung outside. The machine has the advantage of being able to be used in quite choppy conditions whereas the plumbed in ones with the spinning drum design need calm conditions. Towels and bedding just build up until landfall when there is always someone to launder them for us albeit with varying results!

Team Ayesha

--