Position           30:50.97 S 173:20.76 E

Date                1200 (UTC+11) Tuesday 19 2015

Distance run    139nm over the ground, 138nm through the water

We are following weather routing from Bob McDavitt which we hope will help in negotiating what looks like a big area of much wind for a large part of our trip.  This is taking us out to the east of the rhumb line.  What we have encountered are winds well aft the beam with a decent sized swell making sail under genoa and mizzen the suitable combination.  The skipper is feeling decidedly under the weather nursing a bad attack of man flu and feels disinclined to monkey around on the foredeck with poles or cruising chutes.  Nevertheless it has been steady and comfortable progress.  A sunny day gave way to a chilly night that required extra layers, despite our cockpit enclosure.  Suitably timed running of the generator for battery charging and water heating allowed for some warmth from the aircon unit in the aft cabin to coincide with showering.  Heresy to hardened cruisers but it keeps the crew happy.

The hydrogenerator is pumping out a steady 8 amps or so  which helps slow down the battery consumption and hence reduce the requirement to run the generator so much.  You certainly notice when something goes wrong with it.  Today’s problem was a stray line from the generator lifting tackle working free and catching the propeller; easily fixed.

The “happy crew” produced a very good bolognaise from the freezer.