Position           26:00.94S 166:05.26E

Date                1200 (UTC +11) Thursday 6 2014

Distance run    Last 24 hours 128nm over the ground, 143nm through the water

                        Distance (OG) covered from start 254nm

                        Distance to destination 701nm

                        Original distance to Opua (direct route) 890nm

Analysis of the figures will show that as well as the wind we have been battling an adverse current of 1 knot for most of the 24 hours and are as hard on the wind as we can go and that is not in an entirely helpful direction hence the fact that we have covered only 180nm towards our destination in nearly 48 hours.  In conditions that could be described as plunging and soaring we are atoning for all those lovely downwind passages that we have enjoyed crossing the Pacific.

The wind strengthened in the afternoon and the engine went off.  Since then we have had winds in the 20 to 22 knot region that have given 25 to 30 across the deck.  The night was spent well reefed down for comfort of the off duty watch but there were still some interesting bangs and crashes as the occasional wave slammed against the port quarter.  A well-padded and secure berth makes a good nest in such conditions.  Our enclosed and well protected cockpit allows the watch keeper to make a similar nest and the lack of necessity to wear foul weather gear makes life much more comfortable.

The new Raymarine electronics that I fitted in Fiji have been excellent and performing well steering a compass course, tracking to a waypoint and steering on a wind angle.  The last 24 hours has been steering on the wind and managing much better than we would do if hand steering – heavens forbid.  Add to that the functionality of user defined data display and much improved radar means that I am a happy bunny.

I have just read an article on a similar sized ocean cruising boat in which the reviewer comments that the galley is such that haut-cuisine can be prepared in the most arduous of conditions.  I am not sure which planet he sails on or what super human cook he has in mind – perhaps his translation of haut cuisine is food over the ceiling.  I am very happy that we have a week’s worth of pre-prepared food in the freezer that only requires heating and adding rice or pasta.  No roughing it though, last night’s menu was beef stroganoff with peas and rice followed during the night by a chunk of armour piercing malt loaf – wonderful ballast.

Our offspring were most amused that I had purchased a galley strap to keep the cook in the galley.  Last laugh on me as it has at last seen service.  As Paul on Firefly said during the morning radio schedule he felt that his galley on the port side was 15 feet vertically above the chart table on the starboard – hence the galley strap to stop the cook descending on the navigatorium.

More exciting news tomorrow – who knows we might start to aim in the correct direction rather than Antarctica.