10:06S 136:05W

Time                    18.00UT 05/03/2010

Passage time            15 days 4 hours

Distance to destination 2950nm

Distance travelled      2840nm

Distance to run         150nm

Course                  265degrees

Speed over Ground       8.5knots

Wind speed              12 to 16knots     

Wind Direction          NE

Another steady day has put is within 150 nm of our destination that will be Fatu Hiva in the Isle De Marquesas.

With the wind now steady from the NE we are flying along at between 8 and 9 knots with the big cruising chute tugging at the bow.

Yesterday we had our first conversation with another vessel since leaving the Galapagos when the Southern Star a 650ft cargo ship crossed our bow some 7 ½ miles away. Chris called them up to say hi and ask for their view of the weather for the next 24 hours. The guy on watch was very polite and exchanged pleasantries and the ship then went on its way to Japan where it is due to arrive on the 23^rd. We are now on schedule to make landfall tomorrow morning and the miles are ticking down quickly. It will be good to be able to get on land and have a walk about but unlike other landfalls when a restaurant meal and Cappuccino would be high on the agenda, here they will be very little to be had, a small village with a school and a small store with very little stock.

When sailing there are many things that you see but cannot explain and earlier on the trip we had a strange magnetic anomaly that made all the instruments go haywire for about 10 minutes. Last night on my watch a big black cloud formed on our starboard beam that promised to bring some good winds. But instead of tracking SW following the prevailing NW winds, the cloud went first east then South East to cover the moon. As it did the current changed in an instant from west going at about 0.8 knots to East going at about 2.8 knots and the wind change 90 degrees. After about 10 minutes of madness things went back as before.

I have absolutely no idea what could have caused such peculiar conditions. Spooky.