Marquesas to Tuamotus - Day 2 - Squalls & Rain

CuriousOyster
Steve & Trish Brown
Tue 20 Apr 2010 02:59
13:07.0S 144:40W
Time 03.00UT 20/04/2010
Passage time 2 days 0 hours
Distance to destination 475nm
Distance travelled 365nm

The first 36 hours gave us some perfect South Pacific trade wind sailing,
broad reaching in 12 to 16 knot easterlies.
When dawn broke this morning we were surrounded by high, building clouds,
the harbingers of rain and squalls.
Within an hour or so the first of a series of squalls passed over,
necessitating a rapid shortening of sail, a change of course as well as
clothes as the rain lashed the cockpit. Unlike their Atlantic cousins,
Pacific squalls are nowhere near as venomous or long lasting and we were
soon sailing along smoothly awaiting the next in the series. By lunchtime
the squalls had passed by and the afternoon has settled into a steady
progress towards our destination. Although we have sailed very
conservatively so far we will have to shorten sail to slow the boat down so
that we arrive at the entrance to the lagoon at or around slack water and
near to midday so that we can see the coral heads more clearly.
The more savvy Blog readers will have noticed that somehow we have sailed
133 degrees east. A typing error on my part and one that I will correct when
we next have wifi access.



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