What a difference a day or 2 makes. We have had 2 calm, beautiful sunny days (Tues & Wed). To top off my nature day on Tuesday, I was sitting at the helm in the afternoon on watch when a large log covered with barnacles floated past. I was watching it when a Mahi Mahi came charging from it toward the boat, leaping out of the water several times to investigate the fishing lures. It was a stunning sight. He obviously didn't like the look of them as we did not catch him. The juvenile blue bottles continue to float past as well, their little sails sparkling in the sun. We took the mainsail down yesterday to reinsert a batten and decided to leave it down, as the winds were too light for it to be effective. Nigel checked the fuel for the Port engine and discovered that we had double the amount we thought we had (calcs on usage were high) which has been a major plus. We motored yesterday and last night waiting for the wind to pick up a bit. It has swung 180deg in the past 48 hrs and is now coming from North at 15Kts. We are sailing with the headsail only and making 5.5 - 6kts. We are targeting reaching the entrance to Morton Bay at sunrise tomorrow morning (Friday 7th September) and should be at Rivergate Marina to checkin with Customs, Immigration etc in the afternoon. We are nearly home!. I actually started smelling earth smells this morning and the bird life has increased considerably, all indicating 'land ahoy'. As at 2pm Thursday we are 105nm from the mouth of the Brisbane River, and 7540nm from Shelter Bay Marina in Panama, where we started this journey on 14 April.
For those observant enough to note an increase in the number of days - following an audit it appears that we may have missed a couple of days somewhere, so the correct number appears above.
