Missed thursday due to feeling unwell but now much better.  I shared an omelette with Diana for supper last night and that stayed down plus good breakfast this morning and bit of a fry up for elevenses.

The wind has dropped to 10-12kn and moved more southerly so steady progress but not going to break any records. I forget all my sailing knowledge when returning to the boat after a land break. I went up on deck this morning to check for fraying lines but it was too late for the starboard guardline which had been cut in two by the jib sheet pressing down on it. Having just replaced the port wire in NZ which had suffered a similar fate I should know better than to leave anything under unneccesary strain. I have made a repair with the old port wire and plenty of Duck tape. If we ever reach the U.K. the boat will be held together with more sticky tape than anything else.

We are aiming for Norfolk Island which is only slightly off route to New Caledonia. All reports seem to suggest that anchoring is not possible unless the weather is very settled but being from Norfolk I feel we should at least give it a look. We might get there tomorrow some time.

The engine didn't start last night when I tried to give the batteries a boost last evening. We haven't had much sun and should have run the engine longer when we set off from Cape Reinga. Another lesson forgotten. Now willing the sun to come out and give some amps so that we can boost the batteries, fire up the  engine and put the fridge back on. Sadly the clouds have so far won the day.