What a fight! 22.15S 176.58W

Salsa af Stavsnas
Ellinor Ristoff Staffan Ehde
Mon 11 Nov 2013 17:40
At sea, we have been out almost 24 hours now. Our speed is only 6,4 knots but we have been travelling faster. Between 7-8.
The sea is about 1,5-2,5 meter. The sun came just up over the horizon, always a big treat when the darkness from the night changes to all details coming ut, casting long soft warm shadows. The stars last night where astonishing, the milky way being like a road of light in the sky.
We set off yesterday short after I hosted the Southern Cross radionet.We raised the anchor by hand to save the windlass, then sailed off and left the tropics behind us. Our last swim in warm waters for a long time.It is the right time to leave as the watertemperature is rising and with that also the risk of cyclones, or hurricanes.
Well outside Tongatapu we dropped our pink squid behind us and after a couple of hours we got a real fighter on the hook.
After 15-20 minutes of fighting and the boat almost to a stop we finally hauled in a tuna that was probably around 7-10 kg!
As Ellinor cut the meat out I took the reel off the pole, put the pink squid in the "wallet" for baits. Washed the reel in fresh water and set it aside. It had done enought killing for this journey. We have so much meat that it is a shame we don't have a freezer.We had tuna burgers for dinner, that is nice fried tuna filets with bread and chips. Ellinor and I had also just tuna with teriaky sauce and ginger...
The kids know by now how to change pace when the boat is at sea.
Erika said yesterday she does not want to stop in Minerva reef since it "only makes us have to start all over again".And it is true, as we set off on a long passage there is so much preparation and then we change the routines from "anchorlife".
Well if the weather forecast stays the way it shows we will not stop in Minerva. There is a weather window looking as it can take us all the way to NZ.
But we have to be there before wensday next week, because a front is building up in Australia that might move in over North Cape in NZ and get nasty.As of now we hope to be in NZ on monday next week. But that will show. Bob Mc Davitts forecast has been very accurate til now.