Tuesday 26^th May – I upped anchor and sailed for the main bay Baie D'Hakahau, Ua-Poa 9:21.52S 140:02.91W

After rising in the pitch black at about 4:30AM I pulled up my anchor and motored out in to the pacific headed North, I was lucky enough to have the wind I needed however light I was able to turn off the motor and just enjoy the sound of the wind while I sat and watched the sun rise over the ocean.

It is funny thinking back that only on the 1^st September 2007 not even two year ago was the first time I sailed Silky or any boat for that matter out of the sight of land when I crossed the English Channel to Cherbourg, the very day I proposed to Fiona. Back then I planed to trip down to the last detail as it was very challenging and somewhat scary to be going so far. This day however alone I did not think twice of what I was doing infact I just got out of bed left and then once out in to open and the boat had settled I decided where I was going to sail to and headed for the imaginary bit of sea so far away. To top things off the wind was only 10 Knots so I put up the Spinnaker witch has had its challenging moments in the past but now I feel completely confident to do it all alone.

Naturally enough the first thing I do when ever I get up and are under way is put the lines in the water, and today was no different. I managed to catch two small Tuna, perfect sise for a couple of meals each however thee first little fishy got off right at the back of the boat. I almost had it in my hands as he made his final attempt for the sea and succeeded. The second was very small but perfect for me and as I was well stocked with fresh limes it was not question of how he was going to be eaten, filleted and diced then soaked in lime juice with a little salt and pepper, no heat required and after about 1 hour in the fridge I ate and ate until I was able to eat no more. Amazing it is, it is like having a horrible addiction that you can not satisfy it tastes so good and you just need to eat more and more.

I was at sea for almost 14 hours and amazingly enough for me I read an entire book, it was called The Ballad of Les Darcy the famous Australian Boxer from the early 1900’s written by Peter Fitzsimons. I can highly recommend it as it is written like a novel however it is the factual accounts of his life and Boxing career. More importantly I have n ever read a book in such a short space of time ever, infact I have only read about half a dozen books in the last year so I am now kicking myself I said to Fiona to give away her extensive book collection when she left for Melbourne as it took up valuable space. Oh well I can see myself building up my own library over the next 5 months.

Day 306

Destination – Baie D'Hakahau, Ua-Poa

Traveling Direction – North

Average Speed – 4.8

Total distance – 63.2 Nautical Miles

Travel Time – 13:24’h