A very steady day with winds from the south east at around 15 knots.
Full sails all day on beam reach. Seas calmed and sun out most of the day.
Lovely night full of stars and I watched the half moon come up in the early
hours of the morning – glorious. Saw our first vessel of the passage
– the cruise ship Carnival Spirit – which came by us in the night
at a distance of around 2 miles heading for Suva. It was great to be able to track
it’s position on the AIS (Automated Information System). The wind is
supposed to go more southerly this morning but so far hasn’t so our speed
has slowed quite a lot as the wind has dropped to below 10 knots. About 115
miles to go to the Havannah pass. We have to enter the reef system around New Cal
via this pass. The pilots advise doing so at slack water or on the flood due to
strong currents and standing waves. Our tide gate closes at around midnight
tonight and reopens around 6 am tomorrow morning, so with our drop in speed
it’s going to be a dawn arrival, though we gain an hour due to time
travel!
24 hours distance: 172 miles