Both of us were incredibly excited to get back to sea.  Marlborough friends who joined us in Papeete and sailed with us to Moorea (an overnight), Huahine, Taha’a Bora Bora and back to Raiatea commented that we both appeared at our happiest when at sea.  We do enjoy it but qualify that by saying we are fair weather sailors!  Nothing is more frustrating and annoying than bad weather – it’s tiring, downright uncomfortable and makes doing anything on the boat difficult.  So we were delighted to have had a magical 24 hour run with brisk constant trade winds of 15-20 knots and a reasonably comfortable sea.  The wind lightened this morning, slowly us down a bit, but is forecast to freshen tonight.  

 

The night watch flew by and we both had a fantastic five hour plus sleep. The great thing about  our six hour on/off system is that the off watch person really gets a great sleep.  David would have kept on sleeping had I not turned on the SSB radio at 8am to check in for the first of our two morning nets.  The scratchy noise of the radio soon woke him and he was up ready for breakfast.  It was a beautifully clear night and a sheer joy to be on night watch.  I always think I get the best watch – watching dawn break and the sunrise at sea is always very special.

 

People often ask us what we do all day.  It’s midday now and I feel I haven’t stopped since coming on watch at 2am!  There is constant navigation, checking of weather files, checking in and listening to our two daily SSB nets, preparing meals and of course sleeping.  We both tend to nap during the day to keep us alert and our long watches allow for a really good sleep at night.  We’ve both got good books on the go along with a pile of NZ magazines brought to us by our Kiwi visitors during our time in French Polynesia.

 

Right, it’s nearly lunchtime so I better go and forage around in the fridge and produce something edible.