25: 04.7 S

179: 50.9 W

 

Distance last 24 hours:             78     nm

Distance since Nuku’alofa:      436     nm 

Distance still to go:                688    nm                                                 (All distances are in nautical miles:  1nm = 1.8km)

 

Well, once again we were woken in the middle of the night with the anchor chain growling over coral....A good sign that the SE wind we were expecting had come through, and we would definitely leaving in the morning!

 

The anchor was up at 06h30, on a beautiful clear dawn, the was followed with a last special sunrise at Minerva.....

 

Getting out of the atoll involved a few zig-zags around coral reefs, and then by 07h00, we were out of the atoll, sails up and speeding alongside the reef, waiting to head up to port, once clear of the reef end, and set the course for New Zealand.

I must say it did feel quite sad leaving South Minerva, I’d really enjoyed it there....

 

It is now 18h00, and we are rocking along at 7 knots, with 20-22 knots of SE across the deck, and preparing for the first night out again..... With the awkward see we are both in the process of getting our sea legs...! It will be a pitch black night tonight as cloud has moved in and there is no moon, or just a slither from about 4am..... So tonight will be challenging,  but the boat is handling the conditions very well.

 

About 3 hours ago, we came closer to catching a fish! In fact we had the fish on the line for at least 20 minutes, a medium size Mahi-mahi. I had reeled it in right to the transom, and we were busy trying to photograph it, and I had just got the gaff in my hand, when ‘he’ shook himself loose of the double hook, and escaped! He was a truly fine specimen, and was just the size we needed for our food stores.... Man I was upset that we lost it, and just for photographs! Well, I did feel a bit better that he was back where he belongs and lives life to tell another few tales! Anyway, we won’t give up....The line is still out trailing behind us!

 

We are in true trade wind conditions at the moment, and the flying fish are everywhere, the most I have seen, and some huge ones, but also a school of about 30 or so, also just took off in front of the boat, presuming we were a predator. I guess by 30 degrees south, less than 5 degrees now, we will be in very light winds, and will have said goodbye top the trades as we head down into the less consistent zone between the Westerlies and the trades. Maybe the flying fish are giving us a send off show...!

 

That’s about it for today, Ruth has made a nice warm dinner, and then I’ll be off for a nap before my 21h00 watch starts!

 

Tomorrow the sun will set in the east for us....Ha-ha, in a few hours we will cross the Date Line (180 degrees) ans then be in the eastern hemisphere.

 

Cheers

 

H