22.11S 169.42E 8th October 2011
Mojo 2
Andrew Partington
Sat 8 Oct 2011 03:37
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Another day with the drone of the motors in the
background. The wind died on us towards dark last night and has been absent ever
since. At 7pm we had about 3 knots of wind and couldn't keep the sails filled so
we pulled everything down and just drifted. Remarkably we were still making 2
knots with the strong west setting current and a couple of knots of wind from
the east. Even more surprising was that the autopilot continued to function
without sails or the motors to drive the boat. By 4am we had come 18 miles
just drifting but we were in a complete calm and the autopilot couldn't cope any
more. We fired up the motors again and continued our slow approach to Noumea.
Last night we were 180NM from our destination and it was obvious that we would
not get there today so there had been no need for us to hurry. We will enter
Noumea on Monday morning with the sun to assist us through the fringing
reef.
At 3pm today we were able to hoist the
genneker again in 7 knots of wind but it looks as though it is dying out again.
Magic day out here again after a beautiful night last night and impressive
sunrise this morning.
Big domestic day today with me doing some cooking
in preparation for the next leg to Brisbane and also doing all of
our washing by hand [hope Jane doesn't read this!].
Takes an age to dry the clothes even though it is
another warm day with full sun. Still had enough time to fit in a movie
with Rob though.
We are still 140NM from Noumea and we may not yet
be done with the motors. To get there at first light on Monday we only need to
maintain 3.5 knots. Gerard is due to fly in to New Caledonia on Monday and
Robert is flying out on Tuesday afternoon. I hope Gerard brings the trade winds
with him because they certainly aren't here with us.
Still have 7 knots at 3.35PM. Here's hoping it
lasts the night.
Andrew.
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