A Day of Rest

Latitude : 25? 40' South
Longitude: 179? 04' West
Captain and crew are all in good health and spirits and the sails needed a rest so we have been under power since late last night. The wind began easing in the afternoon but we managed to keep 5 knots with all sails up until around 22:00. Oh well, that's why we have all this diesel on board. We have been struggling with the voyage forecast as we jumped ahead of the game and winds are not quite what were predicted. What wind we have is from NE and as we are heading WSW so we have it very deep on the stern. We were, and are, expecting the winds to move to the south which would help us make easier westing. The temptation of course is to follow the straight line from Tonga to Opua, the only problem would be that we would get nailed as we approached the NZ coast with winds on the nose. The plan is to head west until we are almost in line with Cape Reinga and then head south. I asked for an update from Bob McDavitt yesterday but have not yet heard anything. The weather files I have accessed and emails from friends don't seem to show what he is predicting but I won't second guess the experts just yet. As long as we are heading west fine and besides, George is driving and doing a stellar job.
As I write, I am sitting in the cockpit watching the sun rise. Despite all other feelings, the sunrise on the ocean is on of the lasting memories I will take away from this voyage. The swell is actually rolling gently under the boat and all seems right with the world (excepty we only have 4 knots of wind!)

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