Opua Inbound Day 3

Hi everyone,

At noon today we were at 34 07S 174 44E steering 185M, sailing under double-reefed main and double-furled yankee at 6 knots.  The wind was 15G18 from the E.  Our noon to noon distances were 122nm by the log and 127nm over the ground.   Overall we'd logged 688nm and 745nm respectively.  Our distance to go was 79nm.  Just a Freo to Bunbury.

Into the blue

Yesterday afternoon the wind held in at 20G28 fro the E to ENE until mid-evening.  Then we broke out of the cloud and wind decreased gradually to 15G20.  We had a 7/8 moon which lit the scene wonderfully and made the brighter stars conspicuous.  Twas a very nice overnight sail.

By dawn low cloud had re-emerged and the wind continued to slowly ease.  Then mid-morning the sky began to clear again with only mid-level cloud remaining.  The 'long white cloud' perhaps! 

The screenshot below shows our position at noon and the few other yachts still at sea in our group.  Two days north are EBBYC SVs Moody Rudie and Island Kea II.  They spent only one night at Minerva Reef before departing.  We've been between a few days and a couple of weeks ahead of them all the way across the South Pacific, apart from a few brief get-togethers.

PredictWind Tracks

We've updated our ETA with NZ Customs from noon Thursday to dawn tomorrow (Wednesday).  We'll be very pleased to have made the passage in a week.

Trust all's well where you are!