aegir-ran

Current Position: 17 33.957’S 149 37.068’W; Local Timezone: UTC-10; HDG: N/A; COG: N/A; SOG: N/A; Distance to Waypoint (Tahiti, Carrefour Bay): At Anchor; Total Miles Sailed: 4229 nm;
Comments: I have spent most of the day doing paperwork and doing chores. Most importantly, I have decided to head to Tonga next. I will be skipping the Cook Islands and Samoa because they require sailing to 13S. I have decided to stay at 16S until it is time to head for Thursday Island. After Tonga, I will visit Fiji and Vanuatu. Tomorrow (Friday) I will spend on the engine. I will check the fuel and filters, design the system that allows me to switch tanks, and go to the hardware store to try to get the parts. Most of Saturday will be spent at a festival. The other major projects I have include removing the mainsail and sewing it, work on the wind vane, repair the wind instruments, and provisioning (fuel, water, and food). I have about one week to do these things. The wind is blowing from the S today and the waves are coming from the SW, making for a rolling time at anchor. There will be a good chance of rain the middle of the week, so I need to get the sail done before then. I will need to clear out the salon area and set the sewing machine up on the table. If I can make good progress on the engine tomorrow, I will work on the sail Sunday. I will get water and fuel this week, but I won’t get food until I know the engine, sail, and wind instruments are ready. I may not get the wind instruments until next Thursday, so A week from tomorrow will be the earliest for the food.

Current Position: 17 33.957’S 149 37.068’W; Local Timezone: UTC-10; HDG: N/A; COG: N/A; SOG: N/A; Distance to Waypoint (Tahiti, Carrefour Bay): At Anchor; Total Miles Sailed: 4229 nm;
Comments: Sunset was at 17:31. I reached T1b t 17:48. T1b (near Pointe Venus, the northern tip of Tahiti) is 13 nm away. I had to stop at 18:45, 8 nm from T2b, to put some more fuel In the day tank. Also, I put the blower on because the engine room was getting hot. At 19:05, I passed close to a vessel that I had seen on Radar but did not have AIS. I passed Pointe Venus at 19:50. I passed another slow-moving vessel at 20:05 that did not have AIS. It hardly showed up on radar, but was well lit. It was not necessary to go as far as T2b, and after I passed Pointe Venus, I changed my heading from 261 to 239 to follow the coastline. A strange boat has been on a collision course with me for the past 2h, “Peter Punk Solo Sailor” has been approaching my starboard quarter. AIS says it is a 20’ boat moving 6.5 kt. It appears to be heading for Papeete Bay. I received several collision alerts, but when I changed my heading to 239, the issue was resolved. Also, the seas are noticeably calmer. The engine has been running rough the past couple of hours. Adding fuel to the day tank and cooling it down did not help. It will not run over 1500 rpm. At that engine speed it drives the boat 5 kt. I will need to work on it while in Tahiti. It is 20:30. On the NW corner of Tahiti, there is a point that forms a right angle, about 5 nm from where I am now. There is a green beacon there. At that point I would normally turn due south for about 4 nm to the entrance of the lagoon. However, I want to park myself about 2 nm offshore, so I will head SW at that point. The width of the channel that separates the north and South Island is about 9 nm. I wanted to be south (downwind) of that channel, in part because the swell in the channel itself was horrific. I passed the green marker about 22:15. There was a vessel ahead like the other two, no AIS and brightly lit. I believe the they are all related, perhaps some sort of dinner cruises. The engine sputtered and stopped again for the fourth time. It starts up again without difficulty. It must be some sort of fuel issue. I thought I saw some white smoke earlier, so it could be water. It seems to be an issue when the boat is rocking. I thought it was because the day tank was not full, but it is. I will tilt the boat to the port side (where the fuel outlet is) using the boom, and drain some fuel to see if there is water in it. I arrived at the endpoint at 23:15 (17°35′50″ S 149°39′23″ W), about 2 nm west of the Passé. Using the lagoon channel or going from/to Marina Taina at night is forbidden, so I must wait at sea for dawn to contact the Port Control Traffic Tower (VHF 12) for permission to enter the channel. Note, low (slack) tide should be about 7:00, which would be perfect. There is a significant breeze from the E. I have dropped an “anchor” using the AIS and will use it to determine how much I am drifting. I am drifting to the SSW and a significant speed, apparently the result of a current between the islands. The direction is away from danger. However, when I checked in one hour, the NNW. This was not a problem. I set another one hour timer. By 2:30, I had travelled 3 nm well into the channel that separates the islands, and the rolling of the boat became a problem. Curious, I checked the PredictWind model and it predicted the current spot-on. By daybreak, I’d be 2h away from the passage, so I moved the boat south, about 2 1/2 nm upstream of the current from the passage. The current will slow down as it becomes slack tide (6:45). By the time the boat was moved, it was 3:30. Sunrise will be 6:16. The boat moved very little by 6:00, perhaps because I was will out of the channel that separated the islands, but also slack tide was approaching. I traveled 2 nm north, then contacted the Port Control on VHF 12 and asked for permission to enter the lagoon channel. I went through the outer markers at 7:00. It was very challenging because the sun was directly in my face. The sun blindness made it hard to read my instruments and the glare off the water made it difficult to see the markers in the water. To make things worse, the channel was full of dolphins and human swimmers who had joined them. I tried to anchor at Gypsy Cove, but it was full of mooring balls. I eventually anchored in Carrefour Bay in 50’ of water with 250’ of chain. By 9:00, I had the boat secured. Carrefour, by the way, is the Walmart of Tahiti. I got checked in at the marina. Did the paperwork for my FEDEX package, and did some quick shopping at the Carrefour. I’ll have no problem provisioning there. I even got an invite for some sort of local festival in Papeete. The aunt and mother of the person who helped me with my paperwork is going to give me a ride, about 45m away.

Current Position: 17 29.683S 149 17.170’W; Local Timezone: UTC-10; HDG: 266; COG: 270; SOG: 5.1 kt; Distance to Waypoint (Tahiti, T1b): 2 nm; Total Miles Sailed: 4196 nm;
Comments: There were two potential hazards last night. First, the freighter Salome was about 45 nm behind at dusk me doing 14 kt, so should reach me in about 4h (about 21:00). I saw it on PredictWind, but for some reason did not see it on AIS. I left my AIS on so it could see me and I set alarms to keep tabs on it. Second, I would be passing close to Mehetia about midnight. I set alarms to check on that as well. Also close to dusk, the waves were back to the starboard beam, which is the light wind slowed down sailing. While I averaged almost 5 kt during the day, I was now averaging closer to 4. This is not a big deal because at some point I will be twiddling my thumbs for 6-8h waiting for daylight to enter the harbor. At 18:40, the freighter Salome finally showed up on AIS, 30 nm (about 2h) away. About 21:20, the freighter passed about 6 nm off my starboard. About 1:00, I passed 10 nm N of Mehetia. I was awaken at 2:45, between the alarms I had set at 2h intervals, because the boat was heeled a bit more than it had been. It was moving 5.5-6 kt, 2 kt faster than earlier in the night. I went in deck and check the weather and it seemed fine. The sky was essentially clear. I checked the PW weather forecast I had downloaded earlier and indeed the wind was predicted to increase from 10 to 14 kt during this period. It is expected to be like this until mid morning, then the wind is supposed to die down significantly as I reach T1b. That will work out well as I will be in no hurry at that point to make my way around the island. It is 3:00 and I am 66 km from T1b. I note that I have travelled 45 nm in the last 10h, since my last check-in. It’s 5:30 and I am 52.5 nm away, so have averaged 5.4 nm on for the past 2.5h. Sunrise was at 6:10. It is the first time I have seen a sunrise or sunset in a couple of weeks, because of clouds on the horizon. The skies are partly cloudy. No threats. It should be a good solar day. The waves are bigger and striking the starboard quarter. Might be a problem later when the wind is not blowing as hard. I will get ready for my arrival by doing my usual chores (process trash, clean out the fridge, untangle the chain locker, service the engine, etc.). For breakfast, I ate my last hard boiled egg (from Hiva Oa) and my last tangerine (from Cabo San Lucas), so it’s time to restock. After my chores, I am going to try to rest today, because once I reach the coastline and overnight, there will not be much rest while I am moving, which is likely to be most of the night. I had just finished cleaning the fridge a little after 8:00 and was in the cockpit disposing of the spoiled food when I got a hit on the rod. It took me 20m to land a large dorado. Since I did not have a gaff, I had to tire the fish, bring it along side, and bring it aboard by its gills. By the time I had processed the fish, more than an hour had passed. It is 12:30 and as predicted the winds have decreased. The boat is traveling 4 kt and I have about 20 nm to T1b. At 13:40, Tahiti appeared from behind clouds, while I was in the cockpit enjoying my fish dinner. It is almost 14:00, and as predicted, the wind is all but gone. Furthermore, there will be no wind until late Thursday. I have about 40 nm to go to the west side of the island and the passage to the anchorage. At 5 kt, that’s 8h of motoring. I have 16h or so until dawn, when I can enter the passage. The problem is I don’t want to end up in the windward side of Tahiti tonight to heave to and hope the forecast is correct. Right now, I am about 12 nm from the E shore, which is not in a great position either. Right now, I have a little wind. Not enough to sail, but it adds 1-2kt to motor sailing. Later, there is not supposed to be any wind at all, so it is probably better to motor sail now. Ideally, I could make my way to the leeward side of the island and stay there bare poles, presumably with no wind, until dawn. The whole purpose for rounding the north side of the island was so I could sail and not motor. On the other hand, if I had gone south I would have been motoring now anyway, and I would have no wind to help me. It is 15:45 and I am 10 nm from T1b. As I round the north side of Tahiti, I suddenly have a flurry of activity on the AIS, one fishing boat and five cargo ships. It could be a long night. I am going to have to top off the day tank. Because I need to move the tiller to the side to get to the fuel tank, I will need to heave to. I will shut the engine down to do that. That reminds me that one of the things I definitely need to do in Tahiti is fix the fuel pump situation on the main tank. The hardware I will need will be most likely available here. At 16:00, there was zero wind, so I dropped the sails. That may have been a mistake because they were keeping the boat from rolling. I already hat the main lashed to the boom, but I unfurled the jib and that helped a lot with the stability (but not speed). I have 15 nm before Pointe Venus (the northern tip of Tahiti), at which point I will begin heading south. I’ve pretty much decided to make my way to the passage without stopping. I’ll park a couple of miles NW of the passage bare poled and dose in the cockpit until morning.

Current Position: 17 44.653’S 147 24.620’W; Local Timezone: UTC-10; HDG: 270; COG: 270; SOG: 4.8 kt; Distance to Waypoint (Tahiti, T1b): 111 nm; Total Miles Sailed: 4162 nm;
Comments: In contrast to the cloudy/stormy past two days, the sail overnight was under clear skies with a bright, nearly full moon. While the boat speed started off nearly 5 kt, the wind became variable and the boat sometimes made only 2.5 kt. The average speed in the last 12h was 3.5 kt. The skies were clear overhead in the morning. There were clouds on the horizon windward, but nothing threatening. The winds were light and the seas calm, so I shook out the first reef in the main and completely unfurled the jib. Even after trimming the sails, I was only averaging 4.3 kt. The weather forecast suggests it may be like this the rest of the way to Tahiti. It is 147 nm to the southern end of Tahiti, at which point I will be in its shadow and likely have to motor. Alternatively, I could make my way to the north and sail most of the way. The latter might make sense if there is no way I can make the harbor by tomorrow night. At this point that does not look too likely. Is I go to the south l, might have to motor 40 nm. If I go to the north, perhaps 10-25 nm (depending on the wind direction on the north side of the island). I have decided to take the northern route. The first waypoint (T1b), just off the NE coast, is 155 nm away. It is essentially the course I am on anyway. This route allows me to avoid Mehetia, one of two small islands off the SE of Tahiti. I would likely reach T1b early afternoon tomorrow (Tuesday). This would allow me to navigate the traffic around the island during mostly daylight hours. This would still place me at least 5h from the passage to the marina, and even under motor I would not make it before dark. So, I may slow my roll to reach T1b in the early morning hours of Wednesday, say 1:00. I could rest in the interim, even heave to. I will make a decision after I see how far I make it in the next 24h. At my present pace, I will pass Mehetia (75 nm) about midnight. At 8:00, I put a fishing line out. I have been reluctant to fish because I have had trouble keeping the fridge cool and because I apparently have lost my gaff. But, I am out of fresh food and my stomach overrode other objections. Because it is actually nice in the cockpit today (waves are light, no spray or rain), I broke out the nice seat and am relaxing outside. Batteries are at 90% at 8:30, I am running the TillerPilot and the fridge and still have an excess of 7 Ah charging the battery bank. Today may be a good day to make water. At 9:00, I deployed the whisker pole to give the foresail better shape and to keep it from flagging. The pole didn’t improve the speed, still 4.5-5 kt, but it stopped the slapping and jerking with the motion of the waves. A small squall/rain storm passed the stern. Nothing looks threatening. At 11:30, the batteries were at 98%. I turned on the electronics briefly to confirm what Navionics was telling regarding speed and direction, the AIS to confirm there were no vessels in the area, then I turned them back off again and turned on the watermaker. I still had 15 excess Ah to finish charging the batteries. I made some lunch of Raman noodles and enjoyed the fresh air in the cockpit. It truly is a beautiful day for sailing. I had so much extra photo energy today, that made ice, juiced my last grapefruit, and enjoyed an icy beverage outdoors. It started to get cloudy to the NW early afternoon. At 13:45, I hooked something, but it came off the line as I was reeling it in. At 17:00, just before dusk, I took the whisker pole down (in case I need to furl the foresail rapidly at night) and trimmed the sails. There is no indication of weather on the horizon.

Current Position: 17 54.073’S 145 43.535’W; Local Timezone: UTC-10; HDG: 250; COG: 252; SOG: 4.8 kt; Distance to Waypoint (Tahiti): 190 nm; Total Miles Sailed: 4122 nm;
Comments: To avoid Anaa and to get a better angle on Tahiti later, I jibed at 17:00 last night, just before it got dark. With a heading of about 200, I was sailing faster (5.5-6 kt) than when I was nearly in a run before the jibe. This also eliminated having to deal with the hazard of Anaa in the middle of the night. The distance I travel overnight (perhaps 60 nm) should be about perfect. Finally, it makes sense that I not move to the windward side of the atoll should it become necessary to heave to overnight for any reason. for example the weather ahead looks somewhat threatening. The sail at night was peaceful … smooth seas, light winds … about 4 kt. I was awaken at 1:30 because the boat had jibed, apparently because of a change of wind direction. I trimmed the sails for the new direction, 257, directly for Tahiti, as it appeared I would clear Anaa to the south in about 30 nm. The boat was making 5.5 kt. While I was awake, I noticed lightning to the SW ahead of me. I turned on the Radar but there were no weather-related images. Also, I noticed no lightening to windward., although it was somewhat difficult to tell because the full moon was directly in front of the boat (to the W). I checked the AIS (no vessels since I left Trinity behind) and went back to sleep. It would be daylight before I passed Anaa. The pilot’s berth is always more comfortable on a starboard tack … and it has been quite awhile. I got up at sunrise, 5:40. It is interesting that the sun no longer rises in the E and I am now almost 18 degrees S. There is lightning to my S, but no thunder. It is closer than it was last night. The CAPE index is 1600-1750 for the next couple of days, then drops off Tuesday. At 6:00, I began hearing the thunder. The storms are perhaps 30 nm to my S. The apparent wind is NE and the actual wind probably more easterly. The boat is traveling a little over 5 kt due W (260) with the Yankee and one reef in the main. I am leaving the reef in because I do not trust the storms in the area. The first cargo ship I have encountered in some time, the Mathilde Schulte, is essentially on the same course as I am, maybe heading for Tahiti. it is about 2h behind me at 6:30. At 7:30, there was a huge thunder clap and the wind died down to almost nothing. I switched to the TillerPilot to maintain my course, especially as the freighter was now 15 nm (1h) behind me. At 8:30, I passed 30 nm S of Anaa, the last of the atolls in the Tuamotu Archipelago, about the same time the cargo ship passed 8 nm N of me. A large squall was passing behind me and there was some real nastiness ahead. I was down to 3.5 kt and had to continue using the TillerPilot, which is a problem because it’s another day without any sun. I will need to run the engine or I will loose the food in the fridge. At 9:00, the wind changed directions, blowing less northerly and more easterly, and it picked up significantly as a storm with lightning developed upwind. I furled about half the jib in. Counting at least a half dozen downpours around me, I decided not to take a chance and put the second reef in. I was doing 5 kt with half the Yankee and two reefs in the main. Not want to take a chance with the electronics, I turned everything off except the TillerPilot as the storm hit. The TillerPilot is not connected to the network (and operates off an internal compass). It was a good decision to head S early this morning as I am now on the leeward side of Anaa. I used Navionics on my iPhone to monitor the course and direction. As the first storm hit at 9:30, there was a sudden shift in the wind to the E and the boat jibed. The preventer I had in place kept the boom from swinging over. A few minutes later, the TillerPilot corrected the course and the boat jibed again as the wind picked up to drive the boat 6 kt. After the initial surge, it actually lightened up a bit to the point that the solar systems were actually producing a few extra amps, albeit with everything turned off but the TillerPilot. The wind dropped practically to nothing by 10. I let out most of the jib, but was still only making 2.5 kt with two reefs in the main. The problem was in part the wind direction, which had turned more easterly, placing the boat more in a run than a reach. However, given the storm conditions, I was not tempted to rig the boat for downwind sailing (e.g., wing on wing). The conditions were just too variable. Instead, I got out of the rain and went below to make myself a tea. After the front had passed through, it looked lighter to windward and the wind was relatively light, so I shook out the second reef and made 5.5 kt initially, but the wind died down again. This is what I can expect for the foreseeable future. At 11:00, the light apparent wind was from the S, effectively causing the boat to heave to. I didn’t adjust the sails because I knew this was just temporary. Nonetheless, about 11:20, I shifted the course to 265 (from 257) to keep the boat from jibing and to pick up some speed to 5 kt. I also turned the fridge on (had to throw out some food). With just the TillerPilot and fridge on, I was in the black, but just barely. I was hoping for more solar energy the middle of the day. By 1:00, the storm seems to be ahead of me and the sun has come out. At 13:00, I noticed the second baton pocket from the top of the main sail has roped about half way. I cannot leave it or the sail may be destroyed. My plan is to furl the jib, lower the main sail to the point of the baton and lash it, then fire up the engine to stabilize the boat while I sew it. After examining the pocket, my choices are to remove it and put it back I when the boat is at anchor or try to sew it on a pitching deck. I decided the best course of action is to put a couple of lock stitches in the pocket to keep it from tearing loose and remove the baton. I will make a permanent repair in Tahiti. The temporary repair was made. When I get to Tahiti, I will take the mainsail down, inspect it, and make needed repairs. Glad I brought the Sailrite machine and the correct thread. It’s going to make the job easier. One advantage of firing up the engine to make the repair is I got some charge on the batteries. I’ve made about 90 nm on towards Tahiti in the last 24h, which is not too bad considering the weather and technical issues I had, as well as the fact only about half the time I was head directly towards Tahiti. There is still a chance I can make Tahiti by the end of the day on Tuesday, but I’d have to make better time than I have the past two days.

Current Position: 16 13.037’S 142 42.401W; Local Timezone: UTC-10; HDG: 250; COG: 252; SOG: 5.1 kt; Distance to Waypoint (Tahiti): 380 nm; Total Miles Sailed: 4036 nm;
Comments: About 20:00, I passed T1 and passed between the atolls Taenga and Nihiru. T2 was about 50 nm away. At 21:30 there was a rain shower, but no increase in wind. At 23:30, as I approached the southern tip of Makemo, I altered course to T3 because it gave me a wider berth of Makemo and the northern islands of Marutea, and it gave me a better wind angle and a bit more speed. T3 was 95 nm. The boat speed was only 5 kt, but it was comfortable. It is nearly a full moon. The sky is now partly cloudy, so the water is illuminated. The sea state is more calm than it was yesterday afternoon. By 3:30, the boat had slowed down. I had cleared the northern tip of Marutea, and turned south to gain a little boat speed (5 kt) on a broad reach. I am not sure if I am perhaps in a shadow or maybe the wind has just died down. The wind picked up a little at sunrise. The boat was doing 5-5.5 kt with two-thirds of the Yankee and a double reef in the main. The sea state was relatively calm. The skies were overcasts and there was the potential for squalls, so I left the reefs is for now. The heading was about 200 on a broad reach. It seemed like a reasonable compromise. I could have headed further south for speed, but that would not have improved my progress on to Tahiti. I could have gotten another kt by shaking out the reef, but at the cost of a less comfortable ride. Also, there were occasional gusts to deal with. There was really only one more atoll to deal with, Haraiki, about 30 nm off my port bow, so I switched to the wind vane. I’ve only averaged 4 kt on to Tahiti since leaving Raroia, but that’s because I’ve been sailing 40-60 degrees off the waypoint. The wind finally picked up about 8:00, driving the boat 6 kt. It was good I was patient. In the meantime, I got an hour-long nap down below. Some of the clouds to the SE look threatening. I am under a lightning warning, but have not heard any thunder. The waves seem to pick up about 9:00, perhaps driven by the weather on the horizon. I passed Haraiki about 9:00, the last atoll at this latitude between here and Tahiti. Also at 9:00, I have sailed 4000 nm since leaving San Carlos on March 13 … 58 days … an average of 69 nm/day. This is close to my original schedule. Tahiti is 248 and I am in a broad reach at 208. If this wind direction continues, I will jibe towards the end of the day tomorrow for the second half of the passage. There did not seem to be any threatened weather on the horizon, so at 10:30, I shook out the second reef and exposed most of the Yankee. At 200 on a hard beam reach I was making 4.5 kt. The wind vane was having trouble with the light wind, so I engaged the TillerPilot. The wind’s response was to lighten up further, so I barely made 4 kt. At noon there was a shift in the wind, a bit early than expected. I was to jib and make a course directly for Tahiti (250) making 5.5 kt with all of the Yankee and one reef in the main. This is an unexpected course, so I will in fact need to avoid one more atoll, Anaa in about 100 nm. By 13:00 the sun was finally out and I could run the fridge a bit. The main house bank was still not fully charged (91%), so I had to be careful. At 13:30 yesterday, I had 392 nm to go to Tahiti. Today at 13:30, I have 294, so I have made almost 100 nm on, which is more than expected because of the light wind today and the fact almost the whole time I have been sailing 40-50 degrees off the waypoint. If the weather prediction is correct, I should be able to continue more-or-less towards Tahiti, although the wind is supposed to lighten up Monday. After a few days without much sunlight, my batteries are down, even though I have not run the fridge since yesterday, so I ran the engine for 45m to motor sail, cool the fridge, finish charging the batteries, and turn on the other electronics. I posted my check-in the same time yesterday. At that time I was 378 nm from Tahiti and I am now 280 (98 nm on during the last 24h … not bad all things considered). Hopefully, the rest of the way will be towards the waypoint. It does not look like I’m going to miss Anaa, which is now 65 nm away. I will likely need to jibe in the early morning hours to avoid it.

Current Position: 16 13.037’S 142 42.401W; Local Timezone: UTC-10; HDG: 210; COG: 225; SOG: 6.5 kt; Distance to Waypoint (Tahiti): 378 nm; Total Miles Sailed: 3917 nm;
Comments: I hauled the anchor at 11:30. Two catamarans, Trinity and Breeze, were about 1.5 nm ahead of me. At 4.5 kt motoring, I was gaining on them, so I backed off to 4 kt to avoid a traffic jam at the passage. I crossed the passage at 13:00 (high tide was supposed to be a 12:45) against a 1 kt current and essentially no standing waves. I started out with most of the Yankee and two reefs in the main to determine how the wind vane was performing. The boat was making 5 kt on a beam reach. I had set a half dozen waypoint to avoid the atolls. The first (T1) is 34 nm away. It is 13:30, so I will not make that waypoint by dark. The wind vane seems to work, although perhaps not as well as it used to. It is gusty and there is evidence of squalls, so I am leaving both reefs in for now. It is 392 nm to Tahiti as the crow flies, but I will be weaving through the atolls the next few days, and this will slow me down significantly. It looks like the right call to leave the reefs in. The wind picked up as I left the leeward side of Raroia. The boat is happy at 5.5-6 kt heeled 8 degrees or so. It is interesting that I feel chilly. It’s been a long time since I didn’t feel hot all the time. Trinity is on the same course south as I am (205), whereas Breeze headed east (308). Trinity slowed down and I passed her at 15:45. The wind and waves really increased once I was out of the shadow of Raroia. While the waves are not a surprise, it is surprising how much the wind picked up. I am really glad now I have two reefs in the main. The boat is doing over 7 kt and is heeled over 15 degrees. After I make T1, around 19:30, I will turn more easterly, and move from a beam reach to a broad reaching, reducing the heel and the speed of the boat. The distance between T1 and T2 is about 50 nm, which means it will be close to dawn before T2. Although the wind vane seems to be working well, I will use the TillerPilot for the broad reach because there is no room for error between the atolls. By the end of the day tomorrow, I should be out of danger.

Current Position: 16 04.284’S 142 21.989W; Local Timezone: UTC-10; HDG: N/A; COG: N/A; SOG: N/A; Distance to Waypoint (Raroia): At Anchor; Total Miles Sailed: 3892 nm;
Comments: I am preparing myself and my boat for the passage to Tahiti beginning tomorrow. Slack (high) tide is about 13:00 tomorrow. I will motor across the lagoon in the morning so I am in position to cross. The Tuamotu Archipelago is going to be a challenge to cross. It will take me two days to navigate through them. By Sunday evening, I should be okay. I have had a good day … finished my punch list, including a dive and finishing off the shark (in a sort of gumbo). It is only about 5 nm from where I am to the passage out of the lagoon. I already have most of the boat ready … I hard boiled a half dozen eggs. I will cook a pasta dish and make a couple of cheese sandwiches in the morning. Sent from my iPhone