All is well out here on the open seas. It’s Friday afternoon and we’re about 115 miles from Beveridge Reef sailing along at 6.5 knots under full mizzen and slightly furled genoa. We’ll have to slow down overnight tonight so we arrive in good daylight tomorrow. Although I have good coordinates on this place from several sources, I can’t bring myself to get within 5 miles of it at night!
We’ve been making steady progress all three days. We haven’t seen another boat since the first night out of Raro. The weather has been absolutely perfect. It seems like it’s getting slightly warmer again as we head a little back to the north but we still miss our old friend the Equator. At night it dips down in the 60’s. We’ll okay, 68, but that seems really cold out here on the ocean!
I had to run the engine a few hours to charge the batteries night before last but other than that we’ve been sailing along in silence. I took the chance in Raro to completelly fill up on fuel. I didn’t know when I’d see a price as good as $1.55 a liter (around $6/gallon) so I dropped by the harbormaster’s office to order up the fuel truck for delivery. They came down to the quai and I’m sure they were happy I called. After I took on 150 liters, six other boats announced they’d like fuel and finished out most of the 1000 liters they brought in the truck! As of now I’ve got a full 50 gallon tank, 30 extra gallons on decks, and I barely burn a half gallon per hour. So we’re good on fuel for quite a while now especially since after this passage the jumps are mostly 1-3 days through Fiji and we have plenty of time to wait for weather windows.
Assuming all goes well, I’ll write again tomorrow night from anchor at Beveridge. I gotta go slow her down again. We’re up over seven knots and it’s barely blowing 20!
{ 1 comment }
Drew! We’re waiting for you! Not sure if we’ll see you in Fiji or NZ, but Sereia and Dosia will meet again!! Stay safe, and soak up the sunshine while you can– it’s freezing in NZ!!