We are on the final stretch of our journey from NZ to Phuket. The wind has been teasing us for the last few days, sometimes giving us enough to sail, sometimes dying down and forcing us to use the engine. But at least it's been blowing from behind, so we've been making good progress towards our destination.
The weather has been hot and calm, which has its pros and cons. On the plus side, we've been able to open the hatches and let some fresh air into the boat. On the minus side, we've also had some unwanted visitors. Last night, we woke up to a strange smell and a loud flapping noise. We discovered that four flying fish had somehow managed to jump through the hatches and land inside the boat. They were flopping around on the floor, making a mess and a racket. I was about to spring into action and save the day, but Rhona beat me to it. She bravely picked up the fish and threw them back into the sea. I'm sure they were grateful for her mercy. I was grateful for her courage. My screams were very manly, by the way.
We've been sailing with the main sail up, with a preventer line attached to the boom to keep it from slamming back and forth in the light wind. The apparent wind speed has been hovering around 6 knots, which is not quite enough to keep us moving at a decent pace. So we've also been using our trusty Yanmar engine to give us some extra power. We've been averaging 6 to 7 knots of boat speed, which is not bad considering the conditions.
We're hoping to arrive in Sabang by Saturday morning, so we can clear out of Indonesia as soon as possible and continue our voyage. Sabang is a small island off the northern tip of Sumatra, which we are not going to see. We have a tight schedule to keep, and we still have a few hundred miles from Sabang to Phuket to go.