The GRIB files have been spot on since we left, and we're currently in a large area of blue on the weather map, indicating almost no wind. It seems like the breeze won't return until tomorrow as we approach Vanuatu.
We've had a quiet 24 hours, without even a chance to trick Rhona and getting her to stand under the boom. The only excitement has come from dodging fishing boats. Last night, we encountered a 25 nautical mile stretch of sea so crowded with fishing vessels that we had to navigate around it; I'm not sure we could have squeezed through between them. I hope this isn't a sign that there are no fish left in Asia so they are over here taking the South Pacific fish. I am sure Fiji, Vanuatu and the rest of the Pacific islands don't have the resources to monitor their waters, and even if they do then actually getting out to sea is a different story. The Fijian 'navy' recently put their latest high tech patrol boat through initial sea trails which unfortunately turned out to involve destructive testing and it spent a few days stuck on a reef before heading back to the yard.
Everything on board is running smoothly, and we're settling into our routines. We set the clocks back an hour todayas dawn was begining around 4am. Yesterday, we covered almost 180 nautical miles in 24 hours. While not record-breaking, it's not too shabby considering the conditions. Today, I doubt we'll average more than the speed of an H28.
A few stars popped out last night to break up the gloom, but it's not exactly tropical out here.
