Yesterday was a day of steady progress, if not exactly thrilling sailing. We clocked 132 nautical miles in 24 hours, thanks to what I like to call the "asymmetrical Yanmar" and a reliable "diesel wind." Essentially, we had the headsail out, paired with the engine running at about 1600 RPM, giving us a nice little boost.
Most of the day was remarkably calm. We'd get the occasional hour or two where the wind would pick up, and we could turn the engine off, cruising along at a comfortable 5 knots. Then, as the speed started to drop to around 4.5 knots, we'd fire up one engine to nudge us back up to 5.5 or 6 knots. It's a bit of a dance, but it keeps us moving.
We're passing some little islands and reefs out here. I'm fighting a serious urge to go on a bit of a "tiki tour" and explore them. I can't imagine they get more than a handful of visitors a year.
We haven't seen a single vessel, not even a blip on the AIS since we left Apia. We're truly alone except for the people on the islands.
While the lack of excitement might make for a less dramatic blog entry, it does mean we're making consistent progress. Hopefully, the weather will continue to cooperate, and we'll keep ticking off those miles. The squalls haven't returned yet in any noticable quantity. Our weather forecast still looks as though it will be light wind for the next week with thunderstorms. And starlink has effectively doubled the cost of our access, with the new data packages - presumably Musk is trying to make up for losing $100 billion with Tesla stock plummeting. I wouldn't normally be cheering for a billionaire but I hope Bezos gets his satelite internet system up and running soon.