The last 24 hours have seen some positive changes, and a major one is that the wind has picked up to around 20 knots true, 15 apparent, and we are sailing with just the headsail as the angle is hovering around 150 degrees. Every now and again we have to turn a little to port as the wind gets a little more easterly and comes around to 170 degrees, which is a little deep for comfort.
At around 150 degrees, the main tends to blanket the headsail, so keeping the main up would mean heading higher and sailing further than necessary, as well as being pushed further south, which I am trying to avoid. So there is little advantage. I am trying not to get pushed too far south as the wind is definitely stronger further south.
The other improvement is the long-term forecast. Big high pressures are still a dominant feature, but they are sitting below 1030 hPa, and the ones that had been causing the strong wind were 1035, so with less of a pressure gradient, the wind is slightly more manageable.
There is still a low pressure system forming north of Vanuatu that I am keeping my eyes on around the 19th. The ECMWF and the GFS show that it shouldn't be too much of an influence, with it largely either dissipating or moving away by the time we get closer. Fingers crossed for that!
So I am heading to Fiji now, which is about 1,300 nm away, so roughly 10 days. If the long-range forecasts revert back to the pattern we were seeing a few days ago and we need to pull in, then we can stop in northern Tonga which is approximately 7 days away.
The last 24hrs we did 133nm and all is well on board. I am hoping we do slightly more today.
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| It didn't look as tropical as this when I took the picture. |