We made good miles yesterday, averaging 6.5 knots over 24 hours, which gives us 156 nm, so not too shabby.
I have another note to add to my area of general knowledge concerning the buying of bottled water, in addition to my previous discovery that 'eau gazeuse' means sparkling water, which was discovered 12 hours after leaving port on a previous passage.
The new information is that water “fortified with extra calcium and magnesium” makes milk curdle. It’s a strange discovery to make at 2am in the pitch black when you’re having a coffee to keep alert and suddenly think, “Hmmmm, something is not right. Is this lumpy lemon milk?”
We have now begun the process of threading through the reefs above New Caledonia. They extend for miles, with only small patches of clear water before you approach the next set of reefs, and then the next set, for hundreds of miles.
I think I mentioned in an earlier blog that sailors used to name places as a form of navigational information, and the names would often be a clue as to what to expect at that particular spot. So, if there are two anchorage areas and one is called Cyclone Cove and the other is called Peaceful Bay, it’s pretty clear which one you should stop at. We are just going past a reef called Atol de la Surprise, and I suspect the surprise was at about 3am when everyone on board was thinking, “It’s nice and relaxing out here.”
We have a small maintenance project to complete today which I hope doesn’t involve as much surgery as the AIS. The fresh-water pump has been cycling on and off, which leads me to suspect we have a leak somewhere. We checked all the obvious areas last night but couldn’t see anything, so we can explore further today. There is a possibility we have to repurpose the spare fresh water pump that was previously repurposed to work on the engine cooling system.
The weather forecast remains clear for the rest of the run across the Coral Sea, and the overall conditions have improved from cloudy, rainy and cold to mostly blue sky, only occasional sprinkling and cold. The wind at the moment is around 8knts and 110 degrees apparent so we are making steady progress with the duty free fuel and headsail. I haven't noticed a lack of performance from the duty free fuel so no idea why they made such a palaver about writing down the exact amount.
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| The fuel dock in Port Vila |
So we are making progress and I will be able to notify ABF of a more accurate ETA shortly.