We managed a very impressive 98 nm in 12 hours from noon until midnight, so we are certainly making some progress towards NZ. And that was a straight line from a waypoint so the reality would be a little more taking into account our track isn't straight.
We are also now over the honeymoon period and into the teething problems, which is exactly what you would expect when you fly to a boat you’ve never seen in your life and leave two days later to sail thousands of miles.
Most “normal” people would spend months getting ready for a passage like this and becoming very familiar with the boat. Of course, in the process they would also discover what needed seeing to before the passage. We don’t have that luxury, so we are finding things as we go.
One thing we have discovered is that the stitching on the stack pack has suffered some UV damage, and the straps holding the lazy jacks are starting to fall off, which is a little bit of a pain. And the locker with some spare parts in that I hope I don't need has a broken lock and we were not able to open it at all.
The other thing is a little more interesting and needs some background.
The boat has two battery banks, one lithium and one AGM. The AGM is charged from the engines and the lithium bank and the lithium is only charged by the solar panels. The lithium bank runs the inverters, which supply all the AC equipment on the boat, including the induction stove.
The interesting thing is that, sailing southwest, we get zero sun on the solar panels by about 2pm because they are shaded by the sails.
A cloudy morning is going to be interesting. I will see how the batteries charge this morning and if there isn't a substantial rise in the percentage I will either change course or drop the main to get some sunlight on the solar panels.
The true wind is slightly over 20 knots and from very slightly south of east, so on this course it is just aft of the beam. It shifts further east sometimes and we have to follow it around to keep the apparent wind angle below 130 degrees.
We are approaching some small islands which are part of the Cook Islands and will pass those around lunchtime. After that we have a fairly straight run heading towards Niue and then Tonga. We are also settling into the rhythm on board, and even though it is colder than expected, morale is high. We spend most of our time holding onto things to keep our balance, never letting go of a coffee cup in case it falls over, and making sure dinner doesn’t slide off the plate before you can finish it. It’s a slightly different way of life!
The GFS is showing a low-pressure system moving over Samoa and then south in around eight days, but we should be well west by then. The ECMWF is showing a huge band of over 30 knots all the way across the islands.
So we will keep on keeping on and be happy to get the miles in the bank.