We've been making great miles, sailing with a double-reefed main and several rolls in the headsail. The apparent wind has been around 25 knots at 125 degrees, and we've been averaging 9 knots, occasionally surfing down the waves at 12 and 13 knots. It's a pretty good pace.
We passed through the Cook Islands and even had about 30 minutes of shelter from one of the islands as we went past. It was a brief break and something to look at. The sky has been looking pretty bleak, and the forecast suggests things could get a little sporty.
Despite the conditions, the boat has been comfortable. We're not really getting splashes across the deck, the motion isn't violent, and there's not much noise coming from under the bridgedeck. All in all, she's handling things very well.
As evening approached, the wind started edging higher, with occasional gusts of true wind into the mid to high 30s. With the forecast still looking a little lively and the sky looking darker, I decided to drop the main and carry on under the headsail.
I absolutely don't regret that decision. The boat speed dropped a little, of course, but there's a lot to be said for making things easier before the conditions deteriorate rather than waiting until you're in the middle of it.
The wind eased during the early hours, and at 3am we're sitting in around 20 knots of apparent wind at 120 degrees, making 7 knots. I'll see what things look like at daylight before deciding whether to pull the reefed main back up.
Yesterday, we covered 180 nautical miles in 24 hours, which is a very impressive run, especially considering we'd spent several hours motoring on one engine. At that rate, we're making excellent progress towards Fiji.
For now, the boat is sailing comfortably, the wind has eased a little, and I'll leave the decision about more sail until I can see what we're dealing with in daylight. There's no need to rush into anything at 3am.