November 7, 2007

Trade Winds Travelling
Our first day out of Funafuti may not have been perfect, but the flaws were small and few. By reaching due north when we left the pass we got several miles east of our track, so when it went northeast later in the day we could fall off to a northwest course to keep sailing and still be going toward Tarawa. We made very good time all day, better than a six knot average. After dark the rain showers came in, with flukey winds, and a two hour stretch with virtually no breeze at all. I finally figured out how to restart the wind, though. Started the motor, and in 15 minutes shut it off again to resume sailing at five knots. Amazing how sensitive the Sea Gods can be to engine vibrations. We had virtually no moon last night, so between clouds the stars were starkly brilliant, the sky very black, with enough light from just the stars to see the swell and ripple on the surface of the sea. Even the rain squalls were not bad, being warm and having no extreme wind in them.
We'd been trolling a lure since we left, and had a couple of hits that only damaged the skirt but didn't take the hook. Then at dusk we got a strong hit, and immediately lost the lure. That's the end of my fishing without a metal leader. I've been told you get more hits with just nylon going to the lure, but hits don't help if the fish leaves with the hook. So last night I re-rigged one of the lures Pete M gave us when we left NZ, using a foot of stainless steel tie wire as a leader. Put it in at dawn, and missed the 6:00 AM log entry while I brought in a small tuna. Perfect, 2 meal size, easy to land, easy to fillett, and no waste.
So we're now about 140 miles north of Funafuti, close hauled in 12 knots of breeze, with a moderate sea. Quite comfortable, and this point of sail keeps the wind generator spinning, so we're charging batteries OK. I had to take the wind vane down during the day yesterday so it wouldn't shade the solar panels, then put it back up at dusk so we could use the wind steering during the night. With the clouds today, and the point of sail, I'll probably just leave it up. Getting the vane right was one of the best things we did in Fiji. It's a lot easier to handle than the old one, and steers better. I was net control for the Rag of the Air again today, as Jim didn't get back from Suva. It's not bad doing it at sea in these conditions. When it's seriously rough the paper becomes a moving target while I try to record positions. We need to keep good track of the 20 or so boats heading into Opua, NZ right now. Those between 2 and 4 days out are expected to sail into the big low pressure system that's now crossing the Tasman Sea, and will get about 2 days of full gale conditions. Not much fun, and hard on the gear and crew. Glad we're headed the other way!! It's tolerable enough that Karen took over marinating the fish after I cleaned it. We're pretty happy sailors. Ted