Saturday 5.04.08 5pm local time
The wind picks up again in the late afternoon (yesterday) and we’re back to our favoured 8-9 knots SOG. It’s another clear sky throughout the night and we try to pick up new constellations as it looks as if they’re all there! A few black clouds pass nearby giving us an extra push; up to 15-20 knots wind, 9-10 knots SOG. At sunrise, approximately 5.45am, Annie is wakened by a large BANG - the vang! – she’s heard it before (Ian sleeps through it!). Karen and Ronnie are on watch, Ian and Stewy get up to help with a temporary repair job. Luckily they find a spare boom strut connector (to the vang). This is the third time this piece of equipment has failed, and we fail to understand why Beneteau continue to use such flimsy rigging equipment! Very frustrating!
By 7am the wind has dropped to 8-10 knots and we’re down to 6 knots SOG. However, this is good as at this rate we’ll be arriving at dawn, in company with Tramontana. Crew relieved as none of us particularly enjoy arriving somewhere new in the dark!
Stewy’s been identifying some new birds and thinks he’s spotted a Tahiti petrel and a white tern. Early afternoon we catch a large barracuda but set it free – it’ll probably have quite a sore jaw for a while! It may have been ok to eat but alot of barracuda have ciguaterra poisoning (which can cause anaphalactic shock) so we’re not taking any chances.
The wind has now dropped to 5-6 knots and as we still have 90 miles to go we decide to roll in the headsail and motor at 6 knots, aiming to arrive at dawn. We can see our first atoll now in the distance so going up to enjoy the view!
Distance in past 24 hrs (7.30 am-7.30am local time ) – 182 miles.