We are 2 weeks out of NZ and about 3 days from our first landfall, the island of Tubai in the Austral group of French Polynesia. We have been sailing off and on with mostly light but fair winds for the last few days. Today the wind veered NE at about 12 kts which put us close hauled bearing due north, about 15 degrees off course. I hate to burn our valuable easting like this, but motoring into the wind and chop does not appeal either. Forecasts predict the wind to swing E, then SE sometime in the next 24 hrs, so we will count on that to bring us back up onto our course. Otherwise, the boat seems to be running well and we are all looking forward to getting ashore and sleeping on the hook. BTW: we saw a few more whales today. I sure hope they see us coming, cuz it's usually after we've gone zipping by that we see them.