Not a lot to report as conditions similar to yesterday and so we are still heading mainly west. The winds started to turn late in the after afternoon and we were able to start making some leeway south again. We had more discussions about the weather Neil and I and also on the radio with Omweg. I have asked Bob to do us an updated version from Thursday which should probably have the waypoints we can finally use, as the timing of the Friday/Saturday front will be able to be predicted more accurately.

Tomorrow, I will clean up the boat a little as it is amazing how grubby the boat can get when on passage. I leave snacks out for Neil at night for his watch and I am sure half of it ends up on the floor by how much mess I can see when it is daylight and there is always coffee spilt as well. Well it can be hard to hold a cup steady when the boat is rolling. I have not been eating snacks and generally eat a lot less on passage, as eating and drinking don't appeal to me when I am feeling queasy. I just make up for it when we get there and I am usually very hungry the first couple of days at anchor. I am also sure we must moult heaps while at sea or maybe it is the stress, as there always seems to be so much hair laying on the floor. I am surprised we both haven't gone bald yet!

Tomorrow is supposed to be our calm motoring day, as we will be in the middle of the high over NZ. I might also clean out my fridge if I can and use any veges left before we get to NZ. Friday, Saturday and Sunday will be the tough days as we will be affected by the front. The swell at some stage is predicted to be 3-4m and so I won't be doing any cleaning or cooking on those days. I think we will be at Opua on Monday now (yay! another day added) as we try to time our run just after the front passes North Cape. We will sail in what follows after the initial front band crosses North Cape. Winds hopefully, not more than 35 knots.

Our current position is 27 degrees 38.579 minutes South and 173 degrees 54.738 East. We are on a course of 200 degrees True, with a boat speed of 5.5 knots in winds from the East at 7 knots. Barometer is rising 1017, as we approach the middle of the high. We have 90 % light cloud cover, but it is still reasonably warm or at least in our snug cockpit. By the way, one of the best things on our boat is the cockpit enclosure. It means we can be out in the cockpit in all weather and quite protected. We don't have the back enclosed just the sides and front, but that hasn't been a problem. I love it and would not be without it.