Tomorrow I hope to give thanks to the weather gods for moving the gale to some other part of the ocean. This morning's report was extremely encouraging. The low pressure system to the northwest of us and the high pressure system to the south were predicted to create a "squash zone", an area in which isobars are squeezed together producing very high winds. The squash zone is now almost certain to be located several hundred miles to the north, instead of right on top of us. We will still feel the effects but the wind will probably not be over 30 knots.

The noon-to-noon distance for today was a paltry 104 miles because of head winds and constant tacking. This gives an average speed of only 4.3 knots. As of 7 PM the wind has veered to the east and kicked up to 15 kts providing a much better sailing angle and speeds of 6 kts. The remainder of the passage, 164 miles, should be fast with an ETA in Opua, NZ sometime around midnight tomorrow.

All else is well onboard. The nights are getting much colder