Thursday, May 31, 2007 - Moonlight Sail to Fakarava
31 May 2007 | En Route to Fakarava, Iles Tuamotu, French Polynesia
Don
Sand Dollar weighed anchor at 2 PM, sailed the 9 miles through the lagoon and passed through the entrance two hours before the predicted slack current and had no problem. One fish was lost in the entrance but another was hooked and landed just outside the fast water. A 30 lb wahoo, cleaned and cut into about 25 steaks, is now in the refrigerator. It required 20 minutes to boat and another hour and a half to prepare. I think I will be making some new friends at the anchorage in Fakarava.
The moon is full tonight and the wind is 14 knots from behind me. For a sailor, what could be better? However, I have no sails up and the boat is doing 2.7 kts. At this rate I will be at the entrance to Fakarava at 3 AM. I need to "heave to" in order to slow the boat further so that I arrive during daylight. The entrance is wide, deep and well marked but I still prefer a daylight transit.
All else is well onboard. I am just pondering how I might cook the wahoo tomorrow.