Tomorrow morning I will weigh anchor and set sail for Penrhyn Island, a small atoll in the Northern Cook Islands. The passage is 580 miles and should take five days if the southeast trade wind keeps blowing as it has been. There is a low occurrence of bad weather on this route at this time of year but there can be the usual rain squalls bringing torrential rain and high winds for 20 minutes or so.

I have planned my departure so as not to arrive on Sunday because the local people are very religious and the customs and immigration officials do not want to check yachts in on their day of worship. The people are said to be the friendliest in the South Pacific and look forward to visiting yachts. Last year they received 14 in total and are hoping more come this year. There is a good possibility that I will be able to fly fish for bonefish and I have already made contact with someone there who is quite knowlegable of the subject. Time will tell.