We are scraping the bottom of the barrel (or the pantry) at the moment as our fresh vegies and fruit ran out a few days ago. Luckily we haven't run out of chocolate yet, but we are definitely looking foward to some fresh oysters, a green salad and a crispy NZ apple or two, as well as finally opening my birthday bottle of Moet.... Still, on balance we are glad we didn't stop in Noumea, which is where we would have done a big shop, in order to take advantage of this amazing weather window. No point having all the food you could want onboard, if the seas are choppy and you're too sea sick to eat it!

Along with the flat seas, the full moon has really made the night sailing very easy this time, the only downside being the white decks are gleaming in the moon and attracting flying fish which leap out of the water, either hit a window or flop around on the deck and eventually die. We find them in the morning after they have left half their scales and a disgusting smell over everything. I've heard stories about people being hit by flying fish at night while they are on watch, so I'm limiting my time outside the cabin after the moon rises!

About twenty minutes ago a NZ Airforce Orion flew extremely close over the top of us, and then contacted us on VHF wanting all our details, which was our bit of excitement for the day (possibly the entire trip). We figure they must have been conducting drills and noticed us on radar, as it seems unlikely they would need to invest in surveillance in this part of the world... By this afternoon we will be within sight of the North Island so the easy night sails are now over, as we now need to keep a very close eye on the greater possibilty of other boats, and keeping a safe distance from the coast. Arrival to the marina by mid afternoon tomorrow (Saturday) now!

Audacious, back to sailing.