Every day is different; in fact, every moment is different from the previous to the next. Where is this going, you might wonder. Well, to some extent it has to do with weather, then there is how the boat responds to different conditions, then there is how the crew responds to how the boat is responding etc.

Are there whoops of sheer joy? Yup. Groans of another noisy night with the diesel ticking away? Yup. Gratitude for a hot meal shared in the cockpit just before sunset? Yup. Cranky people asking why do we have to do this? Nope. When I look at the Log to see what conditions have been like the last 24 hours it is clear we have experienced a great variety of conditions, certainly enough changes to make the day noteworthy. Overnight last night we had moderate winds and seas, both of which were coming from astern. That generally makes for a pretty comfortable ride and last night was no exception. Except with kinda light winds and sort of rolly seas, as the boat rolled a bit we would spill the wind, then a moment later thump, bang, weird groaning noises from the rigging would occur as the sails picked up the wind and filled again. Now this was not a rithmic event, but an occasional event. Think of it this way; did you ever try to sleep when you knew the other shoes was going to drop? Not an easy task. Any rithmic motion or noise one quickly assimilates and it is no longer bothersome. Random, though similar noises are not easily assimilated thus keep you at best on the edge of sleep.

However, the sun did rise again today and it was not long before we had things quieted down. Much as I would like to take credit, it was really a change in wind and seas that made it better. Shortly after sunrise the days weather events started to unfold. Incidentally, all were predicted with uncanny accuracy by Brucetheweatherman. (that is his name) First the wind shifted a bit so we were able to finally make some westing on our path towards Bundaberg. Still not great but better. The forecast was for several wind shifts during the day due in large part to a low pressure system to our north, a trough sort of north east of us and finally a fast moving cold front coming off the SE coast of Australia. Everything went pretty much according to forecast, except for late this afternoon. As noted before we were running with the wind behind us until the above mentioned exception to the forecast. The wind shifted and picked up a bit of strength, we went from downwind to a very close reach and the boat speed doubled to a bit over 9 kts. Whoops of joy ensued. I must admit I was silently among the whoopers or joyous ones, as the boat was finally in her element. All that and we were headed in the right direction. I am only surprised that a chorus did not descend and start to sing, though we did get to hear a bit of country western music, something about what I love about Texas.

After being serenaded by very old cowboys, instead of angels descending, we did get to enjoy a delightful meal in the cockpit while the sun was setting. We were all grateful for the meal, the magnificent sunset, the endlessly charming company we all are and the old cowboys not singng.

Finally, as predicted the bliss ended with a wind shift directly out of the west. The choices were, sail south (not smart as there is a strong coastal current we would have to sail north against). Sail North towards New Caledonia, also not smart because we would give up the westing we made earlier in the day. The ticking diesel takes us in the right direction. The groans come from people unaccustomed to sleeping with pieces of large machinery that make a lot of noise and make parts of the boat vibrate. For me it is a rithmic sound that I am OK with. That is not to suggest I have a preference for sleeping with large chunks of hot metal that make noise. More later