Day One - Bora Bora to Rarotonga, Cook Islands ... with a slight detour south for the eclipse:

We dropped the mooring at the Bora Bora Yacht Club at 7:15am after a gusty, rainy night. The morning dawned clear and sunny, and the winds had died down somewhat. We made a pass by Proximity to say goodbye to Rod and Elisabeth and headed for the pass, the waves crashing on the reef beyond. The weather reports promised 18 - 28 knots of wind, and seas 10 to 12 feet, so we were prepared for a fast but lumpy ride, and Neptune has delivered. We're logging excellent speeds, accompanied by Fly Aweigh's signature woggle from side to side. I think it's her version of dancing but it doesn't feel like that to us, as she lurches forward and tosses herself sideways, throwing us sideways as well. It gets tiring, especially when you don't have your sea legs.

We're literally biding our time, trying to stay above decks in the cockpit as much as possible, reading, listening to our I Pods, waiting until our bodies acclimate to the movement again. The sailing is actually perfect. And the boat is actually happy. It's us who have to adapt.

We could be at sea for up to 10 days, depending on weather. Rarotonga has a small harbor, and is not safe under certain conditions. The next place we intend to go is Beveridge Reef, which is a submerged reef and is also not so good under certain weather conditions, nor is the next island, Nuie, which means we could end up as far wast as Tonga before we reach a safe harbor. However, that's not what we're expecting, the weather looks conducive to stops at all three of our intended ports of call. But first, the eclipse.

Allan has plotted out the northern and southern boundaries of the path the shadow will take, aptly named the "Zone of Totality," and we're headed straight for the middle. With Allan's background in Optics and his interest in astronomy, this is a big event. And for me, as well. The last solar eclipse I recall was in 1964, and I remember my neighbor Charles Rhoades coming over with a piece of paper in which he'd punched a small hole, and allowing the image of the eclipse to be projected through the hole to the ground below. Not a full eclipse, but it did get sort of eerie for a few minutes. So even if it's cloudy, and we can't actually see the sun, we'll be in total darkness for over 3 minutes, and that will be interesting. Strangely, we're the only people we know besides Paikea Mist who are going to all this extra effort to be in, rather than somewhere near the Zone for the 3-ish minutes of this rare event. We're either really weird or really smart. For me, it's also about being in the Zone of Totality which sounds more like a spooky ride at the carnival.

The sun has just set, and we're due for our 6:30 HF radio sched with Paikea Mist, who left last night and are about 60 miles ahead of us, no doubt trying to get their sea legs as well.

All is well, another report tomorrow.