Another Fine Day of Sailing and Then the Wind Died
20 October 2022
• 40 Miles East of Tongatapu
by Karl
All night we pressed south under sail at a healthy six knots, helped by a favorable current. The wind was beginning to back and flatten during my morning watch. I was pondering setting the drifter. Robin read Met Bobâs latest email - âcontinue motoring south.â We had advised Bob last night that we were sticking with our East-of-Tonga route. âDoesn't he know we are sailing?â said Robin. She dashed off a reply:
Had lovely sail all night :)
Not motoring yet
Seeing if big sail will keep us on schedule
25 south by Sunday
As Robin said, âyou made the drifter just for a day like this,â so I went on deck to set up the spinnaker pole and hoist the drifter. We dropped the slatting mainsail, set up for downwind in light airs. I also had to mop of some diesel that leaked from one of our Jerry cans in the kayak on deck - due to a broken spout, the cap no longer sealed completely. Fortunately, none of the diesel went into the water.
By the time these chores were done, it was Robin's watch.
After my nap, on the 1400 watch, the wind had veered again to a light reaching breeze. So after our lunch of French pate on Tonga bread we dropped the pole and hoisted the main and we flew! We were sliding up and down the swells at seven knots in a ten knot breeze. I looked out at the big blue and white sail pulling us along and saw the miles of seams I stitched on our porch in West Nyack a year ago, now pulling us along on the last leg of a Pacific crossing. I'll admit I was pretty pleased with myself!
We were able to keep sailing until the end of the evening watch. By dinner time, the wind had backed to the north again, and dropped, and both sails slatted uselessly in the swells without enough wind to fill them while we drifted in the right direction at less than two knots. So we warmed up the diesel while I wrangled the pole back into its lashings and doused the drifter.
On the night watch now we are motoring south under the stars, ticking off latitude points as we head for South of 25 by Sunday.
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