Its a glorious day, sun is shining, the wind of 12-15 knots is on our tail pushing us firmly along WITH the waves, and hence a smooth ride.....may it all last!

Lesley, my dearest sister, gave me a present before departure from Panama.....a weather router, excellent, well known man out of NZ - Bob McDavitt. This is a person who outlines a route to a sailor that will be the safest and the quickest and who, upon perceiving dangers en route, will (hopefully) warn of such.

The problem, this time, is (excuse me, Bob) that I dont like the route....too much southerly(remember that is the direction of the 'southern ocean' where many of have met their maker) and some winds the other end of up to 40 knots. So I have decided to do the opposite...go north. After studying the situation and talking with some knowledgeable sailors from Papeete Im going to take a bet on lighter winds up north and some careful timing to miss the 40 knotters. I hope I dont rue the day that I did not take the advice of my renowned weather router to the Kingdom of Tonga.