The first 3 days of this trip were pretty uncomfortable with high winds and rough seas. Yesterday things started to improve and today in fact I am entering a section that was forecast to be light winds and calmer seas. On a different voyage, I could have sailed peacefully and slowly on, but this is inadvisable here because slowing down puts you at ever increasing risk of nasty weather near New Zealand. So the wisdom has it, and I am abiding by it, that you augment the speed you get from the sails with your motor. Accordingly, after midday today my motor came on and the speed is back at 6 knots or more. I hope some breeze lingers because the sails provide some of the drive and also steady the boat in the calmer but hardly flat seas. Crew morale is good, even if he looks a bit disheveled with 5 days of grey stubble on his face, and I permitted him a Fiji Bitter (beer) this evening to celebrate being past the halfway mark and for being good company.

Cheers all!