It is Sunday and Day 5 of our passage to Fiji. We have also passed the half-way point, so we are closer to Fiji than to NZ. It is warmer, and we are needing less clothes everyday. But, it is not yet warm. I'm still in sea boots and long underwear.

We discussed fooding on board Proximity yesterday. I think that today, I need to tell you about how we steer this boat. The most obvious is that we stand behind the wheel and drive her like a car. We do this everytime we move the boat, of course. But to go any distance, one would become a slave to the helm and not have time to do all of the other things a sailor needs to do, such as plot a course, stow away mooring lines, set the sails, make lunch, eat lunch, etc.

So then, we have an electric/hydraulic autopilot. It is not a full autopilot as in an airplane, but it is a steering device. It can be set to steer to a compass course, a navigational "fix" or exact point. Lastly, it can steer to a wind angle. Since the sailboat's sails are set according to the wind, this is a wonderful feature. If the wind changes, the sails are still set. I love this autopilot, it is very accurate, just what one wants for coastal work, but it has limitations. It uses electricity, and it makes noise. Over a long ocean passage, this is an issue.

Enter the Wind Pilot. This is a self steering device that needs no electricity, and makes no noise. It is an adjustable wind vane that is connected to an auxiliary rudder. With this machine, I can set it according to my course and the wind, lock the main steering wheel, and voila! We are now steering to the wind angle. This what we use for serious long distance travel. You know, like crossing oceans. No electricity. No noise. Now, if the wind changes, well then, of course, the Wind Pilot must be adjusted. Not a difficult problem.

Sometimes the Wind Pilot can make a course change if I need. Tonight, we are setting up for just that. We have been sailing due north with the wind from the east. There is a cold front expected to come through which will push the wind to the northeast. Keeping our course with against a northeast wind will be uncomfortable and hard work. Our plan is to keep the Wind Pilot set to its current angle. When the wind direction changes, we will clock around with it and be heading to somewhere other than Fiji, say, Port Vila, Vanuatu. We have been putting more east into our course for just this event. Now, we will steer northwest for two days while the front passes, the course will remain comfortable, and when the front is gone, the forecast wind will be favorable to complete our trip. And we don't have to touch the wheel until after the front passes.

Yes, this technical, and I apologize, but let me assure you that both of us dearly love this wonderful machine called Wind Pilot, made in Hamburg, Germany, and both know how to operate it. If only other machines could do this. No electricity. No noise. Only the wind. Day in. Day out.