Underway again
24 August 2023
Eric
We got underway from Port of Refuge harbor around 10 am on Thursday
8/24. It took about an hour to motor out to the open ocean, then we set
sail and headed south. It was the first time for Pete and Teddy to sail
on Rover, so we spent some time âlearning the ropesâ. The breeze in the
lee of the island was fresh, and we followed a conservative sail plan.
We saw a few whale spouts in the distance, then a couple of large
humpbacks swam over to investigate Rover, and surfaced about a hundred
feet off the starboard quarter. Curiosity satisfied, they submerged and
we next saw them a hundred yards away.
We started following a watch bill at three, and will continue through
arrival in Tongatapu. With only three aboard, and two rookies, we set
the schedule with Teddy and Pete sharing watches at night and me taking
solo watches. The wind built and we were doing about seven knots until
we reefed for the evening. As the night wore on, we tucked in more reefs
at the watch changes until we were down to a triple reefed main and
staysâl. Ginger (the monitor windvane) was doing most of the steering,
but required frequent adjustments as we followed a relatively narrow
channel between the Haâapai Island Group on one side and some fresh
volcanoes on the other. On the offshore legs, we usually just set Ginger
to hold an angle to the wind with the course being the dependent
variable. In close quarters we adjust the wind angle to hold a course
between obstacles.
Ted relieved me at dawn and we were surprised by the volcano that
emerged from the darkness. We knew it was there from the chart, but
didnât expect it to be so big until we saw it. Weâll be continuing
toward Tongatapu, passing within 12 miles of the Hunga Tonga volcano in
the dark.
Morale remains high.
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