Sand Dollar weighed anchor at 7:30 AM this morning after struggling a bit with some small coral heads in which the chain had become entangled. This seems to be standard procedure in the Tuamotus. I departed Fakarava Atoll, with some regret, and had no difficulty navigating the south pass into the open ocean. The opposing flood current was about two knots one hour after low tide.

The wind has been very light all day and I am making slow progress to Papeete, averaging between 2 and 3 knots. At this rate it will take me 4 days instead of the normal 2 days. I did run the motor for 7 hours today but I only have enough fuel for another 12 hours so I decided to sail with what little wind there is. There is hardly any swell so the boat motion is very comfortable. In fact, I barbecued some chicken this evening while sailing, something I had never attempted before. The sky is clear and there is no moon out yet so the stars are brilliant. This will be a great night for sleeping in the cockpit.