This is our sixth day out since leaving Opua, NZ. Everything has been peachy here on the Good Ship Lollipop. Capt'n had a brilliant plan to play fast and loose with a low approaching from the south, so we were able to net 1000 miles East from that bad boy in only five days. He cracked out the celebratory drinks and we had a gay old time that night.

The sea state has been variable, but at its worst we were seeing waves up to 6.5 meters. Thankfully the periods between those monster waves were long enough apart that we easily surfed down them. Still it was an impressive sight to look out the stern of the boat and see a veritable wall of water rising behind you, obscuring the distant horizon entirely.

Animal life has been sparse, restricted only to the most adventurous of sea birds. On May 1st Capt'n and I were on deck and spotted our first wild Royal Albatross. To see that bird fly without ever flapping a wing, a true perpetual motion machine working the up drafts and wind gradients, was a sight to behold. We also see the storm petrols and giant petrols on an almost daily basis. Capt'n hypothesizes that they enjoy following the boat to see if fish churn up in our wake.

Yesterday we suffered our first set back, as we now have our own clipped wing. We had to drop the main because of a 3 foot seam separation above the 4th reef, a hole you could quite easily see the full moon through last night. Capt'n was going to sew it out on deck this afternoon, but between the sea state, ocean spray, and wind blowing the sail about he decided to save that project for later and sail with the jib only. The choice was easy to make because we are still sailing at 7.5 knots and on a course of 45 deg. The squalls are getting bigger and having only the jib up when they come through will be a good thing as well. Of course when the wind gets light and we start doing 4 knts Capt'n will be bummed and start sewing post haste.

Until next time our intrepid readers. Fair winds and following seas.