Day 2 - Smooth Sailing
02 October 2016 | 19 39'S:172 03'E, On Passage from Fiji to Vanuatu
Mark
Date & Time: October 3, 2016, 0730 Vanuatu time Position: 19 39S, 172 03E Course: 238M
Days at sea completed: 2
Distance sailed in the last 24 hours (nm): 140 Distance sailed total (nm): 325 Distance to go (nm): 138
Wind Speed & Direction (knots): E 6-9 Waves (ft): 2
The last 24 hours has been easy going, just like sailing between the protected gulf islands in light winds, except that it keeps going on and on. I imagine that trade winds sailing was probably like this in years gone by, before our changing climate reduced the predictability of the trade winds. Since the waves are nearly nonexistent, the motion is more like a very gentle massage instead of the rock and roll that we sometimes experience in wilder conditions.
Dee and I give this passage two thumbs up! With the easy motion and light winds, the kitchen is fully open and, besides eating well, we spend our days like we would at anchor - relaxing and reading. If all passages were like this, I would never want to stop! But, they are not, so we won't take this for granted.
We should arrive at Aneityum, Vanuatu early tomorrow morning. If all goes well, the sun will be up as we come into the anchorage. But, even if the wind picks up and we arrive earlier at night, I have good charts and images of the bay so anchoring at night shouldn't be a problem.
Well, that's about it for now. I've just had breakfast, Dee is on her sleep shift after her night watch, and I need to go and recline on the back deck again.
Picture: Sunset on our second evening at sea