There are certain elements of sailing that you do not contemplate when you grew up thinking that round the Isle of Wight was an extended passage, and yesterday another came to us. Since we left UK last September we have persistently been on a Westerly Longitude and so it was with some surprise to wake up this morning to find the plotter confirming that we were now in the Easterly. Logic prevailed and we acknowledged that Zephyr had passed another milestone but brought with it the realisation that she still had half the world to cover before getting home.

Over the past 24 hours the winds have calmed down considerably, at moments reducing us to motoring, but as I sit and write this missive, we are back with a breeze and doing 7 kts on our way to Suva, the capital of Fiji. Zephyr's layout makes her magical to sail two-handed despite Janette's conflict with a dubious tin of sardines - regrettably purchased with a whole family as we succumbed to the bulk buying temptations on offer in Costco, Honolulu. Everything is so well laid out that reefing can be done single-handed while our fine stove produces morning pancakes!

Depending on the arrival of parts, we plan to move on to Vanuatu and/or New Caledonia later next week. So, for the moment there will be a go-slow on our news but we look forward to sharing some of the Fiji fun shortly. Thank you to all those who have kindly posted on the blog - it is heartening to know that we are being read. There are still spaces on the next legs if anyone would like to join us.

Pic shows us arriving in Savu soaked!