Day 11 on the Pacific

Friday 21st March

We are now on day 11, and have changed the sail set-up. As we were being headed so far south by the easterly wind, and as we had got to the latitude of Hiva Oa, we moved the genoa (the big foresail) out to port and stuck the corner onto a pole to keep it stable. The mainsail we have left alone, but with the preventer rope on it pulled tight to prevent the wind pushing the sail across accidently. We are now on course (almost due west) although the speed has dropped a little. This could also be due to lighter winds as well. Also as a bonus the boat is a lot more stable, less rolling and no sudden lurches anymore.

A day of celebration as well. As the watermaker has proved so flawless in operation, I said to all to have a shower while I was in the mood. So all have now washed themselves and their clothes. The watermaker is working away as I write this.

It now feels as though the miles are flying by, as you will see on the blog positions. We have 1239 miles to go, and still showing the 27th as our arrival. Hopefully the weather and winds will hold up long enough to get us to our next stop. Our speed is 7.2 knots as I look at the instruments.

I am in touch with the World ARC office to see if we can get new batteries in Hiva Oa or Nuka Hiva as opposed to Tahiti. There is a yacht services place on the marina in Tahiti and as we are booked onto the marina for 10 days we will also get the sails off and have them checked and repaired as needed. I didn't plan for this facility to be available along the route so its a very welcome bonus. I expect we'll have to replace the mainsail in Melbourne anyway as it will have had an awful lot of use by then.

I got a reply from Raymarine re the GPS dropping off problem. They are of the opinion that we need a new aerial, that there's not much else wrong. It just dropped off again for about 5 seconds and then reset itself. I'll email the yacht place in Tahiti and see if they have one and can they fit it. Not an easy job from the looks of the way the present one is fitted.