Been a mixed bag the past couple of days. Wind died early morning 2 nights ago, we started motoring at 5am, and motored for about 28 hours before it piped back up. Now cruising along at 7.5 knots, heading for Minerva, 198 nm to go. If these winds hold, we may continue past, heading straight for Fiji instead. Especially since we will likely get to Minerva in the dark, and need to wait for daylight to enter the lagoon. A bit worried that sailing straight to Fiji, though, will make for a weekend arrival, with need to pay extra customs and immigration overtime fees. Will see.....
Had a bit of a snafu this morning. Heard a loud creaking noise coming from the transom. Went back to investigate and saw that our Hydrovane wind steering vane's lower bracket had come loose!!! Sheeee-it!!!! Apparently the long period of motoring had shaken the securing nuts loose. We had to stop while Adam got into the water to remove the rudder. (harnessed and roped in, of course) We had lost the shim block, so were unable to reattach. Managed to get it lashed in place on the transom, so it will wait until Fiji for repairs. Otto, our electric autopilot, is now our only auto steering option...no worries, he's a great driver!!!
Otherwise all good and happy on board. Terrific sailing conditions, and had a couple of albatross stay with us today for a good hour or so.
current position: 26degrees 39 minutes South 179degrees 26 minutes East
No comments:
Post a Comment