21-Aug-2006 Noon Position

Niue to Tonga
South Pacific Ocean

• 21-Aug-2006
• 19°1.6000"S/170°14.7000"W
• 23nm since 9am
• 23nm from Nuie
• 2143nm to Tonga
• 10-20 knots NE
• swells 10ft NE

Getting ready to leave Nuie Monday morning was a chore. Maybe it was all the partying at the golf course the night before. But we finally left at 9:00am after getting everything stowed. On Monday morning a swell started to roll into the anchorage, so I was glad we were setting off. It is no fun to be rolling around like that. Last week I actually got air sleeping.

We were off in the rain and overcast skies with a double reefed main, taking caution after hearing all the horror stories of the other boaters. Once out, the winds picked up, the rain grew stronger, and the lighting came in. You sure do feel vulnerable when you have this large metal thing sticking out of the water with lighting around you.

The winds were fluky all night. We actually ran the engine for about 2 hours since we were only making 1.5 knots. Two hours later, the wind shifted direction, and we've had smooth sailing ever since.

Bummer note: We lost our solar shower overboard. At least it wasn't one of us. But now we are really going to smell.