Team Sandpiper Update 1 Nov 2006

• Noon Position, 18'48.4S/158'39.4W
• 497 miles to Bundaberg/Aus
• 554nm from Port Vila Vanuatu
• 144nm last 24hrs
• winds 10-15S
• seas 4ft S

Ahoy!
Best 24hr run for Sandpiper yet!!! We made 144nm last 24hrs and the only time we ever got this close is when we had a time change and gained an hour. Apologies for the blog readers as we found out today that our postings have not been making it to the site since we left Port Vila trying to escape the cyclone, so Chris in Woods Hole Ma. is going to attempt to be our new editor till Ron gets back to his computer..(thanks Chris!)
Woke up this morning and we saw a shark that was at least 8ft long swim by the port side, hope all the thru hulls are holding tight..We are sill making great time and are way ahead of our projected schedule and anticipate making Bundaberg on Sunday. We have been averaging 6-7 knots the last 24 hours and still have the wind right off the port beam. We passed Chesterfield Reef this afternoon and turned left from 270' to 225' so we are starting to get a little more southerly. We are also starting to get near shipping lanes the closer we get to Australia and have finally seen other traffic out here as its been since Mexico that we have seen a ship around us. Tried fishing today with no luck, maybe tomorrow is our lucky tuna day.
More in 24
Tom, Amy and Ron