So close we can smell land

8º 58.232s 139º 15.967w

Mon May 06 2019

And see Ua-Huka as well. Yesterday afternoon the wind totally croaked on us, so we commenced to motoring along, making water, and washing the salt and fish scales off JollyDogs. Have I mentioned how obnoxious flying fish are?

Yesterday evening around 2000 the wind picked up enough to support motorsailing with the simbo rig. Got about an extra 1.5 knots SOG and saved a bit of fuel. Then the wind clocked around so I let the windward jib lay over on the leeward one, then about the time Isabel came on watch at 2200 someone flipped a switch and the seas got dirty, the wind clocked around a bunch, and it came up to around 17 knots. We hoisted the main and started blasting along at 6-8 knots, averaging 7.3 through the night. As we closed on Ua-Huka the wind kept clocking around and our VMG fell to a level that demoralized us, so after Thad popped out this morning we dropped the main and returned to the simbo rig. At a STW of around 6 knots, we’re getting about half of the TWS which is straight up the stern. Not bad for a zero-maintenance setup.

We’ll watch the wind for a bit and if things remain settled the Parasailor will likey get another chance to shine. Regardless it’s too close to call getting into Nuka Hiva anchorage before sunset, so we’ll land short in a lovely bay at the Southwest corner of Ua-Huka and press on in the wee hours. It’s going to be tough returning to a normal sleep schedule but we’re going to give it the old college try. There should be time in the anchorage today to get the outboard reinstalled on the dinghy assuming it’s as protected as the current wind, waves, and geography would suggest. Suppose we’ll know soon enough.

Not a bad run altogether. Average speed for the tip is 6.1 knots SOG. We’ll tally up all the numbers tomorrow and summarize the trip.

Land freakin’ HO!