13 May - Manahiki and Rakahanga

0600 position 9-53S 161-20W. Day's run 163 miles

Two atolls twenty miles apart, Manahiki and Rakahanga, lie just to the
East of the rhumb line between Christmas Island and Suwarrow. When I was
setting our course out of Christmas I thought it would be a good idea to
sail between Manahiki and Rakahanga and have a look as we passed by. So
that's where we've been heading for the past four days, but this morning
the wind and sea really came up and it became quite uncomfortable and wet
aboard our little ship. Even with a double reefed main and triple reefed
jib she was on her ear, rounding up in the confused sea, occasionally
pounding, and shipping a lot of water. The direct course to Suwarrow was
ten degrees further to the West, ten degrees further off the wind, so we
gave up on the Manahiki fly by idea and altered course for Suwarrow. What
a difference ten degrees made. Sailing was pleasant again, the decks were
a lot drier, and we weren't pounding or tipping.

The squalls stopped just before noon giving us a nice break, but they
started appearing again twelve hours later. I hate squalls. We quickly
roll up a bunch of jib as the squall hits and the wind increases, hoping
we don't have too much mainsail up for the autopilot to handle in the
heaviest puffs. The squalls usually last for about ten minutes with heavy
rain accompanying the increase in wind. So far, so good, but there have
been some nervous moments because we never know with certainty just how
much wind a squall is going to give us.

Two weeks ago at the beginning of our voyage the night watches were in
nearly total darkness. There was no moon and the only light came from
the stars, when the clouds weren't hiding them, and the phosphorescence
lighting our wake. The Milky Way was spectacular, and when I came on
watch at midnight it was directly overhead and aligned North-South, almost
like street lights showing us where to go. It was headlamps and flash
lights to trim the sails and organize lines in the cockpit. The moon has
slowly completed half of its monthly cycle since then and is now nearly
full. The difference is striking. We can see and trim the sails by
moonlight, and only the brightest stars and planets are visible. I know
the phosphorescence is still there in our wake, but I can't see it in the
bright moonlight.