1200 position 29 23S 173 10E. Days run 154 miles.
We had an excellent spaghetti dinner last night that Gail had pre-made and frozen for us. It was superb. Thank you Gail! Dinner was followed by a rum drink to commemorate our reaching the half-way point in the passage. Excellent stories followed.
Early in their careers, Tom and Clay were officers in the same Navy transport squadron. Most every officer in the squadron had a nickname, usually obtained through some comical episode, and we got to hear the stories behind the names. "Wheels Up", "No Show", "Leaf Eater", "Stains", and "Booster" we're a few discussed.
Just before sunset a school of twenty or so dolphin arrived to put on a show for us. These were the smallest dolphin I've ever seen.
The wind continued to back during the night allowing us to head directly toward New Zealand for the first time since the wind filled in. Tom and I decided that our midnight to 4AM watch this morning was the best one of the trip so far. The boat was screaming along in smooth water at nearly 8 knots under a full Genoa and one reef in the mainsail headed straight for Opua. It doesn't get any better than that.
Nothing lasts forever, and the wind started to die off toward daybreak. Average speed dropped down below 5 knots, and the engine came on at 930AM. We are heading straight into a high pressure area that lies between us and Opua. We may have to power for a couple of days to get through it.
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