Through the Laus

1000 Position 16-53S 179-23E. 20 miles from Savu Savu, Fiji

At 4PM yesterday afternoon we jybed and zigged to the south again. By 6PM the wind had lighted up slowing us down to less than six knots and on came the engine.

We were pretty careful about choosing where to punch through the Lau Group. We would be going through at night and there weren't any lights or other aids to navigation in this area so we had to be cautious. The widest gap between the islands is about seven miles, not a lot of leeway if you don't get it right. In some parts of the world the charts are off by a few miles, and since we weren't familiar with the Laus we didn't know if that was the case here. As we approached our chosen pass Rob could see the islands right where they were supposed to be on the radar. Visibility was fine as well, and about the same time I started to see the high islands ahead of us.

The wind continued to die off and as we entered the Laus the swell, blocked by all the islands around us, disappeared as well. Passing through the Laus ended up being pretty easy but I wouldn't have wanted to try it without GPS. This morning it is Kaneohe Bay flat, there isn't any wind, and we are powering at nine knots. We should be arriving in Savu Savu at about 1PM.

I noticed as I write this that we are now in the eastern hemisphere. I guess that bump I felt last night was us crossing over the international date line.

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