0600 position 28-43S 167-46E. Day's run 225 miles. 27 miles from Norfolk Island
The wind continued to drop off slowly all day yesterday, and by late afternoon Van Diemen was under full sail. The seas smoothed out even more as well, and by sunset yesterday we were slipping along in the kind of weather they promise in the tourist brochures. We witnessed a beautiful sunset and when the crew was done ooing and aahing, turned around, and watched the full moon rise up out of the sea. Having the moon to light the night sky has been an added bonus on this picture perfect passage.
Geoff caught a nice little aku late in the afternoon giving us just enough time to clean the fish and chill the meat so it was ready to be eaten as a sashimi appetizer before dinner.
We had been sailing to the west of rhumb line since departing New Caledonia, unable to lay Norfolk close reaching on port tack. We were counting on the wind to back to the north last night as forecast, and the weather gods did not let us down. The easterly wind backed off at 9PM and we motor sailed for three hours. When I came on watch at midnight the wind had started filling in from the north so we shut down the noise maker and have been broad reaching at nine knots ever since.
At sunrise this morning Norfolk Island could be seen poking up out of the sea ahead of us. We should be trying to figure out where to anchor at about 10AM.
We are clearly not in the tropics anymore. Water temperature is down to 68 degrees, and last night the crew uniform was wool hats, jackets, long pants and shoes. It is great sleeping weather.
One of the many topics of conversation aboard Van Diemen is the selection of a new cruising boat for Zappa and Marie. They are setting their sights on retirement and going cruising on their own boat, and it is time to start narrowing in on the perfect vessel that meets their needs.
Shopping for a boat is arguably one of the best parts of boat ownership, and we get to help. Zappa and Marie have been asking the rest of the crew for their opinions on manufacturer (they want a used production boat), length, rig (cutter or sloop), engine (direct drive or sail drive), mainsail (roller furling or conventional), ground tackle, cabin layout, ventilation, navigation systems, communication systems, dinghy stowage (davits or foredeck), one steering wheel or two, gen set, water maker, and aesthetics. The boat must be pleasing to the eye. Of course, we all have opinions on these, and we don't always agree. That makes for some fun discussions.
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