Moku pe'a Report

0600 position 4-46S 159-20W. Day's run 149 miles

We reached the halfway point on our voyage to Vava'u, Tonga at 1045 this
morning. It's all downhill from here! Winds in the South Pacific have
been steadier in strength and direction than the North Pacific, and no
squalls so far. Sometimes a whole six hour watch goes by without an
adjustment to sail trim or heading. We just keep zipping along steadily
at six knots with full or single reefed main and jib. Wind is from the
East and creeps up to 15 or down to 6 but usually it is right in the
middle. We could probably get another knot of speed if we pushed, but
then the boat would be tipping, and the autopilot would have to work
harder, and it would be wetter on deck, and we'd have to pay closer
attention to things. We are in cruise mode and are quite happy here.

I am amazed at the efficiency, reliability, and quietness of the SeaFrost
refrigeration unit I installed last year. It uses the same amount of
electricity as a small incandescent light bulb, makes ice, and keeps
everything else cold. I also installed solar panels to supplement the
wind generator when I put the refrigeration system in the boat thinking
I'd need the extra juice, but now I think the panels were unnecessary. As
good as the refrigeration system is, it still needs to be defrosted once
in a while, so I did the defrost at 0300 this morning and did a general
clean up of stuff in there. I threw out the last of the spinach and
cucumbers as they were too far gone. Interesting that the English
Cucumbers we took to Tahiti unrefrigerated three years ago lasted longer
than the refrigerated ones this time. Apples and oranges have been very
popular and we are just about out of them. We are both pretty much
foraging for breakfast and lunch and only do a real dinner every other
night or so. Not much exercise so not much hunger. And it is hot which
doesn't help the appetite. We were hoping for fish tonight though. Had
two strikes today but no hook up. That's three in a row; unusual. So the
fish line came in at 1700 and I made a spaghetti dinner instead.

I love my midnight to 0600 watch. It is my busy watch. It starts with
some pleasant banter with Rocky as he heads off to bed, "See any ships?
Anything interesting happen? How's the book you are reading?" We'll
discuss progress made and trends in wind speed and direction. One of us
will usually tell a quick story that gets a laugh from the other. Then I'm
on my own, and I check the horizon and take a look at sail trim and how
things are set up on deck. I'll eyeball our track on the computer and
try to figure out what kind of mileage we are looking at for day. All that
can consume close to an hour. Then it's time for my daily cup of coffee.
I take my cup and a piece of chocolate and sit in the cockpit for another
hour or so enjoying the quiet, the stars, and phosphorescence in our wake.
As I'm sitting there I try to figure out what I'm going to write about
for the day's blog post. I'll put in ten minute sessions on the computer
periodically for the rest of the watch, composing the blog, responding to
Lori's last email, checking our track, or strategizing on the optimal
course and weather ahead. At least once every ten minutes I'll pop up and
scan the horizon and look for squalls or anything else that might affect
us. I check sail trim if something feels different or if I haven't
checked in a while. If I run out of things to do I'll make an attempt at
solving a Sudoku or read my book, but usually I'm too busy.