Friday, August 10, 2012

Off to Suwarrow

We are on the 'road' again on a 5-6 day passage to Suwarrow (pronounced, I think Suvarov). This is a national park managed by New Zealand and made famous by Tom Neale who lived here alone for many years from the 50's to the 70's. There are a goodly number of yachts there already and more ahead of us en route, so Tom would probably have had to look elsewhere for solitude in these days of 'mass' yachting.

It feels a bit strange to be on a multi-day passage, our first in nearly 3 months. We have been spoiled by day sails and the occasional overnighter in French Polynesia. We will definitely miss French Polynesia - the people and the intense beauty of the volcanic islands and coral atolls. Someday we hope to return.

It is 655 miles or so from Maupiti to Suwarrow and the winds are predicted to be light to moderate and from well behind the port beam. The seas are short and maybe 4-6 feet, rolling Ladybug enough to make it a bit hazardous to cook. However Rani is brave and we did manage to have fried breadfruit chips for lunch and re-heated curry for supper.

Looking forward to reading a few good books and watching some of the TV series Jericho that some friends gave us back in Mexico.

Our position at 0430 GMT is 16 14 S 153 03 W - about 606 miles from Suwarrow.

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