The light easterly winds continue to help us slowly towards Tonga. At midnight I furled the jib, it would no longer hold the wind. The wind is very light, sails are slapping around as Truce moves to the waves. We crept along at about three knots with the main and staysail set overnight. As daylight broke this... Continue Reading →
Voyage Logs
SLOW ROAD TO TONGA
Since yesterday the winds have been light from the east. We have managed to keep the boat moving along, also got a bit of breeze through the boat to cool things down a bit. Noon to noon run of just over one hundred miles came as a surprise as I thought we had done even less. We... Continue Reading →
ADOPTING PLAN ‘C’ – HEADING TO TONGA
Another lovely night. This time though the wind deserted us in the early hours and has been missing since. For the last twelve hours we have rolled around the ocean and just managed to keep moving at between two and three knots. Such a contrast to the previous days when we have been striding along... Continue Reading →
GREEN FLASH
The days and nights continue to be pleasant with good sailing conditions. So far the South Pacific has provided the conditions we wanted and could not find in the North Pacific. Last night we had sundowners in the cockpit as the sun set. Both Jessica and I watched for the green flash as the sun... Continue Reading →
HEADING TO SUWARROW
Another wonderful sailing day and night. We have the wind on our beam and are being pushed along nicely at six knots towards Suwarrow. Its almost too good to be true, this is the first constant weather we have experienced since departing from Honolulu. The wind went light for a couple of hours in the... Continue Reading →
INTO THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE AND CHANGE OF PLAN
We had a wonderful night last night, clear skies, big moon and just the right amount of wind to keep us moving along nicely with a low swell. The nights are cool and an extra layer of clothes is required for the early morning watches. I watched Venus rise just after the Southern Cross in... Continue Reading →
CHRISTMAS ISLAND / KIRITIMATI TO PENRHYN
I awoke early this morning, it was too quiet. On deck all was peaceful, the anchor cable was lying soundlessly in the water. After days of wind this was a pleasant surprise. I was now too awake to go back to sleep and it was too early to wake Jessica. For the next hour I... Continue Reading →
PUBLIC HOLIDAY ON CHRISTMAS ISLAND
Last night I slept in the cockpit under the stars. I started off in the forward cabin but the noise of the waves against the bow and the anchor chain drove me out. It's quite cool here at night and a long sleeved shirt, sarong and socks was the comfortable attire for sleeping outside. Fortunately,... Continue Reading →
BOAT BOUND AT CHRISTMAS ISLAND
Any hopes of going ashore this morning were foiled by the wind. A solid trade wind made conditions at the anchorage unsuitable for using the dinghy to g et ashore. I have plenty of little jobs to attend to - the time will not be wasted. At lunchtime, we experienced wind against tide conditions that... Continue Reading →
A DAY OUT ON CHRISTMAS ISLAND
This morning we had a run ashore, in fact by the time we had ourselves ready it was almost lunchtime. The wind and waves at the anchorage are too much for the small rubber duck so we had to launch the pig which has been languishing on the foredeck for months undisturbed. This is Jessica’s... Continue Reading →
The Adventures of Captain Ray Penson 