[ password] Tsar12
[position]18 90.44S 176 91.66E
[weather]temp 27 baro 1020 wind N 10-14 knots some cloud cover swell 1 m E
[status]after checking out in Denarau 3.30 pm we carried a nice 15-18 knot Northerly to Navula Pass which we exited on a magnificent sunset . Putting a reef in we soon found the wind swing to East and decreasing to 10 so with a clear sky suggesting that frontal activity was unlikely the reef was taken out and we were sailing for a direct course for the Bay of Islands albeit at a slow speed until 10 pm when the wind died . Motoring easily for 6 hours then a Northerly of 10 knots set in and we were sailing again . Daybreak set the screecher and having to sail angles but if one looks at PredictWind it suggests we are in a wind vacuum at the moment so happy to be tacking downwind in a now 15 knot Northerly . Shame our gennaker is unusable as it would be just perfect at the moment.
Easy 1 m easterly swell - sea conditions are slightly sloppy but the breeze is easily enough to drive you through so all in all happy with what we got.
The big question is do we sail into the big hole that PredictWind suggests - behind us the breeze looks set in so we will take it while we got it.
We are happy we made the split decision to check out yesterday as although sailing at reasonably slow speeds ( currently around 6.5 knots SOG - 1 knot tide pulling us back) and sailing extra distance we seem to be carrying what Northerly there was around south Fiji with us and that was the plan.
Hopefully this breeze will stay for a while but realise it isn?t forecast to so v grateful :)

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