[password]minerva
[position]03°30.61'S 179°54.44'E
[status] The decision before sunset Wednesday to take the slightly less favored tack to the east of the rhumb line rather than sailing west into the Heart of Darkness - a huge area of thick black clouds reaching down to the surface - turned out to be a good decision. Unlike the prior two nights we didn't have to run squall avoidance maneuvers but saw plenty of lightening in the western skies. Our big excitement for the evening was coming within a mile of what we think were gill nets lit by flashing red and white beacons at water level and on poles - a hazard to navigation if those lights fail.

Thursday morning brought the return of sunny blue skies and trade wind clouds. Though the wind was only in the 2-3 knot range this morning the seas were so calm we were able to keep sailing and by late morning the wind had filled in to 5-7 knots, allowing us to make 5 knots most of the day. We were visited by small dolphins just before sunset and enjoyed stargazing in the cockpit to top off a wonderful day.
[speed] 4.5
[heading] 328T
[weather] Wind 5-7 k, 078T. 10% cloud. Seas 1 m. Bar 1010.
12/7/2018 9:20 AM UTC
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