[password] rachel25
[position]35 59.427s 127 37.733w
[status] On passage to Valdivia, Chile from Auckland NZ.

Day 23 Another calm day. More motoring.
In this passage I have sometimes had a curious feeling that we are moving along corridors rather than crossing a broad 2 dimensional ocean. It may be the way my mind copes with the enormity of the South Pacific, makes it manageable. It is enhanced by the fact that we have meeting points, waypoints I guess, where we have to be by a certain time to connect with a weather system or, perhaps, avoid one. At the moment I feel we are in a fairy tight west-east corridor. Any diversion from this will result in us positioning ourselves poorly for the tropical depression which is heading SE towards us. We must also make a certain speed along this corridor as we want the depression to pass behind us. When we sailed from Galapagos to Marquesas in 2013 we just sat in the SE trades for 3 weeks and there were no particular turning points or meeting points with any weather systems. We downloaded the GRIBS (weather data) but it was mainly for information rather than causing us to take action. How different this is with constantly moving systems, a moving minefield through which we must find our safe corridor.
Today was a sextant day. Lucas and I spent 10 minutes each taking sights, and then a further 3 hours working out one position line! I hope we'll get quicker with the next one. Why do we bother, you (and Ana) ask! I guess it's just another puzzle to be solved. But it certainly makes us appreciate the skill of the great navigators, and we think with awe, of Shackleton and Worsley navigating the little James Caird across the storms of the South Atlantic from Elephant Island to South Georgia. Men were a different breed in those days. It also make us appreciate the GPS so, so much.

[speed] 6.0 kts
[heading] 090 true
[weather] Wind N 8 knots. 0.5m waves. Sky 10% cloud. Baro 1015
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