[password] rachel25
[position]36 00.000s 102 31.200w
[status] On passage to Valdivia, Chile from Auckland NZ.

Day 31. Ana here, again. Today my watch begins at midnight, and I know before rising from Ithaka's bucking and rolling, that the wind has picked up suddenly. I pause after sitting up, to give myself the chance to wake up properly. If I don't have my wits about me, I'll be torpedoed from one side of the boat to the other, adding bruises to bruises.
I wedge myself in the companionway alcove to don sailing boots, wet weather gear, hat, head torch, sailing gloves and life jacket, meanwhile Lucas gives a hand over. Outside in the cockpit, there is an overwhelming sound of water hissing, slapping and gurgling on Ithaka's sides, together with a slight humming from the rigging. Thick clouds obliterate all 'heavenly bodies' (a beautiful term I have learnt from sextant notes!). However due to the full moon, there is a gloaming similar to the summer midnight sky at home in Aberdeenshire. I can see quite clearly the entire deck and sails, and that the sea has not yet had a chance to build up.
I furl the Yankee (jib) completely, and ease the staysail. Ithaka's dance turns quickly from an energetic reel to a stately strathspey. With a hop and a skip, she moves with purpose, eastwards.

[speed] 7.5 knots
[heading] 090 true
[weather] Wind NW 20 knots. 0.5m waves on long wavelength ocean swell. Sky 100% cloud. Baro 1016,
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