[password] abcisme
[position] 29 49.9S 172 56.7E
[weather] 18knts WSW (260T), 1-2m swell, 1011 baro
[speed] 7kts
[heading] 350T
[status] Good Morning!
Aside from a neck/back strain afflicting the older, wearker, more likely to die from man-flu, member of the crew, all is well aboard Libertalia.
I'm still perfectly functional, I just whince and moan a bit more than usual. My ribs (just one actually) is mostly fine now - it's been somewhat overshadowed by the pain directly opposite. It's all perfectly bearable, I just mention it because you're asking.

The morning has greeted us with a warm sunshine and slightly lighter winds, and a more mild sea state. The temperature is noticeably warmer. The fish are even jumping on board to sunbathe (and then die). The breakfast menu was delicious as usual and it is wonderful to be able to eat properly on passage! Usually the sea kinda sucks the life out of us and we seldom feel like doing anything thats not completely necessary... and eating is certainly optional.

Passage making (sailing for days on end) is a lot like mountain climbing. Its a whole lot of tiring uncomfortable slog interspersed with moments of enjoyment and beauty... but you do it for the prize that comes at the end!

We had some bigger waves last night which are fun to watch as they roll away, and it keeps the salt from crystalising too much when they crash over the boat every now and then. They really do make you feel small. One of our 'Homeless' Viking friends made a wise statement recently when we were discussing the size of their 27 ocean crossing foot boat. "We are all small out there!" she said. We all nodded.

We've left the strong winds behind now and are slowly turning towards Noumea. The next 48 hours or so will make for some tricky sailing conditions. We're expecting 10-15 knots and the wind will move to our aft quarter, but be constantly shifting... and of course we're expecting the major shifts to happen in the dead of night! Sailing dead down wind is slow and sloppy unless we put sails out both sides and steer by hand, which is a high concentration job that gets tiring quickly. We dont trust the autopilot to do it safely. Long story short, we will end up sailing the angles to maintain some speed even if it is not quite the direction. It will look a bit like we're beating up wind, but its the opposite, and much more pleasant! A well rested tactician with a fresh mind woud have some fun making the calls over the next few days, but I'm too tired for much more of that malarkey.
Oh, my kingdom for a Spinnaker!

A big welcome to Scott, Kath, Case, Indie, & Joel who made it to NZ just as we were leaving it. Sorry we missed you.

Thanks for your comments, its nice to hear from home while we're out here climbing our way to the mountain peak!

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