[password]Tsar12
[position]115 54.83S 176 09.19 W
[weather] clear sky wind E 18-28 knots sea 2-3 m temp 30
[status]our time in Apia was well utilised as we did chores that are easier to do in a marina environment like a good outside wash , cleaning the tender,flushing The outboard , plenty of washing etc.
Also we hired a van for a day and did a tour around half of the island stopping at waterfalls ,pools and a resort for coffee which we didn?t ask the price on beforehand and got charged $12 nz for a very average flat white.
Time to go and clearance involved a few hassles which meant we were a couple of hours later than we would have liked getting away - setting sail at 11.00am turns morning - one hour later we hooked and landed a nice 8 kg yellow fin tuna to add to our reserves and had fresh tuna sushimi 3for lunch 30 mins after it was caught .
The wind was a bit variable going through the straight between the two main islands of Samoa then later in the night it kicked in and ended up with squalls up to 30 knots but mainly in the 20-25 range with a step 2 -3 m swell.
As it was at 140 apparent which is a nice angle I kept the full main as we needed to make ground to get as far as we can towards Fiji before the forecasted winds die right off. Subsequently we were surfing quite nice as the night progressed and when dawn broke I did a 8 hour stint on the helm to try and maximise the waves.

Under main and jib we hit a cruising record for P?zazz of 21 knots and had lots of bursts around 15-18 so was probably the best sailing conditions since the trip began. Mid afternoon the wind started to die off slightly so I threw a lure out and 30 mins later had a blue marlin tail walking away from us - we landed him but unfortunately my eager gaff person had a miss hit before I decided we would release him and he was hut bad enough that we pulled him aboard and kept him. Now the freezer is absolutely full to the brim. We are trying to think of different ways to have our fish as it will be twice a day for a while to make room for drinks and other stuff !
We are hoping that the PredictWind forecast of winds dying out tomorrow afternoon doesn?t eventuate as it will leave us with a reasonable motor for the last part . Be nice to be able to throw the gennaker up in the morning and eat up so,emmiles for a Friday morning arrival.
Looking forward to downing our first Fiji bitter for a while

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