Friday, July 15, 2011

2nd Day of Our Passage to Suwarrow

The first night of a passage is always the toughest. For me, it takes several days before I get used to the routine of watches, meals, chores, etc. Last night was no exception. It started out normal enough but the wind continued to build so I tucked a second reef into the main - then, of course, the wind lightened almost immediately. Ruthie admonished me that you never untuck a reef at 0400 and, as usual, she's right. It turned out to be good advice as a large squall bore down on us just a few minutes later with much rain and wind.

But what really pissed me off was the damned brown-footed boobies which decided to get a free ride on our solar panels. Under normal circumstances, I would chase them off with much shouting and arm waving. However, last night I was feeling rather magnanimous (and a little sea sick) so I let the critters ride. Had I known that my free-loading feathered friends would deposit enormous calling cards all over my solar panels, I wouldn't have been so generous. This time, though, they didn't appear to be too concerned with my shouting and arm waving and it wasn't until I smacked one of them with a flip-flop that they left.

We're finally in a more calm place and it makes writing possible, but, man, is it ever the middle of nowhere! According to our chart plotter, we should arrive in Suwarrow on Monday morning. There's no civilization there, just two park rangers as it's a nature preserve. It's gotten rave reviews from other cruisers as a great spot for snorkeling.
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At 7/15/2011 9:05 PM (utc) Rutea's position was 15°40.17'S 154°46.42'W

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