Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Day 6 - Tonga to New Zealand

High-Latitude Sunset
 
Corie managed to connect to the email server in Niue, almost 1,100 miles away, using our single sideband radio but the connection is very slow. I'm actually writing this as we're in the sending and receiving process; I'm typing as fast as I can so please forgive any errors.
Even though the wind is very light and we're motoring, we're having a great time. The seas are flat calm and the sky is clear. It's fairly warm, about 66 and the humidity is low. Our excitement is building as the prospects of landfall draw near. In particular, I'm thinking about a cheeseburger with a very large, cold beer (we don't drink anything alcoholic when we're on a passage).
Even though Rutea's mechanical systems continue to perform well (except her refrigeration), her exterior is in bad need of a thorough scrubbing. Heavy layers of salt cover everything and the deck kind of crunches when you walk on it. I was thinking about stowing the trysail, our very heavy storm sail that's bent onto the mast so it's easy to deploy should we need it but I think as long as it's there it's insurance that we won't need it.
My friend, Norm, on Sarah Jean II, called me yesterday on the radio and told me of his calculations that if we increased our speed by one full knot, we would arrive in Opua in the late afternoon on Friday. "Good call," I said and we increased our engine's RPMs to 1,600. Norm called back a few hours later to tell us that the increase in RPMs had put additional pressure on Sarah Jean's rudder bearing, which had been giving them trouble, and he was forced to back down. He expects this to delay their arrival by a full day.
We should be arriving in Opua, New Zealand, about this time tomorrow. The weather forecast is for more light winds. I'll be able to write with more details tomorrow night.
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At 10/27/2011 12:56 AM (utc) Rutea's position was 32°41.94'S 176°00.79'E
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