We woke up to sunshine, the water temp is going up and everyone at breakfast was feeling extremely happier, now wearing shorts …… jumpers off! Very light winds meant that we got the big spinnaker, Scary Spice out. Gratifyingly she went up like a dream, always helps having three men to hoist it.
Scary Spice back sailing
CJ enjoying the sun and calm waters
There are always challenges – Rowan wanted to swap our NZ navigation sim card for the Fiji one, and found it has been corrupted and wont work. Luckily he has back up on his Ipad and phone, so we are not completely stuck. We hope that we may stop in at Minerva Reef, which is an atoll in the middle of the sea. At low tide the reef is just visible otherwise it is this little safe haven under the water, where sailors often go to wait out weather. It is an old volcano, the snorkelling is meant to be great. We have to wait and see what happens with the weather window, as we don’t want to be caught there in bad weather.
CJ cooked us a chicken curry that was delicious, even if in the making we mis communicated sweet paprika for curry powder! All enhanced by fresh Kaffir Lime leaves, fish sauce and coconut milk.
Phil and CJ are really good company and it’s been fascinating listening to their lives in NZ. Phil has had a building business, and sold out and works on his own now, he showed us some amazing houses he has built. He has his own sailing boat and is obviously very at home at sea, a keen fisherman. CJ is a corporate guy, I think in telecoms marketing, they have a batch (what the kiwis call a beach house) and obviously is also completely at home at sea. Kiwis have the highest ownership of boats per capita of any country in the world apparently. I suppose they have so much gorgeous coastline it is not surprising.
It was a slow day as the wind really died, there were a few squalls we had to duck around as there was lightening in some, but all very manageable even in the odd torrential downpour. It was a gorgeous sunset. The engines came back on around midnight, and I had another very easy night shift.
This evening’s glowing sunset, so different from yesterday’s intense pink
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