North west, North, West, South West, North West, North , West

Position: 13D02.100S 161D41.273W

85 nautical miles left to sail to Suwarrow

784 nautical miles left to sail to Vavau in Tonga

 

North west, North, West, South West, North West, North , West.  A quick summary of this journey.

 

This is by far the most frustrating journey we have been on so far.  The winds have generally been extremely light and unfortunately very variable. We have constantly had to change the plan and seek out the best wind in a bad lot.  We have travelled at 1.1 knots up to 7.6 knots.  Only once have we pointed directly at Suwarrow.  We motored for 1 full night at the start of this journey and it looks like we will have to motor tonight so we can arrive in Suwarrow at first light.  Our sails are set wing on wing for downwind sailing.  We are pointing just north of Suwarrow.  Unfortunately the wind is only around 6 knots.  We are travelling at around 3 knots with the current and a small amount of wind behind us.  At this speed Faraway rolls left and right causing the sails to collapse and then fill.  The result is continuous slapping of the sails.  It is not ideal for the sails but at present it is our only option. It is also placing extra strain on the sheets and connections on the jibe preventer and whisker pole.

 

We intended to skip Suwarrow and go straight for Tonga as we wanted to be there before August 26.   However we are really tired,  the autopilot and other parts of the boat have been working hard for 7 days and the winds are predicted to be light and variable tomorrow.  So we will continue to Swarrow with the intention of arriving early on Friday morning. We will stretch our legs by exploring the atoll and the house where Tom Neale the hermit lived, do some snorkelling, and try to catch up on some deep sleep.  On Saturday the winds are predicted to pick up significantly so we will have to leave.  Initially the wind speeds will be around 15 knots.  Into the week they will increase to the high 20s.  Unfortunately this will also bring a large swell.  We have had around 2-2 1/2 metres of swell all week.  By Thursday the swell south of Tonga will be 5 1/2 metres and it will be head on to us.  That will mean lots of water over the deck.  Faraway was built for this kind of sailing but I'm not sure that Ian and I were.  With Ian's revised plan we will arrive in Tonga on Wednesday (Thursday Tonga Time due to that date line) after a speedy second leg of the journey.  Hopefully we will have found refuge before the big swell arrives. 

 

We have learned not to trust the Grib weather files that we download as they often let us down. Do not be surprised if the plan changes again this week. 

 

Our vegetables are doing well. The lettuce has lasted 8 days and we are still eating it today.  The bananas all turned yellow at the same time eventhough we split them in 3 and placed them around different parts of the boat.  We will have to eat them quickly.  Hopefully we will have some fresh fruit and veg spare to give to the 2 keepers on Suwarrow in exchange for coconut crabs and lobsters.

 

We are at the end of the cooking gas.  Last night we cooked 2 big chickens together in case our gas runs out.  We will be having lots of cold chicken over the next 2 days.

 

Despite all that I have said at this exact moment in time (ignoring the sound of the sails) we are bobbing along at around 3 knots and there is very little swell.  The sea is a beautiful dark blue, there are a few fuffy Cumulus clouds, occasionally 1 or 2 booby birds fly past whistling in the hope that we will feed them,  there is a very light breeze through the cockpit, the air smells fresh and clean but our clothes don't, my cup of tea is hot, I'm eating a piece of banana cake and I have a good book to slowly read.  HAVE A NICE DAY.  If anyone is interested in reading more about Suwarrow atoll Tom Neale wrote the book 'An Island to Oneself' documenting his solitary life on the island between 1952 and 1977 giving advice for surviving on a coral atoll alone.  The Frisbie family also lived on the island before Tom Neale in 1942 and wrote 2 books 'Island of Desire' and 'The Frisbies of the South Pacific'.  The Frisbie family miraculously survived a cyclone that swept the island in 1942 only by tying themselves to a palm tree (note to self remember to tie myself to the mast).