Happy Mother’s Day! Less than 100 Miles to Go!

Dawn got to celebrate her Mother's Day with me out at sea.  I am so grateful for her willingness and support in making this dream happen.  She never complains about difficult situations, she just stays focused on solutions for making things better.  I love you Dawn!

Danielle was able to rally this morning after a long night watch that included pouring rain, and made us some AMAZING banana pancakes for Mother’s Day breakfast! The bananas were fresh from Oa-Pau and they were delicious!

We passed the 100 mile mark late this afternoon and we plan to arrive at Raroia around 7 am.  Most likely we will need to spend some time waiting outside the pass to make sure we have good visibility as we navigate our way in.  Fortunately there are 10 or so boats that we know that are already in there and they are providing helpful advice on how to navigate our way through.

Conditions yesterday were absolutely ideal.  The wind was 10 to 12 knots and right on our beam with seas around 3 ft.  It made for some of the best sailing we have had on our trip.

BUT, today things have not been as nice.  The seas have become much larger and from several directions.  The wind has also increased to 15 to 20 knots.  This has created a pretty bumpy and rolly ride for us.  Not comfortable at all. Right now I have only the mainsail up with 2 reefs in it to slow our speed down so we don’t arrive in the middle of the night at Raroia.  Even with the slower speed, the boat is still pounding over the choppy steep waves.

We are REALLY looking forward to the calm waters in the lagoon!

We will post an update once we have made it through the pass and get anchored in the lagoon!