Location 17° 36S, 149° 38W
Tuesday, 10.16.2007

At noon today, the Schooner Maggie B was at 17° 36S, 149° 38W, just outside Tepuhaonu Pass, a few miles from Marina Taina. We are finally underway for Chile, with a hoped-for stopover in Easter Island. We are full of diesel, water, food and good will from the Polynesians and out fellow yachties, who gave us a nice send off from the marina. Puerto Montt is about 4115 NM away. IF we are able to keep the speed that we did from Mauritius to Fremantle, 7.9 knots, it will take us 22 days.

Yesterday we had rain of biblical proportions. It was as if a thunderstorm sat right overhead the marina for four hours. Besides the rain, we saw one serious circular wind event that did no damage, but did organize the 20-30 boats at anchor off the marina into a perfect circle, perhaps 500 meters across. It was like movies of wagon trains circling when under attack.

But today, Tuesday, is clear, with a fickle NW wind tumbling over the mountains. We have the promise of a generally northerly wind until we get west to about 140-141 degrees west, when we will hit the usual Easterly, which will force us South. Our general plan is to work our way East as best we can on this little Northerly, until we have to turn South or Southeast. We hope to settle in along 27 degrees South and run along to Easter Island, which is about 109 degrees West. But much depends on the positioning of the next low, which we will have to get south of, in order to get decent winds. That may be a ways south. “La Nina” conditions are setting in, which traditionally means the highs go further south.

We’ll see.

When I started writing this report at about 1600, I had barely entered the addresses when the main throat halyard came down again. Our hearts just hit rock bottom as we took in sails and headed to the nearest port. But then I was just thrilled to see that nothing had broken, just the knot in the halyard attaching the bitter end to the jigger had come untied. We motored into the lovely Port du Phaeton near 17° 45S, 149° 20W, rehung the halyard with proper whipping (the halyard, not the bosun) and slipped out of the unlit, complex Passe de Teputo just at full dark. Onwards!

Then the toilet plugged up, but that was fixed in an hour. Whee! All I want is one day with no problems….