Location 32° 45S, 167° 38W
Sunday 12:00, 07.22.2007

The Schooner Maggie B was at 32° 45S, 167° 38W at noon on July 22. We are still in the right place, riding the shoulder of the gale. We jibed at about dawn this morning with the wind shift, and now have 25-30 knots from the SSW, which has us on a starboard broad reach, speeding along to our turn point at 32S/155W. We have about 1/2 to 1 knot help from the Southern Ocean Current. We did 217 NM in the last 24 hours and 30 in the last three. The barometer reached its lowest point, a relatively modest 1008 mb at 0400 this morning and is slowly working its way back up. The rain, which had been heavy at times, has cleared and our new solar panels are back working for us.

The SW swells are 3-5 meters and of a period that gets us surfing, while causing heading excursions of 20-30 degrees port and starboard. But the basic ride is more comfortable than last night and seems to be calming down gradually. Our “basic” speed is 9-10 knots, speeding up to 12-13 while surfing.

We have come 985 NM from Opua, and have 1332 to go to Papeete.

We have at least one Grey-headed Albatross (Diomedia chrysostoma) flying with us, plus a cloud of Pintado Petrels and Sooty Shearwaters. Theresa and Hannah were all the way on the stern, behind the boom-gallows (harnessed in!), surfing the boat and dangling their toes in the foam of the waves rushing up on us. It seemed sometimes that the birds were almost in their hair.

The Force 10 stove, which is central to our happiness, has been acting up a bit. The burners’ “auto-igniters” weren’t working any more and the burners didn’t want to stay lit after lighting. After pulling it all apart, I discovered a simple AA battery incredibly well hidden that had lost most of its charge. Now that is replaced, the stove is running as good as new.

I’m pleased to report that Ben has passed his initial apprenticeship, where he stood watches with all of us. He will start standing his own watch tonight on the 2100-midnight. I’m on the Midnight-0300; Hannah the 0300-0600; Theresa the 0600-0900.

All is well.