Much has been written by cruisers about the 'Dangerous Middle' between Bora Bora and Tonga. Weather patterns can be difficult as fronts and convergence from southern ocean lows can influence the area. After all, it is winter in the south! So far we have had no squalls, although there has been some rain around.
We departed the afternoon Barns and Anita left as it allowed us to sail with a good SE wind of 20 to 25 knots. The weather window was closing and indeed today, the 27th, we have lost the wind!
The seas leaving Bora Bora are confused for the first 18 hours. We made good time on the first 3 days with a 165 mile day being the best. With day 2 having 4m seas kicked up from a low, the autopilot worked well and the boat handled the conditions with ease. However, at night the block mounting the ram came adrift! Fortunately the seas had abated and I hand steered for 5 hours whilst Peter sat in the aft locker making a new mount! He did an awesome job as it was still a little bouncy! This repair will last until Tonga (we hope!) where Peter can re-glass the previous mount.
Motoring is slow with the new gear box as it is a different ratio. We now need a new prop!!!!!!! So the decision in the next few days is whether we will stop off at Palmerston (an atoll that has no anchorage inside)and wait for wind.
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