We motored out of Noumea on Tuesday (yesterday) in the early afternoon. The anticipated winds filled in as the sun went down and by 9pm we had 25 – 30 knots on the beam. Since then we’ve had two reefs in the main and hardly any jib out but Hydroquest is still doing over 7 knot. She’s flying along, and bouncing up and slipping down the 3 meter swells with graceful ease.

Will and I are not so graceful down below, but the good news is that we haven’t felt seasick (yay!). We’ve reverted to ‘at sea zombie state’ which means lying in our aft berth staring at the wall while trying to sleep. Breakfast was a granola bar each and lunch was cold leftover pasta.

We are not discouraged and we still have high hopes for this final leg! The seas and wind are forecasted to subside a bit and clock around the east within the next 24 hours. I would really love to experience ‘fair winds and following seas’ just once more in the south pacific… and maybe, if we are really getting our hopes up, be visited by a pod of dolphins, finally see the ‘green flash’ at sunset, and have a clear night or two to enjoy the stars and full moon. Fingers crossed!

23 33.2 S
163 48.3E
240T
702nm to Coff’s Harbour
25-30 knots SE
2.5 – 3.5 m swell