Bora Bora to Suwarrow: 21st July

Bora Bora to Suwarrow: Day 1: 21st July 2023

After a quick check of the weather using our new PredictWind software we set off at 8.30am from the Yacht Club. The mooring lines were a bit tangled again but Sally and I quickly got them sorted and we motored out through the reef. Met by a big swell we sailed under reefed main and yankee for a bit.

One rod was out and soon it screamed loudly. The clutch was set hard on and the fish still took hundreds of metres of line before it stopped. Sally started to wind in and although heavy it came in steadily. This continued until the lure was maybe 50m away. Then all went slack and the line came in sans lure. So, another big fish lost and another $20 lure down the pan. We didn't fish again as the swell was large.

As usual the angle wanted was dead downwind. Not Mehalah's best point of sail. So we have gybed our way west north west at between 4 and 5 knots so even less in the right direction. Lumpy and tricky sailing.

At one stage we thought of trying the parasailor so we got it out the bag and all the lines set up. By then of course the wind had risen a bit and we have spent the rest of the day coaxing our way forward with a combination of main and yankee.

It's Sally's first proper sail on Mehalah so there's much to learn. Every boat is different and we all have our own little ways of doing things It seems to be going fine though.

Our software reckoned 7 days to Suwarrow but I think it will take longer. It's only 700 miles though so 7 days should be easily doable. We shall see.

Dinner tonight was delicious. Pre cooked Shepherd's Pie. I had two big helpings. Yumsters! Thank you Sally

So that's about it for today. A day of establishment and getting back into the swing of passage making.

Goodnight.

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