Start Loc: Low Island (16o 22.86'S, 145o 33.83'E)
Narrative: We got an early start this morning. After doing the preparation to go, I hoisted the main sail with one reef, Cameron dropped the mooring buoy, and we sailed off the mooring at 6:33am.
Throughout the sail the winds varied from E to SSE, but were generally at 15-20kts. Our NNW course had us sailing from a beam reach through to a run as the wind swung further south. We had several sail combinations; we started with one reef in the main and full head sail on a beam reach, switched to full main and reduced head sail as the wind came more and more astern, and finished with just full main on a run. Our boat speed was mostly 4.0-7.5kts, and there was generally another 1-1.5kts of tidal assistance.
We put the sails away and motored between Hope Islands East and West. Heather went to the bow as lookout as we came through the reef to a protected coral lagoon off Hope Island East. We had read that the bottom can be foul and anchors can get snagged, so we were happy to see a public mooring buoy which we picked up at 1:16pm. We covered the 41nm in 6 hr 43 min, averaging a little over 6kts over ground.
After a late lunch we got the dinghy ready and went ashore. The kids flew their kites and we went for a swim to cool off. All in all, a good day.
End Loc: Hope Islands (15o 43.85'S, 145o 27.37'E)
Distance run: 41nm (cumulative: 1755nm)
Engine hours: 2 hr, 27 min (cumulative: 13 hr, 35 min)