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GPS: 23 59.059S 155 28.869E

Run: 170.4nm (308.4km)
Avg: 7knts
24hr: 167.6nm

This morning brought sunny skies, less than 1 metre swell and 12 knots of wind. Wolfgang who was on the helm was eager to unreef the mainsail and put out the headsail but had to wait until everybody had had their breakfast. Before we had chance to reset the sails it was Cindy’s turn to helm and she noticed a large area of rain on the radar so we decided to leave the main reefed and run with the staysail.

As we approached the rain we could see sheet lightening in the clouds so we turned most of the electronics off, brought in the staysail and turned the motor on. We motored through the rain for about an hour with the wind at only about 12 knots when suddenly the wind changed direction by 180 degrees and within 2 minutes was over 40 knots. Andrew steered into the wind to take pressure off the sails but it was too late, the mainsail was shredded. About 10 minutes later the wind was back to 14 knots and the rain was easing.

With nothing else on the radar we put up the mizzen and staysail to help balance the boat. We left the motor running at lower revs until Sue at the helm noticed the wind getting high again up to 31 knots and called Andrew and Wolfgang to take in the sails and we were back to motoring. A couple of hours later with Wolfgang on the helm and very messy 2m waves we decided to try the staysail again half reefed to give the boat a bit more stability. It’s now 2 hours later with Cindy back on the helm we are running full staysail and motor. The sea is slowly calming down so we’ll see what the moonlit night brings (full moon).

We’ve just enjoyed a very tasty dinner cooked by Wolfgang of pork chops, potato and veggies.

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GPS: 21 53.307S 156 53.476E

Run: 167.5nm (303.2km)
Avg: 3.6knts
24hr: 87.2nm

From hardly enough wind last night where we had all 4 sails up, during the night the squalls came meaning Andrew and Wolfgang had to go out in the early hours of the morning to reef the mainsail and take down the mizzen. Both were safely in their lifejackets, harnessed and tethered to the safety lines as Sue took Imagine into the wind. The swell was about 2 to 3 metres and the sea was quite messy. After they were safely back inside we went back on course.

Cindy had been feeling good the last few days and hadn’t taken any seasick tablets but with the messy sea she suddenly had to lifejacket/tether up and hung over the side to feed the fishes. She has since had some tablets and slept some and is currently on shift.

We’ve been sailing with the mainsail and either the staysail or headsail for the rest of the day averaging 7 to 8 knots this afternoon. We’ve just reefed the mainsail and put the staysail out for the night which will slow us down but make it a better ride for the night as the wind has picked up again. It was predicted that we would get 2 or 3 days of no wind but fortunately we haven’t struck that yet and are making good progress to Brisbane.

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A delicious breakfast on the foredeck this morning, basking in the sun under a beautiful blue, sunny sky and taking in the wonderful view.

After breakfast Andrew and Cindy cleaned the cockpit and windows whilst Sue cut Wolfgang’s hair (glad he wasn’t going to look in the mirror). After reviewing the latest weather report Andrew suggested we leave today to make the most of wind opportunities as to date it looks like we were going to get a few days with very light or no wind (no good for sailing! ).

We had a last refreshing swim in beautiful blue, clear water. Leftovers were on the menu for lunch so another lot of kiwi hamburgers were devoured. After lunch Andrew put the go pro on a pole and took it round the boat so we could hull was clean. After final checks we departed this wonderful place, heading through the reef at this end with Andrew up the mast, Sue on the helm and Wolfgang and Cindy also looking out for any reefs or bommies.

Not a lot of wind, we’ve tried various sail settings and at the moment we are running all 4, the main sail, headsail, staysail and mizzen up making a good 5.5 knots.

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 GPS: 19 51.606S 158 18.684E

Run: 143.1nm (259km)
Avg: 5.6knts
24hr: 133.9nm

Another clear beautiful morning. With the winds dropping away we had to motor most of the night. But at daybreak we tried sailing again. We put up the genica but were not able to reach the same speeds as yesterday with such low winds. By lunch time we gave up and went back to motoring.

We reached Chesterfield Reef by 3.30pm. With Wolfgang at the helm and Andrew & Cindy up the mast we navigated across this amazingly large reef. It took us over an hour from the eastern passage to the western side where we are anchored. Most of this reef is under water 1 or 2 meters with only 4 or 5 sand spits on 1 side of the rim and one large enough for palm trees to grow. This makes it a hard place to see if you don’t have charts.

In the middle of the Pacific a giant reef and 5 other yachts arrived only a few hours before us. They are all anchored on the southern end. We opted to anchor away from them on the north western side.

Tonight Sue made Kiwi burgers for dinner. Meat paddy, egg, beetroot, lettuce, tomatoes, onions and cheese. Cindy said it was the most amazing dinner she’s had in her 3wks on board!!

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GPS: 19 20.417S 160 26.357E

Run: 156.5nm (283.3km)
Avg: 6.3knts
24hr: 151.1nm

This morning we were greeted with a nice sunrise developing into a warm, sunny, almost cloudless day leaving no signs of the excitement that happened during the night. Around 9.30 pm whilst Sue was at the helm she noticed a cargo ship appearing on the radar on a collision course with us. With the vessel being 23 minutes to collision, 10 nautical miles, Sue called Andrew to come upstairs. With 11 minutes to collision all the crew were called on deck for avoidance manoeuvres. We tacked behind the cargo ship and 10 minutes later tacked back on course. As today went on the wind slowly died to below 10 knots so we dropped all sails and put up the gennaker which surprisingly gave us a very good wind to speed ratio, sometimes achieving 6 knots from only 7.6 knots of wind. This evening wind direction has changed and has slightly increased so we have pulled down the gennaker and are running with just the headsail up averaging 6 knots. This afternoon another cargo ship passed us but with ample room no additional manouevering was required. Due to the low winds, expected arrival at the reef tomorrow is about lunchtime.

Today a bird tried to land on the wind generator breaking one of the blades. Again Wolfgang is preparing dinner for us tonight, a lovely chicken and vegetable soup.

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This morning brought a beautiful blue sky with only a few clouds and not a soul in sight. Cindy and Wolfgang are still excited about being on a blue water crossing. We are keeping the routine of us all eating together at breakfast at daybreak, lunch at midday and dinner at sunset, no matter what time your shift finishes.

There is not much to do except do your shift, eat and sleep. After lunch with the autopilot on, we adjourned to the rear deck for a quick photoshoot. As we went through the coral reefs north of New Caledonia the sea was less than 1/2 metre swell. Wolfgang was at the helm pushing Imagine to 9.4 knots until we came out the other side and the swell increased to 1 metre. At this time we changed sails to slow the boat down to 6 knots. This is so we reach our next destination (Chesterfield reef) in 2 days time at 7am Wolfgang has been busy in the galley preparing devilled sausages with creamy mashed potatoes. Dinner in the cockpit as we sail into the sunset.

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Sun Oct 6 19:27 2019 NZDT GPS: 18 16.043S 165 21.375E

Run: 151.2nm (273.7km)
Avg: 6.4knts
24hr: 153.8nm

Day 2 … in transit to Brisbane This morning brought a grey, cloudy day. Been averaging about 7 knots. Everyone has got into the rhythm of the shifts.

Once again we’ve reefed the main for the evening shifts.

Wolfgang is in the galley preparing nachos for dinner

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Sat Oct 5 19:51 2019 NZDT GPS: 17 53.087S 167 37.322E

Run: 46.2nm (83.6km)

Saturday 5th October In the wild blue yonder Rising early we had breakfast, then prepared Imagine for sail. Andrew and Wolfgang set up the drogue and storm sail, so if needed they can be deployed easily. Cindy and Sue made sure everything below deck was stowed away. We unhooked from the mooring and with Sue at the helm we made our way through the moored boats to the fuel dock. This entailed performing a 180 degree turn just before overhead powerlines to allow enough room to glide up to the fuel dock. “Shit shit shit” came from the cockpit then silence as the turn took us to about 5m from the powerlines. We nicely pulled up to the dock and took on 550 ltrs of desiel.

Cindy and Wolfgang were so excited about doing their first blue water crossing. Leaving Vanuatu we put up the main only and sailed a pleasant 6 to 7 knots till 4pm. Then at shift change we reefed the main and put out the staysail ready for the evening.