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GPS: 21 47.783S 175 31.306W

Run: 114.7nm (207.6km)
Avg: 2.9knts
24hr: 68.9nm

During Tony and Stella’s watch this morning they decided that ‘Imagine’ was a submarine burying Imagine’s bow in the oncoming waves! Cheers could be heard coming from Tony as the occasional wave went over the cockpit cabin (3 metres above waterline). Screams were heard from the rest of the crew as the waves penetrated the air vents and hatches. We now have 3 wet beds – any more and Tony and Stella will have to share theirs! During the night and early morning winds gusted up to 30 knots and sea/swell became very messy.

Excitement is growing in anticipation of reaching Tonga. Expected ETA approx 2am Saturday morning. Will cruise around until daybreak when we can go into the harbour and wait until Monday for customs clearance. Night from us all.

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GPS: 23 27.345S 175 29.236W

Run: 181.7nm (328.9km)
Avg: 11.2knts
24hr: 269.2nm

Uneventful night for the most part. Yesterday was cloudy and grey, but today we had beautiful sunny weather. As we get closer to Tonga, the water temperature continues to climb and is currently a balmy 29.6 C.

We took advantage today to do a bit of maintenance and Andrew got out and washed the salt off the windows. Today and tomorrow we will be negotiating the coral shoals surrounding Tonga. Saw a few flying fish today but not much else. Still practising fishing so Sue is in the galley tonight making Shepherd’s Pie. Little Tony: your estimation of number of days left before reaching Tonga was correct.

Rockin’ and Rollin’ (literally) from the South Pacific.

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GPS: 25 22.245S 177 27.962W

Run: 132.4nm (239.6km)
Avg: 4.2knts
24hr: 100.4nm

Last night was uneventful. Practising fishing is still continuing. Tony made some scones today with much acrobatic skill in the galley due to the heavy swell. Gourmet chef tonight is Hannah with a big pot of Dahl. Nothing much else to report today other than we are getting closer to Tonga.

Good night from the intrepid explorers!

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GPS: 26 56.197S 178 41.774W

Run: 84.7nm (153.3km)
Avg: 3.5knts
24hr: 84.2nm

Made a detour in the middle of the night around a large bommie. A bommie is a tower of coral. Some of these in this area are created by volcanic vents.It went from 3000 meters deep up to only 18 meters. This was a rather annoying and long detour but we still managed to make 90 nm in the right direction. Shortly after navigating our way around this obstacle the autopilot cut out… so a night of hand steering with no moon and many clouds, not an easy task. The sea finally subsided slightly just an hour or so ago to allow us to fix the problem. Good steering practice for us all though.

Sue ran into a bit of trouble first thing in the morning, getting entangled in the fire extinguisher and in fear of moving in case she filled the boat with dry powder. Luckily the captain was handy to free her from the evil clutches of the extinguisher. Tony entertained the crew with a unique performance titled “Doing the laundry”. This satire was preformed with a straight face, a plunger and even an agitation mode. It did however lead to questions when he started stuffing his many pockets on his freshly washed cargo shorts with socks… foiled by high winds he was forced to display everything in the windows of the cockpit in hopes the sun would dry it.

A slither of the moon has appeared to shed a bit of light through our night.

Good night all

Happy birthday Mauna – from Stella

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GPS: 27 50.269S 179 37.875W

Run: 129.9nm (235.1km)
Avg: 5.2knts
24hr: 125.7nm

Winds overnight where extremely changeable, ranging from 9knots to 30. Not allowing much sleep for the crew. Nothing too stressful just got a bit thrown around. Today was a quiet day with steady winds and many naps. We have passed from the Eastern longitude to the Western. Not much more to report today. Hoping for a calmer night and a good sleep.

Stella says hello to her friends and family and looks forward to talking to them soon, as do the rest of us. Now about to eat steak! 

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GPS: 29 25.136S 179 12.733E

Run: 120.5nm (218.1km)
Avg: 5knts
24hr: 120.2nm

We are now 497nm from Auckland harbour. Another nice day today, clear skies and the water temperature is now 26.6°c.

After reefing down to number two last night the wind was mainly light, below 16 knots. After slightly higher winds late this afternoon we have reefed even further … just in case… Hannah and Tony had their first practice with the fishing line today, it shall continue to be called practice until a fish eventuates. Some of the crew are hearing new creaks and groans from their bodies that they hadn’t noticed before and all of us are sporting new bruises.

Everyone constantly appears drunk despite the lack of alcohol and cooking is somewhat of a profanity laced spectacle.

Andrew’s turn tonight with apricot chicken.

In response to a comment, Tony didn’t bring the bread maker it was already onboard.

Thanks for the comments, keep em coming. Just don’t forget your name so we know how it’s to be taken.

Good night all 

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GPS: 30 56.191S 178 13.145E

Run: 120.8nm (218.6km)
Avg: 5knts
24hr: 120.3nm

Once again at 8pm the winds got up and we had 3 squalls come through. Wind varied up to 35knots, leaving us in early hours of the morning with no wind. This left us about 20 nautical miles west of our course.

Slight sea invasion in the front quarters quickly fixed with a tub of Vaseline. The remainder of the day was spent getting back on course, otherwise uneventful. Crew mainly slept today, shifts shared by everyone. Stella is in the galley cooking up something Mexican/Italian.

We’ve put an extra reef in the mainsail in the hopes of a better night’s sleep tonight. Will let you know the results tomorrow.

Amore, el cinco amigos

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This morning the sunrise brought a gentle swell, which gave us a gentle ride throughout the day. We lost our travelling friend Masquanada sometime in the night after he gave us a close pass and then took off into the distance. This morning we enjoyed listening to the amusing banter of two passing container ships over the radio and this afternoon Sue did a bit of washing and hung her britches on the back deck, fluttering in the afternoon breeze. Tony is currently in the galley preparing our evening feast, while we wait patiently enjoying the calm evening and watching the sun set. Throughout the night we will pass through our quarter way mark! Just a note, if leaving a message for us please leave do your name.

Goodnight from all of us and we will be back with more tomorrow 

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GPS: 35 01.952S 175 53.224E

Run: 138.4nm (250.5km)
Avg: 3.2knts
24hr: 76nm

Yesterday we left Auckland with fine skies and light winds. By evening the winds got up and sea became choppy (a few crew were a bit seasick). During the night we had phosphorescent torpedos turning circles around the boat (some dolphins decided to pay a visit)

Today we saw some whales feeding with some large sea birds. The wind and swell have died down during course of the morning, swells down to about 1.5m.

The crew are falling into a routine – sleep, eat, on watch.

The water temperature has raised from 19.4 degrees when we left to 21.8 currently.

Friends and family – don’t panic if status doesn’t update daily

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GPS: 36 48.908S 174 57.439ERun: 1.3nm (2.4km)

The crew are all here. We have done a practice man overboard. No the skipper wasn’t thrown overboard. We used an old lifejacket. Today the girls have gone into town to get fresh fruit n veg for trip. Tomorrow we set off.