We departed Pago Pago in a wind that built to 20 knots close hauled. That was ok, it was the 4 meter (12 foot) waves on the beam that made the ride very uncomfortable. After 24 hours of discomfort but making great time the wind started to moderate and shift toward the beam. The waves dropped to about 1.5 meters and shifted toward the stern. After a night of rain the sun came out and we had a very pleasant sail. Unfortunately after 24 hours the wind continued to drop to about 7 knots. We found a hole in the ocean. The good news is the waves are now at about 0.5 meters. The bad news is we are making about 2 knots. We have the jib polled out as we are heading almost directly down wind.
As I write this we are about 100 nm from Vava'u, Northern Tonga, our destination. It is Friday on board but Vava'u is both on the other side of the date line and in the next time zone. It is Saturday there and an hour earlier. This is not such a big deal because customs and immigration are closed on the weekend. We have to wait until Monday to check in. Since they come out to Reboot we can't go in early "looking to check in." At least we will all be "Dragons" for crossing the date line.
Fair winds and following seas :)
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