With the weather still not looking terrific there was no desire aboard to stay at O’ua so we set our sights for Nomuku-iti. The sail there was somewhat brisk with the wind varying between mid 20s and low 30s. The latter half of the trip we had so sail close hauled (into wind) including crossing a section of water where we were exposed to the full ocean causing both Ben and Helen to feel somewhat queasy. During the roughest part of the trip we caught a medium sized mahi mahi which I duly gutted leaving the filleting to calmer waters. To get to our anchorage we had to tack many times. Each tack we got closer to land making the seas calmer and calmer. We finally anchored in the channel between Nomuku and Nomuku-iti close to the latter.
As the afternoon progressed the weather improved. The wind didn’t subside but the sun came out – something we haven’t seen for many days. The air warmed noticeably too so I figure we’ve had something of a warm front go over although this is not apparent from any of the forecasts I’ve been looking at.
We’d agreed that if the weather improved we’d stay here a day and explore. There’s a wreck on the beach and supposedly the remains of an old prison camp. The island is uninhabited and supposedly there are many fruit trees inland. Although we have plenty there’s no harm in looking for more.
We’re back to being the furthest south of our trip. The previous record being Beveridge Reef. We hope the summer catches us as we press further south.
Today marks our two year mark aboard (I think). I’m trying to persuade Helen to write a year two perspective as her first year summary was well received.
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