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American Spirit II - Day 157; Heading to Fiji; Wednesday, June 11, 2014



Up early, 5:40 AM. Joel had coffee ready for me. Starboard tack, wind 16-19, boat speed 6.1 knots. Seas down a little. No moon, stars out. Uranus bright behind boat to the northeast. Dawn approaching. Temperature cool. Had socks, pants, jacket and hat on. Its winter south of the equator. Low 70's.



Sunrise at 7:18 AM. Clouds. No green flash. A lone tern tried to land on the spreader two times. Must be tired. Gave up too soon. Circled the boat a few times then flew away.



I started reading a new daytime book at 7:50 AM. American Sniper. I try to read paper books in daylight and my Kindle at night.



During the 9:00 AM net only Hebe and us connected. Hebe is heading to Port Denarau Marina to clear into; we're heading to Suva.



At 10:30 AM jibed boom, then put preventer back on. The preventer is attached to the end of the boom and a fitting at the bow of the boat. It 'prevents' the boom from jibing. An uncontrolled jibe is what broke our mainsheet traveler car months ago. The preventer also keeps the boom from moving around a lot in light air and when the wind is behind us. Less noise and wear and tear on the boat.



I napped from 9:35 AM to 11:25 AM. A good one. Actually got some sleep out it.



Our noon position is: 18 degrees, 35 minutes South; 177 degrees, 4 minutes West. 85 miles to Onea Passage, thru an easterly series of islands running north and south, islands belonging to Fiji. The passage is 5 miles wide, and is the first 'passage' of our trip.



At 1:25 PM I had a can of spaghetti for lunch. Joel declined. Doesn't like red sauce due to no gallbladder.



Joel napped from 1:20 PM until 4;00 PM. Wind 14-19 knots, boat speed 6.7 knots. Two waves almost made it into cockpit. One landed on the transom and squirted water into the cockpit underneath the aft seat. By 5:00 PM it looks like rain.



Dinner at 6:00 PM consisted of freeze dried Chicken Teriyaki with Rice, sweet green peas and chopped pineapple. With the boat continuing to rock and roll 20 to 30 degrees, its a challenge eating meals in the cockpit. Waves still 8-10 feet. Surfing down some waves at 7.7/7.8 knots.



The sunset at 6:25 PM was obstructed by clouds. No green flash.



During the 6:30 PM net Adela, us, Hebe and Free & BrEasy participated. Free & BrEasy,like us, has a damaged shroud. They're heading to a different repair facility in Fiji than we are.



I napped from 6:45 PM to 7:50 PM, before my 8:00 PM to 1:00 AM watch.



First thing I did on watch is take out the canvas insert between the dodger and bimini so I could see the moon and stars better. We keep insert in in the day time to cut the sun down. Wind still up at 18-20 knots. Waves from the aft starboard quarter. Every few minutes a wave will grab the transom and fling it to the left, which turns the bow to the right, rocking the boat a lot. The auto pilot then corrects and gets us back on our course. Ran the water maker for two hours from 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM. Made about 13 gallons.



I turned on the SSB radio and sent and received emails at 9:44 PM. Took 10 minutes to send and receive from Manihi, 1,853 miles away. Not bad. Sent 7 emails and received 7.



325 Days until home.



Brian Fox


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