Cruising the South Pacific with Tackless II
Tackless II, along with her two captains, Don and Gwen, cruise from Fiji to Australia
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
080805 - Antidote to the 2C Blues
What a simply grand passage we have had! We are less than ten miles out from Port Resolution, Tanna Island,Vanutu, and we have done the trip -- on which previously we would have figured four days -- in several hours less than three days! It is as if Mother Nature knew we needed an antidote to our boatyard blues, and sent us close to perfect conditions for what essentially has been our shake down sail. With the exception of the twenty hours we had to motor (and, of course, the only reason we HAD to motor was not to lag behind the other guys in the rally....who were motoring), we have been sailing a brisk seven knots in 15 knots of wind right off the beam. The weather has been sunny during the days and mostly clear at night, with the awesome firmament of the southern sky overhead, and even the seas have been relatively regular.

Tackless II herself feels joyful. In the past, when the knot log has ventured up to seven knots, the wind has been howling and the ride has been agitated. But this whole trip, the inside of the boat has been quiet. Few creaks or groans, and the motion has been relatively smooth and steady, plus we have happily carried more sail than has been our habit Both of us have slept soundly on our off watches, and we have managed to eat quite well. It's almost like sailing a whole new boat.

So,miracle of miracles, we may finally come around to feeling good about our investment of time in the yard and our investment of dollars with Baobab Marine.

Update to follow on landfall in Tanna.

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Written at 6:09 PM by Gwen and Don.
1 comments
1 Comments:
Blogger geodesic2 said...
OH MY - I am sooooo jealous!!!!

Very nice - thx for sharing the ride - who knows I may have a mate to that with here one day soon - lot's of action from Match.com. What is your ETA Australia - or in true cruiser fashion - there isn't one!!!

Nothing new here - bored to tears - not in a boat work mood - thinking about going to Pensacola for 3 or 4 days later this week - lived there in the early 50's - that is where I developed my love of the water. Happy sailing.
Bill C
s/vGeodesic2
August 6, 2008 at 6:04 AM  
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