Wednesday, December 7, 2011

24 hours out from Minerva Reef - On the way to New Zealand

Just a quick update. We've been sailing n light winds for just over 24 hours, and our wind is very variable; sometimes dropping as low as 6 knots. As a result we've come only 80 miles. 700 to go.
We don't want to arrive sooner than the 14th, as a big low pressure system will be slamming Opua that day... so maybe a day or two later. We're kid of dodging weather systems on the way south.
During our night watches last night we had water temperatures that got as low as 28 degrees F. For hours the water was 35 degrees, and we could feel the cold coming off the surface. Must be due to deep water up welling from the oceanic trenches over which we are sailing.
All are well aboard - though tired.
Owen, Carrie, Tamsyn, Griffyn
S 24 44.9
W 179 29.04
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com