Sailing even more slowly.
The wind finally switched to the north instead of blowing from the south. It’s still light but that’s the first sign that we’re approaching the bottom of the South Pacific high, which is where the westerly winds that will take us to the mainland live.
There’s just enough wind to keep the spinnaker full, and Madrone ghosts along for most of the day at just 3 knots or so.
We don’t normally fly the spinnaker at night because of the risk of squalls – even our smallest spinnaker is a big sail and is a handful to manage when the squall wind hits. But given the alternative of motoring all night, we opt for the quiet and gentle motion of sailing.
Only one short, weak squall at first light is over before we can get concerned, and we happily watch the wind build to double digits for nearly the first time this passage.
Day Five: 105nm
35 53.6S 105 03.7W
