The sail from Niue to Tonga covers a distance of about 270nm, and at some point on the way Oso crossed the International Date Line.
Unlike its more famous cousin the Prime Meridian, in recent years the Date Line has been moved back and forth by various countries. Located nominally along the 180 degree line of longitude, the actual line jigs and jags around various island countries in the South Pacific, even deviating as far east as the longitude of Hawaii to include the Line Islands as part of “tomorrow”.
At some points along the Line, a crossing includes both a time and a date change. But at Oso’s location in the South Pacific, the time is the same on either side – all of a sudden, it’s just tomorrow!
