Finally the wind has died off and we motored for few hours while the sea dropped.  Back sailing now at 4 knots and the current is making us 5 over the ground.  This trip from Bora Bora has been a series of higher winds and no wind for as long as I have been monitoring it – the last 4 months.  So we have done very well to get a good sailing wind for nearly the whole trip.  Lighter winds should slow us down enough for it to be daylight when we arrive.

First thing this morning we saw the peaks of the Manua Islands [-14.25,-169.5] to the east of the main island of American Samoa.  Dramatic volcanic islands that rise quickly from the sea like so many of the Pacific Islands.

Position: 13°54’S 170°19’W [-13.905,-170.324] at 15:00 Samoan time, GMT 02:00 September 18th
24hr run:  150.2 miles by GPS, 140.6 miles through water.
84 miles to Apia, Samoa. ETA at 6 knots: 05:02 18th September Samoan time
Wind: E 8 knots Sea: SE swell 0.5m
Sky:  70% cloud cover