We have the fans on in the cabin today. Nearly all blue sky so hot on deck. All the sails down and motoring as the 4m swell from the SW was just flapping the reefed main we usually leave up when motoring. I wonder if we saw our last Albatross yesterday. Today there is no wind, that has led to fewer sightings in the past and it feels plenty hot enough for flying fish. None on deck todate.

Great sail yesterday slightly off course to keep boat speed up. Wind died by 20:15 and we have motored since then. Now that we can head directly for Vanuatu, we can see some tiny islands in our way. We have Ile Matthew and Ile Hunter at [-22.395,172.086] and [-22.343,171.355] respectively. They appear to be owned by New Caledonia. The French have been good at updating their charts in Frecnch Polynesia to make them accurate for GPS navigators. I wonder if these have been updated. You may be able to see if you go into Google Earth. E-mail with the answer would be good. Ile Matthew even has a wreck that is always visible marked at [-22.3417,171.3502], a reminder not to get too close.

Position: 26°32’S 173°13’E [-26.535,173.174] at 11:26 GMT+12 , BST 00:26 8th May 24hr run: 127.7 miles by GPS. 464 miles to Port Resolution, Tanna, Vanuatu. ETA at 5 knots: 07:18 Thurs 12th May Vanuatu Local Time Wind: W 5knots Sea: smooth with SW swell 4m Sky: 3% cloud cover