It turns out that we are on the shipping lane from New Zealand to China. The cargo vessels on this route are heading up between New Caledonia and Papua New Guinea. So we have been having 2 or 3 cargo ships a day go by, some visible some just seen on the AIS screen. We saw both Harmony and Sea Riches.

So far we have had to motor for two short periods of less than an hour each as the wind changed a bit and went light. Last night was another great sail. For long periods around 3am we were doing over 8 knots in just 12knots of wind. The wind has stayed in the south west which has allowed us to crack off on a close reach rather than tight on the wind. Great sunrise this morning and you will know that the moon is now with us from sunset to midnight as we have reached the first quarter. Position: 27°59’S 169°05’E [-27.981,169.086]at 06:00 GMT+12 , GMT 18:00 1st November 24hr run: 150 miles by GPS, 151 miles by Log 550 miles to Whangarei, New Zealand. ETA at 5 knots: 22:24 Sunday 6th November GMT+12 Time Wind: South West 8 knots Sea: Long SE swell 2m and smaller SW swell Sky: 15% cloud cover Sea Temp: 22°C