I thought wind was becoming more consistent, it being very light this morning when we started sailing again, an hour after sunrise, then gradually filling in so that by mid-afternoon we were beam-reaching at around 4-4.5 knots, with the current helping again, ending up doing ~5.5kn over the ground. But later on it went E-ENE (abaft the beam) 8-10 knots - so this evening we've been struggling to make 3kn boatspeed, ~4knots SOG. The SE swell is not too bad so life on board is generally very pleasant, except when we've little boatspeed and then we get knocked about by the swell which is on the beam (our course is 215T) and the sails flap like mad.
Sailing along at these slow speeds is certainly conducive to a relaxed mental attitude: nothing you can do about it - shrug your shoulders and just wait for the wind to increase - if it will! "We're going in the right direction - we'll get there when we get there," is the kind of comment heard on the radio from one boat to another!!
Beautifully clear, starry night sky - Milky Way so very clear and the occasional shooting star.
I'm spending way too much time, morning & afternoon, trying to connect to Winlink/Sailmail - think I'll have to cut down on my efforts and make a big connection effort every two days instead! I've had no proper connection to Winlink since 6th April - I presume my radio transmit problem is at least partly to blame.
1800 GMT position: 01deg 18'S, 132deg 25'W . 24hr distance run by log: 96 n.ml.!! (110 ml over the ground) Distance to Fatu Hiva anchorage: 667 n.ml.