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November 5
We sailed last night in light winds from 8-12k making 4.5-6k over
ground in clear skies. The seas began to build once we cleared the lee
of Abiang atoll and by the time we were 20 miles North of that island
a 3-4ft swell was present. We did have 2 rain squalls pass over us,
the first giving us a good drenching and the second, at about
midnight, passing just behind us giving us only a bit of extra wind.
Combined with the decreasing wind, the swell helped reduced our speed
little by little until at 2am we were down to 2k and started the
engine. It is now 2:30am and we are motorsailing with just the
mainsail at about 5.5k over ground. Skies remain clear with a three
quarter moon lighting the night. We have about 34 miles to go to reach
the entrance to Butaritari and the computer predicts we will arrive at
that point at about 8:30 or 9am.
At sunrise this morning all is well aboard. The sea is calm with a 3ft
swell from the NE and the sky is clear. There is no wind and we are
motorsailing at about 5k.We have about 14nm to go to reach the pass.
At 8am conditions remain the same. We have about 6k of wind from the
NE and we are motorsailing at about 5.3k over ground. We have 5.5nm to
go to reach the pass.
We entered the pass at about 9am and had our hands full snaking our
way between the coral heads and shallow patches. The sky was clear
though and the sun high enough that we could see the shallows easily.
At 10:30 we dropped anchor in about 16ft of water. The scenery is
beautiful and we are thrilled to be here and especially to be out of
Tarawa.
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