LTY UPDATE: Day#3 Wed 25th, 2011 - Majuro to Fiji Wednesday May 25th, 2011 18:50 LTY time (UTC +12) = 06:50 UTC
Location: anchored off Ennanlik Island and pass in NE corner of Mili
atoll Position: 06 12.217 N, 172 00.004 E (cut & past this into Google Earth to
see on map)
Wind: 15-30 ENE
Seas: 0.5 – 2m @ 2 seconds out of NE
Air temp: 87.6F 30.4 C
Sea temp: 86.4 F 30.2 C
Humidity: 74%
Barometer: 1013mm DAY #3: TACKING ACROSS MILI – May 25, 2011
After a very restful sleep we awoke to a beautiful sunny day and spent a leisurely morning enjoying this idyllic spot while we made the big
decision of the day; head off to sea or stay another day in Mili? It was
perfect sailing weather so we decided to sail straight East across the
lagoon inside the atoll and headed toward the NE corner where we could
either anchor for the night in what looked like a lovely little spot
amidst lots of coral and small islands or keep going out the small NE
Passage and out to sea. The winds are predominantly from the East this
time of year and Fiji lies mostly south but a bit to the east of us so
gaining the approximately 15nm of easting while inside the protection of the atoll helps us so be exiting out the east side we are in a better
position when we leave here and head for Fiji. The wind was pretty much due East, so directly opposing us or “on the
nose” as it is called and so we used the opportunity to practice some
tacking as we zig zagged our way across the lagoon. Tacking of course
takes much longer to get where you are going and we enjoyed the leisurely
pace and sunny weather punctuated by a few brief squalls during the
afternoon. Mid-afternoon we decided to anchor for the night and so we
slowly motored our way through some coral reefs and found a great little spot to anchor just off two postcard perfect little palm islands with a
long sandy beach connecting them and lots of coral reefs to break up some
of the swell. It took two tries to find a nice sandy bottom in about 30 feet (9m) of water to drop the anchor into and avoid damaging any coral
and by the time we let out about 200 feet (61m) of anchor chain we were
already in 120 feet (37m) of water as the coral drops off quickly. We
soon lost most of our sun as the squalls became more frequent and strong and were now getting winds up over 30 knots when they came through. Each
squall only lasts for 3 to 10 minutes but they were not getting more
frequent and lasting longer without the usual clearing to clear skies
between so looks like we will be in for a windy night and a bit more boat
motion but one of the benefits of a big heavy boat like Learnativity is
that she evens these out nicely and the overall motion is quite soothing,
especially for sleeping. Linda made up some BBQ pork chops with “dirty
rice” that we enjoyed while rocking in the wind and waves and enjoying a
good movie. We’ll see what the weather looks like in the morning and make the decision
then as to whether we will head out to sea and start the longer passage to
Fiji or to stay here for another day. Aren’t we the fortunate ones to have such decisions to make!! We sure enjoy having you join us as we set
out on this next grand adventure in life and will be back with more for
you tomorrow. Linda, Wayne & Ruby the Wonderdog
Location: anchored off Ennanlik Island and pass in NE corner of Mili
atoll Position: 06 12.217 N, 172 00.004 E (cut & past this into Google Earth to
see on map)
Wind: 15-30 ENE
Seas: 0.5 – 2m @ 2 seconds out of NE
Air temp: 87.6F 30.4 C
Sea temp: 86.4 F 30.2 C
Humidity: 74%
Barometer: 1013mm DAY #3: TACKING ACROSS MILI – May 25, 2011
After a very restful sleep we awoke to a beautiful sunny day and spent a leisurely morning enjoying this idyllic spot while we made the big
decision of the day; head off to sea or stay another day in Mili? It was
perfect sailing weather so we decided to sail straight East across the
lagoon inside the atoll and headed toward the NE corner where we could
either anchor for the night in what looked like a lovely little spot
amidst lots of coral and small islands or keep going out the small NE
Passage and out to sea. The winds are predominantly from the East this
time of year and Fiji lies mostly south but a bit to the east of us so
gaining the approximately 15nm of easting while inside the protection of the atoll helps us so be exiting out the east side we are in a better
position when we leave here and head for Fiji. The wind was pretty much due East, so directly opposing us or “on the
nose” as it is called and so we used the opportunity to practice some
tacking as we zig zagged our way across the lagoon. Tacking of course
takes much longer to get where you are going and we enjoyed the leisurely
pace and sunny weather punctuated by a few brief squalls during the
afternoon. Mid-afternoon we decided to anchor for the night and so we
slowly motored our way through some coral reefs and found a great little spot to anchor just off two postcard perfect little palm islands with a
long sandy beach connecting them and lots of coral reefs to break up some
of the swell. It took two tries to find a nice sandy bottom in about 30 feet (9m) of water to drop the anchor into and avoid damaging any coral
and by the time we let out about 200 feet (61m) of anchor chain we were
already in 120 feet (37m) of water as the coral drops off quickly. We
soon lost most of our sun as the squalls became more frequent and strong and were now getting winds up over 30 knots when they came through. Each
squall only lasts for 3 to 10 minutes but they were not getting more
frequent and lasting longer without the usual clearing to clear skies
between so looks like we will be in for a windy night and a bit more boat
motion but one of the benefits of a big heavy boat like Learnativity is
that she evens these out nicely and the overall motion is quite soothing,
especially for sleeping. Linda made up some BBQ pork chops with “dirty
rice” that we enjoyed while rocking in the wind and waves and enjoying a
good movie. We’ll see what the weather looks like in the morning and make the decision
then as to whether we will head out to sea and start the longer passage to
Fiji or to stay here for another day. Aren’t we the fortunate ones to have such decisions to make!! We sure enjoy having you join us as we set
out on this next grand adventure in life and will be back with more for
you tomorrow. Linda, Wayne & Ruby the Wonderdog
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