By Dianne
We both enjoyed the first day of motoring under blue skies and agreed that, apart from burning some diesel, it was quite a relaxing way to start the next part of our passage. We were entertained by clouds of sea birds over dense schools of fish and when we thought at one stage that we had dolphins with us, closer inspection showed it to be a huge marlin.
Constance, the autopilot was in charge of helming all of yesterday and through most of the night. So far this season we've been unable to do this as running both freezer and fridge would draw too much power. A combination of motoring, solar and no freezer allowed Constance to stay in control even when the nav lights and instrumentation were on. Fans of Winnie, the Windpilot should not despair as she's now doing a fine job at the helm and giving Constance a break. It's good to have this choice.
After defrosting the Waeco freezer and cleaning it out at Chesterfield Reef, we decided this was the better fridge to use for the rest of the passage. It's next to the galley and, let's face it, you don't want to have to walk too far for your chilled stuff! So to keep ourselves entertained, we switched off the deep fridge in the pilot house and transferred all the contents to the other fridge. This allowed further fridge cleaning but at least it means we arrive at Bundaberg with two recently scrubbed fridges and only one in use.
We timed this job perfectly as the wind gradually increased through the evening and we began sailing at 22.00. The winds built further along with the seas, leading to a rolly night (there seems to be a pattern developing with our passages!). This morning Maunie is flying along at 7+ knots and as the wind and seas look unchanged for the rest of the day, we'll be sticking with white sails rather than reaching for the spinnaker.
Off to get a cooling drink from the sparkling clean fridge!
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