We are getting close and making great time since the winds have picked up to 18kts.
We are doing 8kts and if we keep up this pace, we will arrive Thursday in the late afternoon.
The problem is that if anything slows us, we will have a night arrival.
Our sailing roots are in the Bahamas and Caribbean and there, you never ever arrive at night into and unfamiliar place, period. Too many unseen dangers and things to hit.
In our whole time cruising, we made one night arrival into well lighted commercial harbor of Puerto Madera, Mexico, and that was even dicey since Mexican charts are 'always' wrong.
So, even though keeping this fast pace could be possible, it would also take a toll on the crew. We would be much more tired and likely to make mistakes having a noisy night sleep. Let alone the stress of clock watching for a day and a half worrying about every .1 knot of speed we lost for one reason or another.
So, discretion being the better part of valor, and since this is not a race but more of an endurance, we decided to slow it down to 5 kts and arrive Friday morning, rested, and in good light.
The slowing down part worked well but with 20 miles to go at 3AM with unknown charting accuracy, we parked (heaved to) the boat and slept for 3 hours. We awoke before sunrise and saw Fatu Hiva in the distance.
Almost there.
Cheers, Dave and Booker
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