Well… apparently I spoke too soon yesterday!

Not long after I finished writing last night’s post, the wind decided to wake up, shift a little, and put its foot down. The result? More than 12 hours averaging 8 knots. Fantastic for the logbook… slightly less fantastic for anyone trying to walk in a straight line. Life on board has become a game of “guess where gravity is today“.

Still, we absolutely gobbled up the miles.

Once again, the weather reminded us how quickly things can change out here. So rather than hoping everything would line up, we decided to stick with the safer option.

We have a good weather window straight to Fiji, very little time to spare, and absolutely no desire to get stranded in Tonga after our extended Aitutaki holiday. So, despite really wanting to visit Tonga, we’re pointing Akuna at Fiji instead.

It does mean adding another two nights to the trip. After tonight… just three more. (Who’s counting?… surely not us!)

There is compensation, though: a shiny new marina with a swimming pool awaits us. Unsurprisingly, our smallest crew members thinks this is an excellent trade.

One thing that becomes very obvious the closer you get to Australia and New Zealand is that biosecurity is serious business. Fair enough—but keeping a detailed inventory of every single food item on board, while we’re eating our way through it every day? Let’s just say it’s a challenge I could have done without. Apparently, “food” means absolutely everything: every herb, every spice, where it originated, and even whether it’s in a tin, a jar, or a plastic bag. I suspect updating those stock lists will provide more than enough “entertainment“ for the next few days.

Today’s challenge has simply been staying upright while Akuna happily charges along. She absolutely loves a beam reach, and even on a tight reach she’s in her element with one reef in the main and the genoa pulling hard. Last night’s 22-knot gusts still saw her very balanced.

So far we’ve also managed to dodge every squall. I’m whispering that because I’d rather not tempt fate.

Instead, today’s night watch main event is… a ship crossing our path in about five hours.

Ocean life really changes your definition of excitement. These days, another vessel on the horizon is basically prime-time entertainment.

As the cat said to the mouse: joy is to be found in the smallest of things!