Well, they say these things come in 3's! Firstly we ran the day tank for the engine a little low yesterday afternoon and a wave came causing the fuel to slosh around and air to get into the diesel lines. This meant replacing both the fuel filters and bleeding the engine (which took several attempts!) in a big swell - not much fun! We motored all night and then switched the engine off this morning to slow down - we drifted for a couple of hours before the wind filled in. During the drift we tried to stop the engine from knocking (which has been getting worse since Tonga - diagnosed as a bent prop shaft in Fiji - needs a new one in Australia asap!) by adjusting the stern gland - its no better (if anything slightly worse!) so more tinkering needed when the seas drop (or when we arrive). The wind finally filled in around 10am and we had a good close hauled sail. I (Jonny) moved the genoa tracks back to the back of the track to try and get more speed - a gust came and bent the back of the track ripping it off the deck - nightmare (another Noumea repair!). We are now motoring (with the engine knocking when on big waves come!) with the staysail out to steady us. Should be at the pass first light tomorrow to time the tides and head inside the reef for the 50 mile passage to Noumea.
24 Hour Run: 125n/m
Distance to Pass: 75n/m
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