Gaualofa - Tacking her way to Tuvalu

It's been seven days now since we left the Solomon Islands, and for most of that time we have been fighting very strong sea and wind conditions; not to mention having been constantly wet from the squalls and the waves that have been breaking over the va'a. At night, it is so dark in these conditions and the wind so strong, that the wind-driven rain is hurting when it hits you in the face. Up till now, we are still fighting upwind, tacking our way to Tuvalu.

In the last two days the winds have eased off, bringing Gaualofa to a crawling speed of just 2.5 knots. Slow as it is, it's given us time to recover and regain our strength, and enjoy a much needed rest.

Late yesterday evening, to lift our spirits, I landed a massive yellowfin tuna. It was a good fight on the hand line; everyone crowded to see what was on the end of the line, and when it was landed there was a great shout of "cheeeehoooo!". It weighted 60 plus kilos cheeeehoooo! We had a feast - a tuna feast. You name it, we had it: curried tuna, sashimi, oka, poke, fried fish, flaked tuna with onion and mayo on crackers - all washed down with a nice ice-cold Vailima....... now there's a thought for when we arrive in Samoa! It's strange how a cup of coffee can taste out here. As always, it was amazing as to how Lole, our cook, made that tuna taste different in so many ways.

With still 667 nautical miles to go, tacking our way to Tuvalu, we are asking you to keep us in your prayers for a favourable wind as we on Gaualofa endeavour to make Samoa proud.

Tofa soifua,

John Misky & the Gaualofa crew.