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Friday, September 10, 2010

Passage from Niue to Tonga

Thursday, September 2nd

Who knew? An upwind passage is a pleasant change from all the downwind sailing we've done. We were en route from Niue to Tonga. The anchorage is open to all but E wind and had become very annoying when the wind went North. Later the night we left, a number of other boats had to get out when wind and seas switched to the west.

This might be the first upwind leg we've done since Fatu Hiva to Nuku Hiva. (We shoulda skipped FH and gone to directly to NH though). This passage had light wind, mostly SW 8-10kts, 8-10 deg heel, normal wind waves and very long low swells from the south. It started out on Stbd tack on a NNE breeze and tacked when it went south (for a while). Just what the J-42s are made for. We did have to pass through a dead convergence zone. (no mountains required)

However, all good things must come to an end: the wind moved south and gave us a rolly, lumpy beam reach.

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