Day 114 Waves

S 18º24 W 155º53 @0830
The wind is now consistently from the Southeast at 15 to 20 knots and the sky is clear making for good sailing to the West. The waves, however have built to 10 to 20 feet and make for bumpy going. Looking down the face of a passing wave is like looking down from the roof of a two story building. Southern Star climbs up these faces, crests the top and almost surfs down the other side. Peak to peak distances are about 4 boat lengths so there is little "plowing in", rather the ride is more like a roller coaster. Andy and Mark are both using the scopolamine patch and no one has been sick but our cooking is a bit curtailed so we are mostly eating things that we have pre-cooked. Last night for dinner, Mark combined the pre-cooked chicken with the pre-cooked noodles and made a delicious chicken noodle soup. Because it is a bit colder now as we move South the soup really hit the spot.
The weather in the South Pacific is known for its ferocity the farther South you go. Any latitude above 20º South is considered pretty mild. From 20 to 40 it gets more challenging. After that, the ten degree zones are called the "roaring 40's" and the "screaming 50's". Rarotonga is the farthest South we will go at 21º until we make the final run to New Zealand which is just below 30º South latitude. After Rarotonga we go North again to get to Samoa and Fiji and should see warmer weather. Since this is winter in the Southern Hemisphere, we want to stay close to the equator for a while.