Day 226 Calmer but wrong direction

Our position @ 0800 is S27º56/E170º45 with a south wind of 15 to 20 knots and 10 to 12 foot waves.
By morning, the wind was no longer blowing the tops off the waves. One of the characteristics of a gale is that the whitecaps get blown off and form streaks of foam on the sea. By morning, there were whitecaps everywhere but they were staying put.
The south wind has not allowed us to go directly south so we head southwest in order to make way. At a steep angle toward the direction of the wind, the speed drops to less than 2 knots so we turn on the engine to get more speed. There are several compromises here. Head more into the wind and get south but lose speed, or head more westward and get speed but lose some of our direction toward NZ. Use the engine to get speed but use up fuel we may need for later. There are no right answers.
By noon we are west of 170º so we tack back directly east. After 4 hours of hand steering, we are no closer to NZ but at least we can now turn southward and be aimed at it.
By evening, the wind has lessened again but the direction is still the same – S/SE. We are a bit glum about the progress we have made and are ready for a wind shift so we can get on our way. When we provisioned in Fiji, we expected a 10 to 11 day trip and we thought we would be catching fish. The waves are too big to boat a fish so we do not even have a line in the water. We have run out of fresh meat and vegetables and are down to the last two eggs. From now on it’s pasta, rice and canned foods. We won’t starve, but the fare is not up to our normal standard. At least it’s not hardtack and grog.