Westerlies

Hmmm, maybe those 800 miles from New Caledonia to Bundaberg aren't such an afterthought after all... We had westerly winds today, which kept us heeled over, "living on our ear", as the saying goes. Very inconvenient with the kids.

We reduced sail and steered a more northerly course to make the motion gentler for lunch time, and later in the afternoon did the same for a round of showers on deck for the whole crew. Poor Elias was the first one to get a bucket of sea water dumped over his head, and therefore was the unlucky soul to make the discovery that nearly 24° S and a stiff wind make for a frigid bucket shower experience. We all opted for the pre-heated freshwater shower after that.

Elias, by the way, got through the whole day today without throwing one tantrum - quite a milestone for the adults who are sharing the finite space of Galactic with him. He's been averaging two or three daily fits of screaming and crying lately, and Alisa has had to bolster my patience by reminding me of the other five-year-olds we know who still act that way. He doesn't complain about sailing long passages, but clearly he has far more energy than can be consumed in the confines of the boat, and doubtless that's part of the reason for all the histrionics lately.

One of the weather forecasts we've been looking at shows a big high pressure with absolutely no wind at all passing over us during the next 48 hours. Still 470 miles to go to Bundy at this point - looks like we might get part of the way by drifting.