Day 4- Brilliant sailing

Time: 0100 Zulu noon New Cal (Sun 4 Nov)
Position: 20*50'S 171*07'E
Wind: ESE 14-15 Seas: SW 3-ft SE 2-ft
Avg. Course: 242-deg T
Avg. Speed: 3.2-knots
Rig: 100% jib, single-reefed mains'l
Distance noon to noon point: 76.1-nm

If every day was as fantastic as this morning, we could sail forever! After yesterday's noon point winds continued to be light and we Driftered it along in the 2ish knot range for hours on end. We have had some deep discussions/arguments surrounding our lives in general from the stress of this rather large passage to that of the inescapable transition that will occur when we reach Australia. Chris pushing the transition and Shawn digging her heels in unable to think ahead of our present passage. Needless to say, in the mellow winds, we have both been thinking a lot and have come back around to enjoying the present moments. As the sunset we dropped the Drifter and replaced it with the poled-out 100% jib in anticipation of winds filling in. Quite timely, dinner was "Thanksgiving," (we sure can put back a can of cranberries some stuffing and mashed potatoes pretty easily) and we both verbalized our gratefulness for being able to make this journey and for the Universe constantly watching over us.

In the near still night before moonrise, it was hard to tell where the stars ended and flashing phosphorescence began. Around 2000 the waning moon rose lighting the near cloudless though moisture-laden sky. Just before midnight, winds abruptly filled in from the south giving us a good boost for an hour before lulling again until dawn brought a steady increase in the winds from the SE. After such a lull in winds, seas are so calm that the first winds are delightful, Tao slices through near calm seas like a warm knife through butter. Since dawn, we've been flying along, first over 5-knots, and now over 6-knots. This is good since we have miles to make, as we've nearly decided to continue on in this quite good weather window to Brisbane. In order to keep from getting overwhelmed, we have been taking this passage day by day, knowing the window was good enough to get us safely to New Caledonia. Now we are mentally shifting to a bit larger undertaking. Fiji to Brisbane is approximately 1,440-nm so we are already almost one-third of the way there. We're awaiting word from our weather router and another day of weather downloads for the final decision, but keep sending your good weather energy our way!