A tribute to Jess and Thea
Location: 100 miles SE of Anatom, the most southern island in the Vanuatan archipelago

For seven days we have seen nothing but endless horizons and blue water. Now, with less than 100 miles to go, the anticipation of land and all it’s pleasures (a good night’s sleep on a flat surface!) is building fast. Thea and Jess have had a marvelous passage, and in hindsight I must admit that they have experienced a very apt cross section of the passage making experience.
Let’s see, they have:

1) Been sick to the point of hanging over the rail and feeding the fish
2) Been becalmed in a completely windless ocean
3) Experienced a night heeled over at 20 degrees
4) Experienced a night under motor where it feels like the engine noise is going to reverberate your skull right off!
5) Been drenched by tropical squalls day and night
6) Experienced the passing of a cold front, and it’s associated gnarly winds and confused seas
7) Feasted on MahiMahi in three different formats – Steaks, sashimi and in sushi rolls
8) Have flown the spinnaker
9) Have had a couple of completely cloudless nights with a fresh breeze on flat seas, where the stars are so bright that one can perceive the 3 dimensional nature of the heavens
10) Have cooked at sea (hehe!)

And much much more. So, here is Thea and Jess, the baptized passage makers, the blue water salty sea dogs! Having them on board has been fantastic, and Khulula is looking much more like a home now than just a boat with guys on board. All of a sudden new pictures adorn the walls, and my pillow has a fleece pillow case!

So now, with 100 miles to go, and it being 4am, we are faced with a dilemma. do we try and get there by tomorrow evening and stand the chance the we don’t make it and have to spend the night beating back and forth outside the pass waiting for daylight, OR, do we sail slowly (takes a LOT of discipline!) and try to drag the 100 miles out over another day and night… sigh!