Day 4 dawns in the Celebes Sea

Nice and calm this morning and over the last six hours we've been just about becalmed. The sea is now flat and has settled after the lousy conditions yesterday.

Day 2 was OK with a squall kicking up early in the morning but it didn't last too long and replaced itself with some southerly winds that we tacked into to go down through the Sibutu passage. The passage separates some Indonesian and Malay islands and is a smuggling route. We were told to hold to the Malay side but we split the difference as we tacked down. We were overflown by a business jet type of plane which I assume was a surveillance aircraft. Later in the evening Liz spotted two very fast
boats with green lights which we again assume was some kind of border patrol. With talk of pirates, the girls were most dissappointed when we came across no Johnny Depps or Orlando Blooms. Almost through the passage, and around midnight a squall come through with more teeth and we had 15-25 knots which were able to reach across into the Celebes Sea. It held and we had a fast but rolly ride all night.

Day 3 started with the same southerly wind easing a bit and giving us a lumpy ride. During the day we saw several pods of whales. One pair were a few hundred metres away and could see they were small (3 metres?) with blunt noses. Liz and the girls have been laying low with various level of discolour,but all jumped up on deck with the call of "thar she blows!".

Later in the day a really nasty squall hit with 30 knots sustained for a few hours. Again a good burst of speed with the boat racing along but uncomfortable in the lumpy conditions. As the wind eased in the afternoon the sea was just bloody horrible. I (Colin) seemed to spend the last two days, furling and reefing, unfurling and unreefing sails or collapsing into a short nap. Definitely not the the "gin and tonic at Sunset, end of the bargain".

So last night the calm conditions and no speed was OK as the restful nature of the motion was most appreciated.

Have a few problems aboard withhe the main alternator not putting out much current, the engine alternator is going OK so no drama there. We have small tear in our headsail which we taped up last night but this morning the tape has lifted so will need to give it another go. Our gearbox may have an oil leak, possibly from the cooler, but it's not bad and I have lots of oil for it.

The girls are going along OK, each vying for computer time to play the "Sims", read Fan Fictions, write stories and watch movies. Liz has had the worst of the sea sickness but a calmer day today would help her.

I have had trouble getting email out but this morning was able to access another "radio mailbox" in South Australia which worked well.

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