Beaten up to conserve diesel

Time to move further north, we released the mooring lines and motored our way out of the bay. We needed water, so the start of the passage continued under motor and a few hours later off when the motors and we began to enjoy a pleasant sail. The wind angle wasn’t ideal but we kept from gybing and once around the north side of Efate, the swell increased and the wind angle changed to a beat. It was moderate enough to start but an hour later it was smashing us pretty good. We the autopilot to hold a wind angle. We were cruising at 8 knots, which sounds good but unfortunately it was quite far off of our course. The bash continued for a few hours before we could finally tack. Smashing moved to the other side of the boat we slowly made progress to our destination. On a plus side we didn’t burn much diesel.

We anchored off Tekilasoa at the spot identified in the RocketGuide book. Only a small patch of sand made us question the old notes saying this was a great spot. Additionally, there was fetch giving us some wave action. Nothing huge, but noticeable. A low key evening led to an early to bed after a tiring day at sea.

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