35:27.088 S  173:59.988 W

23/5/09  18:00

The Wind keeps shifting WSW and SW so at 15:00 Steve and I relented and poled out the  Yankee.  We have arrived in squall city. The afternoon  was spent with spitting  squalls and rainbows. 
Wind strength between Force 6 and sometimes Force 8.  We have two reefs in the main and not much Yankee and are reasonably comfortable. Everytime I think of letting out more sail, the wind comes up again. As my watch was ending a 18:00  the heavens opened and we got all the rain we’ve been missing from Auckland in one hit.

Now that we’re poled out we’re rocking and rolling.  The new cabin sole is like an ice rink especially if you’re wearing socks, which even the boy from Vermont is. You realize just how beamy Spindrift is.

24/5/09  02:30

Still flying along poled out. Wind SW 6. Plenty of light squalls. I’ve  got both lee cloths up in my bed to be sure of staying in.

Just had a really heavy squall touching Force 9 with 45 knot gusts.  The boat behaved beautifully.

12:00