Hikianalia Report: October 20, 6:33 AM HST: the wind dropped, sails flopping around, moving at 1.5 to 2 knots

Last night was overcast.  There were absolutely no stars to steer by and only the faintest glimpse of the moon now and again. Our course was 060° or NE by E. We started the night at 4 knots, then the wind dropped to almost nil, until we were flopping around at 1.5 to 2 knots.

Sail Data

• time:  2012-10-20 16:33 UTC/GMT (06:33 HST Oct 20)
• position: 30 degrees 25.2 minutes S 154 degrees 20.9 minutes W [Miles from Tahiti: 937 = 814 nautical miles].
• course: 060 degrees True, currently
• speed: 4.0 knots
• weather: currently clearing, 40 percent scattered cloud cover with some high cirrus and low cumulous clouds on the horizon
• wind: SW 3-8 knots and slowly increasing
• sea state: SW swell 8-10 feet, NW swell is 2-4 feet, and a wind chop of 1 feet and building
• vessel and crew condition:  all ok (Faafaite also)

Education Data

• Celestial Observations, Navigation Stars, Planets and Moon Phases:   During the 6 pm to 10 pm watch, we were able to steer mainly with the sails. The rig was balanced very nicely after we shook the reefs out of the main and mizzen sails and replaced the working jib with the genoa.  There were absolutely no stars to steer by and only the faintest glimpse of the moon now and again. During the 10 pm to 2 am, and the 2 am to 6 am watch, we also had stars to steer by, and very little to no wind.
• Animal Life: None noted.
• Sea Birds and Sea Life: None observed.
• Marine Debris: None observed overnight.