Entry Date: 16.12.2014, at 13:30:00 hrs (local)
Gizo, Solomon Islands - Pohnpei, FSM
Let´s move
| PRID: | 10763 |
|---|---|
| LegID: | 278 |
| LegNo: | 40 |
| Latitude: | S007°55.01' |
| Longitude: | E156°54.93' |
| Day#: | 450 |
| Log (Day): | 12 nm |
| Log (Leg): | 12 nm |
| Log (Total): | 25365 nm |
Sailed distance: 12 nm,
Distance to Pohnpei (FSM-Micronesia): 900 nm
It seems to be the right time to leave the Solomon Islands. Leaving places we got used to and sail out in to the open Pacific Ocean makes us always a little uneasy. The weather tries to play along with our feelings - It is a cloudy, rainy day with almost no wind. We are sailing West of Kolombangara to the North. The picture shows the island Kolombangara with the cloud covered, 1700m high volcano Mt. Veve. Our speed with 1.5 kt is barley notable.
Also the outlook of what lays ahead is not particular cheering us up. The passage, over a distance of more than 900 nautical miles takes us through the calms, this big area near the equator where seldom appear any wind. This will require us to be very patient, running the engine long hours and using lots of fuel. We assume that we will celebrate Christmas and the New Year somewhere alone on the endless ocean, where the Pacific tries to be particularly peaceful.
Summarizing our impressions we have enjoyed the Solomon Islands a lot. We loved the scenic landscape and the turquoise lagoons with all those little islands. In the villages we met very lovely people. The main towns Honiara and Gizo did not impress us very much. In particular Gizo appears as it has seen better times in the past. Also the danger coming from crocodiles and malaria mosquitos combined with one burglar attempt in Gizo easing the pain in saying ”Good By”.
