Through the night we motor sailed at about 4.5 – 5.5k over ground. The wind was about 8-10k from the SE with a very close wind angle. The sky remains the same with huge sections blotted out by cloud but many stars still visible above. Massive lightning strikes continue on the horizon but have subsided to the North but seem to have increased to the West and South.

At 3am conditions remain the same. Wind is 8-10k from the SE and we are motor sailing at about 5k with occasional jumps to 5.5k or drops to 4.8k depending on how the wind varies. We have 40 miles to go to reach Laughlan and our new ETA is 10:30am. Surprisingly, with all the lightning around us, we have not seen any squalls on the radar except for one which was far away to the NE (about 20 miles) and it dissipated within an hour.

This morning sunrise revealed a very ugly sky after a night of incredible lightning. Huge ugly dark clouds were visible in all directions. Several line squalls crossed us from SE to NW and though we managed to avoid the rain we had several hours of strong winds of 12-50k from the SSE (i.e. on the nose almost). Finally at about 9am the sky to the West and South seemed to clear and we had beautiful sunshine from then until we entered the pass at Laughlan Atoll at about 10am anchoring in 45ft of water in the SE corner of the beautiful blue lagoon. Not soon after the clouds from the North and East closed in again and by 11:30 the sky was completely overcast. Heavy rain started at about 2pm and lasted about an hour and a half. We are thankful we made it in before the clouds and rain came as the entrance would not have been easy without good visibility. Although the pass was wide and clear the coral reefs protecting the West side of the lagoon are extensive and shoals lurk just below the surface. We are happy to be here and plan to enjoy a relaxing week here before pushing on to Misima and the Louisiade Archipelago.