Moving West

Its day 13 of our crossing and we have seen our first boat since the first day out of the Galapagos Islands. Spotted by our trusted Captain, Sean, 8 nm out on a course headed for Santiago, Chile from what would appear to be Japan with a cargo of autos. With chart plotters at your disposal and overlays of AIS (Automated Information Service) we were able to determine the course, the fact it was 676 feet, and much more. Pretty neat.

This morning, starting around 2 AM, the seas roared with winds averaging 15-20 kt and some waves 14-18 feet. The J80 asymetric spinnaker blew out during a gust into the mid twenties. Glad Sean was at the helm at the time and we are all sorry Casey. We calculated its life had been doubled during this excursion. It had served us well over the past several days but we knew it was tired and its days were numbered.

Our waypoint at Hiva Oa, Marquesas originally stood at 2960 mm away. At this writing it is 620 nm away. We don't like to project our arrival but currently expect to arrive on Sunday, the 28th. Assuming this happening I expect to head back to Venice, FL on the 29th. Looks like my time to explore the French Polynesians will be limited but what a great experience this has been on one terrific boat.

Each night the moon gets fuller as we sail on. A great treat to be one with nature on deck thru the night alone with a million stars, the moon and an occasional flying fish arriving on deck. One undone task is to prepare a breakfast of flying fish which arrive on the boat each evening. I think I have Sofia and Sean up for this meal but don't think Heidi will partake.

Off to try to catch a fish or two.

All the best!!

Joel and crew

9 deg 24 mins South 128 deg 12mins West 1625 LT