Current Position 08 10.45S / 124 01.6W at 0200UTC, 2000hrs Galapagos boat time. SOG 5.2kts. COG 284T. Wind ESE 10kts. Sea State Flat. DTR 833nm. 24 hour run: 140nm
 |
| Our transoms are looking a bit shabby |
It's been another cracker of a day out here. The seas are flat and getting flatter if that's at all possible, the breeze is warm and the boat is toddling along like it is on rails. We've raised the mainsail to full height and with the aid of the jib we are being pushed along quite nicely.
The forecast for the next couple of days is for the wind to do an about face turn to the north east which is just about unheard of at this time of year for where we are. When this happens we will be fighting the urge to turn on the engines but we know the inevitable will happen and the ignition keys will have to be turned, unless someone tows Fatu Hiva a couple of hundred miles south for us.
 |
| The hulls look bad too! |
The good news is that in the early hours of this morning our distance to run went from the four figure category to the three's. Cue the applause and break out the party hats! We've finally broken the mileage camel's back and at last we have less than 1,000 miles to go to landfall. You know you're a seasoned cruiser when you get really excited about stuff like that!
With the great weather and calm conditions we both took advantage of the warmth and sunshine. A couple of loads of washing hit the clothes line and Liam cleaned and reorganized one of the cockpit lockers. He also had a brain snap and put together a portable bilge pump. We already have an Attwood submersible battery run model which works a treat and pumps water like a demon but the hose on that one isn't particularly long and the pump itself can't fit into tiny spaces.
However the pump-a-la-liam, which will soon be on every boaters Christmas list, it's conveniently powered by 12 volts and can easily squeeze into a space as big as your hand. We all know there are plenty of nooks and crannies like that on every boat so get your orders in soon before stocks run out.
Any day out here when there's nothing bad to report, like gear failures is a good day. So far,touch wood, all our systems on board are working like a charm. Liam's eye is gradually improving, with sunglasses being his standard attire from dawn to dusk. Bright light and glare are a killer to his vision. Maybe he was a bat in his former life.
Being Saturday night we all know what that means...it's date night!
Yes even out here in the Pacific you can go on a date. But what do you do if you can't exactly go out for a bite to eat and a movie cause you're in the middle of an ocean? You get home delivery of course.
So Liam put in an order for Thai food and before we knew it a yummy chicken and veg stir fry was delivered to the table. And what about the movie I hear you ask. Well tonight we did better than just a movie we had Rod Stewart perform live, beamed straight in to our lounge room from the Albert Hall London. Well kind of ..we watched the DVD. We cranked up the Bose speakers, you can do that sort of thing when you don't have neighbours, and sang along to his oldies but goodies. We tapped our toes, indulged in a glass of wine and Liam even got me up for a whirl around the dance floor. It was a real hoot of a night and something a bit special to do out here in the middle of the wild blue yonder.
You can follow our position on our tracker at:
https://aus-share.inreach.garmin.com/GoneWithTheWind
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment