Equator Day

We are about 30 miles from the equator. Oh Oh!! Hana Pau!! I'm back. AS I was writing this the reel went off. Another marlin, darn it. This one was smaller, maybe 150 or so. I was able to stop him but it would be a long battle and we did not want this fish anyway. I tightened the drag down and in this case the hook pulled out so no lost gear. So what was I saying..oh ya, we are nearly to the equator sailing well in 12 kt wind making easting again. Another gorgeous sunrise with perfect weather. We
were able to stop motoring at sunset last night. Should have a nice sailing breeze for awhile. I am happy to make some more easting for the eventual SE wind. A bit further east will assure us of a good reach to Tahiti. Fishing lines are back out hoping for something in the 10 pound class for dinner.
Ron

Doldrums

The wind gradually went calm during the night. Now we are motoring south. We should get some wind tomorrow and 15 kts by Friday. We have plenty of fuel onboard which I brought for a calm like this. We use 8 gallons/day. We have about 35 gallons left. I don't have anything to repair today so maybe I will get a chance to read or do a little laundry. There is a lot of life out here. There are always a few birds around. We see malolo everywhere. We saw a large group of dolphins. I saw a huge splash which
I think was a marlin, aside from the one on my fishing line. I will never forget the sight of that marlin thrashing and jumping at the end of my line. Amazing power and strength. So the doldrums aren't so bad as long as the fuel holds out.
Ron

Perfect Weather

Our weather has become just perfect with 12 kt easterly wind and sunny skies. This the most relaxed sailing I've ever done. Just amazing! We are heading south but able to make some easting at night it seems. Winds always pick up at night and back to the East. We had an uneventful night which was welcomed. The Ham radio is having great difficulty for voice communication. It handles data okay. It was suggested I had corrosion problem on the 12V connection. We stopped the boat so I could get into the
battery compartment and check the radio connections. The cables on each post were not in top shape. I cleaned them all and tightened them down well. Hopefully it work better for the net tonight. If not I will check the back of the radio itself. I also fixed the refrigeration. It had been cycling on and off and basically not working. I found the 12v supply at the switch was corroded. After cleaning that the refer is working again. I guess boat repairs is a common theme out here for everyone. I should
have taken a good shake down cruise before I left but time, weather and health can make that difficult to schedule. Anyway we are looking at some really nice sailing and making good progress. We will be crossing the equator in 2 days. We are now over half way with an expected arrival in Papeete around the 23rd.
Ron
A quick update...BIG marlin strike a little while ago, at least 300 pounds. He was stripping my reel to nothing, jumping, thrashing, tail walking everything. When the line was nearly gone I tightened the drag to break the line. Luckily I got my line back. Very exciting to watch. I did not need to catch this fish!!

Highs and Lows

I have a feeling this life style is subject to a lot extreme highs and lows. Yesterday was sailing at its best. Steady 12 knot wind and lots of sun. Last night was interesting sailing under the stars with squalls passing close but no problem. Even a little lightening. This morning as the sun came up a large black sky was revealed just behind us with winds building to 20 kts. All hands on deck! Reef the jib, tack to put in a double reef in the main. This gets a little snarled but within minutes the
reef is in and we are back on course with a now familiar scenario of close hauled in 20 kt wind. We make best speed away from the dark sky with blue sky ahead. That's how it goes I guess. We have had an easy crossing of the ITCZ so far. A bit further south and we will be past it altogether. We are still making our 120 mile days. The current has not been our friend though. On the return trip we get that all back I suppose. We have changed destination for Papeete. We really don't have time to stop
at Rangiroa and be in Papeete by the end of the month. Our easting is getting more difficult as well. We have our easting for Papeete so I we can hold a south course or better we will be fine. I am sure looking forward that landfall. Position 5 37N 148 30W
Ron

In The Tropics

We entered the ITCZ this morning. Also known as the doldrums. We have 12 kt wind and gentle seas with occasional showers passing through. We are passing through the area with thunderstorms well to the west and east. So it looks good. We will get some much needed boat washings. Nice to get some of the salt washed off. We made 125 miles in the last 24 hrs. Doing well. We have our sleep patterns on a system that seems to work. Mahi for dinner...again?
Aloha, Ron

Slogging Away

We continue to bounce along here. Now at 9N 149W sailing in 22 kt wind 6 ft seas. Yesterday we caught another Mahi. We had just about used up the first one so the lines went back out. After a few hours we had another. This was a smaller one, just right. Ling made Mahi/Spam fried rice. Its was very good but in these seas cooking is really difficult. It also heats up the cabin. The forecast keeps enticing us with 10-15 kt wind but we haven't seen it yet. We are getting closer to the ITCZ where we should
get lighter winds but possible thunderstorms. So far the reports are they are west of us. That can change though. The ITCZ is at 5N so couple more days before we are there. Our progress is still very good. Although I complain about the 20 and above wind, it is very lucky for us to have it from the NE. We have been on a loose close reach and even beam reach all of time. We are making our easting and even tracking east of my planned course. The wind will turn east eventually, then we will be able to
fall off to the south still close reaching. Sleeping would seem impossible in these conditions, but somehow it works. Extra pillows are essential. The net controller has complained that my radio signal is distorted. He suggests checking the connections. When it is calmer I will do that. The email seems to go out just fine. So we are doing well.
Ron

Big Improvement

Since my earlier entry the sea conditions have improved. The weird swell pattern that caused all the trouble abated and the wind backed off to a reasonable 18 kts. I took a 2 hour snooze, conditions improved and now the boat is sailing well again at 6 kts in 6 foot seas. Fishing lines are back out. Now that we are at 10N we are in the tropics. The humidity is much higher. Correction to my earlier entry, we made 131 miles in the last 24 hours. The current against is less now so that should help our
progress a bit. We have seen many Malolo flying through the air. Really big schools. Should be some big fish chasing them around here.
Ron