***Life on board***
Today has been another day of fine sailing. The wind has been unchanged since the night before last. We are sailing on a Port tack (boom on the starboard side) and on a broad reach at an overall average of just a hair over 7 knots with full main and #3 headsail. The boat has been heeling to starboard from the wind at about 15 to 20 degrees almost constantly for the last 3 days. Today was partly cloudy most of the day and it got fairly hot down below in the cabin. Lots of sleeping was done. We have put out the fishing lure again to try to score some fish meat. Fingers crossed.
On the early morning watch this morning, I spotted a large sea turtle about 3-4 feet in diameter and we sailed past him about 2 boat lengths away. He didn't seem to mind much at all as he never budged. On the same watch I also spotted a green plastic gallon jug possibly for holding antifreeze of some other engine related liquid. It had seaweed and barnacles on its underside that I could make out and has probably been floating for some time. There sure is trash everywhere you go now a days.
On the evening watch the moon and Venus were out bright. The moon is just a sliver of silver now and getting bigger each night but with a clear sky it still makes a great reflection in the sea. I was watching the reflection when I saw the outline of a dolphin jump into the air. Dolphins at the bow and around the boat jumping out of the water. A sign of good luck for a sailor.
My tracking of our progress by dead reckoning and sextant sights has been working quite well. It helps that we have steady wind and are going in a straight line. I have found that when compared to the GPS for any particular dead reckoning position I have not been more than 5 miles off our "true" position which is quite close enough for making a landfall I think and, I hope, will improve with practice.
***Communication***
We had our first teleconference with Mr. John Poole's Class today! It was about 15 minutes long and we really enjoyed answering the class's questions about wind and weather, solar panels, Alan's moustache, Will's beard, our progress so far, fishing and various other great questions. Thank you!
We made our contact with the 'barefoot net' again this morning although the connection was not so good for whatever atmospheric reasons that block radio wave propagation. We connected with them again this evening at 6:30pm with another position report. There are about 10 other boats on route to the Marquesas also checking into this net regularly.
***Weather***
It has been blowing a steady 15 knots for the last two days with no signs of letting up in the forecast. It is still fairly choppy and the swell is around 5 to 8 feet but it is not so bad in the cockpit that one cannot read a book (as long as you don't mind reading a slightly damp book)
Position (11:40am):
03 deg 21' S
99 deg 41' W
Position (6:30):
03 deg 31' S
100 deg 30' W
Alan and the Crew