***Life on board***
Today was a windier and wavier than normal day and we took several dumping waves over the windward rail that put about 6 inches of water in the cockpit. It was a wet day to be on watch. The swell was around 8-10 feet all day (but I saw some 12 footers in there) and we have had steady 15 knots all day.
We set up some spray dodgers on the windward side to keep splashes of water from making it down the aft companionway so that we can keep it open during the day. Otherwise it would be very hot and unpleasant down below.
We have been running under full main and #3 headsail since last night when we dropped the mizzen as the wind picked up. We have plenty of wind and plenty of speed and are ready to reef the mainsail if the wind picks up further.
Cereal for breakfast and PB&J tortillas for lunch. Will baked an awesome "half way" cake to celebrate our 1/2 way point to the Marquesas! Very yummy. Adam made a great stew for dinner from miscellaneous cans that were starting to rust a little.
Tonight we pass through the western edge of the standard time zone known as "Mountain Time" and enter the "Pacific Time" region. At sea this technically occurs at 112.5 degrees. Tonight we change the clocks back another hour and will be 4 hours behind Eastern Time. We will be in this time zone for the next 900 miles (about 5 days at our current pace) until 127.5 degrees West Longitude where we will set the clocks back AGAIN!
***Communication***
Checking in with the net this evening revealed that we are about 100 nautical miles ahead of our closest neighbor "Dignity" who reported slightly more wind than us and a higher speed, although the proof is in the miles :)
***Weather***
More wind, more waves, and still lots of water. Partly Cloudy.
Position (11:00pm):
06 deg 49' S
112 deg 12' W
Alan and the Crew