May 31 — Thursday was uneventful. We spent the day doing boat chores, which means cleaning, organizing, and maintenance stuff. Eric changed the on engine fuel filters for the generator and main engine. Tip: If the primer pump is not working, turn over the engine to realign the camshaft so the primer pump works. If you forget this step you tend to panic because Continue reading
Tuesday, May 29, 2007 – We were up at 6:30 preparing the boat for sea. Our next destination is an island about 24 hours away. We had a stop to make first, and we needed to make that stop as early as possible.
There is a particular spot on the southeast side of Nuka Hiva, just north of Tikapo Point, where melon headed dolphins (we’ve heard them called pygmy orcas, also. We’re not sure which is correct) congregate in the mornings by the hundreds. It is the only place where it happens and no one knows why. You can actually jump in the water and swim with them. They aren’t always there, but we had our fingers crossed. We cruised over to the spot and sure enough, right when we got there a half dozen dolphins came and played in the wake of our bow, and were soon joined by more. As we cruised around, there were always between half a dozen and two dozen dolphins at the bow. We could see tons more in the water. The water was teeming with them. Whether whale or dolphin, they look like dolphins but do not have the long nose. They are a light brown and a little smaller than dolphins we are used to seeing at home. Continue reading
The crew is healthy and happy. We had no system failures, and overall it was a great passage. We really appreciate everyone’s support. Seeing land after 21 days at sea is as wonderful as you would expect. Nuka Hiva is beautiful sight. We have lots to do, so look for more of a recap later. Land ho!
The numbers: We traveled 2835 miles on about 1000 gallons in 500 hours. That means 5.67 knots, 2.83 miles per gallon, and 2.00 gallons per hour.
It is time for some current talk, as in flow of water kind of current. On Tuesday evening our speed magically picked up by about 1.2 knots, which means we have finally escaped the clutches of the evil equatorial countercurrent (translation: where the current goes opposite way of our travel direction near the equator). Praise the Lord! Hallelujah! After 4 whole days of painfully slow speed (low of 4.4 knots), we are singing and dancing in the aisles to celebrate the restoration of our speed. While still keeping Continue reading
We crossed the equator! Yipee! The exciting event occurred at 5:52 am this morning, local time (one hour later than PST). It was still dark outside. It was a rare, clear night with the stars brilliantly shining. The stars are amazing out here. Our wake was sparkling and glowing with specks of bio-luminescence, which is stunning. It was a spectacular setting for our huge milestone. We gathered in the pilot house, watching the countdown on the GPS, then celebrated by Continue reading