Fish for dinner

The posting for yesterday's blog had just gone when I heard again the
fishing line buzzing. Another strike, this time at around 2:00 p.m.,
While Jean-Francois was taking care of the line, I dropped the main,
rolled up the genoa and came to a heave to position. We did not want to
loose it this time.
It took a little bit longer to do it than to write it up, but we finally
got in the boat a mahi-mahi approximatively 15 pounds. This time, it did
not get the shot of rhum that we usually use but a shot of a cherry
liqor that we definitely won't drink. The rest of the afternoon was
spent cutting up the fish and cleaning the boat. Actually, Jean-Francois
was doing it and I was watching.
Other than that, we kept moving, very much in the same conditions, I
mean, no blue sky, but the wind got a little stronger, around 20 to 24
knots apparent, all night. We took 2 reefs and rolled up the genoa just
a little bit, but the speed stayed at around 7 knots.
Today at noon (18:00 Z time), we had covered 454 miles since Manta and
we have 3069 miles left for Fatu Hiva. We are south south west of the
Galapagos, and we will pass south of them at around 85 miles.
Since the start, we have used 10.2 gallons of water, have used the
engine 2.1 hours and the genset 4 hours, thanks to the cloudy skies when
the solar panels go on strike.
At 5.5 knots, we should arrive in Fatu Hiva on August 20st around 6:00
p.m. local time. At 6.0 knots, it would be the 18th at the same time.
But where is the blue sky that you see on all postcards about the
Pacific Ocean ?