Friday, August 7, 2009

The Trade Winds

Still very much of the same, except that the weather has a different
feel. Our faithful cloud cover is still with us, but there are many more
holes in it. We still have squalls and rain showers, with winds up to 30
knots in it, but they are fewer. And the temperatures are definitely
rising. Today the sea is at 81 and the air at 83.
This morning we changed sails settings and course. We now have the sails
wing to wing, with 3 reefs in the main and we are running with the wind
right at the back as I want to try and approach the Marquesas from the
north. The grib files show that the wind there is quite weak for the
time being, and if that were the case when we get there, we would not be
moving very fast running.
Today was the worse day since we left Manta. We have covered 145
nautical miles over the ground, which is acceptable, but with all the
zigzags, we have closed on the Marquesas only by 118.
Fatu Hiva is now 1657 nautical miles away and we could get there on the
18 evening or the 19 morning, depending on how far north we will have to go.
The wind is steady behind us at 20 knots and we are still rolling
heavily constantly. This, however, does not disturb too much our routine
and having cooked and sit down meals twice a day.
We caught another mahi mahi yesterday, so we have fresh fish for another
three days.

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