Update From the Captain

Hello guys. It is about 11PM here at 4N latitude and 131W longitude as the boat progresses south to the equator. It is a beautiful night and I have come down below to write a bit and to look at the Stellerium program that I downloaded from the internet so that I can find the names of some of the stars that are brightly displayed across the heavens all around us. It is very calm where the boat is just now as we are in the doldrum area just north of the equator where light, unpredictable winds are the rule. We have motored or motor-sailed on and off for the last 40 hours. Hope to break out of the doldrums into clear trade winds at about 2N latitude and from there should have steady south-easterly trades into the first landfall about the 28th of the month. Had planned to visit Nuka Hiva first, but am thinking it would be nice not to miss Hiva Oh. Have really gotten into the day to day routine of voyaging and am enjoying the time out here on the wild blue. Boat is doing very well, although there have been a few glitches. Screws that hold the roller furler for the headsail came loose and one disappeared. Luckily there was a spare left from installation and I carried a lot of red lock-tight. A few other things have come loose including the shackle that holds the halyard to the headsail. The halyard disappeared into the mast and will need to be re-run thru the mast. Fortunately I installed a second spinnaker halyard as a spare and am using it to hoist the headsail. Have gone to the top of the mast a few times, but doing it with the mast going from side of side would be a challenge. One night in strong winds the whisker pole tore off a piece of the track secured to the mast. Luckily, there is a large portion of track remaining that allows the continued use of the pole. I just do not use the full headsail on the pole in strong winds anymore. Despite the few failures, the boat performs well and we have been very comfortable. Fishing has been slow, but we did eat our first fish for dinner this evening. Best wishes to everybody. Joel