Dear Family and Friends,

 

13th April 2015

 

160 miles under our belt yesterday, not a record but pleasing all the same. Winds have strengthened and we are making a better course to the West. Three thousand miles of continuous ocean is a lot of wear and tear on the boat, so we try to look after her. So we don’t go haring off when the wind gets up, we reef down, stay as stable as possible, and do a steady 5-6/7 knots to reduce the stress on parts. Plotting our progress on our borrowed charts, (big thank you to Liz and Roy for these, whom we hope to see in the Whitsunday Islands East of Australia, next year), we have passed chart information dated 19th Century and indeed there is some suggestion that some of the data goes back to Captain Cook! We are currently in 3-4,000 metres of water, occasional deeps are over 5,000 metres. Sea mounts rising to within a few hundred, or tens of metres closer to land, are common. Many Pacific islands are volcanic, sitting on ancient and more recent plate margins and it is possible to see this in the depth contours and the geography of the islands.

 

Neither of us slept well last night as despite all of the precautions the swell was significant, I finally wedged myself into a narrow lee sheet with pillows to prevent further rolling.

Exercise is the thing I miss on board, anything on deck such as poling out the sails/sail change is usually a workout as is hanging out the washing! Today with a heavy swell trying to hang onto an elastic washing line, the bucking and rolling boat, washing and peg it out whilst being battered around the head with wet washing, was some task.

 

Made fresh bread and yoghurt today, delicious smells and you cant beat freshly baked bread. Yesterday’s Mahi Mahi was cooked in white wine and butter, lovely. Today it’s fishcakes with the rest! One of the better fresh purchases in Puerto Ayora was a big hand of green baby bananas which are ripening under the canopy. Sweet, snack sized, they are just perfect for nibbling when bored.

 

All well otherwise, all our best,

 

Lynne and Alan