Pacific Crossing - Day 15 - Spooled

[April 23]

Lat/Long: 08°22'S / 121°49'W
24hr distances: 130 nm and 155 nm (25 hours)

Just before sunset, our fishing rod started to squeal, and line peeled off faster than we could have imagined. John had the rod and was tightening up the already-tight reel, but it was no use. The fish (or whale??) had decided to run, and run it did. Within moments, the entire spool of 100-lb test line was gone, and there was a snap, as the line broke away from the reel.

I suppose it is all for the best. Must have been a monster (of course), and what would we do with a fish that big anyway??!?!?

I did take the first and only picture on this passage so far - John holding the fishing rod with an empty reel. And looking quite sad.

As for the sailing, we're still getting enough wind to put in very respectable daily mileage totals. We continue to have about a 2 meter swell, so the boat is still quite lively. Still, the days are pretty monotonous. John hasn't been feeling well this week, so I've taken up galley duty. But it isn't pretty. Our meals are plain at best. Simple pasta and sauce, tuna sandwiches, boiled eggs, that sort of thing. Yesterday, John resumed his role as cook. I don't think he's feeling much better. I suspect he would rather cope with the boisterous galley, then with my culinary creations!! Not sure what happened to me. I used to be able to cook. Before John. I think.

[labels: fishing, passage making]

Pacific Crossing - Day 12 - Flying Fish and 1/2 Way

[April 20]

Lat/Long: 07°26.13'S / 115°02.70'W
24hr distances: 154, 143, 124 and 135 miles

We continue to make great time, and have enjoyed our best day ever - 154 miles!! We're now at the half way point (1500 miles) and celebrated with a batch of cookies and butter chicken for dinner - YUM.

Once again, we'll gladly take your bets for your estimation of our arrival date and time in Atuona at Hiva Oa. Put your best guess in the comments section or send us an email.

I reason that since there are birds that can swim, that there could be fish that fly. But still...it seems weird to me. But everyday we see schools of flying fish darting over the surface of the water. And they don't just fly a short distance. They have endurance - at least a boat length or two. Every night, there are several that fly recklessly towards our decks and meet an
untimely death. If they are near the cockpit, we can hear the frantic fluttering, and are able to fling them back into the ocean, at a high price of very fishy smelling hands. But those that land near the bow, are only discovered by us the next morning. The largest are about the size of a smelt, and the smallest are only a couple of centimeters long. It is fascinating to see that their fins are almost as long as their body, and when they flap them up and down in flight, they truly seem to be well above the water, not simply skimming the water's surface with their fins, as suggested in my fish book.

Two days ago, there was a bad smell coming from our head (bathroom), and I searched up and down, and cleaned like a demon in an effort to make it go away. No luck. Finally I had to admit to myself, that perhaps it was my washcloth that was making the stench. How sad. Finally, after much investigation, John found that a flying fish had flown into the dorade (air vent) that vents in the ceiling above the bathroom. Problem solved. And washcloth returned to duty.