Hi from Andrew,
We are now on Day 15 so to recap some statistics: We have taken 14 days to cover 2352 nautical miles from our departure in the Galapagos. This is at an average of 168 miles per day or 7 knots. We think that is a very respectable performance from a 39 foot production boat - go Eye Candy!
The boat appears to be holding up well except there is an increasing amount of biological growth showing at the stern so a good clean will be necessary when we arrive. I conduct inspections around the rig and in the steering compartment to be sure nothing nasty is brewing there. Amongst the group there has been a number of rigging failures, mostly D1 and D2 wires breaking. One boat 'Nelly Rose' sustained a broken shroud below deck level which caused the deck to start lifting and an Ausie boat "Sweet Chariot" lost its rudder. All these boats are Ok but not so for an American couple on "Navana Now" who also lost their rudder and consequently punched a hole in the boat. The couple transferred on to another boat and "Navana Now" was scuttled.
One aspect not going so well - the fishing. So far it is Fish 4: Eye Candy 3. By that I mean we have hauled aboard 3 fish (2 Mahimahi and 1 tuna) but lost two reels of line, three lures and 4 sets of hooks in 4 events. So I'm not so pleased. Seems the best way of saving my remaining hooks is to keep the fishing gear well away from the water. But the line is back in an I am hopeful again and it is nearing 2pm when we have had all our strikes so far this trip.
On another front, one cell in one of our two house battery banks has gone down. This has halved our useful capacity and we are just making it through to the morning before the solar panels can do their job. I have emailed ahead to Nuku Hiva, our destination in the Marquesas and the agent there is looking for a replacement and we await news.
Right now we are in 15 to 18 knot easterly wind with 1.5 m swell from the east. We have up the genoa poled out and a mainsail on the second reef. Not so much sail but we are getting along at 6.5 to 7.5 knots with an occasional surge forward from the seas. It is sunny buy there is cloud about so we may get wet yet.
We have 661 miles to go so about 4 days sailing at this speed.
Bye for now
Andrew & Clare
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com
