Progress in the last 24 hours: 60.2 nautical miles
Miles to Go: 281
Fuel left: Approx 32 gallons
After 4 full days of traveling, we are still not quite half way there!!
However, our fuel conservation plan is working well... when the wind gets too light to control the boat under sail, we motorsail at very low RPM. We've managed to average 2.5 kts toward our destination, against 1-2 knots of current, and in only about 5 kts of wind.
The forecast has promised slightly more wind today for the next 36 hours, though we haven't seen it start to fill in yet.
The current has eased a little, but we think we still have about a knot against us, and expect to have that continue for another hundred miles or so.
Other than taking forever to get to Ecuador, the trip itself is very pleasant. Even when motoring, the RPM's are so low that it's not obnoxious. Dave's been getting small maintenance jobs done during the day, while Sherry's mainly been reading.
We have plenty of food, water, electricity, rum and books to read. So we are in no danger of running out of anything out here.
Sherry's current reading:
- Jimmy Cornell's autobiography "A Passion for the Sea"
- Lin Pardey's "Care and Feeding of the Sailing Crew"
- Clive Cussler's novel "Atlantis Found"
All 3 are really good books. We picked up a signed copy of the Jimmy Cornell book at SSCA, where Jimmy was the featured speaker. It cost a lot--we rarely ever buy a book new, but this one has been worth every penny--very informative and entertaining. The Lin Pardey book I got in nearly new condition at the cruiser swap meet in Golfito for $2. It, too, is an excellent cruising book, both entertaining and informative.
And the Clive Cussler came from Land n Sea Golfito's book exchange. It is a true Clive Cussler action adventure, and I make sure I don't pick it up unless I can afford to become absorbed in the book to the exclusion of everything else aboard!
Since we're in the throat of the famed Humboldt Current, we've been monitoring the water temp as we sailed south. When we left Cocos, the water temp was around 83 degrees F. In the last 24 hours, it has dropped steadily from 81 to 75 degrees. With the water temp at 75, the air temp has been noticeably cooler, and we've been wearing long sleeves on watch at night.
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At 2/13/2009 1:58 PM (utc) our position was 02°04.08'N 084°16.76'W
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