I can remember sitting in the Melbourne Yacht Club bar on a Friday evening in late 2006, talking about 'going to Easter Island'. It seemed like a far-off possibility. Now we are enroute! How exciting!
We didn't leave yesterday as planned, because we were still doing 'preparation' at 3:30 pm, and still had an hour or two's worth of stuff to do. The sea breeze was also blowing pretty briskly. Dave insisted that we have an early dinner, get a good night's sleep, and get going in the morning calm. Though I really wanted to get going RIGHT NOW, I couldn't argue too much with his logic.
Our friends on Infini had pulled out of the harbor at noon, though, thinking we were nearly ready to leave as well. So they were 102 miles ahead of us this morning at 8am. I think we are slightly faster than they are (a Westsail 42), so we should slowly catch up with them.
We motorsailed out of the harbor at 7:45 am, and turned the engine off as soon as we got clear of Isabela, around 10:30am. We hope to make the rest of the trip strictly under sail.
Right now, at 1330 local time, we are sailing close hauled at about 6.5 knots, making good a course between 225 and 235 degrees. The direct course to Easter is more like 212, but as we get further south, the wind will go more East, and we should be able to make Easter with no problem.
This old CSY was built for this kind of sailing, and is doing beautifully. The ride isn't that uncomfortable and the weather is just fantastic--sunny with a fairly steady wind at 10-15 knots.
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At 3/2/2010 9:26 PM (utc) our position was 01°29.67'S 091°34.31'W
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How exciting!
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