Now the winds have moderated some, but it's still really nice sailing weather--10-14 knots on the beam, with moderate seas, and sunny skies. The moon is nearly full at night, so we've got nice shiny nights, too.
So far, the forecast for our passage through the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) (still 5 or 6 days ahead) looks like it is going to be pretty easy. We are prepared for a day or two of motoring to get through it, but not anticipating any nasty weather.
"Only" 1,660 miles (as the seagull flies) to Hilo... Current ETA probably 2nd or 3rd of October.
Of course, the troubles from home even follow us out into the middle of the Pacific Ocean. I got an email from Capital One about a suspected fraudulent charge on our credit card. It was only $12, but after 3 satellite phone calls (one to my daughter to make sure she hadn't done anything unusual), they refused the charge and canceled the card. But now I'm left wondering what 'automatic' payments I have on that card that might bounce in the next 2 weeks. (Since we had to cancel some cards and re-arrange finances after our 'swim' in Easter Island, I've lost track of what thing is on what card).
And my daughter moves out of our condo in Satellite Beach in 2 weeks, for a new job with GE in Cincinnati, and we still don't have a renter lined up for the house. Sigh. But we just might get to stay in our own home when we go home in November!!
We are in radio contact twice a day with the other 2 boats out here... Infini is 50 miles east of us and Apple is about 35 miles north of us. Both too far away for VHF, so we have an SSB schedule. And we are still able to check in every morning on the French Polynesia Breakfast Net (1730z 8164 USB), which our friend John on Nakia is now running single-handed, since we have left French Poly. We are also doing an evening check-in on the Pacific Seafarer's Ham net (0300z 14300 USB).
In between all these things, we're reading, sleeping, eating, and trying to keep "Henry", our steering vane, on track. This is the first passage that we've actually used Henry for any period of time. Using the windvane saves energy (about 30ah per day), but the sails have to be "balanced" for it to work properly. It's a real learning experience, but I think we've finally figured out how to balance Soggy Paws--at least in these winds.
No fish so far, but the fishing line has only been out for about 4 hours. We don't put the fishing line out unless the seas are really low and/or we'll be in port soon (We don't want Dave cleaning a fish on the back deck in boisterous conditions).
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At 9/18/2010 7:16 PM (utc) our position was 04°45.20'S 141°30.63'W
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