WHEN: Sunday April 3rd 2100Local / 2200EST / 2300BRZ / 0200UTC
WHERE: 09:57N 118:27W
MILEAGE: 1,040 miles since La Cruz (sailed), 1,727 miles to Nuku Hiva (straight line)
Today we celebrated the first 1,000 miles of the trip. This also marks the first third of our voyage. Not a small milestone. In a week from now we shall hopefully be crossing the Equator.
As a celebration to our first thousand, I was planning on dedicating this post to a description of how our life has settled here. But this subject will have to wait for another day.
The highlight of the day today, bay far, is the sea state. Not that it’s dangerous or ominous – we are safe in here, folks – but the way it is. I always thought that in the open ocean and particularly in the Trade Winds, we would have big waves. Large organized ones, moving along majestically, with Pesto gently sailing up and down their flanks, up and down. But what we are having today is a quite different scenario. Almost no big waves, but on their place, a chaotic parade of wavelets. Almost in the form of pyramids, instead of waves. They are rather small – 2 meters at most – but very sharp and steep. And the boat responds to them on an awful manner. Despite the excellent wind, we have been rolling wildly the whole day. At times Pesto will roll 45 degrees to one side and then 45 degrees to the other. On one occasion one of these wavelets threw our stern sideways and Pesto rolled broadside to the next wavelet, which rolled her all the way to Port. Water rolled in from the rails and sprayed inside the cabin though the one window that was left open.
All this rock and roll has taken its toll and, for the first time on this passage, we are feeling tired.
But I’m not complaining. To the contrary, despite the discomfort of today’s sea state, it is awesome to be here. Earlier this morning I was talking to Adriana about how we were feeling about the passage, and the adjectives were all positive.
But that will be the subject of a different post.
All is well onboard, despite the rock and roll.
Have a great beginning of the week!
Pesto out.