Thursday 17 March 2016

After the veggie disaster not a lot of note happened during the remainder of the day. We read, I knitted a few more rows of my triangular hap (a Shetland shawl). The wind was a fairly consistent F3-4
ESE or SE requiring a little adjustment of the sails every couple of hours or so as the breeze moved for or aft of the beam.z
Both yesterday and this morning we re-examined our progress and potential progress against last Tuesdays GRIB and no matter how we analyse things it looks like Sunday and Monday will be slow sailing, drifting is most likely.

Progress thus far has been good without having as yet reaching the trade winds that blow from S America across the Pacific towards Australia. They are a long way south of us at present. There has though been two knots of current pushing SW. Temptress is steering around 250 deg and the current is lifting us a further ten so our course over the ground is around 260. The Jimmy Cornell World Cruising Routes waypoint bears 258 and represents about a third of the way to the Marquesas, at present that is still over 700nm away; four or five days sailing, longer if there is a calm patch. Patience is a necessary requisite for the cruising sailor.

The Great Tomato Glut
Before leaving Panama City we carefully purchased very green beef steak tomatoes, about 2 kilos of them. Today we discovered that not only have they all ripened at the same time but that overnight quite a few have literally exploded or at least burst their skins asunder. The galley now has enough ratatouille to feed us for three or four days and a litre or so of cooked and pureed tomato which can be the basis of soup lunches or curry suppers for another few days. And at least it gave the ships’ cook something to do for an hour or two.

Our First Wahoo
Or at least that is the best identity we can give it – pale pink flesh puts it in the tuna/mackerel/wahoo family and it had pale blue vertical lines on its flanks when hauled aboard.However it is much smaller than anything our fishing books say; at about 3 kilos it is half the smaller end of their scale of 7 to 35 kg. When we hooked it we had just been saying that more flying fish might mean more things that eat them. It has been duly filleted and placed in the fridge so at least two more fish suppers in the offing, probably served with something tomato-y!

Today we also had the asymmetric (spinnaker) up for several hours. It was put up just before lunch and certainly improved progress in the light breeze.Tomorrow will almost certainly be the day we round Isla Darwin at the north end of the Galapagos.

All well on board!

Noon to noon: through the water: 126nm Over the ground: 172nm Noon position: 02 04.21N 089 36.87W