Nearing The Equator - Slow and Comfy versus Fast and Miserable

(Sylvia, 6 April)

After a couple of blustery days in a squally zone the weather has mellowed out and for the past day or so SHINDIG has been cruising along in winds that are generally 9-12 knots which is is just enough wind to keep us going, under spinnaker, without getting rolled around too much by the ocean swells. Yesterday morning the wind died, the seas flattened, and Captain Rob suggested it was time to jump in the water. I love the sensation of being at sea with no land in sight; for me the feeling approaches true freedom. Jumping into the open ocean with no sides or bottom in view, only the deep azure of the sea and knowing the closest land is about 5,000 meters away (underneath us), certainly comes in as a close second. Even with no wind there is still a fair amount of current in the ocean, so we trailed a long line attached to a floating fender behind us to make sure nobody got "lost". As we splashed around behind the boat we commented that this perspective (looking up at the boat drifting away) was a little scary even under such controlled conditions (safety line out, someone on board keeping an eye on the swimmers). Tom dropped a quarter into the clear, blue water and watched it reflect light back for about 30 seconds before it disappeared into the 15,000 feet depths. At 2 ft/sec velocity, it will take 2 hrs 5 mins to reach the bottom!

The weather on this journey has been very different than the weather we encountered last year. Overall the winds have been more mellow and the squalls (so far) have been relatively benign. On the other hand it is proving to be a slower trip than last year. Slow and comfy vs fast and miserable...pick your poison. Tom is loving the easy-going pace, watching movies on Shindig's big screen, and looking up various subjects (from the Ctenaphora we saw in the water to the American Film Institute's top 100 movie quotes) on our Wikipedia download. Huge thanks to our friends on SCOOTS for the download, we use it daily.

On the fishing front, the fish are winning the derby so far. We've dragged 2 lures for most days of the trip, varying between a cedar plug, pink squid, feather squid, and Repala mackerel lures, but have only had one small hit and one bent hook so far. The other day we added a teaser/reflector/noisemaker device to the mix. We remain optimistic, however, that we'll catch a nice and tasty pelagic fish as we get nearer to the islands and the richer fishing "grounds".

At the moment (late afternoon) the wind just died and the guys are enjoying another dip in the Pacific. Once again meal time will be extremely easy and delicious thanks to Nancy's excellent provisioning. It's hot and steamy so a cold ramen and vegetable salad with teriyaki chicken nuggets and toasted cashews is on the menu. We were hoping to hit the equator today but thanks to the light conditions it's looking like tomorrow will be the magic day. It's the last day that Rob and JD get to be Slimy Pollywogs. Sometime tomorrow a.m. they will become trusted and honorable Shellbacks. Let the initiation begin, bwahahaaaaa!

Position: 00 N 132 W, (about 24nm N or the EQ)
Dist. Made Good: ~2,000 nm (in 16 days since Muertos)
Dist. To Finish: ~700 nm (~ 6 days)

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