Author: Pam
Day 28 started with the feeling we are really in the home stretch with 291 miles to go. We have continued to make an average of 150 miles a day since crossing the equator. What a gift near the end of an ocean crossing. The days have been very hot and during the day there is nowhere to run and nowhere to hide, we anxiously wait for the sun to go down when the temperature cools slightly. At times our course leaves the cockpit in complete sunshine and there is nowhere to be but down below. It isn’t really any cooler, just sheltered from the sun. The seas finally calmed down on Thursday and so did the wind. We only made 126 miles in 24 hours, still very respectable. Neither one of us has focused on when we might get there during the crossing, but as we get closer we have both acknowledged our focus is changing. I think it would be a miserable trip if you spent all of your time focused on getting there. As mentioned early on we set twelve waypoints as the course we would follow and this combined with getting in and out of the ITCZ and crossing the equator, we had plenty to keep us occupied. We have been reading a lot, working on finishing up the various books we are respectively reading. We also finished “The Incredible Journey”, nice story, but I wasn’t crazy about the author’s style. We are feeling less creative when it comes to cooking and eating. Perhaps it is the prospect of something fresh and cold on the horizon. We have resorted to simple and out of a can. Well, except we did have one of Scott’s all time favorites, Mac & Cheese. I did not like it as a kid and I am not really warming up to it as an adult. This delicacy (in Scott’s mind) was accompanied with perhaps the last of the potted meat options, Vienna Sausages. Finally something Scott didn’t like. I think they are ok, but really they were a vehicle for mustard, which I really do like a great deal. Spinney lobster here I come. Speaking of lobsters, I am dying to find out if how we have heard they catch them is really true. Now keep in mind this is a girl from Maine and a lobster fishing family. They apparently go “hunting” for them at night around the rocks, shine lights and when one is spotted they catch it by stepping on it. No fuss no muss with traps, buoys, warps, bait, boats (well maybe a boat)… More soon I hope on the finer details of catching lobsters in the South Pacific, especially after I get to eat one.
We woke up on Thursday morning feeling reasonably confident we could make landfall on Friday. Of course that will depend if the wind continues to be our best friend. We spent a good part of the day cleaning the inside of the boat and the cockpit. We hadn’t had a squall in a while and with all of the waves the salt layer was pretty thick. Several times today we wished for a good downpour so Tournesol could have a bath. Just as I was finishing the last bit of cleaning the sky opened up and our wish was granted. We took advantage of the rain and used it to get our last shower of the crossing started and then moved onto the infamous bug shower. The boat is shipshape, the food is getting boring and we are more than excited to make landfall, hopefully tomorrow.
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