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Luna Quest - Friday, March 6th, 2015



Position: 03.22S 93.43W

Daily Run: 130 miles

Destination: Hiva OA

Yesterday’s run of 82 miles was understated by some 40 miles as I had not included the effects of the South Equatorial Current. Today’s run is the measured run on the chart, whereas the distance covered through the water since yesterday’s noon position was only 86 miles, although I suspect that our log reader may be somewhat erroneous. The winds seem to be steadier today around 10kn to 11kn and the parasailor is doing an excellent job pulling us along at over 6kn. Early this morning at around 4am the full moon shone brilliantly through the billowing sail and a clear sky promised a day of uninterrupted sunshine. We have rigged up the canopy over the cockpit to shield us from the sun overhead, while the boom is right out to starboard functioning only as a pole for the parasailor’s sheet to stabilise the parasailor. Yacht designs today have a wide stern to provide generous accommodation and better fixings for downwind sailing sheets. Luna Quest is a 1970s design although she was first launched in 1990.

We were a little concerned last night by reports from other members in the fleet ahead of us of fishing nets. A fishing boat accosted one member to request food and cigarettes. Another member had to cut his boat free from the nets. Some of these nets have a span of 50 miles and the Japanese and Costa Ricans are known to be fishing in these waters (shark fins are highly prized in Japan). We passed the fishing boat(s) at a distance of some 6 miles, visible only by their working lights.

Eric


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