Greetings Charm fans (both electric and conventional).
We have begun what will be our longest sea passage on our circumnavigation with the World ARC. It is just under 3,000 miles to Hiva Oa in the Marquesas island chain and we have 2,872 left to go.
Oops - the wind shifted a bit and I let a curl in the spinnaker become a fold which made the sheet-line go slack which made an awful flappy noise which woke Joe and gave him valid cause for concern. I guess writing while driving a boat is also a bad idea.
For those of us that actually enjoy sailing in ideal conditions rather than conditions that make us stronger, today was, and continues to be, very pleasant.
We had a great start - first across the line again due to Joe's great guidance and the rest of the team's (me, Sunil and John) ability to follow his guidance.
We have flat seas, decent wind at a good angle, no moon, and a sky full of stars. Thanks to a great app named Star Walk, I may eventually figure out all the things that I have failed to learn over the course of decades of planetarium visits.
But enough about me. Our crew continues to morph, with Ruth and Swagata leaving. Sunil somehow managed to escape from work for longer than his wife so we get his cheery presence for a few more weeks. Joining us is John Offord, a Scotsman that we located on Crewfinder. He is an experienced catamaran sailor and has been a great help to Joe with boat projects.
Other than Cobin and Marin having mild colds, all are happy and well on our first day of the Pacific crossing.
It's truly delightful to be out here. We enjoyed our time in the Galapagos but I think we are all happy to have a break from the tours and socializing and to get back into our routine on the boat. Also, it was quite hot! It's nice to almost want a jacket for a change.
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