[password] Ridingmore
[position] 1 38.31N 104 16.9W
[weather]S7-10 knots
[speed]6-8 knots
[status] I spoke too soon! After our best ever 24 hour run of 227nm @ 1900 local last night (and 213 VMG), the wind and current have dropped! We are now 'drifting' along at a steady 6-8 knots SOG, with the wind about as far aft as we can manage without using a gennaker. Comfortable enough anyway, despite the disappointing loss of speed.
The crew have rebelled against my desire to drop the lines back over (ok, so the ladies were the actual rebels!), as apparently we've eaten too much tuna in the last couple of weeks! I'm still hoping for some mahi mahi, but apparently the risk of tuna bycatch is considered too high by some! First world problems!
Ah, the little things - I've been revelling in my spreadsheet, and giving the (delighted) crew blow-by-blow updates on our status (like we're now 2/5ths, 4/9ths, 8/23rds of the way there, etc etc), and it may not give them joy but it does me!
We've had surprisingly cool sea surface temperates along this equatorial route - I recall it being much warmer (like SST of 29 deg) a few degrees south of here - another reason to stay where we are right now - its a very comfortable, mid 20's temp!
Happy trails, the Patea crew

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