There are good ships and wood ships
And ships that sail the seas
But the best ships are the friendships
And may they ever be...

Saturday, March 31, 2012

In the Southern Hemisphere

Date: 03/30
Noon to noon run: 123 NM
Time of position: 00:25
Lat/Lon: 01 deg 18.57'S; 128 deg 34.98'W
Course: 220 deg Mag
Next Waypoint:    East end of Hiva Oa: 807 NM distance
                  09 deg 45.03S; 138 deg 45.65W
 
We are basically heading for the east end of Hiva Oa about 850NM away at the time of this writing (17:00 PV time).

The wind was light and out of the east this morning but grew in strength to about 10-15Kt and changed to the southeast which makes it feel like the trades so we've decided to go with it and head for the barn as it were.

GRIB files continue to underestimate wind strength and direction so they are not completely reliable. But they do show some lows which we've seen so there is some value there. The lates weather fax shows only one ITCZ, and that is north of the equator so we are comfortable that the ITCZ is no longer an issue. As we head southwest we have a line of small light puffy clouds coming in from the east, so we will se what changes in wind they bring, if any.

We are celebrating with a steak dinner tonight complete with potatoes and fresh vegies. Yes, we still have fresh vegies. We will also most likely open a good bottle of wine to celebrate. As we crossed the equator, we poured some good gin and good tequila for King Neptune and Davy Jones. And will probably give them another dram this evening.

All is well, and we have 3 happy sailors on board.  John

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