By this evening we will be half way to the Marquises. We will visit the island of Hiva Oa first and then Nuka Hiva. This is a long sail with only the three of us sharing the cooking, chores and maintenance, and the watch schedule 24 hours a day. We have not seen much; just two minimal whale sightings; no other boat traffic. The sailing has been better with the wind abeam and off the port quarter, giving the boat a much kinder motion. We have finally had a couple of sunny days. I mention this because, much to our dismay, the weather has not been what we had expected. We have been on, and near, the equator for quite some time, now, and the temperatures have been in the 70's and low 80's, generally cloudy with frequent showers. We used the high heat and humidity at Ft. Lauderdale to acclimate ourselves for what we expected to be encountered here. The wind blowing across the water, at these low temperatures, at night, make for cool sleeping, and watch standing, conditions

We are now starting to see a warming trend; I am sleeping with a blanket, less. The boat is moving fast, and has been on the same tack for nine days. We haven't touched the sails since we left the Galapagos except to check chafe and snug halyards. The watermaker has been terrific, the refrigeration is still functioning, the Iridium satellite telephone is working well, and we are really looking forward to the Marquises. I gotta go cook dinner.