Panama to French Polynesia – What Possessed you to sail across the Pacific Ocean? – 3rd Opinion – Day 27

Position: We are still just over half way to French Polynesia. Our position is:

05 25.18S 113 03.15W

*Note: I am told you can copy and paste these coordinates into google earth and it will show you where we are.

Mileage: 1692 1555- nm = 137nm Note: We need to start sending the blog earlier in the day as we are having troubles getting a connection with radio towers in Panama. So this is not our full days mileage.

Number of miles to go: 1692 nm to go of approx. 3850nm. We are TRULY on our way to French Polynesia.

Fish count: The count remains the same. 4 Mahi Mahi, 2 Cero and 6 tuna. One Marlin that we were happy got away! No fishing rods out still. It is much too rough out here to fish safely off the back of the boat, let alone try and clean the fish we catch. So fishing on hold until the waves calm down. The humans even went so far as to wash the rods with some fresh water and stow them down below.

BUILDING WINDS AND WAVES
As sailors, we want the wind. The wind is the secret ingredient that makes the boat go from point A to point B. The hardest part of being a sailor is dealing with the waves that the wind inevitably produces.
The winds built overnight propelling us and great speeds. Lots of fun. But as the night wore on the sleigh ride became an amusement park horror ride. Ever been on one of those flight simulators at the amusement park? The one that has you strapped into seats as they pitch you forward, back, and side to side. Do not forget the sudden drops that make you stomach turn. Well that is what it became like last night and the poor humans struggled to get any sleep.
The sun came up this morning to reveal seas that had built to scary heights. ‘Boy oh Boy’ the waves out here in the Pacific can get big! Luckily these behemoths are spaced far enough apart and not breaking. The biggest ‘boys’ are coming up from the South and hitting the boat on the beam. This pitches the boat side to side. In between and on top of these waves is the wind driven waves coming from the South East. These ‘puppies’ pitch the boat forward and over. Ever thing and every body is pitched from one side of the boat to the other as they do not have seat belts like the amusement ride.
As the day has worn on the wind has eased a bit. It will take a while for the seas to settle as well. The humans have tried to get on with boat jobs and cooking, but everyone gets caught occasional by a particularly large wave and gets tossed about the boat. The auto-pilot hand control ‘gave up the ghost’. But we had a back up. One of the wind generators tried to take flight off the end of it’s mounting pole. The humans rigged up some safety harnesses and climbed up and reattached it.
I get lots to eat, because they keep throwing all their food about in the galley. Every time they take their eye off a bowl or plate a wave is sure to come and I get an easy meal! Some body has to come out ahead on this?!

WHAT POSSESSED YOU TO SAIL ACROSS THE PACIFIC OCEAN?
I asked you all to think about weather or not you would sail across the Pacific Ocean.

Today I will share the last member of the crews opinion on the subject.

QUINN – YOUR AUTHOR
Why do I want to cross Pacific Ocean by sailboat to French Polynesia?

That is an easy question to answer. I am a dog. I did not get a say in the matter. The humans just dragged me along. They have promised me a beach at the end of all this.  It better be a dam nice beach!

END