1/2 way and 1500nm from anything!
Avalon
Sat 9 Aug 2003 06:30
There are only three places in the oceans of the earth that you can get
1500 nautical miles away from land in all directions. Half way between the
Galapagos and the Marquesas Islands is one of them. Today the beautiful
tranquillity of the South Pacific ocean reined overs us and Avalon ghosted
past the 1500 mile mark. We are now on the down hill run, literally, with
the wind (all of 8 knots at the moment) and waves behind us. With a little
more breeze we should be in the Marquesas in 11 days time.
'Tramonto', the other 30ft boat sailing along side us out here, debates
with us over the VHF radio as to where exactly the 1/2 way mark is. Both
boats plan what celebratory dinner they shall make, ours from fresh caught
Wahoo. Our first 10 days have been both successful and fast with no big
dramas. The 7 days after leaving Galapagos were quite windy with big and
lumpy seas, but last 3 days have been very light winds with clear beautiful
skies. The days go very fast, with some reading, a few card games and some
boat jobs then the all important cooking of dinner.
Although we are far from uncomfortable, it is an interesting exercise in
confinement. Our daily distance of movement is about 8ft from the sea bunk
to the cockpit. A big day includes going the 15ft to the bow, the later
exercise is manly to liberate the many flying fish that become trapped on
our decks. Even this far from land there are still birds, as well as the odd
pod of dolphins or whales.
The vastness of the Pacific ocean does not seem as threatening now and
we feel quite at peace with the big waves. That said we are still creatures
of dry land and lovers of cold beer so look very much forward to our
landfall in the Marquesas.
To see a chart of our position go to
http://www.pangolin.co.nz/yotreps/reporter_list.php and click on AVALON
under the boat identifiers list.