Thursday, March 5th, 2015
Luna Quest
W. Eric Faber
Thu 5 Mar 2015 20:57
Daily Run: 82 miles
Next Destination: Hiva OA - French Polynesia
Most unexpectedly, Luna Quest was deemed the fastest boat from Contadora to the Galapagos on handicap, deserving a Galapagos shopping bag as first prize. However, we are unlikely to be the fastest boat to Hiva OA, a distance of some 3000 miles, the longest of any passage on our way round the world. The area that we are in currently, produces gentle breezes and we cannot wait to get further south to pick up the SE trade winds that blow considerably more strongly. Some boats have chosen a more direct southerly course, but we are headed southwest. Yesterday we tried every sail combination to optimise our speed, but none achieved a great deal more than 3kn. Today we took down every sail and hoisted the parasailor, a large spinnaker with a vent in the middle. With the seas less turbulent than yesterday as a result of various ocean currents and upwellings in the Galapagos area, it seems that the parasailor is the right way forward. A gentle breeze is on our port quarter and the parasailor is trying to fill and pull the boat forward. We shall keep the parasailor hoisted for as long as we can.
Eric