We are 10 days into our passage now and still making very good time. As I write, we have 1765 of our 3055 miles left to do. The good news is that, although we are not half way by distance , we are more or less half way by time because the first couple of days did not take us towards our destination, but towards the wind that would get us to our destination. Since picking up the wind we have averaged about 175 miles per day and latest estimates get us there around 2nd or 3rd of May, which is on time with my master plan of catching a flight home on 21st June. After this big jump, all the sailing to Tahiti will be a maximum of a couple of days between stops. We are continuing now to catch fish. They have all been Mahi Mahi, so we are pretty Mahi Mahi’ ed out. Since leaving the Galapagos we have only cooked two meals that have not been fish we caught. I took a picture today of one of the flying fish we find every day. They are the most amazing of creatures. Tomorrow we will pass the half way point. I am planning to release a message in a bottle.
Launching the Message in a Bottle
As an incentive to any finder, I am putting $5 in with the message with an incentive of another $50 if the finder sends me back the original message with some extra info. For the record this is what it says: Congratulations on finding this message and enjoy your $5 as a gift from me. My name is Willie Kirkpatrick. I released this message in the Pacific Ocean halfway between the Galapagos Islands and the Marquesas Islands. You can contact me by phone on +441494 680702 or +44 7778613923, or e-mail on w.kirkpatrick549@ btinternet.com or by letter at Wilconnel House, Finch Lane, Beaconsfield, Bucks, HP 9 2 TL. Tell me , who you are, where you live, where and when you found my message and I will send you another $50. Greetings from me and I look forward to hearing from you. Willie. By the way Trevor, and all the rest of you looking for a quick $50, there is a secret mark at the bottom of the note that you will need to describe to get the $50. Sorry!
We had a rough night last night Saturday 21st. The wind picked up to 35 knots at times in rain squalls and the seas are 2.5 to 3 meter swells. The boat is fantastic however. With just a heavily reefed headsail and a tiny scrap of mizzen, we ran on a broad reach and maintained about 7.5 knots over the ground. You need to hang on and chips are off the menu. We have radar on the boat which is very useful for seeing the squalls in the dark and gives the opportunity to alter course to avoid the worst of them. My watch was 3am to 6 am and I actually spotted another ship 5 miles away which I could confirm and track by radar. Boys toys and all that. We have proper cooked breakfast on Sunday, which is settling as I write.
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