Pacific Crossing Day 9 - 10th June 2020

Position 1800 UTC - 10th June 2020
- 05 degrees, 54 minutes South
- 114 degrees, 11 minutes West
Sailing on port tack with wind at 123 degrees apparent
Sea State: lets just say big
Wind: 22 knots from South East
Speed over the ground: 9.5 knots
Course over the ground: 265 degrees
Distance sailed towards north Marquesas in 24 hours 199 - 106 in 12 hours - yes its sporty out here!

Late afternoon yesterday the wind started to pick up and from a perfect south easterly direction. At first we were just flying on a relatively calm sea, regularly seeing boat speeds of 10 knots over the ground. The sky filled with cloud and we had one rain shower. As expected the sea picked up and it got a little more boisterous, we slightly reefed the main sail and flew through the night with a full genoa clocking an average of 9 knots over the ground in winds of 22-24 knots. Askari loved it and we both managed to sleep quite well in our sea berth - nicknamed the coffin.

This morning the fine conditions continue and the sky is beautifully clear, the ocean is majestic with huge crests of deep deep blue capped with white frosting - the swell at approx 3m is much bigger you'd expect as it is much windier south of us. We have now adjusted to the size of the seas and the speed so can sit for hours calmly watching, its amazing how the mind does this - you'd never look at this sea and say 'hey lets go sailing' but it really is pretty awesome here mid Pacific.

Yesterday was a pretty lazy day, today I made bread, we've adjusted the sails to run wing on wing and make a course just north of our rhumb line, taking advantage of the wind so we can run south again when the winds ease. Right now we have full sails up in 21 knots and its fast and furious but Andrew is managing an afternoon nap. We have also had the go-pro out to video the waterline - gooseneck barnacles can attach to the boat even at these speeds, but for now we just have a bit of slime where the waves lap above the anti-fouling.

Fishing has been suspended - too many fish in the fridge and the aft deck is a little precarious right now.

Late this afternoon we should be mid way to our first waypoint at the Marquesas.

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