A great day's sailing - we've been making 6-7 knots on a broad reach and in more comfort than the roly Atlantic sailing we experienced. The wind is becoming more consistent, although it hasn't completely settled down yet - a couple of times today I reefed the main, only for the wind to die away 15 minutes later. It's frustrating when the wind vanishes and leaves the rig crashing around in the swell, but we've decided it's preferable to using the engine. When the wind dies we've taken to securing the wheel with the rudder dead ahead and let the trim of the sails determine the course, with the occasional nudge and sail adjustment from ourselves.
When we left Isabela there was little or no light at night - just our tiny mast-head light doing its best to penetrate the darkness. Tonight the sky is clear, with stars filling the skies and the moon becoming brighter by the day.
We've yet to see any other shipping and our radar detector has been silent - a complete contrast to the Atlantic when there were only a couple of days during the crossing when we were out of sight of other ship's radar. It all adds to the feeling that it's a vast ocean with nothing between us and the Marquesas.
No fishing today as we've had the tow generator out to replenish the charge in our batteries.
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Position @ 18:22 UTC: S03deg 15' W96deg 11'
Daily distance run: 130
Distance to go: 2566
Cumulative distance: 338
Engine hours:0
Wind: SE/S 10-15knots
Weather: moderate sea, clear skies, 1011 millibars
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