Day 190, Year 1: Flying with the Trade Winds–Day 4
Date: Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Weather: Clear Skies Above with Cumulus Clouds on the Horizon
Water Surface Temperature: 77 degrees F
Latitude: 03 degrees 30 minutes S
Longitude: 095 degrees 21 minutes W
Location: Passage from Galapagos to the Marquesas, Day 4
Miles to Go: 2499 (~150 miles last 24 hours); 462 miles so far

If you look back at yesterday’s miles to go, it looks like we traveled 228 miles in the past 24 hours. Well, we have been flying, but not that fast. The trade winds kicked in full tilt about 24 hours ago and we adjusted our course. We were originally headed more south in order to get out of the doldrums and into the trade winds. Now that we seem to have entered the trade wind belt, we are running a more direct route to Fatu Hiva (our first landfall in the Marquesas) and that has shaved off some of the miles left to go. We will not have been out a full four days until tomorrow morning, but so far we have traveled 462 miles. We feel very good about this and just hope the wonderful winds and sea conditions stay with us.

We are falling into a routine-sleep, eat, watch and read, do a chore, cook a little, sleep, eat, watch and read. And once in a while we put out the fishing line. That’s about it, but we are really enjoying the time. Tomorrow is a fishing day and right now it is time to cook dinner. Ah, if only life could always be this simple.