March 29th- Day 12 to the Marquesas and under 1400 nm left to go

The past few days has been less eventful than the beginning of the trip weather wise, as we’re finally down in the trade winds. We have had pretty consistent winds from the east-
southeast and today is our first day without any squalls. From noon yesterday to noon today we covered 195 nm, our best day yet. The 200 nm day has still been out of reach but hopefully we
can achieve that milestone before our arrival in Nuku Hivu.

The fishing the past few days has been great. We got a keeper Mahi yesterday as well as the day before. Filleting fish on the stern of a rocking sailboat isn’t exactly easy, but I
made it work and managed to keep the mess to a minimum.
       
It’s been over 10 days since we have seen ANYTHING in the ocean besides fish or the occasional bird. No other ships, dolphins, or turtles…. NOTHING. It’s an eerie feeling, like
being the last person on the earth. If it weren’t for the SSB (single side band radio, range can be thousands of miles) chat with the other Oysters every day, we would feel even more
alone.
       
So far there have been a few mishaps with the other boats. Legend IV had their boom break off their mast and have been sailing with nothing but a Jib for the past few days. Pearl
of Persia had to send someone up the mast to untangle some lines caused by a messy spinnaker douse. Wolfhound had a problem furling their mainsail. We weren’t excluded from issues, as we
have had a few of our own problems along the way as well. We snapped the topping lift cable that supports the aft end of the boom while Jan was on watch. We almost lost the outhaul shackle
on the boom, which would have sent our mainsail flying free. It was only by chance that I happened to spot that the pin had come lose.
       
However, the worst problem was at about 4 am two nights ago, when our anemometer (the wind instrument) went crazy and made Debbie, who was on watch solo, believe the wind had
veered around 90 degrees. After scrambling on deck, Mike and I were able to get the boat straightened out and back on course. That was when we discovered what caused the whole mess.

After a day of tinkering with the wires, we were able to (we think) fix the problem. Just as a backup we have left the good ol’ US of A flag flying on the stern as a backup to figure out the
wind direction in the event of another failure.
       
So long as the winds hold somewhat steady, we should be arriving around the 8th in Fatu Hivu (the names of the islands in the Marquesas are all Polynesian).

Ill send at least one more update before then to Jenny, who has been a wonderful help by posting the blogs for me. Thanks again!