Last night at 7pm we passed another boat. We think it was either fellow cruisers Heather and Anton in a Roberts 45, “Shayele” or Brisbanites Ray, Simon and Irish in a 40 ft catamaran “Meander”. These boats were both scheduled to leave Wreck Bay on San Cristobel on Saturday afternoon.
It was an uneventful night with the wind clocking so we had to bring down the spinnaker at 8.30pm (2030 hours). Then it was a two sail reach with wind varying from 6 knots to 18 knots and we are still sailing in the same conditions in a comfortable sea.
We have joined a radio sked with yachts “Ghost”, “Attitude” and “Meander”, the latter two from Brisbane. We last spoke to them on the VHF radio at 12 noon and they had noted that we have passed them to the north (other than Ghost). They are sailing in the same wind and sea conditions that we are. Ghost has 6 strands of wire on one of their shrouds unravelling and they have jury rigged it with rope. Ghost left Puerto Ayora a day before we did but they didn’t spend any time in Villamil so they are in front of us.
The 3000 nautical miles to the Marquesas Islands is alive with other cruising yachts, all heading downwind in the south east trade winds, strung out like pearls in a necklace. It definitely isn’t a lonely sail with many radio skeds to join and no shortage of boats to talk to.
Sailing in the southern tropics is very pleasant, the water temperature of about 25 degrees influences the air temperature, which is about 29 degrees during the day and a few degrees cooler at night. The winds blow in about the same direction at this time of the year, and vary in strength according to how strong the high pressure zone to the south of us is and how far below the equator we are.
Currently sailing in paradise! All is well.
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