Lat: 13 04.346′ S
Long: 70 11.721′ E

These last couple of days have been some of our best of the passage. We are making great time without even trying. We did get inspired to put up a double-reefed mainsail a couple of days ago when our speed dwindled down to 5 knots, but we dropped the main around midnight that night when we were careening down waves at 10 knots! Getting it down in the dark in pretty strong winds and 10′ seas was pretty exciting. We got out our harnesses for the first time on the passage and clipped onto something while on deck. You can’t be too careful in that situation.

cresting Cresting waves make for boat surfing

Since then, the trusty jib has continued to move us in the right direction at an average speed of 6.3. Yesterday was our best day — 180 miles! That might be a record for Pura Vida, although we had some similar days on the passage from the Galapagos to the Marquesas. We also crossed the halfway point yesterday, which is a major milestone. It feels like we are on the downhill slope even though we still have over 1200 miles to go before we are safely anchored in Nosy Be, Madagascar and having a celebratory toast.

Neither of us are in a race against time at this point. I mentioned in my last blog that Dallas was finding projects to keep him busy. Well, eventually he ran out of those, but he has been a quick study of the art of doing nothing (I’m a good teacher, LOL), and we have been engaging in a lot of practice together over the last two days. We listen to music or the news, watch the waves, reminisce, tune in for our twice daily radio chat, cook, do dishes, shower, read or work on a puzzle, look out for other boats, watch the weather, and that’s about it. Somehow that’s enough to make the hours fly by–when we’re not on watch, that is. The wee hours of the morning can get a bit long.

Some days we are more active than others. Laziness creeps in insidiously, sapping my motivation, but each time I make an effort to overcome it and get off of the settee, I feel better for it. Even a seemingly mundane chore such as doing dishes in the cockpit can be enough to fire up my engine and brighten my day. Then there’s usually leftover energy to devote to exercising or having my own private dance party in the cockpit. (Of course Dallas is invited to the party, but he usually sends his regrets, LOL.)

dallas

In big seas even getting up to eat can feel like a chore

Our energy level also depends on the sea state. Lately the seas continue to be quite large (up to 12′) but from the aft quarter (the southeast), like the wind. This makes for a comfortable motion and doesn’t interfere with our activities. Occasionally, though, we get large waves across the beam that rock the boat a bit. They typically strike when Dallas is in the cockpit checking our course, as if they know that this is a sailor who really hates to get wet! Last night we took a big one on the beam while Dallas was chatting with S/V Bahati on the radio, and it sent part of our dinner flying from the table to the settee beside him. Nat from Bahati is normally very sympathetic, but in this case just said, “I’m glad to hear catamarans get some of that, too.”

I haven’t spent much time on monohulls, so I can’t really compare, but I love the way the cat glides over big waves from the stern. We can be down in the trough of a wave and looking up at the next one, much higher than the boat, that looks as though it is going to break on top of us, when all of the sudden we find ourselves sitting on top of it. Then we simply glide down into its trough, or if its a particularly steep wave, surf down it, which, in the case of these waves on the port quarter, means that our stern gets pulled very quickly to starboard. Meanwhile the amazing autopilot is constantly counteracting to keep us on course. (I hope that our friends on S/V Marionette are coping with the wind and waves as they hand-steer to Africa! At least they are headed to Mauritius, which makes for a shorter passage.)

big sea

A big one coming up on our stern

The boat is holding up like a champ except for a possible slow leak somewhere in the port hull. Dallas found the port bilge full of water today and is trying to diagnose the problem. More on that later…

We hope everyone back home is doing well and enjoying some leisure time of their own.