LTY UPDATE: Day#8 - Monday May 30th, 2011 - Majuro to Fiji
LTY UPDATE: Day#8 - Monday May 30th, 2011 - Majuro to Fiji
Monday May 30th, 2011 LTY time: 19:40 (UTC +12) = 05:30 UTC
Location: Approaching the equator, about 595nm NNW of Funafuti, Tuvalu
Position: 00 28.164 N, 174 53.788 E (cut & past this into Google Earth to see on map)
SOG: (Speed Over Ground) 5.5 knots (sailing with Main, Jib & Stay sails))
COG: (Course Over Ground) 156 degrees True
Wind: 14-22 knots NE Apparent (wind as felt by sails)
Seas/Swell: 3m @ 6 seconds out of NE
Air temp: 86.1F 30.1C
Sea temp: 83.7 F 28.7 C
Humidity: 72%
Barometer: 1014mm
Distance to Funafuti: 595nm
Distance last 24 hours: 133nm DAY #8:
About as perfect a day as you can dream to have out sailing or under any conditions. Linda and Ruby slept the whole night through without stirring and woke to a perfect morning of blue sky and sun feeling back to her usual happy and healthy self. After enjoying some time up in the cockpit and the great morning we were having, she then proceeded below to whip up a batch of “Muffets” a delicious combination of English muffins and crumpets fried up with some nummy New Zealand butter. Last night was another great night sail for me as we sliced silently through the water at 4 to 5 knots in 10-15 knots of wind out of the ENE and very calm seas. The moon came up and put in several appearances throughout the night as it danced in and around the scattered clouds up in the night sky. We did have one very small bit of rain about 3am so I closed up the hatches for about 15 minutes and then we were back to full flow mode of fresh sea breezes throughout the boat. It was calm enough and there is so little chance of any other boats being out here that I was able to put on the Radar perimeter alarm and grab several rounds of sleep for an hour or so as the night air wafted over me lying on the cockpit seats. The rest of the day was spent simply enjoying the ride, reading, listening to music, showering up on deck, eating, talking, and typing up some Emails. Another beautiful day at sea. It is now dark, the wind has been up a notch topping 20 knots at time and we are heeled over a bit more, about 20-25 degrees, as we “race” through the night at up to six knots at times. By sailing and Learnativity standards that is quite fast indeed. The only down side is that we are also approaching the equator, about 40nm away as I write this, and so we will unfortunately be crossing it in the dark of night in the wee hours this morning and I’m not sure if we will do our planned swim across the equator this time or not. However we most certainly WILL celebrate Linda’s graduation from a “Pollywog” to a “Shellback”, the former being the term given to those sailors who have not crossed the equator under sail. We will also be making the obligatory and grateful toast by tossing a few shots of some high quality rum overboard to Poseidon and King Neptune to give our thanks to them and ask for their blessings and watchful guidance as we continue to explore their oceans and seas. We’ll take some pictures of the whole equator crossing ceremony and post them for you once we get our next good internet connection. Stay tuned, the journey has just begun!! Linda, Wayne & Ruby the Wonderdog
Exploring the world one nautical smile at a time.
Monday May 30th, 2011 LTY time: 19:40 (UTC +12) = 05:30 UTC
Location: Approaching the equator, about 595nm NNW of Funafuti, Tuvalu
Position: 00 28.164 N, 174 53.788 E (cut & past this into Google Earth to see on map)
SOG: (Speed Over Ground) 5.5 knots (sailing with Main, Jib & Stay sails))
COG: (Course Over Ground) 156 degrees True
Wind: 14-22 knots NE Apparent (wind as felt by sails)
Seas/Swell: 3m @ 6 seconds out of NE
Air temp: 86.1F 30.1C
Sea temp: 83.7 F 28.7 C
Humidity: 72%
Barometer: 1014mm
Distance to Funafuti: 595nm
Distance last 24 hours: 133nm DAY #8:
About as perfect a day as you can dream to have out sailing or under any conditions. Linda and Ruby slept the whole night through without stirring and woke to a perfect morning of blue sky and sun feeling back to her usual happy and healthy self. After enjoying some time up in the cockpit and the great morning we were having, she then proceeded below to whip up a batch of “Muffets” a delicious combination of English muffins and crumpets fried up with some nummy New Zealand butter. Last night was another great night sail for me as we sliced silently through the water at 4 to 5 knots in 10-15 knots of wind out of the ENE and very calm seas. The moon came up and put in several appearances throughout the night as it danced in and around the scattered clouds up in the night sky. We did have one very small bit of rain about 3am so I closed up the hatches for about 15 minutes and then we were back to full flow mode of fresh sea breezes throughout the boat. It was calm enough and there is so little chance of any other boats being out here that I was able to put on the Radar perimeter alarm and grab several rounds of sleep for an hour or so as the night air wafted over me lying on the cockpit seats. The rest of the day was spent simply enjoying the ride, reading, listening to music, showering up on deck, eating, talking, and typing up some Emails. Another beautiful day at sea. It is now dark, the wind has been up a notch topping 20 knots at time and we are heeled over a bit more, about 20-25 degrees, as we “race” through the night at up to six knots at times. By sailing and Learnativity standards that is quite fast indeed. The only down side is that we are also approaching the equator, about 40nm away as I write this, and so we will unfortunately be crossing it in the dark of night in the wee hours this morning and I’m not sure if we will do our planned swim across the equator this time or not. However we most certainly WILL celebrate Linda’s graduation from a “Pollywog” to a “Shellback”, the former being the term given to those sailors who have not crossed the equator under sail. We will also be making the obligatory and grateful toast by tossing a few shots of some high quality rum overboard to Poseidon and King Neptune to give our thanks to them and ask for their blessings and watchful guidance as we continue to explore their oceans and seas. We’ll take some pictures of the whole equator crossing ceremony and post them for you once we get our next good internet connection. Stay tuned, the journey has just begun!! Linda, Wayne & Ruby the Wonderdog
Exploring the world one nautical smile at a time.
