South Pacific Ocean
23 28.2S/134 24.4W
41 nm east of Mangareva Island
What little wind there has been was astern most of the night, and we have been motoring at low RPM and a boat speeed of about 6.2 - 6.5 knots. Even at low RPM burning about 1.5 GPH, we will have used over 60 gallons of diesel to get here, which tranlates into 12 jerry jugs, all transported via dinghy. Overall, we can bunker nearly 200 gallons, and refilling our tanks will take the better part of a day or more - if we can find enough fuel.
Swells are now beginning to size up, and are 8 -10 feet from the SW, and 4 feet from the ENE. They are still developing and not yet consistent however. We will be safely inside the reef surrounding the Gambier Archipeligo by noon today and they will not be much of a nuisance.
Sea conditions precluded fishing most of the way to Pitcairn, but we put lines out yesterday. We hooked a large fish, but it lost the hook and got away. This was probably a good thing as the fish jumped once and was clearly large. The singing of the line also suggested that it was quite strong too, and would have been a handfull to land and bring on board. It was too far to see whether it was a bill fish or not...all I know is that it was large, silver, and could high jump with the best of them. I put out the lines again with sun up this morning, as we would like to catch a few more meals before we go inside the reef for a few weeks.
We have either been out at sea in bouncy conditions, or anchored in exposed "harbors" for much of the last 6 weeks or so. We all look forward to Mangareva, with it's sheltered lagoon and quiet harbor. A sense of stillness and calm will feel very good.
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