World ARC Yacht "Asolare" Leg 4, Day 12.

After two good sailing days of over 200 miles a day (415 in two days) we now have much reduced wind speeds of between 12 and 16 knots at 150 Deg. on the port quarter, giving us an apparent wind of only 7 to 11 knots. We are however making a respectable speed over the ground of between 7 and 8 knots as we also have about ½ knot of favourable current. Our weather Grib files show that we can expect a gradually diminishing wind all the way to the Marquesas, now 1079 miles away. In many ways we will be sorry to arrive as this passage has provided some exciting and beautiful sailing conditions, always being able to sail on the course you want to, a favourable current all the way, no more than a maximum of 22 knots of wind and no squalls. Although we always have a constant watch, day and night, we have not seen another vessel for days – the Pacific Ocean is HUGE – and we have only really begun crossing it!

No sailing photos today but we are going to fish later today as we now have enough space in our well stocked very large deep freeze to accommodate another large fish. So, hopefully a fish photo tomorrow!

Instead I attach a photo taken in the Galapagos Islands showing the remarkable variety of wild life there and the fact that Penguins happily live almost on the Equator!

Capt. Peter