The wind slowed down yesterday afternoon an completely died about 5 AM. We have been motor-sailing since then. Only about $4/hour for diesel, HA! I shouldn't complain I guess, at least we have it.
One more failure....I have a dripless packing gland on the main propeller shaft. It is a deal with some O-rings and a hose that drips oil in between them to keep them lubricated and slipping free, but keeps the water out. Well, one of the O-rings must have failed, cause there is salt water filling the little oil reservoir and running over. It is only a dribble now, as long as the other O-ring holds up. Then it may be a little bigger drip. Oh well, the bilge pumps are still fine! I will have to get
some O-rings and fix it. I don't have the instructions for it so I don't know what size to get yet. Maybe when we get to Tahiti and can research on the internet again.
One more thing for the "20 20 Hind Sight" book...the reservoir was installed inside a storage bin which we very seldom have a need to look in, so I forget to check the oil level regularly.
The water is unbelievably blue today. It is supposed to be around 2000 feet deep, but is is extremely clear. I guess that's why they call this "blue water cruising".
We made beans and cornbread today, and got hungry and ate it at 10 instead of waiting for lunch. With all the time changes, we seem to be having a little trouble getting our bodies to catch up. It was 3 1/2 hours earlier in the marquesas and it is another 1/2 hour earlier now, -10 hours from Zulu. Here the sky starts getting light about 5:30 and dark about 6:00. Twilight doesn't last long at all.
We have been looking at the stars some. I had not noticed the Southern Cross before. I didn't realize that there is no south pole star like the North star. I should have memorized the constellations sometime. The one book I have, "Emergency Navigation" doesn't really teach them much, but expects one already knows them.
No Fish, not even a bite.
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