We have now been at sea for three days, and just started our fourth. Slowly and steadily we are eating mile after mile, and so we are adding to the distance from our starting point, the Galapagos, while we are getting closer to French Polynesia being our destination.

For the last three days we have put behind us exactly 500 nautical miles. Our first destination on the voyage to Tahiti is Nuku Hiva, an atoll in Polynesia. At departure we had 3,000 nautical miles to go, so in this moment we have done about 16% of the leg.

We started out by moving just by engine, later a combination of sail and engine, and now that we have reached the wind belt south of the Equator we are running just by sails. The wind is brisk with a direction giving us a little push from behind, and the last 24 hours we have been keeping an average on the good side of 10 knots.

Only one little problem we have right now, is that the direction of sailing combined with the powerful heat, has put our hydraulic autopilot on overtime, and the last day or so the steering has been manual. A man (or woman) at the wheel at all times.

We are quite alone out here. Actually, we have not seen a single ship since departure and we don't really expect to see any. The reason is that our route is so far from the commercial traffic, and the wind belt we are sailing in is only interesting to sailing vessels with a western course. Meaning that the ships we are most likely to meet, will be ships with the same course as us, but either slower so we can overtake them or faster, so we are the ones being overtaken.

When we left the harbor we had company from a lot of sea birds of different kinds, but as we progress further and further away from shore, it is thinning in both numbers and species. The visits are becoming more and more seldom, and now it is only the real ocean birds left, the ones who live their whole lives at sea, and there are just few.

On the other hand we are observing lots of life under the surface of the sea. The flying fish are jumping around the boat in big schools, entertaining us for hours. We are equipped with fishing gear that actually has been put to use constantly in the hours of daylight since departure, though without any success. What the fisherman on board hasn't been able to provide, weather and winds have taken care of to some extinct. The brisk wind and the waves throwing several little squids on deck, actually so many that we have been collecting them to make a little round of snacks. And as I am writing, I can hear reports from on deck that a flying fish has landed, and Frederik is standing by with the frying pan to check if they are edible ;-)

Did I forget to mention our new friends, the Dolphins?

We have been aware of their presence all the time, as they every now and then show up in the distance hunting their food, actually so far away that some of us have doubted it was even dolphins. But then last night just before sunset we got the final proof. This time we weren't talking about dolphins hunting, but a school of very playful ones, jumping around the ship for a long time, both around the bow and the stern, one of us thought to have observed hundreds. Either way there were a lot of them, and all cameras on board (there are a lot) were in use to later document that it wasn't all fantasy.

In other words, we are talking about a crew who the last couple of days has gained a real experience, who with smiles on their faces are sending a greeting back to those reading our blog, following our every day on the voyage across the Pacific.

Report by Bosun Bertram:

206 nautical miles in 24 hours. An amazing average of 8.6 that even seems sloppy, since the log has been above 10 knots for the last many hours. We are doing a course of 255 pretty much directly on Nuku Hiva. The high pressure that started out ruining our trade winds, have left us with perfect conditions sailing at full speed right out on the ocean! Initially we would have turned south earlier, but staying here in the top of the trade winds allows us to go south whenever we prefer to give us the best angle at the easterly winds we are expecting.

As Egon mentions, we are experiencing some trouble with our autopilot. Usually in waves rolling in from the aft quarter, Helmuth, our name for the pilot, is having trouble. So right now we are confident that as soon as the seas change, he should be back with us. Until then we are forced to steer the 45-ton steel boat through the waves at 10 knots. An incredible feeling!

Local time on board is 13:40 and our current position is 4,6.1S , 98,31.60W.

Translation: 

Situationsrapport fra “Oceans Of Hope”.

Vi har nu vaeret I soen I 3 dogn og har taget hul paa 4 dogn. Stille og roligt aeder vi somil efter somil, og paa den maade oeger afstanden til vores afgangssted Galapagos samtidig med at vi mindsker distancen til Fransk Polynesien som jo er vores maal.

Helt noejagtigt har vi I lobet ef de 3 dogn tilbagelagt over 500 somil,  vores forste maal undervejs til Tahiti er Nuku Hiva, en atol i Polynesien. Ved afsejlingen var der ca 3000 somil, sa vi har paa nuvaerende tidspunkt tilbagelagt ca 16 % af straekningen.

Vi lagde ud med at sejle for ren motorkraft, senere blev det til en blanding af sejl og motor og nu hvor vi er kommet ned I vindbaeltet syd for aekvator er det blevet til ren sejlfoering. Vinden er frisk  og med en retning der giver os et lille skub bagi, det sidste doegns tid har vi kunnet holde en gennemsnitsfart paa den gode side af 10 knob.

Eneste lille problem vi har lige nu er at sejlretningen I kombination med den kraftige varme har sat vores hydrauliske styremaskine paa overarbejde, det sidste doegns tid er styringen forgaaet manuelt, altsaa med en mand ved roret konstant.

Vi er ret alene herude, faktisk har vi ikke set et eneste skib siden afsejlingen, og forventer egentlig heller ikke at se nogen. Aarsagen er at vores rute ligger langt fra den kommercielle skibstrafik, og at vindbaeltet vi sejler I kun er interessant for vinddrevne baade  med kurs mod vest, det betyder at de mest sandsynlige skibe vi evt. Moeder vil vaere skibe med same kurs som os, men enten langsommere saa vi kan overhale dem, eller hurtigere saa det er os der bliver overhalet.

Da vi sejlede fra havnen havde vi folgeskab af masser af soefugle af forskellig art, efterhaanden som vi kommer laengere og laengere fra land tynder det ud bade I antal og I arter, besoegene bliver mere og mere sjaeldne og nu er der kun de rigtige sofugle som lever hele deres liv til havs tilbage, og kun ganske faa af dem.

Til gengaeld kan vi observere masser af liv under havoverfladen. Flyvefiskene springer rundt om skibet I store flokke, og underholder os I timevis. Vi er udstyret med fiskegrej som faktisk har vaeret I brug uafbrudt I dagtimerne siden afsejlingen, dog uden den store succes, hvad fiskeren ombord ikke har kunnet levere, har vind og vejr til gengaeld klaret í et vist omfang, den friske vind og soen har kastet adskillige smaa blaeksprutter op paa vores daek, faktisk saa mange at vi har kunnet samle dem op og lavet en lille omgang snacks af dem, I skrivende stund bliver der fra daekket rapporteret om flyvefisk som er landet landet pa skibet og Frederik staar klar med stegepanden for at undersoege om de er rimelig spiselige ;-)

Glemte jeg at naevne  vores nye venner Delfinerne ?

Vi har hele tiden vaeret bevidste om deres tilstedevaerelse, da de af og til er dukket op paa lang afstand I deres jagt paa foede, faktisk pa saa stor afstand saa flere af os har varet I tvivl om det nu ogsaa var delfiner, I gaar kort foer solnedgang fik vi det endelige bevis. Her var der ikke tale om delfiner som var paa jagt efter foede, men en flok der var virkelig legesyge og tumlede rundt om skibet I lang tid, saavel I bovvand som kolvand, en enkelt af os mente endda at kunne observere flere hundrede af dem, under alle omstaendigheder var der I hvert fald tale om et stort antal, og samtlige kameraer ombord ( Der er mange ) blev brugt flitigt til senere dokumentation af at vores oplevelser ikke kun er fri fantasi.

Det er med andre ord en besaetning der de sidste dage har faaet en paa opleveren, som med et stort smil om mundene sender en hilsen til de som laeser bloggen og foelger med I vores dagligdag paa turen over Stillehavet.