The longest passage we are ever likely to make starts sometime today or tomorrow. Around Noon. Either Day. You might be surprised at my less than specific start time, since usually I will say something like 0800 as the start time. However a passage of 2978 Nautical Miles does not benefit from a specific early hour or late in the day start time. In round numbers it will take around 438 hours assuming we can maintain an average speed of 6.8 knots. In case you are not real good at math that is about 18 days. A little perspective may be beneficial, we raise the anchor, set the sails and head out. About 4 hours after that happens we will no longer be able to see the Galapagos. There is nothing but South Pacific Ocean until we reach Hiva Oa in the Marquesas Islands. No islands, no rocks, probably no ships or airplanes, nothing but us, a small boat, the Sun, mostly a big Moon and a Heaven full of stars. That is the best part.
Since there are three watch standers we will have plenty of time to do other stuff. We could read, or play cards or we could learn to speak French. Charlene downloaded a program that will teach us French (assuming we follow the instructions)and though learning French has never been at the top of my to do list my recent experience with the inability to communicate much in Spanish suggests learning the language of the native population is a good thing. The only problem I have is ever since I flunked Latin in the 8th grade I have had a difficult time with languages. The other thing I really want to learn is Celestial Navigation. Since that is a subject based on mathematics I just might be able to do it. Some might say why bother with Celestial Navigation, it is akin to becoming really proficient in Latin. With all the electronic gadgets, like GPS and Chart Plotters who needs to know how to figure out where they are on the planet based on the location of the Sun and some stars.
Well, that is sort of a belt and suspenders thing. Either will hold up your pants, but if you only had one or the other and the one you had failed where do your pants go? In the grand scheme of things I would rather my pants fall down than not have a clue as to my whereabouts on the planet. Especially when all you can see is ocean.
So it is a long passage,in fact it is one of the longest passages one can make without an opportunity to stop someplace. Though unlikely to be boring or without adventure, and certainly filled with learning opportunities we expect the South East trade winds to do their thing and move us along smartly.
As is my custom I will attempt to write a blog post once every day, since 18 days could pose a challenge to my mental capacity to write 18 stimulating,funny and incitefull posts be patient. Guaranteed to be worth the wait if there is one....more later