Well we survived our first week at sea! And we celebrated with a healthy ration of the ship's grog (some cane sugar alcohol we found in Mexico that we thought was mezcal - it was about $2 for 2 litres..). The passage started out great. Beautiful sunny skies, calm seas, it was literally smooth sailing! With ten knots of wind it was perfect spinnaker weather and we were making great time. On the first day, we attracted a few sea birds that decided the top of the main mast was a good spot for a break. After fighting over landing rights for awhile they eventually discovered the top of the mizzen mast. And the bow rail. And the stern rail. Eventually we had a total of 11 birds using Candine as a perch and several more circling the boat. All was fine until we realized how much bird shit was all over the decks and it was time for them to go. The weather was so pleasant for the first few days that we were able to lift the bow of the dinghy and open the forward hatch which greatly contributed to the airflow down below. It is definitely hot out here and the extra air was very welcome! We even thought about a quick jump in the ocean to cool down, but considering the water temperature out here is 29 degrees, we didn't think that would be much relief. By day four the wind picked up to 20-25 knots and the seas grew as well. Nothing crazy, and we have still been having a great sail, but every so often we get a wave over the side and in to the cockpit. We've all taken turns getting doused, including Myst. It took two days before she would come back in the cockpit. In addition to the birds, we have been treated to a few visits from dolphins, and seen flying fish flutter about above the water. On my watch last night, once the sun was down and before the moon was up, I heard a thud followed by the sound of flopping around in the cockpit. I ran down below as far as my tether would allow and grabbed a flashlight. Apparently a rather large flying fish had misjudged its voyage and found its way into the cockpit. It was a good 8 inches long, the biggest flying fish I'd ever seen! Anyways, Tim decided he didn't want to fry it up for dinner so he tossed it back into the ocean. Well we're expecting this wind to keep up for another day before we hit the doldrums and cross the Equator. Currently, we're sailing along at 5.5 knots in 20 knots of wind on the beam and as always, the autopilot is our hardest working crew member. All in all it's been a pleasant voyage thus far, but we still have many miles to go! Just under 2000 nautical miles and a few more weeks at sea before we reach Easter Island!