Well we are about 1/3 of the way to the Marquesas and are rocking and ROLLING down the Tradewinds, especially on a port tack; and on the starboard tack, one has to be careful opening the few cupboards we neglected to put nets onto. We have had regular visitations from a variety of birds (albatross, petrels and shearwaters) and a pod of Pantropical Spotted Dolphins. One light wnd day, Ted had a running battle with a Layson Albatross, who thought our DuoGen was the perfect perch; he got quite indignant when Ted put it back in the water. We later found our solar panels had been targeted and surmise it was payback! On Day 7 there was no wind in the pre-dawn, so Ted rolled up the sails and climbed into bed. When we awoke, the sea was like glass, we just couldn't resist a mid-ocean swim - LOVELY! Yes, Mum and Dad and daughters, we did trail a floating line so we could stay attached to the boat. We have been within VHF range of our friends on Code Blue for much of the crossing , and it has been really nice to chat daily. We have also enjoyed having our new Delorme In-Reach; we are able to send our daily position, as well as send and receive text messages. We really look forward to your comments - keep them coming.

There have been a few equipment challenges, first our fridge, and then the Chartplotter. We had recharged the fridge just prior to departing, but it still appears to be leaking, so Ted needed to add more coolant to the system. On the evening of Day 7, our chartplotter started flashing on and off, and would not respond - luckily we have full navigation programs on our iPads, although no radar or AIS. The next morning, Ted removed the old chartplotter and installed our spare (new) chartplotter; however, it quickly became obvious that it was not working properly either! Ted called Raymarine and we got instructions for a factory re-set. We tried it on the new one....NO IMPROVEMENT! So Ted re-installed the original one and tried the re-boot...HALLELUJAH, it is working just fine!! This still leaves us without a working spare, but we will deal with that in French Polynesia.
Life is good on the high seas - this morning we ate fresh banana and blueberry pancakes with real maple syrup and bacon, while sailing along on crystal blue water and a sunny sky overhead. Wish you all could be here with us.