Days at sea completed: 1

Distance sailed in the last 24 hours (nm): 140 Distance to go until French Polynesia, as the crow flies (nm): 2567

Average Wind Speed & Direction (knots) : NW 10-17 Sea Condition (ft): NW 3-5

--- See the map on our blog for our current location---

We had a very good first day at sea. Sailing out of Banderas bay we had a tight reach in 12 knots of wind, building to 18. That's a great angle for a bouncy but fast ride. Speeds were 8-9 knots for the first several hours and it was a bit like a bucking bronco ride!

As dinner approached, I put a reef in the sail and headed more downwind to make cooking and cleaning an easier experience. But, we still had to keep an eye on the condiments. Even though a cat sails flat, when there are waves, and we are moving fast, we really bound over the waves.

Overnight, the wind settled down to a nice 10 knots on the beam so I shook out the reef and let the boat cruise along quietly at 5-6 knots. Dee had her sleep shift from 8pm - 2am and I was in the sack from 2am to 8am. Both of us got some good sleep, which is a great way to start a passage.

This morning, the wind continues light in the 10 knot range. We expect to have light winds like this for another 24-48 hours. It is a little tight to sail the rumline toward the Marquesas so we are heading a little low of our ideal course. But, we know that when we reach the trade winds in a couple of days we will be able to get back on course.

No exciting ship dodging, but we do have two other Polynesia bound sailboats, Triton and Impulsive, within 20 miles of us. No whales, no flying fish, but hundreds of dolphins as an escort already.