Well yesterday was an interesting one. We crossed into the East and over the date line. From being 1740 hours on Monday 8 January it became 1740 hours on Tuesday 9 January. We lost a day and are now sailing in the East rather than the West. Bud and Andy changed the oil on the 2 engines yesterday ... a hot process as the engine room is hot (45°C or 113°F) and outside air temperature is 81°F. We are now only 10 degrees above the equator. Janice did the laundry and finally, while running the generator we made water. A few days ago Bud BBQ'd a big piece of beef (called a Santa Maria Tri Tip). This has fed us well for a few days, the last 2 days Andy has cooked stir fry to finish it off.

We are making much better progress on this leg of the trip compared to the one from Monterrey. This time we have the trade winds with us and for the same fuel burn per day (250 litres per day) we are travelling 170nm instead of 110nm, so despite being a motor boat, it is still very dependent on a favourable wind and waves direction.

Today Bud washed the windows to remove some of the salt and while doing so he came across a Flying Fish dead on the deck. Bud normally uses these for BIG fish bait, fixing their wings out like the photo with Satay sticks to help with catching the Marlin or Tuna. They however look cuter flying often managing 100m or so, in a single flight sometimes doing multiple jumps. Yesterday we spoke with a Korean fishing vessel, the first vessel we have seen in 6 days, the Pacific is one big empty place! No whales, just a half dozen or so birds a day, and a few flying fish

PICTURE : Bud holding the flying fish, they cover a long distance out of the water, some fly straight and some change direction