Photo: Confident and slightly apprehensive at the same time, Kati drives Hekla at 12 knots in 17 knots true wind, while Zach catches rays.

What a morning! Glorious, idyllic trade wind conditions greet us today. The forecast called for variable 10 knots, but this is sailing! We are 700 miles from the equator and galloping towards the doldrums, but we'll take these conditions when we can get it. During previous days the crew hunched in the cabin, grumbling about the finicky autopilot, lack of sleep, hot cabin temperatures. Now we crowd the cockpit, relishing the fresh morning breeze. Last night was also marvelous, a clear sky studded with planets and stars, thankfully absent of squalls. Long turquoise trails of bioluminescence streamed aft of Hekla's hulls, while pillows of the same lumous graced wave tops all around.

We have collected a dozen or so flying fish and a handful of squid on the deck, and our first deep-sea fishing lure was lost to some sharp teeth. We try again.

All the best, Hekla and crew.