We reached the halfway point right at the 2200 change of watch Monday night- exactly 1468 miles from Santa Cruz and exactly 1468 miles to Hiva Oa. Our halfway cake will have to wait for breakfast, as this halfway point crept up on us! We thought it would be later overnight.

So, 1500 miles and nine and a half days out, we are in pretty good shape. We have more that 3/4 of the water we started with, haven't used any fuel since leaving Academy Bay, our batteries are close to fully charged, and we still have enough fresh vegetables that I could make ratatouille for dinner tonight with Santa Cruz eggplants, onions, and zucchini. Vegetable management at this point means “cook the stuff today that would start rotting by the end of the day tomorrow.” We still have some firm cucumbers, carrots, green peppers, and, of course, cabbages, onions, and potatoes.

A fifth boat on our Marquesas email group is not faring as well apparently, Stella Maris is another German boat; they are friends of the Invictus crew, and sailed straight from Panama for the Marquesas. Nearly thirty days out, their generator doesn't work, their batteries are low, and they are out of fresh water. But they hope to arrive in two days. Thank goodness we have no generator, have just enough solar and water power to keep the batteries charged, and did not count on the water maker!

This crew is suffering a little from lack of human companionship (present company excepted, of course). We still haven't seen any boats or planes since putting Isla Isabela over the horizon. I am super focused on keeping the boat sailing and on course, Robin is a little less directly engaged in navigation. While we were happy enough to spend COVID isolation together in a cabin in the mountains two years ago, there was internet and zoom and outdoor greeting of friends there. Unlimited texts on our satellite hookup is not quite the same thing, though the instant communication from a sailboat at sea is a marvel.

I just hand steered for the first two hours of my night watch for the sheer joy of it
�" piloting my ship in a sea of shimmering stars, single reefed on a hissing reach in a fresh breeze. The Milky Way makes an arch to steer through, and I thoroughly lost track of time, not wanting to drop the wheel to be able to look at my watch in the dark. But I sensed it was time for the midnight logbook entry, so here I am.