As I write it is day three. So far so good. It has been Caribbean bumpy with short, sharp seas, but the wind has stayed in the 11-14kt range since we started and we are currently belting along at 7.5kts on a broad reach with a poled out Genoa and a full main. We have the entire sea to ourselves, horizon to horizon, the fridge is full of fish and we have had hot showers, all before breakfast. What more could you ask for?

We have never had much luck trolling for fish enroute so we decided to make more effort. When we found this huge patch of sargussum weed we took the sails down (a tough call when you are going well), started the engine and started to make passes over the Lee end of the patch. We made nine passes in all and caught a fish on every pass. Seven Amberjacks and two tuna. All perfectly sized for easy processing and going on the barbeque. We only stopped when the fridge was full and I tired of being covered in gore.

We have 24hrs to go but the trip is already long enough to get past the early watch keeping fatigue and start to settle into the passage-making rhythm, just as our more experienced friends, Jeff and Molly, hoped we would. At 400nm it is a tiny passage (Galapagos to The Marquesas is 2,800nm.....) but this is a big deal for us. We were not at all sure we would cope with constant watches and the fatigue of short-handed sailing but we are feeling WAY better about it now. As an added bonus Janaki has not had to take any seasickness pills despite considerable motion. All good.

It is also interesting being so far from others. We saw a couple of cargo vessels and one cruise ship in the distance yesterday but today we have the visible world, and probably a good chunk more, entirely to ourselves and very nice it is too.

I will post this once we get to Bonaire, hopefully tomorrow morning.