500 Miles To Go!

Actually, as I write this, 475....
We cannot tell a lie, we are getting exhausted. The last week or so has seen wind from the east and south east, which is great because it pushes us along toward our destination (Hiva Oa). However, along with the steady winds have come some crazy swells and wind waves which have caused the crew here on Blowin' Bubbles to get almost no sleep.

The problem seems to be that some swells are traveling west and others northwest, and a few southwest... In other words, we are getting tossed around like a cork! During the day, that is ok, but when you are constantly being tossed from your bunk, you tend to get very little sleep...

Yesterday, also brought us another small disaster. We added some fuel from some of our deck jerry cans to the main fuel tank, and spilled a small amount (no surprise there!) When Shelley and Christina were cleaning it up using our deck wash hose, the pipe under the deck broke and stated spewing seawater into our foc'le which is where we have all our tools and spare parts.

By the time the bilge alarm when off, everything was drenched! We then spent the next 3 hours drying everything off and spraying it with WD-40 in hopes of keeping the rust (which is sure to come) at bay.

At the time we were also making water, so didn't know exactly where the problem was for a few frightening minutes...

Speaking of making water. We use our main engine to run the compressor that makes our fresh water from salt water. Unfortunately, a few weeks ago we discovered a broken bracket in one of the engine motor mounts. So now we ONLY use the engine to make water. We won't run it in gear until we try to anchor. The bracket looks like a simple part, so hopefully we can get it replaced soon.

All is not horrible on board! In spite of the rough conditions Shelley and Christina have been making us some wonderful meals! Except for a few potatoes and onions, we no longer have any fresh veggies, but that does seem to make our meals any less awesome.

We are on Day 29 at sea. We have traveled 3500 miles since leaving Panama City on April 12th. So far we have averaged 5.0 knots or 120 nautical miles per day. If that holds, we should be in in the next 4 days or so!

We will post again, hopefully with pictures when we arrive!

Cheers!

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