Another gorgeous morning in the Pacific with a fresh breeze on the beam. We sailed through the night with our parasail to a waypoint we marked as the final westing point which means we no longer need to head due west. From here we turn South West and straight to Hiva Oa in the Marquesas. We should be sailing a beam reach the whole way.

But before we charge down to the finish which is now less than 1000nm away we are currently bobbing around waiting for Dragonfly who have torn the headsail. In fairness though I think they have been waiting for us more than we have for them so fair is fair. It happened overnight and none of the tape they are using is sticking so are waiting for a little sun to dry it out. This is a real disaster because the next 4-5 days till the finish requires the headsail to be the workhorse. Hoping they work it out.

So what the latest on the squid conspiracy? Last night Delphine and I setup hidden night camera to try and catch the little rascals in their trick. We positioned the camera in the area we have seen the most squid over the past week. We tested the camera and even turned on our deck light to try get better view. Well these guys are like aliens, they find a way to avoid detection and the few that did board our boat last night for their final moments alive chose areas we have never seen them before. Another 2 on the flybridge but only 3 on the main decks. And most importantly NONE where the camera was set up. So we will try again tonight to try capture the secrets on the Lemming Squids.

Yesterday Delphine conjured up a Thai squid salad from all the squid I collected. In total we collected 43 yesterday alone. I must say for some reason I was dubious about things which die on your deck but these were delicious and we haven’t died yet so full credit to my brave wife.

Update on the water pump. I wanted to write this and say it was a wonderful success and in fairness it is but the back story is interesting. Back in Cartagena, Columbia I was trying to fix this pump but didn’t have the correct seal kit so we ordered it and later received it in Panama. But the pump was in bad shape so we found a technician in Cartagena to repair the pump and he assured me all was well. However, when we tested it there was still a small leak but we were leaving and vowed to have a closer look later. Anyway, when I dissembled the pump yesterday and took it apart I found that the cheeky guy had not used the correct seal kits and had jimmied a way to make it work temporarily. Pretty annoying but certainly part of the package when cruising the world. Anyway, put the new seal kit on and all was well yesterday but after running the water maker again this morning we found another small leak. Hopefully this is different and easy to fix but I won’t tackle until we get there. I have brought extra reserve water and will use this over the next 4-5 days. What is the old adage? Fail to plan and you must plan to faiI. Or something like this.

That’s all for today. It’s pretty out here and we can smell home. I am eager to raise all the sails and dash for the finish but know all too well that most accidents happen in the last mile so will stay vigilant and cautious. I feel very blessed to have an awesome family and doing what I love. Life couldn’t be better.

Love to all.