Ceviche and squalls

Making fast progress today close reaching in 13 to 15 kts of wind but have reefed down a bit to back things a bit more comfortable onboard as the seas have built up somewhat throughout the day. The latest GRIBs show this is the expected weather until the Marquesas. The squalls seem to be done for the night so will likely shake out a reef when go back on deck.

Johnathan and I did a sun and moon sight yesterday with the intention of doing the sight reduction and plotting today but conditions have not been ideal for sitting at the chart table doing the math. Our noon sight however turned out well and put us reasonably close to our GPS position.

As Liz notes below, the ceviche was very tasty and we are all looking forward to more tomorrow ... Will likely put the fishing lines back into the water tomorrow. Our rig is very simple. Strong line (about 250 lb test) onto a bungee backed up to a cleat. For a lure we use normally use a cedar plug but the marlin was caught using a flying fish I found on deck. We have not even bothered using the gaff to bring the fish up but rather just pull them over the side. If we catch anything bigger than the marlin we will have to start using the gaff as the marlin was rather a struggle to land.

Max

Greetings!

Today was rolly! Winds were light this morning, so we thought of putting up our asymmetric, but by the time we got ready, they came up and stayed up throughout the day and the evening, so no asymmetric - in fact we currently have 2+ reefs in the sails, and it has been bumpy throughout the night.

There were lots of squalls moving overhead during what should have been the dinner hour, so marlin, rice, and corn had to wait until after dark. We are teaching the kids to use the radar - they now both know how to change the range, and how to tell us the bearing and distance to a squall (the rain shows up as a bright spot on the radar).

We made "on-passage ceviche" for lunch - ie I cut some of the fresh marlin into little cubes, cured it in lime juice (limes wrapped in foil are doing really well), and then lacking any of the other ingredients (fresh tomatoes, fresh cilantro; we had onions), I drained the lime juice and added a can of salsa to the fish (it has most of the same ingredients). It was actually so tasty that I had an order to make it again, and to make more of it tomorrow!

So - a short note for tonight, as some sleep is in order! We are down to ~400 miles to go, but we are not there yet, and if these conditions keep up, Neptune will keep us on our toes until we are anchored! Bottom line - we are all well, we are looking after each other, the kids are finding creative ways to spend their time (they spent much of today tying various lines into various knots), and we are doing our best to stay rested and on top of the constant pressure of "crew fatigue".

Love to all (and Happy Mothers' Day as applicable),
Elizabeth
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At 5/11/2014 10:14 AM (utc) Fluenta's position was 05°36.00'S 134°01.00'W

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