The full moon rises early in the sky behind us, a faint
silver disc in the blistering afternoon sun, glowing brighter as the sun fades,
then rising high in the cloudless night sky and casting a shimmering light over
the surface of the sea. This is the
first night of our Pacific crossing and it will take some time to adjust being
back on the ocean.
The start in Santa Cruz was spectacular. Sixteen yachts all
crossing the line together on a beam reach, then once clear of the reef, bursts
of colour around the fleet as spinnakers were set for the broad reach southwest
to find the wind. Everyone made it to the start line, but for some it was only
just. Over the past few weeks the gossip
has all been about crew. The first crew
to leave the rally cited insurmountable differences on one of the catamarans
and departed in Panama. However
at the last minute, only yesterday, two crewmembers jumped ship from another
yacht, allowing Barry to make the start, but leaving Stefan shorthanded. Andrew
incites further mutiny by organising a crew supper, owners expressly excluded,
to discuss the issues of being guests on board in confined spaces for long
periods of time. We sympathise, but not all owners approve and Andrew has to
buy drinks to smooth ruffled feathers.
The other issue that almost prevented boats from starting
were engineering problems. We all have
niggles to deal with from time to time but some boats have had bigger issues to
resolve. Wayward Wind had engineers come
on board last week to remove the cylinders from their engine for repair; only
to hear on Monday that the parts had been sent to mainland Ecuador, returning
late last night when the engine was reassembled only hours before the start. On
Afar VI their generator has been playing up for weeks so a new part was ordered
from the UK and fitting began yesterday. Thanks to the assistance of the
ever-helpful Andy, on Pentagram, the job was finally completed in the dark
yesterday evening and the generator started first kick, so happy faces at the
Rock café this morning at checkout.
After a magnificent start this morning the wind has died,
and with a long swell running from the south, we have had to start the engine.
The forecast tells us that the trade winds are at around 4 degrees south, two
hundred miles south of our position, but first we have to cross the Doldrums
again.
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