It is noon on Friday in this part of the world and we are having a great passage. We expect to arrive in Noumea, New Caledonia early tomorrow morning.
The scale and power of big seas are always amazing and make for good stories, but the opposite is equally incredible. For 24 hrs the seas have been nearly flat calm. Looking out in all directions all the way to the horizon and seeing only slight ripples on the surface seems impossible. When I came back on watch at 0400 this morning I could see the reflections of the stars on the water's surface. I turned off all the external lights and we ran in darkness with the stars above and the bioluminescence in our wake marking our progress like pixy dust. Occasionally there would be a streak in the water as a fish left a track like a shooting star.
Just after sunset last night, two large boobies circled us and landed on the railing at the very bow of the boat. As our guides across the ocean, they were still there at sunrise, when they both woke up, stretched their wings, and flew off for breakfast. On this passage, with calm seas, we get to appreciate the little things.
477 nautical miles with the Pacific Ocean living up to it's name and our boat running perfectly with only a distant hum. This is what we dream of.
E
