Distance to go: lots. still not thinking about it.
Conditions: broad reaching in 12 knots
We're legging out our distance from land and are feeling very in touch with the vast expanse that is the Pacific. With nothing but water as far as we can see, it sometimes feels like we're just a waterbug on the mountainous ripples of ocean swells.
What a pleasant surprise it was, then, to encounter s/v Escapade on our second day out. They left about 8 hours ahead of us on the morning of April 1st, and we ended up in visual range at midday on the 2nd- given the square miles we are traversing, it is nothing short of remarkable that this occurred. We had fun catching up over the radio, then signed off to continue our near-pass. Not long after, Escapade hailed us again- they'd caught a 30 lb yellowfin tuna. The big fish was more than Jim and Brendan could eat and store, so they asked- did we want any? Heck yes!
A boat-to-boat transfer was arranged. They slowed farther, we powered up and went toward them, then we stood off and watched as the swells played with our bobbing vessels and wondered how to safely get close enough. The solution in the end was to practice the long toss with goods in a ziploc bag. Slabs of tuna came flying into our cockpit, and we sent a bag with slices of pound cake skittering across their dodger.
What a feast we had! Lunch was delicious sashimi- it really doesn't get much fresher than that. The children requested ramen noodles, with slices of tuna quickly "cooked" when placed on top of a steaming bowl. We had tuna steaks for dinner tonight- sesame seed crusted, and seared for about a minute. It melts in your mouth and is a little bit of pure heaven. Siobhan calls it "sushimi", we call it delicious.
It's unlikely we'll see another boat from the fleet until we arrive. Our friends on Capaz are not far away- we followed their masthead light last night- but VHF radio and visual range are quickly lost. The daily radio nets become even more important, as a time to catch up with friends and report in to the fleet.
------------------------------------------------
Posted via radio: we have no internet access