DAY 18 STRANGE CREATURES

DAY 18 STRANGE CREATURES only 290 nautical miles to go

POSITION 08D45.633s 133D38.206w

Overall we have made very good progress today. Apart from 1 hour when the wind dropped off we have seen 15-25 knots. During the night Faraway achieved a top speed of 9.8 knots. The sea is very rough and we are finding it hard going. Simple tasks are a struggle. We are starting to notice bruises in strange places. Some are from being knocked others are from resting against the same point for too long. At night when we lie in the cockpit we have to wedge ourselves against the edge. This has become difficult as the points of contact are generally the areas of bruising.

We were entertained at sunrise by a very large school of creatures. We have now identified them as Pygmy Orca's-something we have never seen before. They entertained us for an hour riding the bow wave and racing up the swell that was crashing onto our port side.

We are starting to see many birds now which generally means that land is near. We are still hoping to arrive in Hiva Oa on day 20. We will be arriving on a weekend so customs and immigration will be closed. Luckily we have been told that as long as we raise our Q flag then we are free to go ashore. Then we will check in on Monday. As soon as we have set a good anchor we are going for a looooooooong walk.

1 big fish