04/02 Resilience. This is a bit what the theme these past two days have felt like. I only mostly kid. With Sunday having been Easter, understandably the whole island was shut down, as these islands have a thriving Christian culture, brought by the English in the late 1700s. With that in mind, we scheduled our diesel provisioning for the day after, only to learn that the fuel station was closed for yet another day. Thankfully, we were able to provision before the grocery stores closed early. After coming back to Taiohae this morning for fuel, we yet again found out things aren’t as easy as they might seem, as the electricity got cut at the fuel station and we were told to come back later. As of writing this, we still aren’t sure what’s going to happen. Along the theme of our trials and tribulations, our attempt to visit a local couple in a nearby bay yesterday to stock up on fruit proved futile, as they just happened to be visiting another side of the island that day and wouldn’t be back before sometime today, after we would have to leave. On a brighter note, our jaunt back to Taiohae brought a pod of dolphins over a dozen deep, leaping and dancing all about our bows. Oh, and 80 cents will get you a thick baguette as long as my arm. That’s certainly not all bad.

04/06 “Slow and steady wins the race” is today’s motto I’ve had to keep at the back of my mind. We are in full blown doldrums territory, and although we are still doing relatively well, I would love to replace these 3 knots of wind with yesterday’s 17. With such low wind comes with some motoring, though, which means plenty of power and plenty of fresh water. I just wrapped up my first shower in a week, and it really felt good. Although probably of little surprise, you really come to appreciate the little things in life while on a passage like this. Things like good food, generous rest, and plentiful storytelling. Earlier this afternoon we spotted a squall headed our direction, and we all eagerly awaited it, knowing that it would bring rain and with that, a chance to cool off and clean up. Unfortunately, as is what happens when one is prepared, we sailed too fast and the cloud passed behind us, leaving us still hot, sweaty, and thirsty. As of writing this this evening, the sun has just set and we are almost totally surrounded by little squall clouds and rain, but only time can tell if we are lucky enough to hit any or not.

04/10 We’re back in the trade winds! It feels awfully good to finally be moving again, albeit life at the moment is a little rough. Ever since the equator, we’ve had a sizable swell pick up, and with the current 20 knots from the beam means a shaky ride. Being that I reside in the forward cabin, while attempting to sleep at night I often find myself partially airborne and shaken about like a rag doll in a washing machine. Any little thing takes many more times the effort and concentration, and we're often dancing around the cockpit and saloon in an attempt at getting around while a wave pitches our balance in the opposite direction.

04/11 Despite this rough and constant weather, one thing that hasn’t changed is that we are certainly eating well on this passage. Our plan for dinner today was to prepare some calamari, and just like that last night we had three squid manage to make it on board, almost as if they knew. With this weather too we are scaring up quite the number of flying fish, often all jumping out of the water 20 or 30 at a time, with often times several landing on deck or even down below through a hatch. Ever since the equator we have had incredibly bright bioluminescence, and with the current weather I have discovered bioluminescent whitecaps, which was quite the experience. Yesterday was a near 220 mile day, and with less than 600 miles to Hawaii the rest of this passage should be quick work.

04/12 Things set on the cabin table jump in the air as a wave smacks the bottom of the bridge deck. Water drips down onto my mattress as yet another wave breaks over the bow. The monotony of this passage is starting to set in, certainly exacerbated by these tumultuous conditions we have been stuck in since the equator. Although good for speed, comfort is at an all time low, and the constant, unpredictable movement of the boat makes productivity both difficult and undesirable. We are wrapping up our third over 200 mile day, and even with a double reefed main and reefed Solent we are still maintaining an easy 9 knots, with pushing 12 down the faces of waves. With such conditions as well, dry spots are few and far between on this boat, as even a well protected cockpit can only fare so well, and a couple big crashing waves still find themselves seeping into the cabin. Just a little over two days to Oahu.