The stars were incredible last night. I stared up at them as long as my neck would allow, trying to ingrain them into my memory. The bright pink sunrise that came after was just the icing on the cake.

We spent the day sailing toward our destination using our main and jib; the exhausting days of motoring in the sweltering heat and constant headsail changes a distant memory. Only 350 miles to go! 

After crossing the equator, we were added to a group chat of boats that departed Panama/Galapagos around the same time as us. The group is predominantly smaller monohulls that only carry a fraction of the fuel that we have, so it’s been interesting to hear about their experiences drifting for days on end through the doldrums. Most of them are far behind us, but I’ve found myself paying more attention to their updates as we near Hiva Oa, cheering them on, knowing now that it gets easier. The wind will come. 

Our proximity to land is starting to sink in. I spoke with an agent about the check-in process today and tracked down the bottle of champagne I stashed away for our arrival so I wouldn’t forget to put it in the fridge. ~2 more days… We’ve almost done it! 

We ate dinner together in the cockpit and discussed generator alternatives for future long passages. The sea state has calmed down, but not enough to run the watermaker, and without the weight of the generator up front, we could carry twice as much water. The boat work never ends, but we wouldn’t have it any other way!