S 11° 20.965
E 169° 03.080

Today I don’t know really where to start writing nor do I have a title as before I start writing.

Since yesterday we really have some wind and are heading good up to our destination WPT. MaRe is not sailing fast but in the low wind areas she makes nautical miles good. One after the other.

At the beginning of my second night watch, while we still were up together for the short transition time, we saw already a huge low hanging black one in front of us. Radar showed the size and it was enormous! MaRe was well prepared for the onslaught. I prepared additionally some laundry detergent because I wanted to shower and wash my clothes in the rain this huge black one carries inside itself.

Then we were close enough and MaRe started feeling the wind. She accelerated wonderfully. As the sea was rather flat and not bumpy from old winds she smoothly plugged through the nightly sea. Squalls so far we’re very gently. Never winds above 20 KN. During last night it was the same. Maximum wind was only 19 KN.

When I stood at the railing and looked down at the fast flowing water, I had to recognize that I lost the feeling for MaRe’s speed potential. Last night she “only” ran with 8 KN maximum, and it felt incredible fast. Then I remembered the number of 12.6 KN after leaving NZ, and could not imagine the speed of the flowing water at her maximum speed.

Although MaRe sailed very fast through the squall, I was disappointed. Disappointed because the squall did not dump a drop of water on me wanting to shower. “Ok” I tought and was looking forward to the next squall just behind the first one. Frustration times two. Again no rain. To make it prefect I got also frustration number three. Three dry squalls.

At least MaRe made miles good. She told me, “I love these winds and want to have more of it.” “Well get some more. Please be patient!”, was my reply.

For the rest of the night she kept running with 2 – 4+ KN. A good speed considering the weak winds and her night dress.

She actually never complains about her night gown. She knows that I do for her safety.

Although I wanted to increase the main sail size shortly after 0500 when I was already daylight, I waited two hours more to give Tobi a bit more non-stop sleep. Then we changed the main to reef 1 to gain a bit more speed.

Tobi put the lure into the water hoping for a nice bit at trolling speeds of around only 3 KN. I was pottering around the boat tidying things up and looking for sail trim etc.

While I was still backing bread, Tobi started in the kitchen making banana pancakes for breakfast. All was calm and and nicely slow. But then he raced out of the galley to the fishing rod and started fighting. There was something on the hook. I took the fighting belt, gaff, and the pliers for the fish hook out, and got my harness ready. Next I tied the fighting belt around him so he could fight better with the fish at the far away end of the fishing line. Watch Tobi, I understood he has something bigger at the hook. Suddenly, Tobi asked me, “Switch off the gas”. I did and told him, “Done! “.

We were curious as to what he caught. The fish was jumping, but not a much as yesterday’s most likely marlin. We thought about a mahi-mahi. When Tobi hauled it in closer, we saw the golden green color of a bigger mahi-mahi.

I hooked in my harness and went down the transom to gaff it. Just in this moment the alarm to take my bread out of the oven, went off. On top of this, I had a bit of problems to get the gaff into is gills today. Finally it was secured and we pulled it up.

I could run for my bread.

The final killing was done using a very strong liquor I got years ago from a Slovenian couple in Croatia. As a dieing mahi-mahi changes is color it can be seen it dies quickly.

Sabine, a medical doctor, who sailed with me last year convinced me that alcohol is a good way to kill a fish immediately. I consider now to get a 100 cm3 syringe for the quick killing and hope to ethanol, the drinking alcohol, in a pharmacy in Tarawa.

Once it was killed, we tied it up at the transom to let the blood go out it’s body. It is much easier to clean the blood from the teak deck of the transom than from the gelcoat of the deck.

As for the size, it was big, about the same size as the last one, and measured 110 cm.

Before starting our breakfast, we put the fish at the entrance step of where it’s the place to evicerate fishes.

While Tobi was doing this job which he loves to do, I did a final check of the indûment instruments and sail trim and then took my day time nap to not get a sleep deficit. Tobi did this later.

Now is early afternoon, the b wind is not much but enough to move is nicely forward.

No squalls, and only a few smaller cumulus clouds at the sky.

What will the night bring us?