Today was a hot one. Staying cool under the shade of the bimini cover was a must. We had a little wind shift in the morning but it straightened back out after lunch and we have made good steady progress directly on course all afternoon at around 5.5 knots. Skies have been clear, sun had been hot, wind has been windy from the SE around 5-8 knots.
This evening we listened in on and joined the Pacific Seafarers Radio Net. This net covers the entire Pacific ocean and meets daily at 3:30 UTC. With the help of about a dozen relay stations from Minnesota to New Zealand to Australia, these ham radio enthusiasts (some with large and powerful antennas) volunteer their time to listen in for any emergencies out on the pacific ocean from any vessel and take position reports from cruising vessels and make sure they arrive safely in their destination. We will be checking in with them every evening until we reach American Samoa.
In other news, our supply of baguette bread was exhausted today and just in time too as the final piece was starting to look a little green. We are starting to get very creative with out meals and are looking forward to some restocking in American Samoa.
NOTE: Here is the website for the Pacific Seafarers Network that Alan mentions above. The net is in two parts, beginning with an informal 25 minute 'warm up' session to exchange news, answer questions and solve problems. Next follows the Roll call, where boats are called in turn to give their position and weather observations. These details are shared with other boats and forwarded to weather forecasters around the world where they are used to improve forecast accuracy. In return, they post back special forecasts for boats in their coverage area.
They post the "Roll Call" on ther website. The EYE is KJ4QYH.
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