Neptune sent dolphins to escort us up out of the Southern Hemisphere! No sooner had we signed off with Pura Vida after our 0700 radio sked with them yesterday than we were surrounded by a nice big pod of dolphins. We weren't sailing particularly fast but they swam with us for quite awhile, showing off their babies as they zig-zagged across our bow. Last night they joined us again on both our night watches. We can always hear them squeaking and whistling through the hull down below before we actually see them outside in the dark. I think Ziggy hears them but since he doesn't look over the cap rail to see them, he isn't very interested. We were hoping they might escort us right over the Equator but they must have decided to return to the warmer waters behind us.
We took our second salt water bath of the passage while it was fairly calm at Noon yesterday. John turned the boat downwind for a smoother ride and ran a short length of hose from the cockpit wash down "faucet" out on to the leeward side deck. We turned on the salt water pump and lathered up with our trusty Head & Shoulders shampoo. The cold water was a bit of a shock at first but soon turned refreshing as we scrubbed off a few days of salt and sweat. Then we took turns getting a fresh water rinse from the sun shower which John sets up to hang from the dodger back in the safety of the cockpit.
In between baths we rely on pre-moistened wipes to take the edge off. Unfortunately, as I try different brands, I'm never certain how effective these are going to be until we actually use them. After one of our first passages using a wipe with a sickening "baby powder" aroma, I've tried to find unscented brands. The best ones were an adult sport wipe by, I believe, Nivea, which we found in Tahiti in 2010 and haven't seen since. Second best were the citrus scented Big Ones by Wet Ones, but at only 35 to a pack (and opened earlier in the season), we've already managed to finish them on this passage. So now we are left with 80 unscented Huggies Natural Care wipes which are baby-sized, roll under your hand as you use them, and tear to pieces after only a few brisk strokes. What a provisioning miscalculation that was.
Speaking of provisioning, we just finished off a roll of foil wrap that we opened in August, 2010 (we track things like this). I guess I thought it would last forever at the rate it was going because we don't have another roll on hand. It's a good thing we don't use it often!
Day 10 Stats
Course: 020 degrees True
Trip Mileage: 116 nm
Water Temp: 80.8 down to 78.6 F as we sailed North
Engine Hours: 0
Day 11 Stats
Course: 012 degrees True
Trip Mileage: 129 nm
Water Temp: 79.0 down to 77.0 F as we sailed North
Engine Hours: 0
{GMST}00|29.1|N|142|34.2|W|Tuamotus to Hawaii Day 11|Day 11{GEND}
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