Each night, Venus is really bright in the west after sun sets - close to the Pleiades and not far from Taurus. Southern Cross is quite high above horizon now. Milky Way was very clear before moon rose later - moon is waning now, so rising later each night. Gets VERY dark before moonrise, especially if any cloud around..!
Laundry day today - doesn't take any time at all in 30C for things to dry on lifelines! Mainly needed to wash salt out of towels I'm sitting on - easy to get 'salt sores' otherwise.
Quite a lot of cloud today and swell has built up also (with constant wind direction).
Still getting a welcome 'push' from the Equatorial current, although not as strong as it was: boatspeed ~5-5.5 knots, SOG ~5.5-6kn, windspeed ~14kn (NE4). (Thought we were losing good current at one point earlier this afternoon - but still doing well.)
The morning radio 'Net' that 'Jade' organized is increasing in boat numbers as time goes on - 2 more boats joined in this morning, making a total of eight regulars ('Jade'(Dutch), 'Wyntersea'(UK/USA), 'Croq de Pomme'(French), 'Nereida'(UK!), 'Seascape'(Canada), 'Lorna'(Canada), and now 'Adio' (German), 'Sand Dollar' (USA?), with 'Splinters Apprentice' and 'Reflections', both friends of mine from UK, now in the Galapagos before crossing to the Marquesas, joining in very occasionally). 'Seascape' is headed to Guatemala & crossing the Tihuantepec today, 'Croq' is about to leave the Sea of Cortez for the Marquesas, and the rest of us are all on passage to the Marquesas now.
Another pleasant, relaxed afternoon of reading & sleeping (catching up on disturbed night's sleep, as usual!), with the occasional adjustment of 'Hermann', the Windpilot.
1800 GMT position: 07deg 56' N; 123deg 48' W . 24hr distance run by log: 127 n.ml. (actually 148 ml over ground - current effect good still!)