Tuesday, April 7, 2026 9°40'S 132°33'W

Pacific Ocean, 3781NM WSW of Catalinia

The light winds prevailed through the night. Light enough that we actually let the tillerpilot steer for some time, as there wasn’t enough for the windvane.

In the early hours we watched a slow-motion chase scene, as the French sailboat La Bulle approached behind the horizon, and pulled ahead in about 7h from first contact. Boats are getting closer as we all head for the same islands. This was our 16th vessel sighting, and the second sailboat.

Just before dinnertime we gybed again, as now the winds should again carry a southerly component. Under 400NM to go!

• Distance today: 91NM
• Lunch: navy bean soup
• Engine hours: 0

Monday, April 6, 2026 10°10'S 131°8'W

Pacific Ocean, 3690NM WSW of Catalinia

With the evening came a bit more wind, but only for the dark hours without moonlight. The boat bobs gently on, accompanied by periodic bangs from the sails. Not the most pleasant sailing wise. The Pacific isn’t pacified. The swell is constant, large and confused. At all times there is at least two swell directions and when they meet at your position, the boat lurches into a random direction. The barnacles are plentiful and their growing size brings the slow speeds even slower.

But there is much to celebrate! On this date two years ago we set sail from Berlin towards the cool waters and climate of Scotland. And look at us now! Nearly half way around the world in the tropical heat of the Pacific!

At dawn we gybed as the wind persistently was easterly. On other days we have meandered with the wind shifts, but that option wasn’t available today. What a weird sight to see the sails this way around! 

We also moved the ship’s time to UTC-9. Only another half hour shift remaining before we are at Marquesas timezone.

• Distance today: 92NM
• Lunch: spaghetti aglio e olio
• Engine hours: 0

Sunday, April 5, 2026 10°0'S 129°39'W

Pacific Ocean, 3598NM WSW of Catalinia

At night the boat was visited by a pod of whales. Large black shapes rose out of the dark sea all around the boat. They stayed for a few minutes, and then continued on their way.

Sailing-wise today has been a rehash of yesterday. Winds are light, just barely enough to keep the three-sail setup filled.

• Distance today: 100NM
• Lunch: paneer coconut curry
• Engine hours: 0

Saturday, April 4, 2026 9°46'S 127°59'W

Pacific Ocean, 3498NM WSW of Catalinia

We sailed into the night with the Parasailor up. A bold move for sure. With the moon and the motor light on, the sail is fully illuminated and easy to control. Just after 23 the wind started picking up. At 23:20 a gust of 17kn was enough to prompt a early wakeup call for the off-watch, and we packed the Parasailor up and went back to wing on wing.

Since the sail change the day has been a steady progress towards our destination and the rest of the cinnamon rolls have been eaten as watch snacks. Life at sea is sweet at the moment!

Cheers Petra and Uli!

• Distance today: 98NM
• Lunch: cashew-tomato pasta
• Engine hours: 0

Friday, April 3, 2026 9°47'S 126°22'W

Pacific Ocean, 3400NM WSW of Catalinia

The wind kept dropping throughout the night. At midnight we packed away the mainsail to keep it from slatting. And then at sunrise the Parasailor came up.

As always, this big sail with its built-in wing stabilises the boat, as well as making it possible to sail in lighter winds than otherwise possible. Outside of the doldrums this passage has been surprisingly windy, meaning that until now it hasn’t made sense to deploy the Parasailor.

While today’s mileage has been low, that additional stability made for better sleep, as well as more elaborate cooking. We enjoyed some stovetop pizza followed up by cinnamon rolls.

• Distance today: 79NM
• Lunch: pizza
• Engine hours: 0

Thursday, April 2, 2026 9°45'S 125°4'W

Pacific Ocean, 3321NM WSW of Catalinia

In the morning we saw a sail in the horizon. Mastegot was the 15th vessel we’ve seen on this passage, but the first sailboat. We had a brief VHF conversation, and learned that our AIS wasn’t transmitting.

Some investigation later, it turned out the problem was that the transceiver didn’t have a GPS fix. Moving the antenna outside helped, but it is curious for this problem to occur now, as the particular antenna has worked fine in its original location since 2021.

At noon wind dropped substantially, so we shook the reef and rolled out the genoa. Now we’re back to the three-sail setup.

Right as we were finishing dinner, a large pod of dolphins arrived to play in our bow wave.

• Distance today: 107NM
• Lunch: pea soup
• Engine hours: 0

Wednesday, April 1, 2026 9°21'S 123°20'W

Pacific Ocean, 3214NM WSW of Catalinia

At sunset a gust came through incentivising us to go to second reef. After that was set, we also went back to wing on wing. The southerly component in the wind was gone. The night was boisterous with wind gusting up to thirty. The second reef had indeed earned its setting. We also made good miles and at dawn we saw it. 999NM to destination. Mere 3 digits! Numbers so small that we had started to doubt their existence.

As the day grew older, we were at the edge of grey and blue skies. We took the staysail to starboard side and sailed slightly more to the south to secure our spot in the sun.

• Distance today: 114NM
• Lunch: chana masala
• Engine hours: 0

Tuesday, March 31, 2026 9°15'S 121°27'W

Pacific Ocean, 3100NM WSW of Catalinia

The latest GRIB changed the forecast quite a bit, and we now have couple of days with stronger wind ahead of us. In anticipation to that, we rolled the genoa away for the night watches.

Unlike forecasted, the wind only picked up around midday. But at least we were ready for it, with staysail and main in 1st reef, and well-slept free watches of the night behind us.

Today’s wind has a slight southern component, meaning that we’re now on port tack instead of poled out.

• Distance today: 100NM
• Lunch: lentil soup
• Engine hours: 0

Monday, March 30, 2026 9°25'S 119°48'W

Pacific Ocean, 3000NM WSW of Catalinia

By 10pm the wind had picked up enough for a change back to staysail. The moon lights the sea even in cloudy conditions and the dark grey sea creates a calming backdrop for the watches. At around 10am the wind dropped and we changed back to genoa, staysail and main in 1st reef setup.

The watermaker ran today for laundry purposes: a set of clothes for the next week got washed and hung to pre-dry on the mainsheet before being moved to dry inside for the night. Life at trade winds is a repetitive task only punctuated with occasional sail changes.

• Distance today: 115NM
• Lunch: tofu curry
• Engine hours: 0

Sunday, March 29, 2026 9°23'S 117°53'W

Pacific Ocean, 2885NM SW of Catalinia

This weekend the HF radio net has worked quite poorly due to interference from an amateur radio contest on a nearby frequency. Hopefully radio conditions clear up.

The wind has been remarkably steady for days now, but in the morning it dropped a bit. To keep the boat moving comfortably, we rolled out the genoa at noon. This means that we now are flying a three-sail setup: main, poled out genoa, and staysail to the lee. The staysail helps with the rolling, and means we can go back to heavy weather setup quickly by just furling the genoa.

• Distance today: 111NM
• Lunch: navy bean soup
• Engine hours: 0