0700 UTC
N02 09
W135 o5
Well, the bad news is that the engine is out of commission for the duration of our passage. Two nights ago our oil cooler ruptured as we motored in calm weather, using the fuel we had budgeted to make it through the doldrums. The good news, though, is that we have decent breeze & should cross the equator tomorrow night. More good news is that we have ordered a new oil cooler that is being shipped DHL to Papeete & then to Nuka Hiva, Marquesas, where we are altering course. We will rely on only sails
to get there, & have turned off unessential electronics, since we now only have our solar panels for charging the batteries. We are trying to eat up what is in the fridge so we can turn it off! This will be my last email over the HAM radio. Until we arrive I will send short text messages over the SAT phone to be relayed to blog. The best news of all though, is that our crew is amazing & everyone on board has a great attitude (like when we bobbed around in the dark last night for hours going backward),
a high tolerance for adversity (it is almost too hot to sleep & cooking in the galley is like cooking in a sauna), and a terrific sense of adventure (we rode a 40-knot squall today for hours!) It's midnight local time now & Confetti is sailing along at 6kts. in a lovely 10kt. E wind, the temperature down below has cooled down some, the southern cross is perfectly framed in our spreaders, and dolphins are carving phosphorescence trails under the hull. All is well aboard S/V Confetti!
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