The ocean feels a little kinder this morning. I shook out a reef to keep the speed up, and I may release another if things hold steady. It looked like it would be a sunny day at first light, but that is starting to change. There are a couple of boats ahead of me, about two hundred and thirty and three hundred and fifty nautical miles out, and I have been getting updates from them. Sounds like more of the same conditions ahead. Honestly, I do not mind. It is fast and relatively safe sailing. It is just the constant angle of everything, living in a world where even the towels hang at forty-five degrees, that starts to wear on you over time.

On the upside, it has been good for the body. I left the Galápagos with some back pain, and that has completely walked off. I am also losing a bit of weight, but I am confident that can be sorted with some good seafood and a margarita or two when I reach civilization. I will likely stay on this course another five to seven days before landfall. Today I might put a second line in the water and get serious about catching a fish. About 950 nautical miles to go.

This leg will probably stand out as the most challenging of the trip so far. I have not been able to get everything working the way I would like, and it has been one issue after another. But the level of commitment required out here has hardened me as a sailor in a way that, in retrospect, feels good. There is also a strange small satisfaction in checking the tracker and seeing Cloud Nine out here on the map and thinking, I actually did that. It took a lot to get here, and for reasons I cannot fully explain, it feels worth it.

On the practical side, I have arranged for gel coat repair materials to be waiting in Rikitea, about two thousand miles from where this leg started. I will do some initial repairs there. I have always thought of Cloud Nine as my horse, and we are in this together, so seeing the damage was unsettling. Having a plan in place makes it feel a lot lighter. No internet this morning, no surprise. I will post when I can and check in once I am back online.