I had just finished emailing another boat making the Jump, say, "I'm reluctant to hope for more wind but our progress is pretty slow . . . " and not long after that the wind increased to a solid 17 knots with gusts to 23. We had our full mainsail up and the genoa poled out to windward. Corie sat with the camera in her hand, focused on the Speed-Over-Ground gauge, waiting to capture the highest speed. She took several shots, even got one that said 10.2 but when she wasn't looking, I saw 11.1. Which is pretty fast for Rutea, charging ahead into the darkness, her bow rising high as the swell passes under and then plunging almost straight down as she enters a trough. We were rolling pretty badly but grateful to be covering the distance between us and the Marquesas so much more quickly. The pressures on the rigging were very high so at about 0100, we furled the genoa and sailed under main alone for the rest of the night. Our speed dropped substantially but we were still making almost 6 knots. This morning Corie scowled when she saw the genoa still furled so we poled it out once again, even though the wind hasn't changed much. It feels like we're 'Charging the Gnar'.
This morning we past the First 1,000 Miles Covered mark. Everything and everyone is holding up exceedingly well. I feel quite smug that we haven't had to motor at all so far but I should be careful of what I say . .
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At 3/30/2011 6:55 PM (utc) Rutea's position was 10°43.73'N 120°30.21'W
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