Pacific Crossing - Days 22 to 28

Land Almost Ahoy... As I write this we are 159 nautical miles from the coast of Hiva Oa in the Marquesas Islands and after 28 days at sea, we have nearly completed the longest ocean passage on the planet. This last week has been taken up with us constantly checking the distance to go and trying to calculate an arrival date and time. At our most optimistic, it looked as though Monday afternoon was in the bag but dropping wind speeds meant that we had to drag the Spinnaker out to make a last gasp attempt to arrive before darkness on Monday! Unfortunately we have just dropped the Spinnaker as we can now see that we will not make it... Worse still, we are now having to slow down (VERY frustrating) so that we arrive in daylight hours on Tuesday morning! We're still smiling and excited about stepping on to land and heading to the nearest bar/hotel/restaurant/man on the street selling cold beers!

Up until a couple of days ago Clodagh's home made soda bread was looking like all I'd have to write about... but then, I took out my rod, adjusted my tackle and sent a lure out the back of the boat. Moments later an ocean beast took the bait and I was struggling to reel in what felt like a ton on fishy muscle. After a few minutes Pete was helping me to bring on board and un-hook a Tuna which was approximately 9" in length... Disappointing and barely enough meat on the poor thing to feed us all. After some flapping about on board the wee fish was thrown back to the sea and I was once again stood on the back of the boat with my rod in my hand and a wanton look in my eye. A few hours later, Damo and I were sat in the cockpit discussing the origins of time space when the reel started screaming as we'd hooked another fish! This one was definitely bigger and put up quite a fight. I was certain we would lose what felt like the biggest fish we'd hooked but we were successful! It was another Tuna - in excess of 2ft and bloody meaty! I went about the nasty task of killing the poor beast and then filleting it (remembering my lesson from Dr Andrew Holland). I Trimmed some of the best flesh off for Sashimi as Pete grabbed the Ginger, Wasabi and Soy. The rest of the fish went in the oven in a sauce concocted by Pete and Clo. In a tin foil parcel the fillets were bathed in a mixture of coconut milk, chilli, lime juice and onion. Damo knocked up some accompanying dishes and the result was brilliant - It's the first time I've ever enjoyed Tuna! A true team effort from sea to table! I'm going to leave the blog there as my meatballs are in the oven and require attention. Damo will (hopefully) be in touch soon to tell you we have arrived safely and give you our first impression of the Marquesas Islands! Love to all

Adam x