May 5 - Day 15 It's good to be south!

Position: S00deg37min/W142deg02min
Day 14's run: 102 nm
Avg speed: 4.3 kn
Course: 180 T
Wind: ENE-ESE 13 kn
Seas: NNE-ESE 4'
Present speed: 5.7 kn
Sails: single reef main, jib
Ship's log: 1706 nm
Well, it's been a long haul to the Equator, and we sure are glad to be back in the southern hemisphere. It seems we've had to motor for 4-5 hours each day in no wind (we're talking like 3 knots!), so our 24 hour runs and average speeds are way down. (We motor @ 1400-1500 RPM's, averaging 4.5 k.) This morning we've found a light ENE wind, but with the flat seas, Infini is moving along smartly. We've been out now two weeks, and it's still another week or so (about 900 nm) to our destination; like I said, this has been a long haul. We're all a bit sleep deprived, down below is hot (86 degrees F), smells a bit "lived in"....and have about five tons of dirty laundry to take care of, but the sun's out, the motor's off and we're sailing....Btw, our Vesper Marine AIS Watchmate went off again last night; this is the third ship we've encountered enroute.