We hit our halfway mark today, officially putting us about as far away from land as man can get on this planet–smack in the middle of its largest ocean.
It doesn’t feel much farther out than it feels when we’re out for a day fishing on the Gulf Stream, out of sight of land. I think the biggest difference is the size of the swells. In the middle of the Pacific, the predominant swell has been 12-14 feet, but the wave periods have been so long that when we’re sitting atop the peak of one looking down into the trough before the next, it’s like sitting on the top of a small rolling hill, looking down the slope at the vale below. They pass under us rather smoothly.
The only rougher parts come when the wind picks up, creating surface chop and wind waves, shortening the periods and forcing us to adopt the “3-point rule,” in which we do not remove a limb from a surface until the 3 others are firmly anchored to something permanent. The boat is wide, so once you get tossed, you have a pretty good distance to build up speed before you crash into something across the room. It’s an experience best left un-had.
On the way we’ve caught (and released) a few finger mahi and a skipjack tuna. We ate the skipjack for dinner tonight, but truth be told, I’ve had enough tuna. I’d be very happy to have some fried mahi fingers one day soon… I never thought I’d say that, but that dark steak-like meat seems to have run its course for awhile.
Since we left the Galapagos, I’ve read:
- Kitchen Confidential, by Anthony Bourdain
- The Apothecary’s Daughter, by Julie Klassen
- Half-Broke Horses, by Jeannette Walls
- Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen
- Cutting for Stone, by Abraham Verghese
- Slaughterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
- Whatever You Do, Don’t Run, by Peter Allison
I’m averaging about a book a day, and I’ve only got five unread books left on my Kindle. If any of you have read anything good lately, please post it here, and when we get to Marquesas I’ll set about downloading my next collection before we make our way from Marquesas to Tahiti.
9 Responses to 8 Days In, Halfway There
Can’t imagine being so far from land. So cool.
Here are 3 recent reads that I’ve enjoyed:
Stone’s Fall by Ian Pears
The Sparrow by Maria Doria Russell
Thread Of Grace by Maria Doria Russell
your reading list looks like something out of my own library, so I can’t add much. I like historical fiction. Ken Follett’s ‘Pillars of the Earth’ is an epic actually and will take awhile to read. Conroy has released a new one I haven’t read – ‘South of Broad’ – so you can review it for me. ‘Nefertiti’ (Mason) was Egyptian history/novel-very vivid. I liked ‘The Story of Edgar Sawtelle’ and ‘Angela’s Ashes’. ‘Rebecca’ (Daphne DuMaurier) is a classic you read lying in the shade somewhere. Micheal Crichton’s autobio ‘Travels’ and ‘The Great Train Robbery’ were good; Steinbecks ‘East of Eden’ is my fav. I’m sure others will give you newer stuff. Hope you have some photos from the top of the swell and remember to use the 3 Point Rule while shooting!
Read Triggerfish Twist by Tim Dorsey. If you live or have lived in Florida, you’ll laugh your head off.
Thanks Matias! I’ll be downloading lots of Kindle books this week it looks like!
Those swells sound intense, so many experiences that one can never really relay to another person unless experienced themselves, but you do paint quite the picture! Scott and I both loved Water for Elefants, recently finished The Help, loved it! Other than that reading mostly baby books these days! Stay safe, love and miss you!
Wow! I can’t even imagine swells like that.
Anyway, a book I have on my “to-read” list is The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. by Stieg Larsson
My sister asked for the Sookie Stackhouse series for Christmas, its vampire stuff…
Hello dear friends! Lara, I cannot quite get my head around how you are reading all those books with swells like that…you are one tough cookie! I miss you two more and more every time I read a post! I look forward to every one of them though, so keep them coming! Stay safe, have fun, and love each other more everyday! I have not finished a book lately…still trying to get thru Atlas Shrugged…I refuse to think about another book until I finally finish this one! 😉 All my love, ~Jenn
Lara I must say I love reading your posts! I am going to have to kindle some of the books you mentioned-they sound good!
Here are some on my kindle-to read list:
Gomorrah:A personal journey into the violent international empire of Naples’ organized crime system.(hey, you know I live in mob central!)By:Robert Saviano
The Rose Labyrinth By:Tatania Hardie
When I stop talking you’ll know I’m dead By: Jerry Weintraub (he discovered and worked with a lot of big names in music and show biz-interesting guy
The Kite Runner & A thousand splendid suns By: Khaled Hosseini-both really good if you haven’t read them yet.
And for a quick easy read, I love James Patterson (mystery books)
Happy reading and good luck!
Tell my brother I miss him and give him a XO or me!
MUAH to you both
Thanks for all the book suggestions friends…I will definitely be doing some Kindle downloads this week while in Hiva Oa. MUCH APPRECIATED!!