March 30: Day 18

Crossing the Equator

The wind had been fairly steady but light so we crossed our fingers when we approached it the day before, hoping we would cross in daylight hours so that we could swim across. Although the wind was light it got us there just on time at 2:15PM, just cooling off enough that the swim would have some lasting staying power into the night and keep us cool. The sun was shining and our top was open to let in the light. We got out all the items that we had for the crossing.

1) Bottle of wine, two glasses

2) Gold coin

3) Typed message for the message in the bottle and a a gift of a handmade necklace and a pencil

🙂

Bathing suits on and it was time to go. We hove the boat to and drank a drink, giving a generous swallow to Neptune for a safe passage with fair winds. We threw him the coin and then we deployed the lifesling and strung it across the equator. We both swam to the lifesling and back to the boat. The tether on the sling is about ninety feet long. When we left Mexico the water changed color at about three days out, it turned to this amazing bright blue that you never see near land. So beautiful, so clear and warm that it beggs to be swam in but I am in the middle of the ocean and I like to live so I stay in the boat, it is a very basic instict to stay on the boat when you are that far from land. The equator was the perfect excuse to take the plunge, at the same time it is very disturbing to be closer to the bottom of the ocean than you are to land. It was freeky but fun. Swimming away from the boat I was going with the current and then I reached the sling, turned and saw my boat ninety feet away and started hauling ass to get there as fast as I could.. In the middle of the ocean it was so small. I went faster. I had worn my fins so that I would have some power in the ocea but still I was fighting the current and it was work to get back to the boat. It took all I had not to crab the rope and hand over hand my way to the ladder, but for some reason I wanted to swim it. When I got back to the boat, shaking a little and laughing Brett asked me how I liked it and I told him, “Your gonna love it!” He looked really small out there in the water, too. My arms are so sore from the laundry yesterday that the swim was quite the limit. But it was an experience I will never forget. Once we were both safely back on the boat we put the note in the bottle with the small gifts, and threw it overboard. Both of us were giddy from the wine and the swim and the wind picked up, I guess that Neptune liked our gifts.