Day 14 to FP - 1000 Miles to Go

:lat=-16.66:lon=-120.20:
Time: 2330UTC, COG 240T, SOG 7.0kts, Distance Remaining: 935nm

We are rushing through the water as quickly as the days fly by. They might
not be fun days, but they are turning into long nights sooner than we want.
Our main focus is getting some sleep, but we are not very successful. Other
than that, we mainly take care of the boat and the sails, make sure we get
some good tasting food in our bellies, clean up, check weather and emails
from loved ones over the satellite phone, write a blog, and stare at the
constantly rising and falling water mass around us.
Yesterday, Mark exclaimed. "What the hell is that?" Hoping it was a whale or
some other amazing sea creature, I jumped on deck (tethered to the boat, of
course), but didn't see anything. "It's a flag!" Mark said. Then I saw it:
some kind of pole, sticking up from a wave, with a small black flag on top
of it. In the middle of the Pacific Ocean! We were suddenly alert and
scanning the crests and troughs of the bumpy sea around us. We didn't notice
anything else. No more flagpoles (most likely marking long fish nets) and no
fishing boats or "mother vessel". Pretty scary stuff.
The waves are still massive. The wind is still relatively strong, pushing us
along fast-ish and preventing us from just bobbing up and down these watery
hills. Instead, we jerk, bounce and splash. It is still too rough to fish.
It's been a while since we saw the horizon or ate sushi. We bought two dozen
limes to make ceviche one day. They are just browning in the fridge. A lot
of the non-refrigerated produce has gone bad already. Luckily, our fridge is
still full of fresh stuff.
The flying fish seem to have ceased their attacks for the time being. The
days are sunny, the wind is chilly, and the nights are cold. Used to the
tropics, we didn't think about long clothes. Our parents' closets in Belgium
and the US are full with them, but last summer we had no idea we'd be so
crazy as to cross the Pacific Ocean and travel to lower latitudes. We just
crossed latitude 16 south. Only 1000 more miles to go!