Chinese Long Liners

0615 local
1315 UTC
S 14*08.8'
W 142*16.5'
Speed 4 kts
Heading 180* M

Spinnaker up all night. We're ghosting along at 4 knots in about 8 knots of wind.
Flat seas, new moon, and light wind made for a quiet night and outstanding stars once again.
We're not going exactly the right direction, but we were sailing so well I chose to let it ride.
Lexi spotted a light right at the horizon that could have been a star or planet rising, but no, it's a Chinese fishing boat that is not transmitting an AIS signal. Most nations require this radio beacon of all boats larger than 60 feet long. She hailed them on the VHF and they actually responded! They passed astern of us by about 4 miles. "I will pass by your rear" was their comment. Long Line fishing boats trail their gear for more than a mile behind them and are generally a hazard to both sailboats and fish.
Since we're sailing so slowly, we probably won't make it into the atoll on Sunday.
There are now 8 boats in our radio group, all headed for the Tuamotu Archipelago.
We ate the last of the tuna. Hopefully we catch a wahoo next.

Martin

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