July 21, 2007
Wind 15-18 knots, Course 240-250, Speed 6-7 knots (whoa) Position: 00 01 S, 20 04 W

We just crossed the equator. It was fun to watch the numbers count down on the GPS and then "Bang" we passed the equator and the numbers started counting up. The wide open sea is awaiting us. It certainly has been a milestone that we've been heading towards for three months now, but before I'm comfortable I have to see the wind shift to let us down the coast. I'm still coming to terms with our windward ability and am extremely humbled by our experience here at sea. I'm looking ahead to preparing for the Southern ocean. Only a captain of his own boat could understand the myriad of details that need tending to in order to sail into the Southern Ocean. This is the time to prepare. I wonder when will we cross north of the equator again?

Soanya's View
The ocean has no boundaries except the ones man imposes in his mind and on paper. That being said crossing the equator allowed us to switch to a different frame of mind. Now we are in the South Atlantic, different winds, different weather, different goals. I guess we're going to open a precious bottle of wine in celebration tonight and have a nice pasta and fish dinner. We made our longest run yet in the last twenty-four hours, 140 miles or so at seven knots. We haven't seen seven knots in a long time. Having good winds and the correct sails up helps and we're moving very comfortably through the water. I must admit I was carrying on an internal wager on what would come first, our 100 day mark or crossing the equator. I'm glad we crossed first, otherwise we may have set the record for the slowest passage there! That's not a record we want exactly. So here I am south of that famous line of latitude for the first time and I'm looking forward to all the new experiences that are in store for us.