Equator crossing!

We're now a boatload of "Shellbacks", inducted into the club of equator-crossers.

We crossed into the southern hemisphere this afternoon at 128 degrees 50 minutes west. Kellie, the kids and I all went for a quick swim - somewhat unsettling when the bottom is 4,500 ft below, but what an amazing color blue! I scraped goose barnacles off the bottom of the boat with one eye out for critters sneaking up on us. It's amazing how quickly the barnacles grow. I'd cleaned the bottom completely (again) at Clipperton, and some of the new goose barnacles had stalks as big as my pinky finger!

We had a little party, videotaped the GPS counting down to zero then S. latitude, had some sparkling cider and threw confetti overboard to as an offering to King Neptune... The refreshment of the swim lasted about long enough to get dried off. Now we're all hot and sweating again.

There's no wind, so we've been motoring most of the night and all of today. Hopefully the wind will pick up soon!

Seanica is about 100 miles straight south of us and we're (we'll, at least I am) unofficially racing the last 845 miles.

-Pete