Greetings from Bequia

Greetings from Bequia,
Our current position is N34deg 56.2′ W141deg 57.7′.  It seems kinda strange, but we crossed the half-way point yesterday with approximately 1020 miles to go.  The second half of this journey should go much quicker than than first due to the better wind angle we currently have.  Although we’ve been plagued with light winds over the last 10 days, we’re hoping to pick up some more breeze getting closer to the coast.  Otherwise, we’re enjoying the trip; the food is good (pesto pasta with pine nuts and garlic bagels last night), and our shipmates are entertaining.
In our last post, I mentioned the overheating problem with the engine, but failed to fully explain the situation.  The problem is potentially quite serious as the engine provides the only source of regenerating power on the boat.  While this is a sailing vessel and powering is sometimes needed to keep moving, the more important use is charging the batteries.  Modern boats have many systems like refrigeration, sophisticated navigation & communication and the autopilot that are all power-hungry.   The routine on this trip, with our power consumption, has been running the motor twice a day for approximately 2 hours.  The  engine cooling problem is such that the motor consumes about 48 ounces of water during a 2-hour run.  At this rate we have plenty of water to finish the trip, but we’ve cut back on other uses.
Pam and I are looking forward to seeing you all again soon!