For the past few days, our focus has been on collecting samples and data, doing observation and progressing toward Hawaii.
We still encountered squalls and had to change sails back and forth. Those squalls brought with them winds and rain with such intensity that it felt like the rain was horizontal and painful when it hit my face. We passed longitude 160 degrees west on day 180. On the following day, two Fin whales came to check us while I was at the helm. They stayed with us for about 20 Minutes and during that time we tried to get closer to follow them in the water. But we were only able to see them from the boat and to get footage from the drone but unfortunately none from the water.
One day, we took the opportunity of a somewhat calmer sea to launch a small paper boat built by Yoav, he had glued to its sail a picture of Gino. In it we put the messages we all wrote for him. I got in the water and Yoav passed me the paper boat he had lit up. I placed it on the water and held it as long as I could until the fire had consumed most of it, then I let it go but almost instantly it got swallowed by the waves and got pushed under our boat. This was our at sea burial, the void he left behind will be even more painful once I get back home.
Log: Swim Pacific
