23 July 2007 – Khulula and the OceanGybe Crew cross the Equator
– by Bryson

At approximately 4:43 am local time (11:43 UTC) Khulula crossed the equator and entered the southern hemisphere. This was a very momentous occasion for all of us, as none of use had crossed the equator by sea before. Due to the timing of the crossing (in the early hours of the morning), we chose to continue sailing rather than drop sails and jump overboard for an equator swim.

When leaving Cabo San Lucas numerous weeks ago, the equator seemed along way off, both physically and mentally. To cross over that boundary and now look directly to the Marquises for our first land-fall is a huge step for all of us. We are all very aware of how much we all need to rely on each other in order to be able to make such steps. Thanks to both Ryan and Hugh.

Despite all the stories, there are no flashing lights, music or lines at the equator. It looks very much like the previous 2000 nm that preceded it. Ryan had the wry insight, “Here we all are, up at 4 am, drinking brandy, toasting Neptune, all because a number on our GPS changed. ”

Now that the OceanGybe expedition has entered it’s winter phase, blankets were handed out to the crew to ensure warmth during night watches and rations of brandy were distributed to warm the bellies of the hardy souls out braving the elements. During the last watch air temps had dropped to 26’C.

P.S. And the next morning we gave ourselves moustaches to commemorate the occasion!