Equator celebration

It's been 13 days since our departure from Isla Clarion and Namaste has been carrying her cargo with care and ease as we cross the Pacific Ocean en route to the Marquesas.
After a rough week of rolly conditions with moderate winds and confused seas, we've settled into the beauty and peacefulness of this passage. We've already sailed roughly 1600 miles with 650 miles still to go before we reach Nuku Hiva, the first of many paradises we plan to visit over the following months.
Our current location as of 6:30 pm PST, is 00'27"S, 132'41"W, steering 220M, with winds less than 10 knots, 2-4 foot swell, and traveling at 6.5 knots under motorsail.
At noon today, we crossed that magical imaginary line in the Pacific - the Equator! We stopped the boat to pay homage to Neptune and the Tahitian king of the sea-Ari'i Moana, which also happens to be the name of our godchild. With the boat hoved-to, we jumped in the 83-degree water, separately of course, to celebrate this rite of passage. After a shot of rum for us and a heavy pour for the gods, they returned the favor immediately. We looked up and a massive pod of short-finned pilot whales magically appeared! The timing of our offering, reaching the equator, and the whales was so improbable that had we not seen it with our own eyes, we would have never believed it. Pilot whales are social and travel in pods averaging between 10 and 50 together. Their sizes ranged from a 20-foot full grown whale down to the much smaller babies. They swam slowly and peacefully around Namaste for a good hour as we watched and took photos. They're known to be extremely curious and unafraid to approach boats. It was a true gift from the gods of the sea and we're eternally grateful.
Over the past few days, we've sailed through and were chased down by a few squalls in the ITCZ (inter-tropical convergence zone (doldrums), the meeting point of weather systems from the northern and southern hemispheres). Occasionally, we changed our course to avoid the menacing rain clouds moving northwest, especially those that looked like they packed a good punch of wind.
We bucked a pretty strong equatorial counter current for 36 hours before it shifted in our favor and we're now motor-sailing at a quick clip. We've had very light winds for the past 48 hours, less than 10 knots. But thanks to our new fuel-efficient prop, we're been traveling between 6-7 knots with our diesel only running around 1300-1800 rpms.
With our Perkins humming away we have plenty of excess power. We've been watching movies and Chris has been honing his James Bond fighting skills on Xbox. Everyone should rest assure, should we ever get boarded by pirates, Catt-007 is ready for action.
We've been doing lots of fishing, with only a little bit of catching, as we troll this vast ocean. On the seventh day we brought in a small and incredibly tender mahi-mahi and gorged on fresh fish tacos. Then yesterday we hooked up a beautiful albacore tuna and feasted on spicy tuna sushi rolls for dinner.
On the dark evening of day nine, four friendly dolphins decided we needed some company on our lonely sojourn south. It was an amazing sight. Their bodies were illuminated by the green-tinted phosphorescents and you could follow their dizzying path as they drafted in and around the bow wake. As quick as they appeared, they darted off to our disappointment.
The new moon appeared to us on Monday night to shed light on this incredible expanse, and we're looking forward to watching it grow and morph as we continue on our trek. The stars have been incredible. We've had some nights with complete cloud cover, but on those nights with only partial cover, the milky way has been picking up some slack for the absence of the moon. The southern cross remains fixed in the sky slightly to port. Venus has been the morning star, and when it first shines, it appears to be a ship on the horizon. However, the radar reads "rien" (French for nothing), and 15 minutes later the planet turns from yellow to white and is well above the horizon.
That's about all there is to report from Namaste. We're counting down the hours now until we pull into Taiohae Bay on the south side of Nuku Hiva.
Much more to come, as always...