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March 18, 12:32 PM, two weeks out from Mexico, we reached the Equator.  Note the "S 00 00.001" on our Global Positioning System (GPS).  Latitude zero is the Equator.  The "doldrums" (the area around the Equator) were full of thunderstorms and little wind most of the time.  But the only real problem we had was that our hydraulic autopilot had sprung a leak.  Patti had co-plumbed the system and spent hours trying to stem the leak.  Her patch was holding but we were worried because Otto (the autopilot) was our third crewmember and he works 24 hours a day.  We couldn't afford to lose him.