Dodging Squalls

Today was a good day. Odd right Given we are dodging squalls. Well after yesterday today was a breeze lol.

In between the squalls life was calm and normal. I managed to do a deep clean of the main living space and the cockpit. You'd be surprised how quickly stuff gets grundgy from the salt water and snacking. The boat smells better now. Nothing a bit of freebreeze couldn't fix. 

We took a hard left today and headed south for a bit to find some wind and then we turned and are going more west now. We are finally sailing downwind again and it feels so good. Peaceful. Gentle rock back and forth. Love it. At present there is a line of squalls in front of us and clear sky behind with the moon coming up. I'm hoping or maybe praying that the squall is moving off in front of us. We will see. Day 18 tomorrow.

Still Trucking

Cloudy cloudy sky. We are just staying on the shoulder of this weather system and trucking along. Leaned way over and trying to adjust to our new normal. Seas have built due to the wind. I have a headache from the lack of sleep.

Hoping this dissipates soon. Graham says he is making mushroom risotto for dinner as we think we've passed the halfway point. Thanks to everyone who checked in on us. Nice to feel your love.

Racing Weather

Wind and seas are up but no rain just yet. Fingers crossed we win this race.

The anticipation is killer. I feel like I'm in a washing machine. Our toilet is in the high side so you have to firmly brace your feet and place your hands on the counter so you don't get thrown off the throne. 

Oh the fun we are having.

Day 15 Ticking along

I feel like I should get my weather routing certificate at the end of this journey lol. Oh man as I type this I can hear a bird circling me. I'm not a bird person. I'm lovin having an enclosure to keep them out. ). It's so nice to have the full moonlight on night watch.

Makes it so much better. Tonight we are flying along. The latest models have us going more south to avoid the rain and lightening storm Monday night. This means sailing with the wind forward of our beam. It's fast but not as comfortable as downwind. A bit more spicy. Less Julie style sailing lol. So heeled over and ploughing through the waves. Grahams sleeping on the couch so not to far away for me to holler for help if we need to reef. 

Surprisingly I haven't got bored yet. Still luxuriating in being able to do whatever the heck I want with zero guilt. LOVE IT! oh god there's that squeaking bird again. Well have a good night. I'm going to grab the fly swatter just in case. 

Not Scared

 It was funny as we passed Galapagos

I forgot to consider we wouldn't be seeing land for another 20+ days. It's been a couple days since we've seen any boats as well. Truly feels like we are all alone. Aside from the birds, the flying fish and yesterday a whale!

We finally got to the trade winds yesterday around 5pm. We brought the spinnaker in and reefed the main for the night. We are still flying along at 6.5 knots.

It's my watch now 3am to 6am. The moon has set so it's pretty dark.

There are lots of clouds around making the night seem more ominous.

We are leaned way over and the sound of the wind and the swell pushing over from the side make this 13 knots of wind seem more dramatic.

I'm not scared like I use to be but I'm not gonna lie to you... look forward to the sun coming out. It's weird to think we have everything we need on board. Today we might make carrot ginger soup and tea biscuits. Yummy!

We have been studying the wind and current and we are 99% sure we will change our destination to Nuku Hiva in Marquesas. It looks like a better sail, less time, better weather and easier flight access for the girls and for Tim to fly home. I calculated and we have 2600 nautical miles to go. If we avg 5.5 knots an hour that's 473 hours which is 20 days . We will see.