April 17,2018 1526 UTC 14°17.6N 112°45.2W
Partly sunny with 50% cloud cover. We all just had breakfast in the cockpit consisting of eggs salad on crackers, beef jerky and some Costco chocolate covered clusters. Yeah, our breakfast is not typical but it works in all the food groups.
About two nights ago, we were making poor speed with our double poled yankee and stay sail. With light winds downwind of us, we thought we’d catch most of the wind that way. The lack of speed wouldn’t have been annoying if the seas weren’t rolling Luminesce side to side, with every 18 seconds a huge thud vibrating through our boat. As the cacophony of squeaks, cling clang, banging lines, and occasional clash of the waves against our hull orchestrated throughout the night, Jeff and I gained little sleep in what sounded like one of Phillip Glass’s post modern symphonies. The next day we tried to give up on the double poled wing on wing approach and raise the main and the jib like we normally sail. What seemed like a simple task turned into two hours as we tried to manage the unruly mainsail and the stubborn lazy jacks that didn’t want to release from our batten pocket velcro. Whenever things get tough, I think about all the life pleasures I don’t have at the moment. For instanc e, we have not had Thai food in ages, I missed our double shower head showers in the master bath in our old house, thoughts of cooking in my old kitchen, and having a button or switch for most everything you need to do. I quickly shook off those thoughts with a qualifying thought that my old simpler life had a huge price tag. Wait a minute, aren’t I living the simpler life now? It’s all in that definition of simple. Once our sails were set, we were cruising along at 5.5-6 kts. Now that’s more like it. Even Anna’s sea sickness seemed to have eased a bit and she became talkative about her favorite movies.
The moods and general conditions improved 100% after the water was made, food in our tummies and a nice shower. Jeff and Anna tried the shower on the stern with harnesses on. Sophia and I opted for the shower in our boat with our shower curtain contraption. Everyone looked and smelled so much better. I no longer felt like a salt crusted, greasy, sticky, sundried treat for some remote jungle cannibals.
Today it’s a nice broad reach sail. We have sailed more than 500 nautical miles from Mexico. Certainly we have made progress though our crossing the Pacific seems still surreal to me. Being out in middle of the biggest ocean with no land in sight is kind of freeing.

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