As of Aug 26, 9:00 PM PDT, we are at lat 32deg 47min north, lon 159deg 54min west, and are sailing slightly north of east at 5 kts. Winds are about 10 kts from the north, and seas are 2 ft. Skys are partly cloudy. We are sailing with full jib, staysail and main.

After looking at the weather predictions, we decided to turn east as soon as the wind would let us. We were expecting the wind to swing from the north west to from the north, and it seems that this is starting to happen. We still need to travel further north, but it looks like we will have favorable winds in the next few days. The Pacific High is still well north and east of us, but we are many days from that, and will adjust our strategy once we get closer.

Yesterday, after the Pacific Seafarer’s Net, we had a nice ham radio conversation with Richard Bowen, a friend of Jim and Paul, who was on his boat in Sausalito.

Other than the course change (we went from a starboard tack to a port tack), today was pretty relaxed. We read books, and Daniel tried to fly another kite. He managed to not lose this one, but the kite required quite a bit of aerodynamic fine-tuning. He is still working on it.

Dinner was spaghetti with Caesar salad and wine, during which we discussed the appropriate course to take and decisions to make to get us home. We also discussed the social pecking order on board, with each of us reaching different conclusions.

Spirits are high, and we have been enjoying some beautiful sailing and scenery. You might think that it would all start to look the same, but we continue to marvel at the ever-changing interplay between the wind and the sea. No two waves, or clouds, or the many continuously varying colors of the sunsets/sunrises are ever the same. Sometimes the sunset can be the a 360 degree color movie we watch from the cockpit after dinner each evening.

Best Wishes,
Dan, Jim, Paul, and Paul.