Report from VALIS – Sept 7-8

As of 7:30 PM Monday, Sept 8, VALIS is at latitude 38 deg 45 min north, Longitude 127 deg 11 min west, about 235 miles from our slip in Sausalito. We expect to arrive sometime Wednesday.

At the moment, we are sailing at 6 knots under our asymmetrical spinnaker, all other sails
furled, in winds from the north east of about 14 knots. We are sailing almost directly downwind, which is not our fastest point of sail. We have been under spinnaker for two days now, striking it once for a brief squall yesterday, and again this morning when the winds were so light we decided to motor for a few hours. The weather has been
cooling, but the days are still pleasant in our short sleeve shirts.

During evening watches we need to wear warm clothing — just your basic summer weather in San Francisco. Last night’s sunset was one of the most spectacular that we’ve seen, and the evening skies have been glorious, with the waxing moon lighting up the clouds and horizon. The swells have come up, but these are long and gentle, from a long way off.

We are keeping a constant watch as we approach San Francisco, but have not seen any ships for several days now. Still, we are keeping the VHF radio on all the time, and someone is always topside. Today Paul E. finally brought out his sextant and took some sun sights. With his Palm Pilot doing the calculations, a two-sight running fix put us within three miles of our true position. Paul has been gloating ever since.

As we near home, this is an occasion for reflection for the crew. This voyage has been a deep personal experience for all of us, and each of us is taking the time now to think about what we have ahead of us when we tie up in Sausalito. Please bear with us if you see the occasional far-away look in our eyes.

Best wishes from the crew of the VALIS
Dan, Jim, Paul, Paul