Sunshine!

July 26, 3:30 PM PDT Position: 27d 57m N, 147d 24m W Speed / Course: 8 kt @ 223d Magnetic
Today has been a wonderful sunny day, with great wind and moderate seas. Halfway through last night we took down the spinnaker (which was over-powering us in the squalls), and sailed until morning with main and genoa. We lost a little top speed, but we sailed safely through the night with no drama or breakage (and broken equals slow). This morning we hoisted the “shy kite” AKA “chicken chute”, a smaller spinnaker designed for heavier air. This has been pulling us towards Kaneohe at a speedy clip since then.
We’ve been doing some personal washing-up, using the spray nozzle in the cockpit, with the warm water (heated by the engine during battery charging last night) still in the tank. It feels good to get the grime and salt off.
Dick made some delicious chicken and cheese quesadillas for lunch, and I am told that dinner will be BBQ ribs and chicken.
I almost forgot: this is a race! We continue to do well, narrowing the gap between us and Cassiopeia (currently first-place in our division). We spoke with them on the radio this morning, and we are both enjoying the competition. On VALIS we realize that this race is a marathon, not a sprint, and we are constantly evaluating the trade-off between speed and delay-causing damage from pushing too hard. I think we’ve developed the appropriate attitude: priority one is to arrive safely.
Regards, Paul / VALIS

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