July 13, 11:00AM PDT Lat 32d 22m N, Lon 135d 17m W Speed 6 kts, Course 250 d mag. Winds 12 kts Full main and light spinnaker.
We had another slow day yesterday — 67 miles — but better than the previous one. Everyone else had a slow day too, and we remain in Division A fourth place.
Early Saturday evening we had a pretty vigorous rainshower as we were dousing the spinnaker for the night. We often fly the kite continuously, but things were so fluky around sunset that we decided to go with the more-easily managed main-and-genoa configuration. As it turned out, there was so little wind through the night that which sails we had up would have made very little difference. There’s less to get tangled up without the spinnaker down though. Sunset was beautiful, with the horizon rampant with strange animals and other shapes. Over the last couple of evenings the terms “squallglow” and “Cat City” have been created — I guess you have to be here.
Last night was spectacular, with the “super-moon” (full moon closest to the Earth) illuminating the ocean, clouds and boat. For much of the night the sky above was clear, and even with the full moon, with the help of our local astronomer Phil we could identify many stars and planets.
This morning we considered ourselves lucky to me making 1/2 kt towards Hawaii. It being Sunday, Rich prepared breakfast: Spanish Scrambled Eggs (egg, salsa, and bacon), and cups of mandarin orange slices. Not only was it delicious, as soon as we had finished the wind picked up (as far as the eye can see), and we put up the spinnaker again. Perhaps it was the bacon? If the wind drops again it’s worth a try.
Speaking of food, we’ve got the Chicken Biryani defrosting for tonight’s dinner. This dish has become a favorite over the last three Pacific Cups.
This is shaping up to be another great day!
But it’s 11:30 AM and the wind just dropped. Oh well, it’s still good.
Regards, Paul / VALIS