In our last episode, the valient crew of VALIS was about to partake of a spaghetti dinner. What amazing exploits are in store for them in the next exciting episode?
Actually, not much happened today (sound familiar?). We had some minor squalls in the night, but nothing that required any sail-changes. We are sailing under a cold front, so there was frequent light rain, and occasional moderate rain. When dawn broke, we took it on faith that the sun was up, since the sky was completely overcast. We spent the morning sleeping, talking, and sailing.
In the afternoon the sun broke through and set the seas sparkling. The wind has been slowly dropping, so we eventually set the second genoa, this time using the end of the boom to hold out the jibsheet, allowing both sails to remain filled as the boat yawed in the increasing seas. These two sails give us a faster and more comfortable ride than does the single genoa. This is also a very photogenic configuration, so we got our cameras out and snapped away.
Our current position (time: 5:56PM PDT) is latitude 38deg 57min north, longitude 132deg 39min north. Our speed is about 7 kts, and our course is 075 degrees magnetic. This has us pointing at Jenner, California, and we are about 416 nautical miles due west of Point Arena. The Golden Gate Bridge is 482 miles distant.
A Saturday arrival seems likely, but there is more light air ahead so we will keep updating our ETA as we appoach port.
-Paul