We had yet another day of large seas, high winds and lousy boat speed.  We decided to change our course a bit to get better VMG but we it will get “beat up” so I decided to shower again to change my spirits and get refreshed – always works!  We changed course by about 40°, dropped to one engine and gained a bit more of VMG.  Around 4p my sweet husband decided that he needed to go back up the mast to grab the lazy jack that wrapped around the TX flag – of course we were in 8’ seas and 20 knots of wind.  Better than before, but still not optimal.  Maybe he decided he needed more bruises as the ones he got before are starting to turn yellow?  This time it only took him about 35 minutes to hike up the mast, unwrap the lazy jack, and return to the deck. I think he thinks he is part monkey as he has learned to use every limb, finger and toe to hold on while suspended from mast.  At least I don’t have to go up there in these conditions.  Don’t get me wrong, I would love to be hoisted up the mast, but only when it is anchored or in a slip!

The days and nights are totally running together!  I would not know what day/date it is today except for the fact that it is written on my journal – is that good or bad?  The routine is nice, the food has been great, the boat is holding up, the crew is getting along as well as can be – but where are the trade winds?

After a tough day yesterday, we had a rough night last night with huge seas creating lots of pounding, bouncing and noise.  I know this boat is safe and hardy, but it is hard to believe there will not be any problems with the hulls of the boat.  Matt assures me that the boat is fine and that the noise is a lot worse than anything else that could happen.  I was squeezing his hand every time the boat pounded the wave and he said “it will be a long night if you do that with every wave”.  Even though we have strong winds it is not coming from the direction we want – really bad wind angle.    All day we had 22-25 knots of wind, huge rollers and a boat speed of 3-4 knots.  We averaged about 25 miles over the last 24 hours – eek gads we will never make it to our destination!  We did manage to spot 2 shipping containers – yeah “proof of life” J

I could not believe my eyes this morning – there was another boat way far off on the horizon!  It is always exciting to see another boat (as it is for everyone else) because it is proof that there is another form of life out on this big, blue water road.  It is very easy to let the “smallness” overwhelm you as there is so much water in every direction and no boats, no planes, no cell phones and very little communication.  It is really hard to describe this feeling other than “smallness” and seeing another boat can break that spell.

We got some wind today, through up the main with the first reef and were ticking off the miles toward St Lucia when BOOM – the reefing line broke (too much load on her).  Once the reefing line broke, the sail filled and popped the lazy jacks, dropping the boom on the cockpit cover (barely missing our solar panels) and blanketing the starboard side of the boat with the main. It was a frightening sound, experience, and sight.  It took us over 1 ½ hours to re-rig the sail, sail bag and lines and somewhere in the middle of all this process we managed to get the fishing lines wrapped around our props and a printer leaked toner all over the bottom of the closet and some of my clothes – tough day.