May 7 - Day 18 More squalls

Position: S05deg48min/W142deg44min
Day 17's run: 111 nm
Avg speed: 4.6 kn
Course: 175
Wind: 15
Seas: 6-8'
Sails: 2nd reef main; jib
Fish: two lines are out; no fish so far
Ship's log: 2038 nm
Conditions are challenging. We had calms where we had to motor during the early evening, but at least we ran the watermaker. Then the winds picked up, and the lightning and thunderstorm activity kept us all awake. We used the radar to dance around the squalls, at one point doing a kind of semi-circle around a large cell that was on a direct intersecting course. We had gray skies and more squalls this morning, with sustained winds of 30 for about a half hour, gusting to 38. Nothing like variable conditions, lots of sail handling, a bit of sleep deprivation and longing for a good cheeseburger and fries to keep us all a bit crazy. Are we there yet?

No comments: