Day 11 April 27, 2013, 9:50 PM (Pacific Time)

Day 11 April 27, 2013, 9:50 PM (Pacific Time) – Fran
Current Location: 15 08.28 N,120 04.39 W
Temperature: Indoor 79F, Outdoor 77 F
+/- 900 Miles from Puerto Vallarta, 1,850 Miles to the Marquesas

So, I’ve been pondering how very different life at sea is from life on land. Aside from the obvious, we’re on a boat (‘I’m on a f****in’ boat – I got my flippy floppies’) surrounded by water, no land in sight. THere are many other subtle differences. For instance when we want speak with our friends Joe and Heidi on their boat “Huck”, we call for “Huck” on the SSB radio. We refer to all of our friends on boats by their boat name. And when someone asks where we are – it’s no longer: at home, at work, on the 405, at the grocery store, etc. It’s very precise: 15 degrees 08 minutes north, 120 degrees 04 minutes west, heading 240 degrees true. We follow every direction with “true”, as opposed to “magnetic” (or, ‘false’).

Life is oddly simple onboard. Yes, we have complications that we didn’t on land, no doubt. But out here we have only a few things that capture our focus (each becomes the most important item at different times of the passage): 1) stay on the boat 2) Ensure that we’re eating and sleeping as much as possible (I know, tough life…) 3) How is the boat riding? How are the sails? That sort of thing 4) Are we headed in the right direction? 5) What’s the weather doing and how do we need to ensure we’re prepared for what it brings. As complex as each of these items can become, it’s nice that our focus is here, now.

Today the winds built to 20 – 25 knots and we were having difficulty going in the direction we intend (southwest). We took ‘Huck’s’ recommend and dropped our mainsail and are just running under the jib. Wow, what a difference that made. And funny, ‘Huck’ got that guidance from a book that we’ve had for years, and each of us have read, and it’s onboard. (We may be sleep deprived). The good news is that we’re now headed much closer to our intended path and will likely enter the ITCZ (google it) tomorrow.

THat’s all for now – Richard is sleeping, I’m headed back up to check on the sail. Oh, and I’ll be bringing my blanket up to the cockpit (again). I know the temp says it’s 77F, but with the wind, it’s just plain cold. I’m in long pants, a t-shirt and windbreaker – wondering when exactly it’s going to get warm…

PS – We’ve been traveling with 1 hatch open, over the sink just to get some fresh air in the boat. This morning Richard and I were discussing breakfast when I looked at the counter and saw….yup, a deceased flying fish. We’ve been finding them on the deck pretty regularly, but this guy came right into the kitchen. We decided not to have him for breakfast 🙂