Today's projects

The winds are so light today that we took the reef out of the main. So we are now sailing on a full main and full jib. But the winds are from a better direction, so we are turning towards a more direct course for Long Beach.

My project today was to replace the AAA batteries in four flashlights. Bill and I each carry one or two small Pelican red-lens flashlights and today was the day to face the fact that we were down to one functioning unit. No big deal, but when the boat is heeled at 25-30 degrees, and jumping around a little, it's always a challenge to move around the boat and get stuff out of cupboards without getting hurt. And it can be tricky to handle stuff (like a box of batteries) while you're always holding on tight to the boat with at least one hand.

In fact, even typing on a laptop keyboard can be interesting because the keys don't stay in the same place from moment to moment. And don't even get me started about going to the bathroom.

By the way, Donna mentioned that she some some spinner dolphins on her watch this morning. But today's trash patrol came up empty; just a few plastic floats. Nothing worth rescuing.

Since today is a light news day, I'd like to take the opportunity to mention Donna's provisioning and cooking. She has served us outstanding grub from day one. For dinners, we've had pot roast, pizza, and ribs, with salads and all the fixin's. And there are lots of snacks: chips, granola bars, cookies, dried fruit, etc, and even fresh grapefruit. For lunch, we've had a variety of salads and sandwiches, including my favorite, tuna salad sandwich. And of course, every sailor's favorite night watch food, cup-o-noodles.

Current position: 34N32 147W50, currently motoring (to charge batteries) at 7.3 knots steering 055M.

That's all for now. Keep your comments coming.

Chris