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Sialia



This passage on Sialia has been a great experience for a fresh water sailor from Vermont. Unlike my first offshore passage last spring, this one has been "hands on" at the helm instead of watching auto pilot direct the boat. Each crew member steers for their watch.

The weather has been beautiful with multiple brilliant sunsets and sunrises. The moon has shone brightly every night so far, lighting our route across the water.

My only regret is that my wife Carol couldn't make the passage. Since the rally started late, we will not be together on our anniversary. We'll have to celebrate when I return. 

Jim

In addition to our blog post, which I pasted in above, I thought I'd let you know that we have had a LOT of wind over the past 12-18 hours. Its been steady in the 20 plus range with many gusts over 30-35. We've been making MUCH better time though its certainly a little bumpy. We are very close hauled but able to make our course to Tortolla so that's very encouraging.

As is often the case in the middle of the night, I had an ear worm last night. (Kris and Mike this is for you and anyone else who is a big Jimmy Buffett fan. (next on my bucket list is a live concert - any takers?) ) I was driving through a rather large squall that had the rail buried and AMy was just getting ready to go wake her relief and dive for her bunk. As she crawled down the companionway I saw the salt crystals fly off her pony tail and thought "hey jimmy you can stop searching for that lost shaker of salt - I know where it is and her name is Amy."

I also have a shout out to Tony Moore - I take back everything I said about the packaging on the harness being unreasonable. I have, in fact, taken to wearing the harness and a bathing suit. Its not a look I ever thought would work for me but hey, I'm rocking it anyway ;) The water has been over 85 degrees for the last hundred miles. So its just HOT. The only place to be is driving because the wind spilling off the sails and the occasional squall is welcome. We are all most eager for our shifts a the helm. 

We're all doing well. Though we've been out here a little longer than we planned we continue to eat well and to be in excellent spirits. I made the last of the MahiMahi into panko fish bites and served them with a couple of different home made sauces and a lemon carved into a swan, nut to give us all the illusion of civliity for a few moments. It was most appreciated by the crew. Well by everyone but Amy. Amy normally loves when I make these Japanese treats but says its just to hard to eat the Mahi Mahi she caught. She's taken to calling him Charlie. Therefore we've changed the name of this dish for forever to Charlie Bites. 

While it was windy last night the sky was clear. We saw and named every constellation... wondered at how they were first discovered...and thinking about the people we know born under each sign. Amy's sign, Scorpio, is most prominent at the moment, but we found every other crew member's, and their families.... and most of the other major constellations and the milky way. Its awe inspiring and humbling to think about how long those stars have been there and how insignficiant our time (as a species) is relative to them and then to carry that through to our own lives. 

Oh well I have to get back above deck - apparently there is yet another rainbow -make that a DOUBLE RAINBOW - with both of them being visible from start to finish on the wide sargasso sea.

Cheers and hopefully well see you soon!

Paula

p.s. In case you can't tell, this interface has no spell check and I hope you can appreicate that im doing this on a 45 degree heel in 6-8 ft swells. And as soon as I download this weather I'm headed for my comfy bunk to catch some well earned sleep.

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