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American Spirit II - Day 11; Thru the Nicaraguan Sand Banks; Wednesday; January 15, 2014



Tuesday night/Wednesday morning was a long night. The watch schedule was changed so Joel and myself could be on watch together when we passed thru this treacherous Nicaraguan Sand Bank area just before sun rise, which we did at 6:15 AM. Most of the time the watches are manned by just one crew. Areas like this, landfall's, sail changes, etc., require more than one person to safely handle.

Breakfast was a challenge today, as the boat was moving around a lot. More than normal. The boat moves left to right and right to left; but also up and down. Even before the 5 eggs made it to the skillet, it was hard to keep the "yoks from running all over the galley!" Once in the skillet, the gimballed stove was dancing too much. The eggs wanted to escape the frying pan. In order to keep them captive, I had to slow the movement of the gimbaled stove, which I did with one hand on the corner of the stove. Once the eggs were sufficiently hard (not all liquid), then order was restored. What's the most dangerous job on a sail boat? Cooking.

A typical breakfast consists of scrambled eggs, spiced up by the chef to increase crew morale and boost the crews' metabolism. Plus whole wheat bread with peanut butter and strawberry or grape jelly. I'm sure you're all salivating.

There is no lunch, per se; per crew preferences. Everyone just grabs fruit during the day, such as an orange, pear, two types of apples and raisins. Snacks abound also.

Dinner under sail consists normally of freeze dried food. For example, tonight we had Lasagna with Meat Sauce. Boil 16 ounces of water in the tea kettle, mix in pouch for 9 minutes, and serve. So simple, even a guy can do it! I am a cook; therefore, we eat! I believe someone named Julius Caesar said something famous and similar like that. With the Lasagna we had a can of green beans. Other freeze dried food on board includes Sweet and Sour Port; Chicken and Rice; Terriyaki Chicken and Rice; Beef Stew; Beef Stroganoff; Noodles and Chicken; and more I've forgotten.

We continued to get 20 plus knots out of the east. Where's that 10 - 15 knots in the forecast? And we keep praying for some north in the wind. No luck yet. Lot of squalls this afternoon and early evening. Looks like they were part of that LOW down in Panama. Not a bad squall like we had a few days ago.

The forecast for the rest of the week until we get in Friday looks good. Support Team Leader Janet Fox, from her command center on Lake Keystone in Odessa, Florida, supplied us with an updated Passage Weather forecast that lifted crew morale mightily. From all of us, thank you Janet! All of us on the boat knew that this leg to join up with the Rally in San Blas would be challenging. It was and still is.



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