Position: 14°48'N 082°03'W
Couse 150T SOG 7
Wind N @ 20kts
Skies mostly clear
Seas 6-8 feet
Nautical miles sailed year to date: 1120nm
.. in last 24 hours about 180nm make good over ground.
The sun just set and is still casting a striking array of pinks, oranges and purples on the streaking mares tail clouds above. Just on the heel of the suns departure for the day a full moon is rising with a bright orange glow and at this moment a spooky Halloween type cloud belting it's middle. The moon phase is so ideal for night sailing that you might think we'd planned this... no this time it was just luck. We love the full moon at night as you can see your sails and the surrounding seas with ease making for a much more enjoyable night time experience that gives a greater feeling of control and security.
If you read yesterdays post I can report that we missed the timing of the approaching cold front by at least 6 hours and this translating to a rough night. Winds were steady at 25knots plus with squalls to 33 knots plus. Breaking beam seas 8-12 feet were slamming the side of the boat at times with an alarming crash and jolt that could bring you out of the deepest sleep. (not under deck slamming, but breaking seas hitting the windward side of the hulls). Unfortunately, we had to maintain a course with seas on the beam until 2PM this afternoon when we were finally able to turn down wind a bit and get the seas behind us from a more quartering direction. Nothing romantic or endearing about this trip so far except we've been making decent time toward Panama.
Lots of water across the decks last night and today. So much in fact that we've discovered three hatches that before now have never leaked. So much water on the windows that I almost wished for a windshield wiper to see out. Very happy with the pilot house... just sat inside in my shorts and no shirt and held on at times as we got a solid thrashing from the beam seas. Beam seas are the worst on a cat and we even had a few thing tip over, gasp!
Kathy is a real trooper (or sailor I guess I should say) she just having served up a great steak topped with melted cheese and pine nuts with a side of rice. It's tough working in the galley so a big thanks for the tasty dinner!
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