That was a wild night! Wind picked up quite a bit under squally conditions, and we got close to loosing control over the boat. But we managed, and all is well. The sails may disagree.

With the good wind yesterday we made 162 nm, a very good result for us given our sail outfit. We remain on 4th place in Division A, and only 8 miles behind the 3rd boat, which is now Hooligan, who had been passed by Green Buffalo. We may still have a chance for 3rd place, but everything else only with divine interaction.

However, others may have better lobbying in that regard, as HE ruffled us up a bit in the morning hours. Strong squally conditions soaked us with plenty of rain, and provided more wind than we cared about. And neither did our spinnakers care so much about it. The new 3/4 ounce got a tear in the center (!), which necessitated urgent activity to get him down before he would be blown up completely. We raised Old Faithful instead, our 1 1/2 ounce spinnaker, which had survived all previous 3 races of Cirrus. Conditions got even worse. The boat was not only rolling widely, but additionally also swinging horizontally - think of the mast as rotational axis - as well as bumping up and down, and see-sawing forward backward . At the time I sat down below at the nav station doing the morning roll call of the fleet. I had the feeling of sitting in a new adventure ride in Disneyland, and was beginning to wonder whether my breakfast would stay where I put it. But even old Faithful was overpowered, and lost his foot in the battle. We took him down and laid him to rest down below. It looks bad; he may join Humpty-Dumpty. Now we are back to our only white sail, the jib. The main sail, of course, still cannot be raised.

We are making 6 - 7 kn, but this is likely not enough for us to be challenge for 3rd place.

Sleeping is another challenge under those conditions. In mellow conditions you can lay down in your bunk in your favorite sleeping position, the boat would be slightly rolling, and if you had mom around for a lullaby, you would be quickly sinking into your most wonderful dreamy sleep. But under current conditions, things are a weeny bit different. The wider and "more comfortable" your bunk is now, the more difficulties you will get. I prefer the "coffin-sized" bunks, where you can barely move. Lying in the middle of it would do you no good. You'd be slapped around, either bouncing your face or back or arms and legs and knees on the hard sides of the bunk. What you need to do is to press your back onto one side, then raise your knees and arms to wedge yourself into a locked-in position, and hope to find some sleep. It may work. Other bunks, which are open to one side, like the settee in the center of the boat, need a so called lee-cloth. It is a strong piece of fabric spanning almost the full side of the settee, and being tied to the ceiling of the boat with lines to form something like a fence. This provides something like a hammock, and is actually quite comfortable. But mellow conditions are much preferred.

The daytime yesterday was simply wonderful. Waves and swells were building up, but easily manageable. The wind was sufficient to let us go at 7+ knots, with an 8+ during the squalls. The sky was blue with puffy clouds which helped to make the sunshine more tolerable. I had the first salt-water shower on deck. Greg followed me. Since the forward hatch was caulked shut, Bill installed a long garden hose, which reaches from the pump down below in the bow space through the companionway onto the forward deck. It is not easy to get yourself lathered with regular soap using saltwater, but i forgot to buy the saltwater soap. And once you have the soap on you, it is equally hard to get it off. But your feet and the wet deck are still slippery, and we really wanted to stay on deck and not slip into the ocean. So we secured us with a line wrapped around our body, since we could not use our regular harnesses, which would inflate when forcefully showered. So, it does take a bit of preparation, but it is sure worth it.

MP was sick yesterday, and we had to share in her duties. However, you can't keep a former bush pilot away for long. In the afternoon the was alright again.

We had the fishing line out all day yesterday, but still no fish. Where is hooker Joel when you need him ? (see our 2000 stories!). No ship seen (and no racer either). Are they striking somewhere?

Aloha,
Ulli

position at 1300 PDT: 25N59, 147W34, COG:237, SOG: 6.6kn, ETA: Mon, July 17, 1843 HST