1000 Miles

There's a full moon hanging over a bank of dark clouds to the southwest this evening. The wind is soft and the seas are rolling gently with less than a one foot swell. It's a pleasant night watch.

We have passed the 1,000 mile mark and tonight we will start heading northeast as we round the Pacific high. Less than 2,000 miles left. There are at least four boats making their way back to the Pacific Northwest now and we each seem to have our own unique idea of how to do it. One poor captain was congratulated last night for finding the exact center of the high when he reported his position, wind (0)and boat speed (0)to the Pacific Seafarers' Net - he apparently doesn't have access or understanding of GRIB files. They have really made a difference for making safe and faster passages.

This passage hasn't been as bleak as the passage from Baja to Hawai'i. We see birds everyday - maybe only one or two shearwaters, but two nights ago we were surrounded by a flock of over a dozen black-footed albatross. The flying fish are plentiful out here and are amazing to watch. One flew into the cockpit and smacked Sonia on the leg - he was a beautiful little thing but none the less, he became cat food.

We are enjoying this brief calm before we start the sleigh ride across the high in the next day or two.
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At 7/14/2011 9:19 AM (utc) our position was 39°30.79'N 164°56.79'W on course 356T at 7.8 knots.

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