Day 2 - 3/31/06

Coordinates............ 16 01.368N, 105 39.812W
Heading................ 250
Boat speed..............7 knots
24 hr total nm .........145 nautical miles (NM)
Wind direct. & speed....N/NW 10-15 knts
Swell direct. & ht .....N 3-6 ft.
Cloud cover.............45%
Barometer...............995 hPa

So what does one do whilst floating around on the Pacific Ocean all day. Apparently a lot because it was hard to find the time to sit and write this note.
Actually the major job these first two days is simply adjusting, which I have to say this crew is doing very well. It took only about 12-24 hours for the smallest crew members to get over their sour tummies. They bounced right back and were ready for full meals, school and of course video games. The two larger crew members are quickly getting the hang of their 4 hour shifts. Taking power naps in the day time is kind of nice once you get the hang of them. School on the passage will go through some adjustments I'm sure. Fridays we reserve for fun so in addition to writing in journals and reading, today's agenda is making the reverse of a Christmas chain. Instead of removing a ring for the countdown we will be adding one with a memory of each day of the crossing.

Since we are only heading in one general direction, the boat is eternally healed over to the port side. Learning to function that way is a chore. I liken it to holding a pilates position for ever. You are never really at rest even when you are sitting or lying down. You constantly fight the pull. To get to the head you must climb up hill, to reach the galley you roll down hill. Add in the swells for some fun lumps and bumps and Disneyland rides have nothing on us. It can be fun if you just roll with it. (ha ha) Keeping this in mind everything just takes a lot longer to accomplish. Cooking meals is not any more difficult than I expected, just more tiring. Hopefully our endurance will continue to improve as well and I will need less recovery time between each task.

Next one must adjust to all the new smells, sights and sounds of being aboard and under way for so long. Some of these are pleasant and some are not so nice. The warm fresh air is so nice but even that is barely enough to cover the smells of produce that goes bad faster than you can eat it. The water out here is the deepest most beautiful royal blue. It makes even the most ominous swells look not so bad. A lot of people had asked us what would it be like to not be able to see land and personally I love it. It is an amazingly peaceful feeling not fearful at all. We have a constant brown boobie bird flying around with us though no hitchhikers yet. And this morning I did see a turtle go floating by. It takes a little time again to get used to all the creaks and bumps the boat makes as it charges through the water. Which one is worth your attention which one is not. Listening to the water run by can be very soothing. Hearing the boat slap down hard past the steep side of a swell will startle me out of the deepest sleep. We do spend quite a chunk of our day listening to the radio as well. With check-ins to various nets on the Ham Radio we know the location of approximately 20 other boats crossing the ocean right now. Though we can't see anyone it is nice to know that they are there. What still is the most amazing to me the sheer power of the wind. By no choice of it's own is being harnessed by us to propel all 15 tons of us through the water and in a specific direction none the less. It is awesome to feel the force that wants to turn the boat up into the wind and the keel and rudder fighting back to maintain a course. Impressive.

Time to go prepare the crew's grub. Today's menu's included French Toast for breakfast, ham sandwiches for lunch and chicken tacos for dinner. It will be a challenge to top last nights hamburgers though.
until next time,
love lisa and the boys