The rays of the full moon splash across the blackness
lighting our watery world like a street light on wet pavement. There is a plethora of stars at times veiled
by billowy white cotton ball clouds that float by and stack up on the
horizon. The glow of our steaming light
bounces off of the main sail. The flags
on the spreader flutter in the light northwest wind. The engine hums quietly as
it gently pushes us at seven knots across three foot seas. The winds were so light that we motorsailed for
36 hours of the 81-hour cruise. The warm nights are spectacularly serene. There is plenty of room to think and breathe
in this wide open space.
On the first night after leaving San Diego with the rally, I
counted the lights of 25 boats around us.
On the second night there were four.
We entered Bahia Tortugas at 0300 on the third night following the stern
lights of two boats. Boats continued to
enter the bay throughout the night. The winds were so light that we motored 36
hours of the total 81 hours of transit time.
By contrast our days are busy and noisy. The fleet roll call on the SSB takes an hour.
The VHF crackles with conversation. We run the watermaker, make meals, adjust
the sails, adjust our course, and stand watches. The colorful gennaker balloons out and pulls
us south in the light, warm winds.
We are humbled by the gentle giant blue whales as they
surface, their length longer than our boat.
We set out our fishing pole and in the evening and savor the delicious mild
yellow fin tuna.
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