We have now officially been close hauled on starboard tack for 7 straight days (minus a few hours here and there of close reaching). We've found all sorts of fun new leaks on Coyote (don't worry, all above the water line, these are the types that just make things wet and uncomfortable). Last night at about midnight I woke up and we were flying through a squall and Steve was running around in the semi-darkness of the cabin with underwater epoxy in desperation trying to stop leaks around the cabin windows. He's also taking to sleeping in his seaboots as his bunk is wet.

Right now we've gone 994 nm, and over 800 of that has actually been towards SF. Really we're making great time. In a day or two when we tack over we will be heading more directly towards the coast, and I would expect the miles to just start falling away.

I'm really enjoying Steve's sailing style, which is to push quite hard. It can be the middle of the night, black, wet, spray everywhere, squalls everywhere, the boat is heeled over 30 degrees, and someone will say 'do you want me to put a reef in?' and Steve will seem surprised and say something like 'uh, I guess you could, but this sail combo should be good up to 40kts." I guess that's what a lifetime of racing on SF bay does to you. Really though, I like it, it's fun to stay a bit in race mode, and go for a speedy trip.

I think Julia and I were both very well prepared mentally for this trip, and have found the conditions (while not always comfortable or easy) to be well within our expectations for the trip. I think some of the other crew was not so well prepared, and they seem a bit worn down by the constant pounding and upwind work. To them, exiting into the calm of the high would be a welcome respite, whereas to Steve running out of wind sounds miserable.

Not a whole lot of sleep last night, Julia and I took long shifts to try and let the old guys sleep:) So, this will have to remain brief as I'm off watch and looking forward to my bunk. Next big milestone will be our halfway mark!

Lat 34 43.278' N, Long 147 43.897' W
Wind: 17 kts E
Seas: 2.5 meter E
Speed: 7kts
Dist to go: 1235 NM

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