Thursday and all is well

We've had consistent radio contact with friends in MX. Unfortunately, sometimes it's bad news. Iain on Loon lost his father last night to a heart attach. They will be trying to figure a way to get home and somewhere to leave the boat. It is complicated since they need a special permit to leave it unattended in MX. Wyndeavor finally got their motor and will be leaving Barra today.

Well, it's hot, hot, hot out here. Yesterday and the day before it was in the mid 90's. The water temp is 84. Today it is overcast and looks like maybe rain, so it is cooler, but by no means cool, since the humidity is very high. We feel constantly sticky. We have tried a recipe out of my can opener gourmet cookbook though. You put a can of fruit, like peaches, in the freezer for a day, and then process it in the blender or food processor to make a smoothy. Luckily I brought a tiny Cuisinart, so we are enjoying some frozen treats. I may try to add some cream next time and make icecream. The other trouble with the cloudy skies is power generation. We're down a bit and hoping to get some sun, or if we have to motor through the ITCZ then we'll make it up. Most of our power comes from our 4 solar panels.

Today we're making 6+ knots, so we're all pretty encouraged. We have 18-20 knts from the NE and a significant swell. It's pretty tough to keep everything from flying around down below. I need 3 hands to cook dinner. We did make 133 miles yesterday and hope to make the same or more today. We're 916 miles out, almost 1/3 of the way. Our average speed for the trip has risen to 5 knots.

The kids and I are doing well. The surprise bag is a good motivation to do school in the morning. Yesterday Ellie did pretend cooking in the kitchen and entertained herself quite nicely. I opened a bag of dried beans and emptied them into a bin for Carter to play with. He used cups and funnels and spoons to play for quite a long time.

I find it strange to think about our "home" sailing across the ocean. We have laundry hanging from the lines, dinners to cook, toys to pick up and dishes to do. But we're moving through the water, over the waves and rolling back and forth like a carnival ride. I wonder if people at home can imagine what it might be like. Probably not, I couldn't.

well, hope all is good at home. I miss spring gardening. I'm dreaming of houses and getting back into a normal routine. We'll be anxious to check the e-mail when we reach civilization.

-Kellie