Of course as soon as we got the sails all set tge wind started shufting around so now I'm just adjusting course based on where the wind is coming from.

I found the velocity made good display on the chart plotter which gave me the idea to change course into the wind so we could make a net gain towards our way point. Wayne and I were meticulously careful as we made our own decisions to change course and set the sails. We are on a broad to beam reach bouncing around a bit but our speed has increased noticabky.

We're sitting at the helm pondering VMG.

I'm not messing around.

I forgot to turn off mail delivery to my house so Inused the. inReach to send Duncan a text with all my login details. Hopefully I have the Garmin map set up right so those messages don't display.

They had clamped the coffee maker but the carafe could still fall out so two turns and to half hitches and a clove hitch later ...

Wayne and I have been sitting here silently for some time lost in our own thoughts. I suddenly became aware that my mind is clear as it has not been in quite some time and that my "writing voice" has returned.

It's a rare thing to have a friend one can be completely silent around.

A /huge/ whale just surfaced not more than a boat length in front of us. We nearly hit it. The thing was longer than the boat. Wayne was on deck and I was concerned he'd get thrown if we collided. Fortunately he was clipped in.

Nounced sround too much. The sail wouldn't stay full. Dana got hit in the face with a wild sheet.

Out in the ocean Dana and Wayne are setting up the spinnaker.

Being Out Here(tm) on the open ocean under sail brings me a kind of deep peace. That peace doesn't happen if there is an engine running.

Dana is making me something to eat. Wayne is trying to sleep. None of us got much sleep but I got the most out of the three of us.

Waves continue to settle. The boat is gently wallowing in following seas.

I just saw a bird so I'm guessing we are not yet more than 100 miles off shore.

<checks chartplotter>

Yup. We're only about 60nm off shore at this point.

First watch of the day. Wayne just went down to try to get some sleep. Dana is doing the same. It's mich warmer than it was last night and the waves are setling down. In these following seas, the catamaran moves around dramatically relative to the wind. On the bigger waves it moves so much we'd be in danger of an unintentional jibe if not for tge preventer but it means we can't fly the headsail. Dana will probably want to try to fly the spinnaker later.

Gusts up to 30kts or so.

Could not sleep to save my life it was so cold.

Long watch. Wayne joined me after a nap and we waited for Dana to wake up to relieve me at three. We told him we thought we needed to reef and put the preventer on the port side so we set about doing this. Dana and I clipped in and went forward and Wayne manned the helm. 22kts of wind in this cold even with the heated jacket was something. The waves were "interesting". Dana showed me how to lower and reef the sail and then we rigged the preventer because we're running downwind. I promptly forgot hiw to tie a bowline but recovered. So far I haven't had the "being overwhelmed by too many loud noises" thing that's happened on previous sails.

I am beat. It's past 4am. There's no signal.

I just saw a huge green flash light up the sky for a second.

Instructions are to just continue on engine. He's pretty tired.

Wonds have picked up. We need to reef. Waling Dana.

First watch. Wayne has handed me the lifevest and lanyard.

Wayne has noted some vessel we don't recognize that only just popped up on AIS as "unknown vessel - restricted maneuverability"

He's keeping an eye on it.

I continued to be chilled so I put my cold weather base layer amd thicker socks. It seems to be helping. I wonder if I'm getting sick.

For some reason, maybe changed sleep schedule, the cold is getting to me much worse than before. I'm not even on watch. I'm inside under a blanket wearing my heated jacket, which ROCKS. At the present moment it is worth its weight in gold.

Note to self: check and recheck the electronics well before leaving. The Gain inReach mapnis not showing the track.

Dana cooked a wonderful porkchop with butternut squash dinner for us.

He is now taking his first mini watch. Wayne is pretty tired and taking a nap I'm chilling for the first time today.

Wayne and I have beem sailing the boat making our own decisions and acting on them.

Starting to get dark.

Dana just told me he's feeling guilty because he's not doing anything.