The Grib file was depressing this morning...it suggests that we have to get to 130 W to start getting the Northerly breeze...the high seems to have been moving east with us and we've had wind on the nose for the past 24 hours...it forces us way south of where we'd like to be but it's still the lifted tack so we're staying with it... sometimes sailing can make you crazy! If the Grib is accurate we'll continue to get whacked for the next 24 hours. I'm going to try to download the weather fax later, but I never seem to be on when they broadcast a schedule or when the broadcast the Northern Pacific.

Just when I start to feel sorry for myself I listen to the vessel Sisutl trying to beat into San Diego without a main...and the Santa Ana winds growing. He has only twenty gallons of fuel and is headed to channel islands...at 1.4 knots...The morning net puts out a weather report... the storm portion takes fifteen minutes to report...not a good sign!

We're starting to get the San Diego temperatures...way cold when you're blood has been thinned by months in the tropics...we look like members of the Bird Antarctic Expedition when we go on watch! My back is starting to itch after more than a week without a (freshwater) shower... believe me, saltwater showers are in abundant supply! Today when I was running the water maker the exhaust water was getting blown directly into the cockpit...Joe was on watch wearing his full foul weather gear including Sowester hat...he was completely drenched and looked like the picture on the old "Chicken of the Sea" tuna can...it was hilarious (if you weren't Joe). I've been eating like a horse but Joe and Bill decided to go on a diet...they should be svelte by the time we get home...

After about 24 hours of motoring the wind and seas came up on the nose so we had to set sail...even though we're headed for Panama or Venezuela...if we tack over to starboard we'll be going about 14 degrees east of north...but we're sailing...

We're hoping that the winds clock back to the North as predicted... the big low pressure and a cold front behind us seem to be making the earlier forecast inaccurate..we've still got about 973 miles to go and a lot can happen between now and then...

Tonight on the net we heard that Sisutul...which is about 700 miles ahead of us...lot there dodger and main in a storm and are now reaching to SD on head sails in 20+ knots of breeze... at least it's out of the north and they are headed due east so they should be ok...

My old computer took its final dump last night and I've given up on it for now...at least with a breeze old Fleming has taken over and doing his normal stellar job...

Here's hoping for a northerly wind shift...we can't even make Cabo at this rate!

Today is one of those days that everything goes wrong...at least I didn't have to worry about how to spend my time...I spent all morning trouble shooting the autopilot...without success...we've been hand steering for the past day...we must be in the only spot on the Pacific without wind...I gave up about noon and sat down to send out an email only to find that the computer will not operate...I think the salt spray has shorted out the mouse...every once in a while I see it dash across the screen but I use the computer without a mouse...This is being written on your old computer...my last backup.

We are at 35.38 N and 139.14 W...motor sailing. The wind is pretty much right on the nose so we're just motor sailing on the rhumb line hoping that the wind starts clocking to the North as predicted by the Gribs...

We're still beating to weather although the wind speed has decreased to the mid teens...much more pleasant...and dry!

I'm running the heater not only to stay warm but also to dry things out inside...that warm air feels good...

Bill is up on watch... I made him stay below yesterday just to be on the safe side...I know he must have been feeling poorly because he not only agreed but didn't complain that much... a tough hombre and a good shipmate!

We're almost to 35 N at 143 W... with the wind just south of east we'll continue on this track until we can lay San Diego on the port tack... probably Sunday or Monday if the weather develops as forecast. Once we head to San Diego our VMG will increase as we can head directly to the destination...that will be good.

Today has been a challenging one! The wind came up last night on my watch about 0200 and built to the high twenties and low thirties and has remained that strong...the good news is that it's a little out of the south east so we're still making some progress toward the coast... the bad news is that it's kicked up an hellacious seaway that has us wet and rock and rolling... we're wondering if we're ever going to be able to eat all the great food we brought with us! It's too rough to cook at this point and we're all getting sick of granola bars!

Bill got careless for an instant while fixing his coffee and went flying across the boat crashing into the same head door that Perry destroyed... I must have fixed it pretty well as it survived Bill. He ended up with a nice cash that I put some disinfectant on and he stopped the bleeding/oozing with a paper towel... Bill is a tough guy so he sat down to read for a while because we didn't want him on deck or trying to get on deck until we had a chance to see if his brains were scrambled... I think he's in a bit of a daze because when I went down to check on him a few minutes later I found the printer had become unsecured, flown across the cabin and crushed the computer... and Bill was completely oblivious... he's just sitting around reading, with computer and printer parts sprinkled all around him!

I spent the rest of the morning trying to salvage the printer and then putting the computer back together... Duct tape is a wonderful tool... I had to use my old computer as a donor to replace the screen but everything is working marginally well as I write.

Joe is in his element...he's been outside singing sea shanties...we get douched with a boarding wave about every 10 minutes so it's appropriate. Just as we were drying out a huge wave boarded and just about washed us out of the cockpit...

Bill just came out of the head with a big smile on his face, so he must be fine...

We're trying to download the weather faxes but the one I needed (surface analysis) was broadcast when Z was changing the screen...

It's not pretty out here but we're still making progress to the coast...we've been 1066 miles and have 1433 to go if we could sail the great circle rhumb line...