Darby blarby

Welp, no evidence of any tropical storm that we can see out here 495 miles away from the Islands. Actually the closer we have gotten, the calmer the conditions. Currently we are cruising at a conservative 6 knots with a reefed main and jib. We could easily be carrying more canvas but we are not racing as fast as we can towards Hawaii and planning on letting the storm pass until we enter the 120 mile safety zone. The strong winds are not the only concern, its the sea state that can last a few days after the storm passes. And big swell in Hawaii means BIG SWELL. This place invented the big swell. So we are playing it by ear and getting all weather info we can. Fortunately we are a very slow boat, so there is no rush, even if we wanted.
In other news, the night sky tonight is marked as one of my all time favorites. Kathy and I dimmed the instrument lights and were speechless. It was so dark we couldnt see the front of the boat as we sailed into sheer blackness. There is nothing to hit out here in the middle of the ocean, so on night watches you basically just stare into the night and make sure the wind doesnt shift too rapidly. Is become warmer as we head south and we no longer need our foulies. Once this dumb storm gets out of our way, we will be able to see land again. Its going to be weird to stand on terra firma again. My body is so used to lurching and being thrown around.

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