day 6

Good news! We finally found solid wind and are not sailing toward the Galapagos/Japan. I sure hope the race tracker didn't capture my "donut tacks" - the winds were so light at one point, I had to do a few donuts to get on the proper tack and go west. Two container ships did witness said donuts (they call us WAFIs for a reason).

Sadly, we are seeing even more garbage. In any direction, you can see plastic. So sad. So wrong. We reported to NOAA the location of a giant piece of wood - a trip killer.

Last night's sunset was unbelievable. The clouds looked Raphaelian and the sea turned a reddish purple - like black currant jam. The stars were out for a bit with a huge moon.

Our boat speed is up and so is our spinnaker. This morning Mark woke me up well before my watch to get the kite up - like a boy on Christmas morning staring at his presents - or, more like poking a bear. I am NOT a morning person. Once the kite was up, the fun began. We are moving along and having fun driving this crazy bus. It was so hot today, I drove in my underwear (with lifejacket and safety lead).

We have accepted the watch system with limited sleep but the dreams are simply crazy. As tired as I am, I just don't want to have any more crazy dreams. I am sure there is a book about sleep deprivation and insanity!

As we are on separate watches, Mark and I share a bunk and a sleeping bag. The bunk is a pipe berth on ropes and pulleys to gimble it so that you don't fall out when the boat is heeled one way or another. The sleeping bag (from my Clipper RTW days) has two layers of removable fleece and a waterproof exterior. This is my first ocean race with an actual pillow (instead of my rolled up midlayer) - on this trip, good sleep is a necessity. To get to said bunk, we have to do sort of a limbo to wedge into it. People of Tim McDonough or Gary Boell stature would not like it very much. The bunk is conveniently located under the helmsman in the cockpit so that the on watch can just knock irritatingly to wake up the off watch.

Thanks again to Alex, we are loving the CDs you gave us.

Peace and Love, Team WarPony

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