So Close, So Close and Yet So Far! (by Mary) We ended our day yesterday with a yummy meal of spaghetti and meatballs that Mary Margaret prepared. We were all a bit hungrier than normal since we adjusted our clocks earlier in the day to reflect the new time zone. And as a result of the time change, the sun set a bit earlier as well. After enjoying the cool evening breeze and a bit of conversation we all turned in. I was able to get a little nap before my shift at 9pm. It was another moonlit night and we were moving along at around 7 plus knots. With the winds and current at our stern, "Otto" was a bit more active. At first I was a little concerned because it was on my shift that the rudder quadrant pin broke which Otto is attached to. After about an hour, I was confident that "Otto" had good control. I really enjoy the peaceful nights. I am mostly in deep thought and think of my family and friends a lot but sometimes I am just singing along to the iPod tunes. (Kind of like singing in the shower, and so far I haven't woken anyone up!) For the first time on my watch I observed 3 ships on radar at the same time. One 984' cargo ship came within 5 miles. It's nice to have a bit of "company" on watches. Not as exciting as the dolphins that Mary Margaret and Greg were treated to, but nice nonetheless. When Greg came up for his shift we were still on target for arrival, late afternoon on November 30. Oh what a difference a few hours (and no wind) make! When Dave checked the auto pilot pin earlier this morning, he noted that the wood clamp had come completely off. It's a good thing that he had the vice grips as a backup. During my watch this morning, I kept hearing "Chocolate Ice Cream!", "Margaritas!", "Pina Coladas!" Dave and Greg need to exercise a bit of patience. The wind gods are playing a cruel joke on the crew of Leu Cat. Today the winds are so very light and we are moving along in the low to mid 5 knot range, possibly putting the impending arrival off until the morning of December 1. Mary Margaret sensed that we needed a morale booster so off to the galley she went. A short time later the wonderful aroma of chocolate filled the salon. She called us all down and served fresh baked brownies! As if double chocolate brownies were not enough, Dave had to top his with chocolate syrup and Greg slathered peanut butter on his. (I think the salty air is getting to them!) Mary Margaret and I enjoyed our perfectly baked double chocolate brownies, plain. A note on our provisions: we still have plenty of meat in the freezer; we have a few fresh potatoes, onions and butternut squash. Planning provisions for 4 people for 40 days is no easy feat. We've had fresh lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, broccoli, cauliflower, eggplant, green and red peppers, carrots, green and red cabbages, apples, oranges and bananas. Kudos to Mary Margaret, she really did well!

As of noon today, the end of our Day 22 of our passage to Grenada, our position is 10 36.7'N: 58 57.2W, our course is 303 degrees True, our speed is 6.2 knots with 11 knots of apparent wind coming from the ENE. The seas are mild with only 1 to 1.5 meter swells from the E.

We made 154 nm today, averaging with 6.4 knots as our average speed. So far, we have sailed 3000 nm with a daily average speed of 5.7 knots. We are just 177 nm short of Grenada and will need to average 6.5 knots to get there before dark tomorrow. Mary Margaret and I have a policy of never entering an unknown bay or anchorage in the dark. Charts are not reliable and buoys move. We need to arrive before 1700 tomorrow evening in order to get to the marina before dark. If we cannot make it in time, we will just have to heave to about 10 or so miles short of Grenada and spend the night there while waiting for daylight hours. �...and the margaritas and ice cream will just have to wait�...sigh.