I honestly think that we expected the Pacific to be...well... a little more "Pacific"! Instead, a good portion of the trip so far has felt like we are living inside a washing machine gone wild. The regular motion is expected and acceptable; but there is a nasty, unpredictable swell which catches us all by surprise (usually when we are in the middle of something and unable to grab a handhold) and throws us around the boat. The seas seem to have been much rougher than normal - perhaps because it is an El Nino year? Everyone is complaining on the evening SSB Net about the sea conditions and the number of bruises and injuries they have suffered. Add to that the incredible heat; our bodies are covered in sweat 24 hours/day. I didn't even know my eyelids could sweat!! Wearing anything more than underwear during the day is unthinkable below decks; and, unless you are in the wind behind the wheel, almost impossible above decks too - thank goodness for the fans. You can understand why tempers get frayed, conversations are a little terse and we have generally lost our sense of humor! We can't wait to reach the doldrums and have a few days of respite from the motion. Seven days out and miraculously Roundabout is within VHF range of Code Blue and Sequoia - both boats left a day before us! It has been wonderful to chat on the radio a couple of times each day to discuss weather, Grib files and life aboard - it really gave us a sense of camaraderie. A few days later, we picked-up Hotspur too. Alas all good things must end, and by evening of Day 12, the winds had carried us all off in different directions and out of VHF range. Late afternoon of Day 9, I noticed a small movement on the foot of our 110% genoa - within minutes the UV cover along the foot had begun to separate from the sail. We quickly furled it in as dark was approaching, and set up our storm staysail, which, fortunately, was hanked-on already. We had hoped to be able to take the sail down in the morning and re-sew the portion where the UV had destroyed the stitching, but that wasn't to be; the wind and waves picked up again for the next few days and it was too dangerous to go on deck to bring the sail down, flake it and bag it with just the two of us on board. Fortunately, the boat sails well with both our storm staysail and the reaching staysail (wind range 5-25 kt) that Carol Hasse had made for us; however, boat speed was reduced by about a knot/hr and we were unable to keep up with Sequoia and Code Blue (then they went off in opposite directions anyway!). Ted, forever competitive, was chomping at the bit to get a genoa flying a gain. It certainly has confirmed our decision to outfit Roundabout with a full complement of sails. In the end, we had the luxury of deciding to fix the working genoa in the Marquesas, instead of while underway; as we also have our original larger genoa on board (beautifully recut to 126% by Carol Hasse). Once we reached the Doldrums and the seas and winds calmed somewhat, we hoisted the replacement genoa and were soon powering SW and catching up to our friends again. The Doldrums were wonderful; we did have to motor for 26 hours to get through the light winds, but that gave us an opportunity to catch up on laundry, baking and some much needed restful sleep. Greater love has no wife than to make banana pancakes and bacon for breakfast, bake banana bread in the afternoon and make pizza for supper for her husband (all from scratch) in a cabin temperature of 33C! The results were well worth it. The last few days have been exciting on the evening SSB Puddle-Jump Net, as a number of boats have crossed the Equator each day (with rounds of congratulations); also, several boats have joined the Net as they departed Panama on their way to the Galapagos and then on to the Marquesas. Albion is one of these - a lovely couple we met in Mazatlan last year and we're looking forward to seeing them again in French Polynesia and hearing about their Central American adventures. The degrees and minutes of Latitude are ticking down for us....the Equator approaches!