Hang on Sloopy, Sloopy hang on! 04 51N 122 30W Winds 17-23 knots SE, steering 080T Goodbye perfect sailing weather, and hello rock and roll buckin rodeo! For the last three days we have had 17-25 knots, 2.3+ Meter choppy rough seas and gradually getting pushed a little more North. It's second reef for our main and 90% jib, plus the staysail. This is as much for uncomfortable rough seas as for high winds. It is a challenge getting around below and we have a little water coming in around the stb. Dorade, Nicro vent, and center hatch. We had another block on the first reef blow and got to heave to and replace that along with the staysail to furler tack connection. We also had to replace the remote control for our Raymarine autopilot, which after oiling seems to be working perfectly. Good thing we have/had lots of spares! It has been the full moon and occasionally we get to follow the sparkling moonbeams leading us to those far horizons to the E. Cloud watching day and night is a popular pastime, as is watching all those flying fish. No green flashes yet, are they mythical? Everyday we also study Spanish although we both seem to have concrete for brain synapses. Reading, cooking, cleaning, napping, repairing, and sailing the boat round out our days. I also have been watching movies on the video player. We have a big stack of banana cakes I cooked up yesterday as the banana puree was fading. The cakes are quite good! I'm happy to report that rebuilding the trolling generator solved the problem; the original wiring was fine and goes into our outback solar regulator, providing 4-6 amps/hr at night. That along with the wind generator and solar panels has kept our batteries charged day and night; we even turned the freezer down to 18F. It is nice to be able to charge the kindle and video player while sleeping. We must be getting E, our sailmail is now being handled out of San Diego, and our weather faxes from San Francisco. In the weather dept, we had a email discussion with Bob McDavitt regarding the hurricane situation off S Mexico and have decided to stay south of 6N until we get to about 105W. That keeps us in weather determined by the S Pacific High even though we are in the S Hemisphere. We check it daily on the weather fax. We are having higher winds than the faxes or gribs show, but they are helping us make good progress easting. Winds may lighten in a couple days, plus go a little more southerly so we can stay below 6N. Today marks our 14th day at sea and close hauled on a starboard tack. We'll have the rigging checked in Mexico for starboard shroud stretching, along with haul out and bottom paint, rudder packing. We're both looking forward to some good Mexican food and Margaritas! Hasta Leuga