Scott made these two entries while we were sailing. They show more of the ‘spice’ of sailing so we are including them also.

Ulaakut (Eskimo greeting) to all,

Yacht Position meridian Noon 6/11/16 47º14'N 151º15'W

It all started yesterday when the wind shifted dead astern and we needed to sail wing-on-wing but my jury-rigged non-roller furling jib made it too dangerous to use the spinnaker pole. I still needed sail W/W so I rigged up a rope bridle and a special disconnect (bailout) sheet. It worked great and we were ripping downwind and surfing at 10-12 knots most of the night.

Well, we all know Murphy's law goes double for make shift things... at 02:dark30 my rope bridle that was not up to teeth clenching gusty big boat surfing, parted with a bang. Donna, the current watch officer called me on deck to survey the damage. I had to bear wrestle the pole out of the water in the dark on a wet spray filled deck. After much effort the pole was secured and I'm not so cold in the wind and spray. Now What? Simple jibe the main, sheet the jib and broad reach straight on till morning. So I call all hands on deck and explain my perfectly choreographed synchronized death defying heavy air jibe!

Celeste! Take the helm and DO NOT let the main crash jibe!
Donna! Grind in the main sheet as I let out the crash preventer!
Cap! Run around in the dark and rain and yell out orders!

Against all odds the maneuver went perfectly, until as Donna was easing out the main on the other side it slammed against the check stay that the Captain had forgotten to release. Now all naval discipline went by the board when the newly barked orders became lost in the sound of the ensuing crash, as the main and boom slammed back in a dreaded accidental (Chinese) jibe. Thank goodness my fearless crew kept their cool and cleared out the check stay so that a humbled Captain could complete the jibe and sail on until morning.

Day 14 6/13/16 noon 51º58'N 144º17'W

Oh, what a night or maybe I should say, Oh, Wet a night; as the water sloshed in the bilges, the carpets got wet, some bedding and clothing got wet and that says nothing of the big time wet going on outside!

The wind and squalls kept building all afternoon so we reduced down to the #3 main reef which is very small and the last resort before we go with a jib only.

During the night the wind built to just less than Gale force with higher gusts. We were surfing 10-12knts with a few reaching 15knts. The seas grew to 15ft with foaming breaking tops. The real fun started when a Big rogue wave hit us on the beam and rolled us hard to starboard. Inside the boat was filled with flying projectiles of fruit, veggies, utensils, electronics, etc. In the aft quarter berth the force of the roll ripped a pad eye out of the wall releasing the line holding sails and storage tubs that caused an avalanche of stuff to pour onto our best pilot berth. It was a blessing no one was out on deck to get washed off in the blackness as the boom was buried in the rushing water which all but parted our 4 to 1 block and tackle gibe preventer. Everything not tied down really well was washed off the leeward deck, luckily, not much. All the while Celestial surged on like a crazy cross between a thoroughbred race horse and a bucking bronco.

In the morning we cleaned up, pumped bilges, and looked at the bright side: no one injured, nothing major broken and we raced on course to a smoking 210Nmi day. Alaska, here we come with just over 400 miles to go.

The dolphin picture was while we were motoring on 6/5/16.