Out of the gate, things were a little hectic. Northern winds and seas made for a choppy ride at a good angle of heel to commence my homeward passage. Several squalls a day required a number of sail changes and the
occasional drenching. But after two days, that settled down and nirvana arrived. So far, I've relished 3 days of reaching with speeds up to 8.5 knots with low swells, sunshine, and a pretty flat boat. Lovely. A fish has
sacrificed themselves to my net as an added bonus.

Most of the boat is working well so I have a fair amount of time for contemplation. Apparently, that leads to a little obsessiveness in my life. My first oddity concerns the head. For some time now I have been concerned that
the door on the loo will lock or jam and I will expire in there with nothing more than a humorous obituary to show for my journey. This fear has become sufficient that I have since placed a suitable screwdriver within.

Second obsession is a screw that I found on deck one morning. During my daily rounds to ensure that everything is holding together, this ½ inch Allen head screw crossed my path. Despite climbing and digging in many
likely places, its home still eludes me. From the passage from Mexico you might recall that I lost a 4-inch-long bolt in the bilge. Perhaps this is its offspring? I hope either it is unimportant, or I find its function soon.

With the quiet times and sunshine, the cockpit is a favourite haunt. I watch the waves in constant adulation. A completely regular pattern underlies an immense chaotic system. Every 8 seconds, the 2 m swell gently lifts up
the 20 tonnes of Carpe Ventus and sets her down again with ease. But other waves abound as well. Small wavelets, wind waves and waves left over from the recent cyclone in the Philippines. I can see on the horizon where
occasionally all waves will join together and there is a brief peak of 5 or 6 m for just a second. When we harness the power of the ocean, we will be forever free of the need for hydrocarbons.

Weather strategy plays an important part on this particular journey. I see the north pacific high building to the east of me, and a series of storms to the north. I am currently heading straight north to round the western edge of
the high as high-pressure areas contain little or no wind. Then the plan is to turn towards Vancouver Island keeping the storm track to the north and the high to the south. Ideally, I should be able to go south a bit for less wind,
or north if more wind is desired. That is the plan, and I hope it works! I know of one boat that left 2 weeks ago who has been toddling along and now is faced with 40 - 50 knot winds as one of those storms is right on top of
him. He is heading for Ketchikan and needed to go much further north than I.

Hopefully, things will have opened up some more when I arrive and I won't be required to quarantine for 2 weeks.

So far all is great.