Tuesday, November 22

Day 5,

Ã'Ein sehr gutes Etmal,Ã" that's what Captain Philip declared after logging our position at 1530 Monday. In the previous 24 hours, those smoking trade winds had carried us 182 nautical miles toward our destination of Antigua. It was fantastic sailing. With two reefs in the main and the genoa set, weÃ-d averaged a little better than 7.5 knots an hour. On each three-hour watch, two of us traded off on the wheel, grinning and spinning like madmen. All night we surfed through 5-10 foot waves, the quarter wake boiling off to starboard.

Below, we slept, or tried to sleep in a washing machine. Each time a wave would sweep the deck, drips would pelt us below. Each of us wedged as best we could into a bunk and listened to the roar of water rushing past. And in the morning, it just kept on rushing. As the sun rose off to the east, we could see the size of the waves weÃ-d weaved our way through all night and it was impressive, like slaloming down one enormous, endless deep blue moving mogul run.

By evening Monday, weÃ-d doused the main and continued to charge under genoa alone. Dinner was BobÃ-s gumbo, a delicious dish served with a salad made from canned and fresh vegetables. Hey, even the Emerald Road contingent has to eat a vegetable once in a while.

A steady 25-30 knot breeze and waves that ranged from polite to boisterous made the night watches lively. WeÃ-d barrel under banks of clouds that would obscure the still quite-full moon and blanket the shimmering whitecaps that stretched off to the horizon. And just as quick, weÃ-d leave those clouds behind, the moon lighting all once again.

Two days of closed hatches and wet rain gear have begun to take a toll below, so this morning the boys went on a cleaning binge. Still the wind blows and as I write, waves wash the lee deck, Tioga flies along still under genoa, and we hope for another gutes Etmal, the German word that sums up allÃ-s involved in a good dayÃ-s run.

This post is made possible by Iridium and Global Marine Networks.