1/28 This day started out so pleasantly. We left Santiago Bay with very light winds, dolphins swimming along side and headed a very short distance - 28 miles northwest to Barra Navidad. I would like to end the story there; however, there's a bit more to write about! Winds built to 10 knots, we turned off the motor and were thrilled to sail, though the winds were turning toward our bow. The winds continued to build to 27 knots, the waves were short (think staccato) and high as in 6-8'. Our forward progress slowed to nil and we tacked back and forth, with waves coming over our bow, drenching us every so often. It became so wild, that we reluctantly tethered up with our life jackets, just to err on the side of safety. We put in reef #1 on the main, furled the genoa and plowed through the waves, at times only making 1 ½ miles an hour. 9 hours later, and we finally rounded the tip into the Barra Navidad area. We were two whipped pups, had showers and a very very simple dinner at 8 PM and went to bed with achy muscles. The boat held tight overnight and at least we had something a bit more interesting to write about in the blog (I assured Darryl). And, as Shakespeare says, "All's well that ends well!"