GALAPAGOS TO THE MARQUESAS-Kathy's Weekly Recap Log (or as Casey calls it: The boring stuff) DAY 8: Wed, May 14 Seas: 4-6ft, light roll Wind: S/SE, 10-18 knots Sails: Full main, working jib Power: Generator-2 hrs, Motor-0 hrs Water: None made. Started taking showers in the cockpit with salt-water washdown hose and then using fresh-water for quick rinse. We can all now shower using only 2 gallons of fresh water, and we can use all the salt water we want (an all-fresh-water shower takes 2 gallons per person, so we're now saving 6 gallons of fresh water each shower day). We're trying to figure out an easy way to wash dishes in saltwater so we won't have to run our power-draining watermaker very often. Miles traveled at 8am: 2134-1985=149mi Meal: Leftover fried chicken, potatoes, corn Mood of captain and crew: Good School: Completed Other: I pulled the last 6 bananas off our "tree" and disposed of the trunk. Was going to make more banana bread, but no one seems very interested in anything banana flavored. The net we hung off Adventure's stern to store pineapples, oranges, and passion fruit didn't work out very well. The passion fruit and pineapples started seeping juices on the 3rd day out and then turned to mush the next day. The oranges got hard on the outside and turned sour. Casey and I both ate an orange yesterday. Sean and Tara refused the sour citrus and will probably have a bad case of scurvy before we get to the Marquesas. We all showered with our new salt/fresh water system described above. Movie: Ma and Pa Kettle

DAY 9: Thurs, May 15 Seas: 2-4ft, light roll Wind: S/SE, 7-13 knots Sails: Full main, working jib, poled-out jib at night Power: Generator-4 hrs, Motor-0 hrs Water: None made Miles traveled at 8am: 1985-1852=133mi Meal: Chicken pot pie, chocolate cupcakes Mood of captain and crew: Good. Tara appreciated the encouraging emails that several of you sent to get her out of her lack-of-communication-to-the-outside-world slump. Those, combined with two days of comfort food and the promise of a day off from school tomorrow, have brightened her mood significantly. Casey took a break from her incessant reading to cook with me today. School: Completed Other: Casey had a craving for Aunt Janey's chicken and dumplings. Since we didn't have Janey's recipe, we used a pot pie recipe from The Joy of Cooking. Sean complained that he'd never had chicken pot pie that tasted good and, even though Casey assured him that it would be the best ever, he was skeptical about our endeavor. Casey and I worked for 2 hours, boiling chicken, cutting potatoes, carrots and onions, making cream sauce and kneading dough for the crust, and then getting the seasoning just right. Since most of the meal was prepared on the stove top, we only needed to use the gas-hungry oven to cook the dough top. It was a perfect meal to prepare for sailors with too much time on their hands...We ended up with a 10x13 pan full of tasty pot pie, which was way too much for the four of us. Good thing Sean said it was the best he'd ever had because he'll be having leftovers for several days. Since the oven was already on, I also whipped up a box of chocolate cake mix, making 12 cupcakes and an 8x8 cake. Movie: The Young Indiana Jones

DAY 10: Fri, May 16 Seas: 2-4ft, light roll Wind: S/SE, 7-9 knots Sails: Full main, poled-out jib Power: Generator-0 hrs, Motor-5 hrs Water: None made Miles traveled at 8am: 1852-1729=123mi Meal: Sean demanded leftover chicken pot pie for breakfast and for lunch. Tara made tuna melts and soup for dinner. Mood of captain and crew: Good School: Took the day off from school today Other: Took showers. Movie: King Kong

DAY 11: Sat, May 17 Seas: 2-4ft, light roll Wind: S/SE, 0-8 knots Sails: At various times, full main, poled-out jib, poled-out gennaker. Power: Generator-0 hrs, Motor: 1177.5-1184.0=6.5 hrs Water: Made 50 gallons Miles traveled at 8am: 1729-1623=106mi Meal: Not lasting as long as I thought it would, the final remnants of the pot pie disappeared today, supplemented with mac and cheese Mood of captain and crew: Good School: Completed Other: A 7-inch sailfish landed in our cockpit. I heard it flopping around on the aft cushion and called the girls to come to see it. Each of its "wings" were about half the length of its body, which was a beautiful neon blue on the top. It smelled extremely fishy, more so than other fish. Tara glanced at it and then ran below in disgust, yelling at me to throw it back in the ocean so it wouldn't die. It was lucky that we still have lots of wahoo in the freezer... Lost most of our wind today, so we experimented with various sail configurations. At dusk, we settled with a poled-out gennaker, which kept me awake most of the night as I altered course continually to keep the sail full. Although we didn't get much help from the wind, the currents kept us going between 2 and 4 knots most of the night. Sean relieved me at 2am and I awoke at noon to a hungry crew. Movie: East of Eden

DAY 12: Sun, May 18 Seas: 2-4ft, light roll Wind: S/SE, 0-8 knots Sails: poled-out gennaker only. We dropped our main sail because the light winds can't keep it full and it snaps back and forth as the swell hits our side. We have been using our main sail to help stabilize the boat from the ocean roll hitting our beam, but because the winds are diminished, the ocean is smoother - making our main less necessary. This new sail configuration seems to be perfect for light, down-wind sailing because more wind can get to the gennaker. Our over-sized main sail normally blocks some of the wind intended for the gennaker. Power: Generator-0 hrs, Motor: 1192-1184=8 hrs Water: None made Miles traveled at 8am: 1623-1483=140mi Meal: Pan-seared wahoo, cheese tortellini, cream and red sauces Mood of captain and crew: Good School: Completed Other: Before dinner, Sean noticed another boat on our radar, about 4 miles in front of us. He hailed them on the VHF and we were excited to find it was another sailboat headed to the Marquesas. They said they'd been listening to our check-in positions on the SSB radio net for Marquesas-bound boats and that we'd started a few days behind them from Galapagos. Their radio wasn't strong enough to transmit their waypoints to the net, so they had been just listening. Since we'd had nothing else to compare our meager boat speeds to, Sean was beside himself to learn that we had gained on, and were now about to pass another sailboat. At 2:30 am, when I relieved Sean from watch, I asked him where the other boat was. Just before his head hit the pillow, he mumbled, "They're way back there. We passed them like at the end of the Indiana Jones movie." Although I couldn't see it in the dark, I know he was smiling... Movie: The Young Indiana Jones

DAY 13: Mon, May 19 Seas: 2-4ft, calm Wind: S/SE, 4-8 knots Sails: poled-out gennaker only Power: Generator-5 hrs, engine-0 hrs Water: None made Miles traveled at 8am: 1483-1349=134mi Meal: Ground beef enchiladas Mood of captain and crew: Good School: Completed Other: Today we doused the sails and jumped into the Pacific ocean to mark the half-way point of our crossing. Read "Pacific Plunge" blog posting for the full story. Casey made ground beef enchiladas for us tonight and they were great! She's really enjoying cooking and, when she finds an item, like a cook book, cooking utensil, or pan, that she really likes, she keeps asking if she can have it when I die. She also talks about how she can't wait to have her own home so she can buy all the kitchen gadgets she wants. Tara is also cooking, learning how to combine meat, spices, and thickening agents to make yummy lunch dishes. Movie: Sea Biscuit

DAY 14: Tue, May 20 Seas: 2-4ft, calm Wind: S/SE, 4-11 knots Sails: poled-out gennaker only Power: Generator-6 hrs, engine-0 hrs Water: None made Miles traveled at 8am: 1349-1201=148mi Meal: Leftover enchiladas, Double Tree Hotel chocolate chip cookies (from "Secret Recipes" cookbook) Mood of captain and crew: Good School: Completed Other: Spotted whales spouting off our starboard side. Weren't close enough to tell which kind they were. Sean and Casey found the leak in our dinghy and repaired it by replacing an O-ring in one of the valves. Luckily we had the right size O-ring. It looks like our 30-year-old Zodiac dinghy (which has a canvas apron to protect it from sun damage) will get us through our trip, unless we cut it on the many coral reefs we'll encounter over the next six months. I'm starting to panic: we're down to just 2 spare rolls of paper towels now. Today, I had to chastise Sean for trying to use one to dry his hands. Movie: Young Indiana Jones