After duking it out with the trough that would not quit for the better part of a week, today could not have been cast more different.

We laze our way NNE at our leisure while the outside of the boat is festooned with clothes, towels, rain gear, and boots all baking away under a near cloudless tropical sky. I don't do a thing to the sail plan for nearly 9 hours straight. The wind blows a harmless 6 knots from almost dead astern and the only reminder of the past few days is the swell helping us along.

I am embarrassed when my navigation notes remind me of the previous day's rant. The little notebook, normally only numbers and shorthand, is hardly legible; the handwriting large, malformed, and containing anything but nav notes. I wonder if a bolt of lightening appearing out of the clear blue sky will be my just reward.

From the frying pan to the fire they say. From gales to calms. As wonderful as it is. As welcome as it is, we cannot linger. It is a trap and if caught napping and below the building ridge over the next few days, we may yet be barred from the refuge of the Southeast trades.

It is still North and East. And it will be North and East for some time to come. This time, however, no need for reefs and rain gear. We make tracks the lazy way.