March 9
We changed time to GMT-8 which makes its 3 hrs earlier than you now: 3:15 pm my time =6:15 pm your time.

I made bread and it turned out really well. Needs some tweeking though: longer in the oven (oven at max but I don't know the temp), timing no quite right, and water in oven for the crust not giving off enough vapor. But still very good.

And this morning I made sourdough pancakes with left over leaven from the bread. Really tasty (although not to Marine).

Lunch was bread, pate and a rice salad (after opening what I thought was corn but turned out to be mushrooms.....) and some cheese with 1/2 glass of wine.

Yesterday night: long pants, socks, deck shoes, fleece AND watch cap=> bye bye tropics....yeahh!!!

A lot of sail adjustments last night due to wind shifts (direction and strength 5kts to 16kts). Wind is still touch and go but seems to have become steadier in the last hour (8-11kts) - and the angle is good, allowing us to go more south than yesterday.

Pos S 33d34/W 126d31 Course: 145d at 3.9 kts. Last 24hr run: 118nm

I'm really pretty sure of the chord: A barred at 3rd fret (C) ; A barred at 1st fret (A#) and F to be in tune with them (could be played 1/2 note down as : B;A;E which is kind of a bluesy progression I think. I'll work on it today.
I'm gonna make you study Ham this summer and pass the exam. Then I'll set up a ham shack for you at home. So polish your electromagnetic differential topological abstracted algebraic sub-manifold skills before I get home!
Started on a Vargas.
You must read: Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind. The guy is really really good, I think; and it's an enjoyable read...
God, it's so peaceful inside now: sun coming though some hatches; a slight hint of heel; the whispering hum of the Watt and Sea charging the batteries and the slow roll on the big southern swells - no banging, no splashing, no thrashing, no hold on for dear life motion....

March 10
Long squall yesterday night so I finally decided to put on foul weather gear (pants and jacket) and my new boots which turn out to be on the small side although I ordered a size too big for me...... Then I took 2 reefs which was complicated by a reef cringle (the long lines that hang from the sail so you can tie up the sail below the reef in a sausage-type strong hold) getting caught in a shroud mid mast; when I got it all sorted after 1/2 and hour, the wind had dropped back down to 13kts...of course. But I thought fuck it, we'll just sail slower for the rest of the night and like that we were also ready for another squall, should one come. Then at 7am, I should the 2nd reef and now we're under
1 reef and rolled up genoa moving at 5.5-6 kts

pos S 34d41/W 122d51 course: 105 d at 6 kts, 2272nm to Puerto Montt (just going through the 1000nm mark from Gambier)!)

The high is catching up with us so again on a close reach for a change.... Tomorrow, pretty much windless but starting Tuesday we should be ok, says he with out any confidence at all!

Yesterday night we had dinner below - too cold on deck.

The drogue should be done today. We have a couple extra cones... careful measurements being vastly overrated!

OK i'll send this off and download the new grib.