Today, 8th day out, we are in the wild ocean. Wind stronger, seas bigger, rolling more. Going faster but a wild funfair ride - very bumpy. Seas getting that "majestic" look. The blue is unbelievable; as the very top curls and breaks you can see through the water and it is blue.

The boat lurches, sways, swings, twists, jumps, staggers, hops, drops, shivers, rolls, gets thumped, barrelled, kicked, whacked, thrown sideways and rocked end to end. This does not begin to describe the movement. You cannot predict or anticipate it. If you set down or attempt to carry your cup of tea, you might lose it. If you carry something without leaving one hand free - look out! If you walk across the cabin cold sober you look like a drunk. But she's a good boat. This all day, and now it is night and it is still going on, perhaps even more because the mains'l is no longer up. It is torn and lies hastily tied to the boom. We were gybing, nothing wrong, and there it was torn from luff to leech. Probably mendable. Old sail. We have a sewing machine on board but it's a big sail. Use stckyback and hand stitching, that's it.

Very grateful we don't get seasick.

Mostly gray, overcast, but sun came out foor a while. Sea birds circling. Dolphins came to play for a while. We're more than 750 miles out now, about one quarter of the way . The intermediate waypoint is 06 deg North, 130 deg West, lying 900 miles ahead. - maybe 7 days sailing. Then South, across the ITCZ, and into the SE trades.