One of The Best Days of Sailing.....

Midwatch 1-12-14 8:55 AM EST 

Finally some excitement out here. Lots of squalls last night and POP! We busted a metal hoop that was helping to hold Big Blue up at the top of the mast. The arrangement we had was a cob job to begin with because Big Blue was a last minute add-on and I knew of the inherent weakness in the set up. The good news is the halyard was run so Blue didn't free fall. We just have to find a way to deal with a much higher potential for chafe. 

Now we have a project to work on...I had others but this one is more interesting. In the meantime the wind has shifted and we are on more of a broad reach sailing under genoa alone "slow". There is a line of squalls that we are merging with that are particularly ugly. The boat could use the main sail right now but I would prefer to get through the squall first. The problem is its all slow motion and we are tired from last night. I am half considering heading directly into it just to get it over with faster. We think we are in for 48 hours of slow sailing then a day of motoring and then possibly the trade winds will rebuild for us. Once that happens we probably won't need Big Blue for the remainder of the trip to Martinique. I would like the sail workable regardless. 

On a good note, yesterday was perhaps one of the best days I have ever had sailing in my life. Hardly any waves or swell to contend with. Big Blue and the genoa pulling side by side at the bow like a team of workhorses. Warm and sunny skies and the squalls kept their distance. We played some classical guitar music and of-course John Denver on the stereo. Everyone seemed super happy and their was a feeling of freedom that I think you can only get when you are in the middle of an ocean. 

We haven't seen any ships or planes for days. IS ANY BODY OUT THERE? Today might be a Pink Floyd Day (if you don't know what I mean just disregard). Wrapped it up with one of the most spectacular sunsets ever. I took lots of photos of this one. 

Current Position: Sunday 8:40 UTC 

17 Degrees 34.285 N 

034 Degrees 37.606 W 

Course 240 Degrees True 

Speed a painfully slow 3.5 kts Cloudy and squally Wind 8-12 kts from the East to South East and clocking

 Bob, Kim, Anna, Finn and Mark