April 1: Day 20

At 3:45PM yesterday the wind started building and it did not stop. We have had a steady pace which has resulted in our biggest day so far: one hundred and sixty miles in one day. We have been keeping track of the other boats that are crossing at the same time and in our unofficial race we are doing well. We have passed a boat that left two days before us and the only one boat passing us so far. We have had some luck. Looking up at some of the whispy clouds high in the sky I menmtioned to Brett, “You know, if I knew anything about weather those clouds would be telling me something right now!” We both laughed. We have read books telling us how sailors use clouds to predict weather. We both know it can be done but there is so much on our plates the weather is one thing we never got around to. So we get all our weather info from a “GRIB” file that is electronically generated and sent to our HAM radio account. These GRIB files show about four indications for wind speed and direction for about one hundred square miles so you know it is just a big picture and your experience could be quite different. But where weather is concerned we have been lucky. Right now I am screaming along at 8.8 knotts Fearless has rarely reached such hights! At one point last night she reached 9.5 knotts, the fastest I’ve ever seen her go and two knotts over her hull speed. Since I know of two boats in the fleet that have blown their rigging I took the conservative rought and reefed immediately. Its great to be fast and I want to get there but would like to get there in one piece.

We got Randy on the Net to give us a phone call patch to both our parents and it was great to hear their voices. I mean here we are, out here in the middle of the ocean and we can talk to other boats, post our possition on the internet and now we can talk to our family as well. It was very cool. Our ETA on the chart plotter is down to below fourty eight hours. So exciting, we are almost there! I can’t believe it, it is already so close to over.