Greetings from Nares Abyssal Plain

Noontime. Monday, November 26, 2007. Winds are howling at 30 knots from the East / Northeast, with higher gusts. The swells are large and the seas choppy. Sitting in the cockpit involves frequent douses of sea water. Luckily, the water temperature is a most pleasant 80.1 F. Our main has a single reef in it. The staysail is flying. We blew out the genoa this morning while trying to furl it, so it is out of commission. We are on a beam reach. Position is 23 32.597 N 062 53.865 W. Our moving average speed since leaving Bermuda has increased from 5.2 knots to 5.6 knots. We have seen speeds mostly in the high 6's and low 7's today, with an occasional surprise in the 8's. 390 nm to Antigua. At this rate, Jay will make his flight out on Friday.

Last night we saw another sailboat pass from the east in front of us. We were approximately ½ mile away. It was our third boat sighting on this leg. We have not resolved our battery issues, and were forced to do an early morning recharge after running the autopilot and refrigerator overnight. We have plenty of fuel left, even if we had to motor the rest of the way.

The last few days we have been trying to consume the perishables – refrigerated items and fruit. There will be plenty of non perishables on board for Jay and Liza's Christmas At Sea. We had ravioli last night with a tomato sauce. The midnight and 3 a.m. watches often start with hot tea. For breakfast, we had granola, and used the last of our skim milk. We have long life milk in reserve. Still have plenty of carbs and chocolate on board. We are still operating off of our first 40 gallon tank of onboard water, which may not reflect favorably on hygiene. We drink bottled water.

The boat feels safe and is generally working well. It is harder to read in these conditions, or to really do anything except hold on and rock with the waves. We spend time debating the day and time of our arrival in Antigua and writing the to do list. We have added a visit to the sailmaker to that list. We will put Michael's bottles of wine in the refrigerator prior to our arrival so that we can celebrate when we get there.

Team Welcome.