November 9, 8 a.m.

Greetings from 39.13.832N 67.13.188w. We are poking along at 4.5 knots with the wind 10-15 knots from the NE. Seas are relatively calm but with 5-7 foot swells. Water temperature is 62.6 F. You may wonder why we report water temperature. It is important to us because it will tell us when we enter the Gulf Stream. The Gulf Stream runs northeast along the US Atlantic coast and then crosses the Atlantic to northern Europe. The currents can be quite strong, and if you are in the Gulf Stream with the wind against the current, we are told that it is like being in a washing machine.

The voyage so far has been challenging. Going around Provincetown, the winds kicked up to around 25 knots, and tossed us like salad. We made excellent speed, and through yesterday, we had averaged 6.2 knots. That will come down today with the lighter winds. We ran through last night on a double reefed mainsail, without the aid of a jib. Life jackets are mandatory when in the cockpit or on deck. We all have auto inflatable life jackets for that slimming look. We also wear tethers most of the time. One would think that a tether would be a pain, but in fact it gives us quite a bit of comfort, and we can use our tethers to pull our aging bodies upright when necessary. We have jack-lines strung from bow to stern on both sides of the boat, and if we leave the cockpit to go on deck, we attach our tethers to the jack-lines to ensure that we do not have to perform unannounced crew overboard drills.

We will invest in the Dramamine company when we return home. We are certain that the stock has gone up based on our use alone. No need for seasickness suppositories, yet. We will have enough food leftover for the Christmas holidays. All appetites have been diminished with the rolling seas, but stomach seem to have subsided, and maybe we will even enjoy something besides stone wheat thins, dried fruit and nuts today. The only thing we have cooked has been tea and packaged cocoa. Our efforts at making coffee was a total disaster. The stove and cabin sole now have a nice tint to them. Because we have not been eating much, the refrigeration (aka ice box) has been working well. We did freeze the half gallon of milk but have not discovered other casualties.

We always have two people on watch. Jay and Donna trade off, and Michael and Ann trade off. Jay and Donna's schedule as a team runs from 9 to 1, 1 to 5, 5 to 9, 9 to 3 a.m. and 3 a.m. to 9 a.m. That schedule ensures that each day we are on for different hours than the day before. Michael and Ann trade off four hour watches. With six each day, their watches are the same each day. We have staggered the watches so that the only time the whole crew is awake and switching watches is at 3 a.m. I know, what dopes.

Nature abounds. Our regular morning visitors are porpoises or dolphins, not sure which. We have occasional gulls above. We thought we saw a toucan, but it might have been a lobster pot. We haven't seen another boat since Monday night. We are not sure what we are watching for. We get to see shooting stars at night, and phosphorescent algae in our wake.

Jay is disappointed that we have not yet used the rigging cutters, but Donna hopes that we will never have to use them. The life raft looks great on the deck. Michael and Jay did a superb job of mounting it, where we hope it stays. We may get to use the para-anchor off Bermuda because it looks like it will be the middle of the night when we arrive, and customs opens at 8 a.m.

It has been inconceivable that one could change clothing in these seas, much less bathe. Jay assures us that we can shower in Bermuda. Bermuda is 425 miles away.

Cheers for now.
S/V Welcome III