That one almost hit us...

Solis log: 33 32'38N 169 22'42E

This morning I was on deck trimming sails. Dad was sick again this morning so he had come out on deck to get some fresh air. I looked at him to say something and just off the bow of the boat about 15 feet away was a big splash. It surprised me and actually kind of frightened me as it resembled a wave hitting a rock more than the splash of a wave just breaking over. And then the sound....the unmistakable sound of a massive exhale then a breath. At that moment Dad turned around and saw it too. I hollered "whale!!". It was not swimming with us, but had come almost at 90 degrees toward the bow of the boat and must have just barely tucked itself down low enough that we did not hit it with the keel of the boat when we went over it. Luke was sleeping but sprang out of bed to catch a glimpse of what was going on. Dad questioned me as to whether or not it was actually a whale or not. It was small (for a whale), at probably 20 feet or so. And then as we watched, another one appeared. This time there were two small ones swimming with us in the same direction, just at the surface. It was so exciting. We were just talking about how small they were when suddenly even closer, just 20 feet from the boat a large whale appeared, probably about the same size as my boat, about 50 feet. They played only momentarily with us and I feared a ramming...I don't know how common it is but a friend of mine was rammed and I often read about it in the sailing magazines. They started going their own way and within just a couple of minutes they were gone. We watched the horizon for some time, then off about half mile we saw multiple spouts in a cluster. Probably 5 to 8 of them. And that was it.
I wish I knew what type they were. They had very smooth looking skin, a dark gray almost black color. Around their blow hole it was built up almost resembling the rim of a crater. Their dorsal fins were so small it seemed out of proportion in relation to the size of its' body. I did not get a good glimpse of its' tail fin or flippers.
What a morning treat...another treat was that Luke made English tea and served cookies for breakfast. On the topic of food it has been quite an interesting ride. My appetite is in full swing, but there are still certain things that seem so strange to me. I'm a coffee lover. I usually have coffee three or so times per day. I have for years...but it's the strangest thing. In the beginning of the trip when I was not feeling so hot none of us wanted to even drink coffee, let alone try and negotiate hot water and a swinging stove in rough conditions. But since things have calmed down, the thought of coffee is one thing that will actually get me moving in the nauseous direction. Luke and I tried a cup a couple of days ago. It was awful. I could barely drink it. The coffee wasn't so bad, but it just doesn't sit right with us out here. All three of us are coffee lovers so we loaded up with pounds of grounds before the trip...I think we'll still arrive in Hawaii with pounds of rounds. Luke was also paranoid about running out of beer on the trip. He loaded up with four 24 packs of beers before the trip...we're on our 13th day and no-one has popped open a single can. When Luke was sick he was also down to smoking only 1 cigarette a day. That was at the time he said "nicotine is about the only thing I can keep down". Well, we've had smooth sailing for days now. We're following a pressure zone which is beautifully carrying us perfectly east across the ocean. Yesterday was the first sunny day of the entire trip and today is awesome as well. We're now averaging somewhere around 175 miles per day so I suspect we'll be into Hawaii in about 12 days.