Captains log: Super fish

Date: July 21, 2022

Time: 19:04

Position: 23.20.592N / 150.30.153

I'll get right to the point, we caught an amazing fish. To be more specific, Nick reeled it in so he caught it. We drag these lines off the back of the boat for days, weeks on end, 24hrs/day hoping we snag something, and we've done all right. Excluding todays super-snag, we caught 6 mahi mahi and one macaral(sp?). Two of the Mahi mahi we released, we ate the other four. Today was special, this thing was quite large. Nick said he thinks it's the biggest fish he's ever caught. Around 4'6". Not sure about weight but we cut off some pretty big steaks. Gene quickly made his signature coconut rice and whipped up another amazing lunch. This time with extremely generous portions of fish steaks. 

Today has been another incredible day of sailing. This was followed by last night darkness. We get a daily update from the race officials where we read reports of what other boats are going through. There have been daily reports of big seas, high winds and squalls hitting 37knts of wind. We've yet to experience that level of sea state, but as we get closer we expect more. Last night was in stark contrast to the night before. It was dark. No, not dark, it was black. No moon, no stars, entire sky completely covered in clouds. Lights off and you could not see the front of the boat. I had just gone to bed when suddenly a squall hit. Although it's not me who's up all night, when the wind whips or sail changes are required or course adjustment is in need, it's me who wakes jumps up to go on deck and deal with the changes. So last night suddenly a squall hit. We scrambled to change sails as it felt like it was going to be a strong one. I was quick up on deck, everyone was there pulling lines, moving sails etc. We reconfigured to handle the squall then it suddenly died out...I think it was a bit of a let-down. Not that we didn't get hit by the squall, but that we all just sprang into action and did a bunch of work, but our efforts were not needed. I reminded everyone of the reports of people getting hit by 37knt squalls. If we didn't trim sails in hopes that the squall is not a big one, our sails could get shredded or the rigging could take on significant damage. I emphasized that we're too close to Hawaii to be taking any risks. Even in the Pac Cup briefing, they shared stories of most injuries occurring just before arrival. The last two days when people get anxious, excited, they start pushing their boats and themselves beyond their limits and it's when accidents happen. Luckily currently we're experiencing beautiful conditions. Seas of maybe 8 feet, nice wind of 15knts, headed straight to our destination. I think at this point the only significant known concern is squalls. 

Last night when I was sleeping we did get hit by another squall. I jumped out of bed but Joe and Gene were already reefing our big sail. At night we've typically sailed with a bit more of a conservative sail plan in case conditions hit and we need to take action. So last night they didn't even notice that I had gotten up to check/help, they had the situation completely under control. They reefed the sails and never detected that I had even gotten up to check. 

This morning was a new kind of special. I relieve Nick and Joe at 6AM. The sun was just about to come up. I looked 360 and saw no clouds. The ocean was a perfect blue dish all around me and literally for the first time in my entire life I realized I could look all around me and it was a perfectly flat horizon in every direction, the sky looked like a dome. I called it an earth dome. It looked fake, as if I was in a planetarium and it looks real, but you know its fake. I knew this was real but it almost felt fake. And then I spotted the moon. It was not on the horizon or in some peculiar spot, it was directly at the top of this perfect dome. As if there was a little hole on the top of this fake model around me. The sun made its way up in a way I've not yet seen. Not obstructed by clouds, or illuminating the clouds or even the sky. It had nothing to reflect upon so it was just this giant perfect orange ball. It was still early so I could view it with the naked eye and it just felt so peculiar to see the sun, the moon, and this round earth around me. 

We've certainly become antsy about getting to our destination. Lots of opinions about starting the engine, how many hours is it, how many days, what time do you think we will arrive and the like. This has been a spectacular trip but I think we're all ready to be land lovers for a while. 

See you in Hawaii!