It's really hard to believe that we've been out here for four weeks, and we have definitely been getting impatient these last few days. But we've made some good mileage this week, 774 nm, and are excited to be only 67 nm from Neah Bay with an expected arrival tomorrow morning!
Days 22 and 23 we were comfortably reaching in S and SW 12 – 14 kt winds. On Day 24 the winds shifted to the SE and built up to over 18 kts by the evening. The accompanying wind waves were extremely lumpy and being on a tight reach, we had a very uncomfortable night as we slammed into wave after wave, with the occasional trough delivering a hull shuddering blow. AEOLI held her own and by the morning, we were back to a comfortable close reach in 11 – 13 kt winds. Day 26 and 27 found us on a magical reach that continued to hold the right heading even as the winds lightened from S and SW 13 kts down to SW 8 kts. Eventually in the evening of Day 27 our magic reach petered out, so we turned on the engine and motored for about 24 hours across the top of a high pressure system try to catch some forecast stronger NW winds on the other side. In the evening of Day 28, we put the genoa out and it barely pulled us along through the night in NW winds that never quite built up as expected. Finally on the morning of Day 28, with less than 100 nm to go to Neah Bay, we were becalmed and again started motoring.
There are regularly cargo ships on the AIS around us. Fortunately, we seem to be traversing just north of the major shipping lanes (we are staying above 48°30', and most of the cargo ships traveling east/west are at or below this) and so haven't had any close calls this week. As we approach the coast, we have seen a couple of lights at night that do not correspond to AIS vessels, and so might be fishing boats or weather buoys. On the morning of Day 27, as we were enjoying our pancake breakfast, we were buzzed by a small Canadian border patrol plane that circled back over us. We didn't really think they were much interested in us, but a short while later, they hailed us by name over the radio to ask our port of departure, our destination, our vessel country of registry, and how long we have been at sea. It's an interesting passage when you get buzzed and hailed by more than one airplane overhead!
We still have plenty of food stores, though admittedly we are getting pretty bored with our usual passage meal rotation, and are really looking forward to eating some favorites when we get back on land. We have been having weekly morning cinnamon rolls to give ourselves the boost of waking up to the smell of fresh baked goods. We only have a few apples left, and a couple of last veggies. Our fresh water supply is at 25 gallons, so we have used 14 gallons this week and 50 gallons in total. We have used 7 gallons of fuel this week after motoring for 29 hours. Our remaining fuel supply is at 15 gallons, after 55 hours of motoring in total.
The winds coming from the south have been warm, and we are now adjusted to our comfortable cabin temperatures between 60 and 72°F. It's funny because even though the cabin temperatures have not changed significantly, we now no longer need our puffy jackets and hats. We are pale and acclimatized and ready for Seattle summer.
Now we just need to get through our last overnight, and on the other side we will be able to get a full night of uninterrupted sleep, have a real shower, and a nice meal off the boat! Neah Bay here we come!!
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