SV Appa

Another day down. We left the 6th of July and it is now the 15th. It's 2100 (that 9pm to you non-medical, sailor, army etc types) Honolulu time. The dishes are done and people are either on watch (Jugurtha), sleeping (Papa Fox, Jeremy, Pete), or trying desperately to come up with something interesting to write about.
The day started out for me at 0400 helping Pete get the sails squared away so we could start up the motor due to the wind dying off. This means dropping the spinnaker pole and stowing it. It NEVER wants to go to it's home on the boat. No way, it wants to swing wildly and try to bash me on the head or get caught on the netting that surrounds the boat to keep the kids onboard. The spin pole loves nets. Nets and heads. Max got konked (or is it conked) on the head this year by the spin pole. Drove him right to his knees. Luckily I only had to extricate the pole from the net. Of course the jib saw what fun the spin pole was having so it decided to get it's foot tension line wrapped around the bow pulpit and make a knot that I have never seen before. Had to cut it away. Once that was done, we were finally ready to start the motor. 10 minutes later the wind springs up again out of the south at 10 knots. Out goes the jib and the spin pole and eventually the reefs in the main. It was 0530 by the time we were squared away. Wind was south all day from 10-15 knots. Boat speed was 6-7-8 knots at times.
Next I used the satellite phone to download GRIB files (weather maps) and try to guess where to go next. It should seem obvious to anyone on where to go. Point the bow at Washington State and go. Not so fast. We have to worry about the weather. OK, so we got the weather data and it doesn't look bad but not really optimal either. We sailed all day today. Sailed dead down wind with a poled out jib and full main to the opposite side. Wong on Wong as the iPad likes to correct it. Made 147 miles in the last 24 hours. Not too bad. Problem is the Pacific High is right over us now. Unless the wind fills in from the storm way off to the east of us, we are going to be motoring for the next 24 hours (maybe more). 80 gallons of diesel left. Should be enough. Well, ultimately we are a sailboat so if we run out, we'll sail. And go stark raving mad!!!
The winch for the main sail halyard was wobbly so I took it apart with Jugurtha and Jeremy's help and we tightened it back up. One problem fixed. The wind indicator has died completely. I have powered it down and will worry about it in Seattle.
The wind died right after supper so here we are again. Motoring! What's your price for flight? In finding Mr Right....Turns out Jeremy has this song on his computer. Just found this out. Tomorrow the Appa Sundowner Happy Hour will feature the musical stylings of NIGHT RANGER!!! And maybe Poison, White Lion, Van Halen, who else?
I got a great response on my Night Ranger question. Wanna play some more? What 80s band most personifies the 80s? Who should be playing front and center while we toast to the sun for another great day? I have a pretty gpod selection of 80s on my ipod. But not Night Ranger. Weird. Going to have to fix that.
Dinner tonight was by Papa Fox. Chicken curry stew over rice. For dessert we had a coconut cream cake with blueberries. Delicious.
We have about 1300 more miles to go. Our super accurate weather guy, Michael, (who was dead on yesterday about when the wind was going to fill in) wants us to think about turning toward the west coast of America around 46 degrees of latitude. If the wind switches before hand, we would love to turn early and cut some miles off the trip. Instead of a hard turn at 46 we start turning gradually at 44 or so. Either way we have another 400 miles of north to go before we can start thinking about turning.
Swear count today is 3. All of it used up battling the spinnaker pole this morning. I'd swear and then swear for swearing. Dumb. It is amazing now that I am conscious of my swearing how much everyone else swears. My ears are tuned for it or something.
Books. I just finished 4 books in the past 3 days. I don't sleep much out here so I read.
Haunted Ground by Erin Hart. Pretty good murder mystery set in Ireland.
No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy. Loved it. Better than the movie
I Drink for a Reason by David Cross. Pretty funny book. This guy doesn't like Jim Belushi at ALL.
What Looks Like Crazy On an Ordinary Day by Pearl Cleage. Pretty good also. Set in Michigan, the book follows a newly HIV infected black female as she goes back home to see her sister. I liked it.
I think I am going to start the Game of Thrones series.

Wednesday the 16th of July

Had to use a blanket last night. Haven't used one of those in a bit.
Foggy and cool this morning. Cabin temp is 72. That I haven't seen in awhile either.
There is some wind trying to build out of the south as we motor north. Not enough to sail. OK, there is just enough to sail but the swells out here roll the boat so much that the sails just get backwinded and then POP! slap back. Super annoying and not good for the sails either.
We have seen a grand total of 5 ships out here, all headed to various places. The AIS tells us where they are headed. Japan, New Orleans, San Diego, etc.
Pete saw a pod of dolphins this morning. That is a first for this leg. I traveled down the coast with the Scott and Mary on Whisper years back. Saw some dolphins on that trip! Incredible.
Going to get the weather now.
Remember to text me your favorite 80s band and we will try to play it tonight and tomorrow night for our sundowner. Haven't seen a real sunset in the past 5 days though. We pretend.