On to Cabo San Lucas

Nov. 8, 2006 20 miles below Magdalena Bay and 5 miles offshore, Baja Calif.
We started this leg at 7AM and it has taken all day for the sailors in the fleet (the less motivated turned on the engines after the first half hour) to get this 28 miles we have gone. After motoring so much in the second leg, we resolved to act more like sailors. This resolve was aided by the fact that we have smooth seas and so the light sails are holding their shape and the motion is pleasant. This is some great sailing. We have the spinnaker up now and earlier when it was really light wind, we used the drifter. It is warm, we would be wearing less were the sun not so burney. We put up a shade over the cockpit that shelters us while sailing and an evening is coming, we put the beach umbrella over the stern to keep the low sun out.
We're not fishing any more since we haven't eaten the fish in the freezer. But we have been having uncommonly good meals. Still the constant exercise is doing good things for my tummy. Yay!
We saw a pair of whales this morning.
The boat is performing beautifully. I can't believe how fast it is, compared to other boats of similar length and weight. We have been sending and receiving emails over the radio - in fact this post will be coming over the radio too. Thanks to Dennis who installed it! Sorry we can't send any pictures. Those will come when we get to Cabo and it's Internet Cafes. 144 more miles to go. Since the wind is light, that will be tomorrow afternoon if we are lucky. Last night we had a vigorous wind at sundown that lasted for much of the night. Too bad we were anchored. Maybe we will get it tonight, but the forecasts are not for much wind. Well, I guess I should go keep Andi some company. She has been on the helm for an hour now. We are hand steering because we are racing and trying to squeeze out every knot. Also, the sailing is just fabulous - the kind of thing that one dreams about when sailing in the cold waters of California. Hasta pronto. Abrazos y besos.