The first day two “buzzes”…the second day a buzz and then a radio call…checking out the boat information. Only big ships out here (Panama Canal shipping lanes)…one night we were the only boat for 24 miles (the farthest I’d have the radar look).
Some of the waves had gotten to 10 - 12 feet or so…so we did have some roll (wind on the butt or on the starboard aft quarter)…
and we did have some surfing…but ALL SAIL…6-10 knots. Sunday night, however was a different story! Still all sail - but…the roll had turned…well, every tenth wave or so we would get violently rolled – falling up or down off of a roller! That did it for any hopeful sleep and we were BOTH tired! 
Flying fish were flying into the cockpit...this one we were able to save...
And here I am in my tired, passage ¨best¨...Paul just had to get a picture of me...yes, I would wear this hat every night watch...don´t I look GREAT??? So Monday morning, after the pot of gumbo (that Paul had spent all Sunday working on) spilled all over the galley (and into the bilge/storage), the tea press fell and broke…well, it was time for a good breakfast!!! Bacon and over easy eggs on toast…then we rested!! Both of us caught up on some much needed sleep during the day as the waves had laid down some…still the wind spread of ESE to E to ENE but along with less waves…less wind. We saw our first “little” boat Monday night…first little boat since loosing sight of Forewinds and Delphinus on Saturday afternoon…of course we had no idea what it was…two miles out…going east…a “blip” on radar…and a blinking light…never did see any red or green. So on Tuesday morning…the roll lead to one more casualty…my Zihuatanejo (I’m surprised I can still spell it – did I ever spell the main city in Bonaire?? Well…it is nicknamed K (by me)…short for Kralendijk…and a lack of sleep thought…why are my favorite places so hard to spell and pronounce??) coffee/tea mug handle broke! Oh, dear…now what!!! Banana Nut Muffins…yes…30 of them…of course we only had 6 for breakfast…the rest we froze for another morning! Seas down Tuesday all day and the wind along with it…we did two loads of laundry…and actually motor-sailed for an hour or so just to help out with the very hungry batteries…having the instruments on 24/7 definitely takes more out of them! BUT…our original arrival time of Friday to one of the outer of the Bay Islands, Guanaja, has been pushed back to Saturday …by weaker winds and 5 knot boat speed…!! Paul was able to talk on the SSB with Phil and Mark (Delphinus) and Frank and Pat (Forewinds) at the appointed 6:00 hour…their winds have tapered as well and they both are making their cut by Haiti to the windward passage. F&P have a beautiful dog on board…a Yellow Lab/Rhodesian Ridgeback cross…the cross is called a “hog dog”! They were twenty or so miles ahead of Delphinus so they were going to anchor momentarily on a deserted beach to let their dog run, play, and most importantly pee! They mentioned that their SSB had been acting up as well…but I did get ONE VERY IMPORTANT email off…Happy Birthday on Wednesday Jodi!! Love you lots!! While we continued to fish…it was only off and on…we were more intent on sailing! Catching a fish while under sail 7 plus knots…while rolling…well, it is not easy…so the fishing took a back burner. 
One afternoon I had this tanker go within one half mile of us! There is a lot of this tanker traffic in this part of the Caribbean Sea. It is VERY deep here…over 13,000 feet in most places! One of the reasons that we had to go further north to go west to Roatan (rather than in a straight line from Curacao) is that there are shallows that stick out for many miles off the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua and Honduras. The Edinburgh Reef, Moskito Cays, Cock Rocks and Alagarda Reef extend over fifty nautical miles from the coast of Nicaragua and Honduras.…and, that doesn’t include other reefs that extend out even further…Quita Sueno Bank, Thunder Knoll, Rosalind Bank and numerous other shoals and Cays. From thousands of feet deep to 50 feet deep or less to shoals and cays, and, if there is any wind…well, the water would not be pleasant to be in, on, or around! For our first time through the neighborhood…we were working from caution! Wednesday was another 8-10 foot rollers day…wind on the aft quarter (at least there was wind)…so another rolly sailing day. The batteries were really getting “hungry” so Paul motor-sailed most of the early to late evening. A few squalls but only sprinkles out of them…and still around 6 plus knots. Thursday morning was very quiet…could only sail 5 knots…and with the lighter winds the seas were finally calm! We did motor-sail off and on…and by evening to keep our 6.5 knots we definitely HAD to motor-sail…the wind had shifted sufficiently to put the starboard side pole and then jenny out…the waves had picked back up and it seemed there was a current with us at one point…and then current against us at another point…although we were still 300 miles from Roatan so really not sure if it was a tide related current or not. It seemed the weather could not make up its mind…we had wind and waves one part of a day and then waves down and little to no wind. With that we ended up motor-sailing Friday too. With the wind coming from the port aft…the exhaust blew right into the cockpit! This was causing sinus issues for me…and eye issues for Paul. I am a firm believer that sailboats were not meant to motor…they just were not designed that way! How can exhaust be okay in ANY wind conditions? I believe it is a huge flaw…and of course I pointed it out! And, to sleeping, well, we were doing okay…then not so good again. When my sinuses and head hurt (perhaps due to the exhaust)…not so good. And…THAT was the morning that Paul decided he had to fix the head. I did help for a little while…then I told him that he needed to take a break because I needed to rest. He informed me that he wanted to get it done NOW (it had already waited five days…with the hose running down the companionway for those five days - I could not see the rush now)…so I put my head down. Very similar to one putting ones foot down…just that my head landed on the pillow! And, let me tell you about that half hour to forty five minutes of sleep that I got when my head hit the pillow…well…the best news was that when I woke Paul was done…he must have only THOUGHT he needed my help!!! Ha ha ha!!! Our last evening out (Friday) on my “watch” we were still motor sailing…and I noticed the SOG edge up to 7.5 knots! I went above noticed an increase in wind speed and idled her down slowly…we could maintain 5.5 to 6.5 knots…it was a no brainer…I pressed the red button! Back to the first thing I like about passages!!! Look mom, I can sail!!! So…I guess it is finally time for the second thing I like best about passages…arriving at our destination…and we arrived at Guanaja the way we left Curacao…6-8 knots and sailing…7 days to the hour of our leaving…the rest…well, the rest is just water through the pipes…or maybe water through the bilge…how about water under the keel…or just more simply put…water behind us…
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Hey there...let us know what you think...Capt Paul