Killing time, but not the fish.

Boy are we going slow!  There is really minimal wind and we are only going at about one knot.  Think airport security line.  The only exception is when we are running the engine to charge up the batteries.  Normally, we don't engage the transmission when we charge the engine because then we use less fuel.  Now however, I put it in forward and we zip along at 6 knots because it is the only time we get any sense of progress toward home.  One consequence of this lack of wind is that for the first time on the whole trip, Tom and I watched a movie.  We fired up the computer and plugged in our iPod headphones and watched "The Hangover".  Total escapist guy flick.  We are ashamed at how much we enjoyed it.

I believe I have fully recovered from my trip up the mast yesterday, aside from an impressive collection of bruises on my legs and arms that will resolve over the next couple weeks.  We have heard of some of the increased security measures at the airports including more intimate searches and the fellow who protested, "Don't touch my junk!  Don't touch my junk!"  We assume T-shirts were available with that printed on them within 2 or 3 hours of the story hitting the media.  Anyway, while I was up at the top, swinging back and forth across the mast/stays/halyards, all I could think of was, "Don't crunch my junk! Don't crunch my junk!"  It was protecting myself that led to many of the bruises on my legs and arms.  Ironically, it is even too calm to use a spinnaker, so the replacing the broken spinnaker halyard block up there has been of no use to us yet.  The weather information we are getting from our ace weather guy, Robert, and the GRIB weather files we are downloading tells us that we have at least another day of this void in the wind.

Because we are drifting so slowly, fish are starting to gather around us.  We just saw three dorado, which are the same type of fish as the one we caught a couple of weeks ago.  They are quite beautiful, swimming slowly around the boat with the sun shining on their brilliant blue, green, and yellow bodies and fins.  We are not fishing for them though because we don't need the food and we can't stand killing the fish when we catch them.  Our attitude will change, though, if this drift lasts too much longer and we end up needing the nutrition!  No sharks...yet.  That is sure to disappoint my grandsons.

Speaking of nutrition, it is about time for me to start cooking dinner.  Tonight it is Red Kidney Bean Curry with Tofu and Couscous.  Between confessing to not wanting to kill pretty fish and that dinner menu it makes Tom and me sound just precious, doesn't it?

(Email from Pat to family. Posted by Christa)