February 9th-11th

We sailed all day except for about 3-4 hours. During this time we had no 
winds, so  Shawn and Jon decided to go for a swim. Rudy put the boat in neutral 
and they jumped overboard and swam for about 5 minutes.  Rudy then had to put 
the boat in reverse so they could get on board!!!   

We almost had to turn the engine on while I was on watch, but the winds 
changed again and we were O.K. This morning (10th) we changed our plans and we 
will be going to Antique for a meal (at our favorite restaurant), swim, fuel 
and food.  We had one of our best days today going 7.5 knots for over 10 
hours!!!  We were on a broad reach the whole time and we flew through the 
waves!!!

On the 11th, the winds finally died reaching the area of low winds that they 
forecasted. We turned the motor on at 8 a.m.  Today it will be three weeks of 
sailing.  The first week we went to Cape Verde and tomorrow it will be 15 days 
to Antigua.


                                THE ART OF SLEEPING

Some of you out there think all you need to do is put your head on a pillow 
and close your eyes.  I wish it was that easy doing a crossing!!! You see, when 
the boat bounces and sways, so do you!!  The key is to use a **Lea Cloth.  This 
works well in the bunk room, but our bed is too big for this...we need more 
help!!  Even though we have a Lea Cloth between the twin mattress, there is 
still too much room to slide and sway and roll and ...you get the picture!!!  
So we place pillows in between the Lea Cloth and our bodies to keep the rolling 
to a minimum!!  I feel like a cocoon in a hammock during a hurricane!!!!

We are getting accustomed to the noises of the boat while trying to go to 
sleep!!! The noises of the sails bouncing over the waves, the noises of the 
lines creaking, the noises of the pots, pans,food,etc bouncing around inside 
the cabinets. (Oh yes, the cabinets creaking)  And I am getting accustomed to 
the noises of the water-maker, the auto-pilot and the rudder which are all 
under my side of the bed!!!  However, if there is a new noise, Rudy and I wake 
up to investigate and then go back to sleep if there aren't any problems!!! 
(Like changing the sails!!)

**Lea Cloth is a piece of fabric that is anchored to the frame under the 
mattress.  The fabric has a clasp at the other end which hooks onto the ceiling 
above.