Pacific Odyssey - Leg 7

I wrote that yesterday was a perfect day; well today was even more so as
today was like yesterday but with blue skies and some warmth from the sun.
We woke up to blue skies, a calm sea, a gentle motion, a perfect 15 knot
wind coming from the beam (hitting the starboard side of the Grace), and all
our sails drawing.  It was absolutely memorable; possibly one of the best
´passage days´ of this leg.  Last night at about 0300 hrs Antony called
Skipper out of his bunk saying that there was a Sei whale just 30 ft from
the ship.  Apparently it was amazing, stunning . . . Keith said it was so
close they could see its´ 12 cm blowhole!  It was about 15 m long and dove
under the ship, following the Grace for about half an hour.  Today we
celebrated Selena´s 21st birthday.  We enjoyed ´eggs benedict´ for
breakfast, pizza pretzels for lunch, and delicious spaghetti with meat sauce
and vegetarian lasagna for supper; all Selena´s choice.  Katie, our cook,
did a spectacular job, starting late last night with the food preparation.
The hold was decorated with balloons and birthday banners and Selena proudly
wore her 20 cm diameter birthday button pinned to her shorts.  Writer´s
Guild held their final meeting this morning in the hold.  Steve shared some
of his ´stash (personal snack food) while others shared favorite pieces of
poetry i.e. by e.e. cummings and T.S. Elliot.  Christina wrote a beautiful
sonnet, as did Steve, and they read them out loud to us.  (Will, ask
Christina to read it to you).  We created stories together, writing a
sentence or two then sending the paper to the right and continuing with the
story that was passed to you from your left; it resulted with some very
funny and entertaining stories, which we also read out loud.  Maddie and
Rona decided to wash their hair on deck with salt water; the water is very
cold, they were very brave.  After lunch we had a beautiful 3 hours where
nearly everyone was on deck enjoying the sun and the sailing.  The wind was
coming from dead astern and we brought the foresail to the starboard side
and sailed ´wing-on-wing´ or what is also called, ´reading both pages.´
This is when we have the mainsail let out on one side of the ship and the
foresail on the other; it´s magnificent, something special, we don´t get the
chance to do it very often.  We´ve been making good speed all day.  The sun
had some warmth in the middle hours of the day and a few of our layers were
shed; the sun was glorious and we thoroughly enjoyed it and took advantage
of it.  By 1600 hrs the ´bite´ in the air had returned but the sky was still
clear.  Skipper taught a theory lesson on Celestial Navigation to 12
trainees.  Afterwards, Skipper and Jordan helped the trainees use the
sextants and take a sight.  Elske was below, using the sightings to help
gather the information needed to begin plotting a course.  Arwen served
´eatmores´ at about 1500hrs.  ´Eatmores´ are an absolutely delicious
chocolatey treat we make when there is room in the freezer, usually near the
end of a leg or a passage.  They are similar to the ´eatmore´ chocolate
bars: a mixture of cocoa, peanut butter, honey, and all the almonds,
peanuts, raisins, coconut, seeds, etc. you can stir into the batter.  They
are pressed into a cookie sheet and put to cool in the freezer for 24 hours.
They definitely hit the spot for everyone.  At 1530 hrs we lowered all sail
and spent a half hour jigging for fish in a shallow patch of ocean.  Within
10 minutes Simon (6 years old) caught the first fish, a spotted sand bass,
and the biggest out of the 4 fish we brought in.  He was a proud little boy
and everyone else was proud of him too.  Blake caught a bass on his
´porksicle´ lure, while Adrienne, Selena, and Sara R. also caught fish.  We
return the small ones to the sea.  It was quite exciting.  Chris P. and
Raven filleted most of the fish and we´ll eat them tomorrow as Katie had
started supper already.  By 1700 hrs we had raised all the sails again and
were majestically sailing and on our way.  Soon after we brought in the
jigging lures and set sail, our line caught a salmon.  For us this was a
true welcome home to west coast waters.  The salmon was beautiful; it truly
is an outstanding fish.  The sea is very calm; Skipper says he has never
seen it so calm in this portion of the Pacific Ocean.  It felt wonderful to
handle sail together.  Trainees are eager to help and come when called; it´s
wonderful, a huge help to the crew.  The trainees are getting proficient at
raising and lowering the fisherman staysail and the main topsail; these
sails go up in the morning and are lowered at night.  Tonight sail handling
is happening in the dark under the deck lights; the main is being lowered
and the trysail is replacing it. The forecast is predicting a front coming
through at around 0300 hrs which should bring stronger winds from a
different direction.  We had supper early, one sitting at 1730 and our final
Sunday service at sea right after dishes.   We spoke on ´grace´ with several
of the crew sharing personal stories, some singing, a group activity
defining the word ´grace,´ and a reading out of Yancey´s "What´s So Amazing
About Grace?"  Hot chocolate and ´Chewy Puffed Wheat´ squares were served
afterwards in the hold.  It is a clear night; the sky is full of stars, and
people are enjoying themselves.  We are very aware that tonight is one of
the last nights at sea, and that by Tuesday morning we may be in Juan de
Fuca Strait.  It´s a bittersweet feeling to be so close.  Until tomorrow,
good-night, Bonice.