As always, our days on the water are governed by the weather. The latest development is that the Pacific High is forecast to be pushing westward and southward over the next couple of days. Of course, that is the exact direction we need to go to get to San Francisco. So after a lot of time poring over the weather forecasts and calculating various scenarios of sailing speeds, drifting times, motoring speed, and fuel capacity, we have been motoring at decent speed across the high today.
Our goal is the far side of the high, which we should reach tomorrow evening. The forecast shows 24-36 hours of wind before the spreading high catches up with us again. At that point, we may decide to drift for a day or two to ensure that we have enough fuel in reserve for whatever may happen in the future.
Despite the sound of the diesel, it’s been a pleasant day. No wind also means glassy conditions, and it’s been beautiful to have the boat surrounded by an endless disk of mirror.
We’re also more than half way to San Francisco. In honor of both that milestone and of our right turn, we are having two cakes – Halfway Cake and Big Right Turn Cake.
Day ten: 162 nm
Position: 39 19N 146 13W
