Watercannon to the Crotch

09:45 - When working on the foredeck in 40 knot winds it truly is like a fire hose blast. There isn't a dry spot on the outside of this boat and it hasn't rained in months. I can remember just yesterday when wind speeds in the high 20's were exciting. Now we are fighting 38-42 knot winds in 22 feet of water. That's force 8 on the Beaufort Scale except the waves aren't as high due to our short fetch (look it up). The dodger patches are ripping off, and we just drank the last of the coffee. It's amazing how your tolerance for stress can increase. We actually have a positive attitude after 72 hours of slugging it out against the elements. We've made 138 miles in 72 hours. That's under 2 knots per hour. That's essentially crawling to Costa Rica. We can see horses on the beach walking faster than us as they pull fishing boats. Come on - you gotta laugh at this with me.

It's bad but not that bad. Ryan still managed to make us French toast and the inside of the boat is dry. Nothing major is broken. We jury rigged the furling line, scrubbed the bottom 100 miles ago and stripped the last of the fishing line off the shaft. It's good to be chilled again.

13:31 - We might have to stop in San Juan Del Sur for fuel and a respite. This is amazing. When the sea wants to deny you, It's pretty hard to overcome.

Just passed some friends who left El Sal a week before us. Think about the morale on that boat.

Captain Salty