Pacific Day 6

• 07 April 2026
• pacific

It’s been a busy couple days since my last post as we continue to make (mostly) forward progress across the Pacific.

On day 5 we made the switch to one person watches, rotating out every two hours. I think everyone’s sleep schedule, and therefore sanity, is benefiting from the switch. Well except for maybe Captain Jesse who is the one we wake up for any deviations from the sail plan around the clock.

Dirk and Jesse sleeping soundly through my topsy turvy steering

Luckily Jesse seems to be made of stronger stuff than I so is holding it together nicely on constantly disrupted sleep. However he did run out of downloaded sports ball games to watch on his rare time to recharge so we’ll see how soon he breaks the don’t download on the expensive ocean Starlink plan soon.

Night watches are not entirely without perks. The stars out here in the ocean are breathtaking, reaching the whole way to the horizon in all their innumerable glory. Watching the moon rise and illuminate the ocean swells is another treat, both for the eyes and for the fact that it makes hand steering at night a touch easier when you can see what you’re working with.

Sunsets and sunrises on watch are a treat

My favorite thing at night is watching the bioluminescence. It looks like 100s of twinkling stars in the wake behind the boat as you sail along amidst only the sound of the waves and an occasional flap of the sail.

You sometimes see the same twinkling bioluminescence when you refill the toilet with seawater after flushing but it seems like a slightly less majestic setting there, albeit still fascinating.

Day 6 we turned on the motor for the first time after our final refuel in Cabo. While the wind fully dying out for 6 hours wasn’t ideal, it honestly felt like a little relaxing break compared to the cat and mouse game we’d been having, chasing a weak and fickle wind (both in strength and direction) for the last few days.

Several hours of motoring and limited winds, meant we had the ability to make actual coffee (not just instant) for the first time! I can’t tell you how invigorating a nice strong cup of coffee is.

Real coffee!!!

With all that energy we managed to do some laundry. Hanging it up to dry on the boat is pretty effective and somehow, much to my surprise, we didn’t lose any items in the process.

Clean laundry is the best

We also had weekly hair wash day! A much anticipated day amongst the crew. The daily sponge baths in between just aren’t quite as refreshing. While we motored we recharged some of our battery power (beyond the amount we get from solar) which meant we had extra power to run the desalinator to make more fresh water for the process. For hair washing there is the kitchen sink method (Chelsea and my preferred option) or the back of the boat sprayer option which Dirk tried out.

Method 1: the sink

Method 2: back of the boat

We’ve been using the spinnaker a lot in these lighter wind conditions and we used some of our extra energy on Monday to rerun the line which was a success, making the whole process of dousing the spinnaker run much smoother. Or at least it appears that way as I watch Jesse tackle the sail from the comfort of the cockpit as he has to do the whole process while getting bounced 10 feet above and below the horizon on the bow of the boat. Don’t worry Mom, he’s clipped in!

Spinnaker adjustments

Note the kitchen spoon handle in between the tape right of Jesse's hand

I’m tracking our provisions and sadly having to say farewell to a few fruits/vegetables each day that just couldn’t quite bear the 90F and increasingly humid weather.

I’m flipping our eggs every few days in the hope that they last the whole month. I’m not sure if anyone’s actually done a controlled study, but supposedly they’re less likely to adhere to the shell and go bad if they get flipped according to many sailors. I have a hard time imagining the swell all day long isn’t already getting the job done of shaking them free from their shells, but I’m also not about to disregard the wisdom of sailors far wiser than I.

Egg flipping duties

We’ve been enjoying some gourmet meals here and there when the conditions allow, such as some mole chicken last night and a pancake breakfast (loaded with mango and kiwi!) the day before.

Chicken mole

On rougher sailing days we’ve been eating a lot of prepackaged rice, meat, and beans in varying combos for meals, using up all our creativity to try and make it seem like variety. It’s also taken creativity to hide the canned pea flavor of the “garden vegetable” variety rice which was the last one available at the store when we were stocking up. These packs do come in handy for saving fuel and energy on the boat when we’re seasick. Their shelf stability is ideal.

I fear we may have given a further bad culinary reputation to Americans in Mexico after Chelsea and I bought 30 bags of premium price, imported from the USA, precooked rice and bagged shelf stable meat at the local supermarket. My Spanish wasn’t quite good enough to explain the situation to the checker and bagger who were giving each other knowing side eye as we checked out with our processed food bounty.

All in all, with bioluminescent toilets, kitchen sink hair washing, and ready to eat bagged meat, I hope that gives you a glimpse into the magical life we’re living aboard Ophelia here in the Pacific.

We haven’t need to ask ChatGPT for any more pep talks in the last few days so I think that means things are going well.

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