Pacific Day 21

• 21 April 2026
• pacific

It feels surreal that we’re about 5 days from land at this point. Marquesas, here we come! Can anyone teach me to speak French in a week?

The ocean swells and wind have finally allowed for a few reasonably calm, spinnaker driven days onboard and we’ve got our elaborate shade fort perfected.

Shade fort level 3.0

We’ve even got energy to make popcorn on the stove after dinner.

Popcorn with gravy, aka nutritional yeast

And hey, it’s been at least 24 hours since we last saw a cockroach! Life is good.

Sleep schedules remain improved now that we have fewer squalls, a 3 hour watch schedule, and an elaborate bed swap system.

You see, part way through this journey, we realized that when Dirk was complaining, like the rest of us, that it was so hot at night, he was in fact in a bunk with the least air flow, wedged between velvet cushions and a non-breathable lee cloth, sweating out his body weight every night. I don’t know if he really slept in that bunk or just passed out from the heat. Thus we took that bed out of rotation and everyone now sleeps in a different bunk before and after their shift to make the 3 remaining bunks suffice.

There remains much heated debate over which bunk is in fact the best. Is it the forward master suite where you enjoy the largest bed but remain airborne in multiple dimensions about 50% of the time? Or the starboard couch where the fans are perfect but stretching out is impossible and you get woken up with each shift change? Or the smoothest ride in the stern bunk where the mattress gets heated from the hot water tank below and air flow leaves a bit to be desired?

Luckily everyone gets to try out a couple beds every night as we waddle around on shift change with our pillow and sheets swapping to the next bed to try and catch some zzzs.

It’s honestly been working great.

Mittens, our resident red footed booby, recently took the title for longest hitchhiker (er…outside of our cockroach found on day 16). She’s currently on day 8 aboard and while she has some choice words about the spinnaker, she doesn’t appear ready to move on any time soon. Also there is a 50% chance Mittens is in fact a “he” as I have zero idea how to tell the difference between a male or female red footed booby.

Mittens

10/10 would recommend the middle of the ocean for stargazing. The stars extend to the horizon so much that we did a double take one night to make sure it wasn’t a boat light off in the distance. We’re able to make out the southern cross now and the good ol’ Milky Way is magical. And so many shooting stars.

Jesse has commandeered more spoon handle for sailing purposes.

Bye bye spoon handle

Our “lost at sea” count ticked up a little. Jesse lost a hat to the ocean and I lost our little compost receptacle. It’s a minor miracle we haven’t lost more clothespins. Dirk seems to think he possesses a special talent for not losing things overboard, but the rest of us just call that luck.

We (er…Chelsea) managed to make a round of hand pulled espressos yesterday morning. She followed that by frozen berry smoothies (battery operated blender!), fresh cooked bacon, and a frittata. She was instantly awarded sailor of the day as the rest of us pleaded no contest.

Mmm...bacon

We haven’t yet changed our clocks to any new time zone which means sunset is creeping up on 8pm. When we get to the Marquesas we’ll be 2.5 hours ahead of Washington. That extra half hour is just for style I think.

In updates from the cupboards, Washington apples take the win for remaining crisp and delicious non-refrigerated in tropical heat and humidity despite 3 weeks of being tossed around at sea. Ryan, it appears you’re peddling a good product.

Taste of home. Also yes, we have this many apples left.

Jesse is prepping us for a long, steep hike on day 2 on land. I haven’t worn shoes in 3 weeks. I’ve forgotten how to walk in a straight line. Send help.

Until next time, sending our love to family and friends across the ocean!

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