A very brief summary of two weeks sailing

The summarizer has moved from one apartment to another. Pretty exhausting, and on top of that internet connection problems. Will try to make a brief summary of the past two weeks. And I do recommend the Google map, kept updated by another member of the home team.

Sunday September 13th, Day 1: cleared out from San Diego. Setting sail for French Polynesia.
Monday, Day 2: settling into the routine of alternating watches. Weak winds, but making OK distance.
Tuesday, Day 3: Making good speed under skies full of stars all the way down to the horizon. No other ships, no birds but some flying fish.
Wednesday, Day 4: Wind slackening a bit. Ghosts knocking on the hull.
Thursday, Day 5: Stronger winds again, lots of sail management through the night, interrupted sleep. Then some great sailing through the day, the wind just right.
Friday, Day 6: Good speed. Using the lifelines as ever - and thinking of all the "lifelines" at home.
Saturday, Day 7: Thomas at the blog, explaining about the sails and how Anastasia sails well even in weak winds. Lots of sail power there. Later A the K reports their first fish, a golden Dorado!
Sunday, Day 8: A visit from the birds. Have been southbound, making less distance per day, for a couple of days to get back on course.
Monday, Day 9: Making record speed. Nights are getting tropically warm.
Tuesday, Day 10: A little less wind. The days are easily spent managing sails - learning a new ship - and attending to other chores, like watermaking and thending the machines. Later: very tropical, windless patches - running the diesel engines.
Wednesday, Day 11: Three plastic bottles in the doldrums - fortunately no sighting of the rumoured floating garbage island.
Thursday, Day 12: Drama! Rainstorm, gale, choppy waves. Taking in sail. Busted halyard on the foresail. Later discovering the halyard of the staysail was busted as well. Repairs.
Friday, Day 13: More drama: the three bands fixing the yoke to the mainsail busted too. Aging/material fatigue... not so strange, perhaps that it all happens at the first bit of tough weather since Anastasia hasn't really sailed for several years. The 240 meters of special lashing bands that seemd like unneccessary overweight on the fllight from Gothenburg don't seem so unnecessary any more.
Saturday, Day 14: All repairs done, steady wind from just the right quarter, great sailing.
Sunday, Day 15: New record distance, still very suitable winds. With the seas washing over the deck most of the time all hatches must be closed. Fairly muggy belowdecks. Salt, salt, salt everywhere.

Sailing!!

* New batteries installed on Monday morning by repairman Eric.
* Monday: SAILING. Passing the Golden Gate bridge, westbound, 4pm. WITH the tide and AGAINST the wind. Choppy. Later, out on the Pacific, almost windless with a long, slow, nauseating swell
* Tuesday: A the K on the night watch. Monterey and Carmel behind them. Steady wind from the rear, black night with a narrow strip of moonlight. Later increasing wind, had to take in sail. Making very good speed. Check out the map.
* Wednesday: Second night. Entering Santa Barbara Channel. Finding their routines - taking turns sleeping. Th wakes A the K up at dawn to see the dolphins. At least 30 individuals - two or three pods, gathered to check out Anastasia and follow in her wake for a while... smiling their dolphin smiles, then hurrying on. Going to a dolphin staff meeting, sez A the K.
* Thursday: Dana Point - goal of the first leg of the trip. Visiting Th's uncle Karl Erik. Arrived past midnight, just found a quay-berth and went to sleep. Woken up by a grumpy and dissatisfied Harbour Master at six. Made arrangements with the yacht club, supposedly including wifi - but the password won't work.
* Friday: Posting from Starbucks - still no wifi. Checking the blog and reading comments (which is not possible over Iridium). Will remain at Dana Point until Tuesday, waiting for a spare relay for the AIS.