Phosphorescent Dolphins

Aloha Westward Fans!

First and foremost, the entire crew of Westward would like to wish Shauneen Bell a very happy birthday!

We're now in the middle of our fourth day (which means it's time for the morning watch change) and have somewhere around 1,500 miles to go. Since the last posting, things have calmed significantly and we've started to dry out a bit more. We're sailing on a tight reach--sometimes romping along at up to 9.4 knots average! But, according to the latest weather reports, it seems that all could change. Before the race started the weather reports and our routing software had us sailing a more northerly route to avoid some hurricanes that were forming and that we'd be having some pretty good wind. Now it seems that we may be spending some of the later days of the race in no wind and that we could be out here quite a few more days. Only time will tell.

For now, though, the sailing is beautiful. Last night, there was a sky full of stars and the WAM (Willie, Alli, and Mara) watch was joined by some dolphin for about half an hour. They had phosphorescent trails and so we could see them swimming towards the boad as bright green streaks. They'd catch one of our stern wakes and surf for a while before veering off and then heading back for more. It was an amazing sight.

Dan Brandt, if you're reading this, we'd like to give a special thank you for the flashlights you gave Sam. They're really, really bright. And Sam knows(?) how to use them. We've all fallen victim to some night blindness when he's wielding those things around at night.

On another note, today is the Dutch Shoe Marathon. This race starts at SDYC and finishes in Coronado at CYC. Over 100 boats will head out onto San Diego Bay for the long downwind race. Many of Westward's crew sailed this race at the age of seven. In many ways, this race is the Transpac for Naples Sabots: you start with an upwind portion (not always the most fun), then you get to sail downwind for a while (fun), then you navigate a tricky channel to the finish (fun and rewarding), and finally you hit the dock to a party (fun)! If you're in the area, watch for them and if you're sailing, good luck! Check out sdyc.org (I think) for the livecast featuring Daniel Bell!

Time to head up on deck--here's hoping for a great day of fun fast sailing aboard Westward.


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