Midnight - night watch. I awoke to hear Yves ask Greg what our speed was - we are doing 4 knots, which is better than we expected. I get up and relieve Greg. I throw on my hoodie under my jacket and life vest / harness as it it is chilly. I grab my iPad and head topside. The night air is refreshing, clear and the sky is full of stars. No moon out which surprises me as we saw a crescent the night before. I start working on the blog and time flies by. My butt hurts as I have been sitting on the wood seat for an hour and a half. I have to stand for a bit to get the blood flowing and the feeling back.
I watch some TED lectures to keep my going. At 6 AM Yves is up and I go back to bed, falling asleep as my head hits the pillow.
I awake at 7:30 and find that Greg is up and Yves is finally asleep. They have taken the sails down and we are motoring. The doldrums have hit and there is almost no wind. The ocean is flat - just the minor undulation of a wave.
We make coffee and read topside. It is a beautiful cloudless day. The temp will reach 24 degrees and the water is 27 degrees (we are almost at the 38 parallel and that is much warmed than expected).
Yves is awake around 9 and we celebrate Quebec day (June 24) and fly the Quebec flag. We start the day with French musicians (Quebec).
Yves checks in with the "Reseau du Capitaine" - a Quebec volunteer group that uses ham radio to discuss sailing conditions in the Atlantic and Pacific each day at 7AM EST. we have no wind today and picking up over the next few days. Tropical storm Debbie is in the Gulf and may turn north onto our tail.
Yves makes oatmeal with raisins and brown sugar - it is excellent and I devour it.
We see lots of seagulls in the middle of the ocean. They have congregated as a group of maybe a 100 and are just sitting, floating on the water. One seems to be by the boat constantly and I nickname him "Stevie".
We read a bit and have clam chowder and bread for lunch. Yves and I clean tools getting rid of as much salt as we can (these harsh conditions age metals very quickly and can cause much corrosion if not maintained). Greg makes bread and brownies.
At around 4 we stop the boat and go for a swim in 5340 meters of water (over 16000 feet). It is a little nerve racking jumping into the middle of the ocean and all the sea horror movies start flooding my brain. I don't stay in too long. I shower with the solar shower once I am out. It feels so good to be clean. I put on fresh clothes to celebrate cleanliness.
We set the spinnaker and half the main sail and continue to cruise along at 5-6 knots. Life is good
For dinner, Greg makes the last of the spaghetti with a slice of his bread. He is upset that it did not rise, but I enjoy it tremendously. We have two slices of his brownies with tea and chat about life.
Yves and I do the dishes. After, Greg and I play a game of chess and I muster a victory after a mistake by Greg with his bishop.
Before retiring, Yves wants to test an expired flare. This is good to do as a way to ensure we know the basic operation (we rationalize) and also a great way to end Quebec day. We fire two tickets and Greg may have lost some eyebrows.
I go to bed.