With the next cold front approaching, predicted to hit us this afternoon, we are now getting the wind preceding it. Winds are 20-30 knots out of the southwest, pushing us right where we want to go. We are carrying a full main, full mizzen, and yankee jib, and going 7+ knots. This is probably too much wind for the poor yankee, which is a lightweight nylon sail. We have already ripped the seams out twice this passage, and Cynthia has restitched it both times. But our working jib is out of commission due to badly worn hanks, so it's the yankee or the storm jib, which is way too small. Besides, this is fun, and we can fix the yankee soon in Friday Harbor if it blows out again.
Cynthia is still sleeping off a long night watch, during which she hand-steered for hours, and I'm rocking out to Lynyrd Skynyrd on my iPod and playing with sails trying to get even more speed.
When the front hits, the winds are expected to suddenly back to N to NNE to NE and remain 20-25 knots. That is bad for us, and we will then have to change out the yankee for the storm jib and reef the main and douse the mizzen to go upwind against it. But we have been going N to NW all day, so we should have a pretty decent angle for Cape Flattery. Another front is expected to usher us through the strait Sunday night/early Monday morning. Then we'll be there!
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