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October 16, 1998

San Francisco to Hawaii, Second Attempt. Update #25

25. Date: Fri, 16 Oct 98 03:03 GMT
Latitude: 31 degrees 01.673 minutes North
Longitude: 130 degrees 33.347 minutes West
Wind NNE, Force 4-5
Current Heading 200(M)

Should be a high mileage day. Since yesterday we've been running before 15 foot swells rolling in from the NNE. Pedaling is easy at last as Moksha slips effortlessly down the front of each wave like her narrow beam is designed for. Then it's a case of going through the motions on the cranks before the next roller comes along and does the hard work for you. Occasionally a rogue 'beamer' jumps us from the starboard side, throwing us over onto the opposite gunnel as if to remind us of where we are. So for the past 30 hours we've been traveling with the wind generator down to lessen chances of a roll over.

In a minute I'll start dinner which is getting increasingly challenging on account of there being only two choices -Chili Con Carne or Ala King -Pasta Prima vera sucks! (sorry UK -gruesome Americanism for which there is no English translation- but it happens to fit the bill here).

So the total number of combinations at our disposal is only three. Since the start we have relied heavily upon fresh vegetables for inspiration, the last of which will be gone tomorrow; one hunk of cabbage left from which we ceremoniously tear off one leaf a day each. For some reason fresh cabbage takes on a divine quality 800 miles from land. Each bite sends Steve and I into raptures of dribbling ecstasy; it's the crunch more than anything, symbolizing all that is missing out here -fresh things that are alive! Not counting of course the fist fulls of fresh sprouts our sprout farm (2 jam jars with holes in the lids) continues to churn out with reassuring regularity.

It's ridiculous that with all that thousands of dollars worth of equipment, books, cameras, radios etc we have on board as distractions, all we really want is more M&M's.

Lewis & Smith,
The Moksha crew

Posted on October 16, 1998 5:55 PM