Salty Dawg Rally Day 1

11am departed under sail. Blowing 25 knots under staysail and main phew!

Stuff is flying everywhere inside the cabin great ride though.

Coast guard came out to within 50 feet of my boat but at the last moment decided to pull away thank goodness.

I am buddy boating with another boat, Mystic, an Amber 35, and after 2 hours we are within 200 meters of each other.

Wind has tapered off slightly so I am getting a much smoother ride now.

It is so nice having Mystic so close and we are chatting on the VHF regularly.

Wind at about 10 knots but still quite rough.

I am very hungry…all the fresh air. But I am afraid of eating just in case I get seasick. Have just changed the sail configuration to wing on wing.

Okay time to start thinking about the highlight of my day...what to eat for dinner. I have a hankering for a salad. Have to eat before it gets dark.

I still have cell coverage believe it or not. I passed Virginia Beach an hour or so ago and couldn't believe how built-up it is now.

A small yellow bird just flew in and sat down right next to me.

A couple of hundred Canadian geese just flew overhead in v formation also going south for the winter.

So far today I have covered 31 nautical miles at an average of 5.7 knots and I have been going for 6 hours. Just 300 hours to go!

I just treated myself to a delicious mango for dessert. I'm saving the chocolate for later when it gets dark. I have also been trying to drink lots of water.

I spent the last half hour searching for my muesli bars but I can't find them. Now my boat is not very big, so you would think losing them would be impossible.

I found some fig bars that I have been making some big inroads into.

Still making really good progress despite the lessening winds. I hope I can at least sail down to the Gulf Stream before the winds die, and then motor across.

Had to go forward to take the spinnaker pole down because the wind has started to clock around and I came back shivering because it was so cold. Brrrrrr!

It's getting dark so I am layering up and taking flashlights up into the cockpit. Still making a good 6 knots.

Boat is slicing through the water smoothly and without much noise now, unlike earlier. It should make for a very restful night.

I have this balaclava type thing made of fleece, called a head sokz, that is perfect for cold nights like this and warms me up no end.

There is no moon tonight and with considerable cloud cover it is pitch black outside so all I can see is a couple of sailing boats and the shore lights.

I didn't take any sea sickness medication this time and so far it has paid off. I haven't had caffeine or alcohol in the Last couple of days which has helped.

I didn't get much sleep last night because of the anticipation and I am hoping to catch up tonight even though it will be in smaller chunks.

I am going to try and catch 40 winks. I am not all that tired but I need to get some good rest so that I can make good decisions on the boat.