Stormy weather

Hi, this is Grace. Today was a crazy rollercoaster day. It started with a super wet cockpit that no one wanted to be in, then Nora and I washed our hair on the back of the boat, and Papa tried to wash the one pair of pants that he's been wearing this whole time. He did not remove the pants to wash them or dry them, though. He sort of hosed himself/the pants and then decided that holding the pants away from his waist and doing a weird leg thing would efficiently dry everything. I'm so glad I'm the only one who witnessed that.

Shortly after that, the sky let loose and tried to drown us in rain. The rain stopped, the rain started. We relaxed for a little while, then we entered the doldrums and the wind died almost completely. We climbed around the foredeck (front of the boat) and put up a lightweight drifter sail and went back to sit in the cockpit. Almost immediately, the wind picked up and gathered speed, so we climbed around the foredeck to take the sail down. The wind picked up tremendously while Mama made dinner (veggie pasta and the surprise of a hot loaf of sourdough bread for Father's Day). It was very exciting. The best thing for me was washing my hair. Try taking a shower, braiding your hair, dumping salt water on your head, spraying it with sunscreen, and repeating the process for 4-5 days in a row. Now wash your hair and tell me you don't feel like a new person. Also, happy Father's Day, your daughters look like homeless people bathing with a hose! After the rain silliness and the wind's quick shifts, we knew we were nearing the doldrums. (The official name is ITCZ, but Mama likes the name the doldrums because it "sounds more romantic and less like a sci-fi film.") If you don't know, the doldrums is a place where the wind stops and starts, squalls disappear and appear, and the swell grows and shrinks. In short, no one really knows what will happen here. Papa was really excited to use the new drifter sail for light winds. It was fun to put up while the boat was vigorously rocking side to side (no sarcasm there) and then watch it for all of 10 minutes before we reversed the process. While we were putting the sail up, Papa and I managed to tie our tethers and a couple of lines all in one big knot. If Nora hadn't fixed it, we'd still be stuck on the foredeck,

As for our health, everyone is pretty much over the seasickness but Mama has a yucky cold. (She says bronchitis, pneumonia, and possibly tuberculosis, in addition.)

Kelly King: we're getting there. We did see a couple of rainbows today, so maybe they're leading us along!

Daughter Izzy: Thanks for your note. I think your turtle saved us!

11.8939 N, 156.0639 W

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