SOOOOO Close!!!!

As I write this, we have exactly 88.6 miles to go to the harbor entrance near Kodiak, which at our current speed means we should hit the entrance in roughly 16 hours! I’m so excited I can barely stand it!
Since I last wrote, we had what I have dubbed “Sucky Suck Fest.” About 36 hours of high winds and seas that were NOT in the forecast. Lots of green water over the bow – we found a few more leaky hatches, which seem to be a never ending occurrence on this boat. Thankfully this go around we all had our sea legs, so no one got sick. True to form, Henry continued to have the best attitude of the three of us through the whole thing.
A lot of things seem a little harder when you’re underway, but in these conditions, EVERYthing takes a ridiculous amount of effort. Walking without launching yourself across the boat, pouring and drinking a cup of joe without wearing it, dragging yourself down below to use the head. It’s fairly exhausting and not the best for crew morale. BUT, once it’s over, you appreciate the general ease of everyday living so much more than you would have otherwise. Isn’t that how it is with life – takes a little rain to appreciate the rainbow.
The last several days we have been wishing for MORE wind – see, you gotta be careful what you ask for! It’s like a lake out here – no sailing to be had. We are motoring, all the while being extremely cautious of fuel use. We THINK we have enough to motor on in, albeit on fumes. Otherwise we’re going to need some mighty big oars! This long distance cruising thing is definitely an exercise in resource management of all kinds: diesel fuel for the engines and big generator; fresh water for drinking, cooking, bathing and cleaning; and gasoline for the watermaker and portable generator. And technically, I suppose, food – but we have enough of that to make a whole other passage.
Anyway, we had to run the engines on high early on to outrun some weather, and now we are running them very conservatively to ensure the most efficient burn rate. According to our calculations, it should work out just about perfectly. Fingers crossed. So, by the numbers, we have: Traveled 2,581 miles in 434 hours; Used 230 gallons of diesel; Used 270 gallons of fresh water; having made 180 gallons of that; Used 10 gallons of gasoline; Consumed enough coffee and hot tea for a crew 10 times our size.
So what are we most looking forward to when we reach land?
Long, hot showers. Long, uninterrupted periods of sleep. Clean clothes, sheets, towels For the Cap’n, a trip to Kodiak Brewery – And for Henry, a big patch of lush green grass! Will post some pics once we get in and settled. Until next time…live the adventure! —-