July 21
Wind: 20-22 knots
Swell: step and uncomfortable through the night, 2 meters in height
Boat speed: 6 knots
Weather: sunny with clouds
Sails: reefed jib & mainsail with 2 reefs
We just turned off the motor. We had been motor sailing through the night to make as many miles north as possible. It was a good sail from the diesel dock to the north end of the island, but once we reached the top of Oahu the conditions changed quickly. The current was running against the wind, creating a very rough sea. Greeted back to sea by dolphins and rainbows.
At 12 nautical miles offshore, our Starlink stopped working—as expected—but this time I couldn't access it to troubleshoot the problem. We had to turn around and head back through all that rough water until we regained internet service so we could figure out what was wrong.
Then we turned around once again and headed north.
We've been closely watching Hurricane Fausto and its projected path across the Pacific. Our goal is to make as much northing as possible while keeping a close eye on the forecast.
Hawaii was incredible—so many connections, so much love, and such a comforting place.
We have officially begun our last long leg toward home. The plan is to stop in Victoria for a night before making our way back to Anacortes. We've now sailed more than 25,554 nautical miles on this journey, with another 2,000-plus miles still to go.
I'm going to try to do daily updates. I'll keep these entries short to keep you all updated as long as our internet holds out. If it doesn't, we have a great support team back home that will continue sending us weather updates through our Garmin, but we won't be able to communicate or post updates.
So, let's hope Starlink keeps working. Everything else on board seems to be running well.
The crew is in great spirits.