April 23, 2008 Update

Today marks our 6th day at sea. We have been having good winds, rough and +at times but haven't had the need to motor as much. We are excited that our sister cruiser, Imagine, has left Manzanillo and is making the passage. We have been in touch via email and will be talking over the SSB daily. There are a couple of radio frequency networks out here for those making the jump. We have until now been unsuccessful picking them up, but today could finally hear the "PPJ" (Pacific Puddle Jump) Net;
not too clearly but hope for a better signal next time. These are important tools for us out here so we can check in with other boats and have a link for various resources. It is nice to know that, although you cannot see other boats they are out here as well.

I'm reading at night on my new watch schedule to pass the time - it is OK for me now to read while on watch because there isn't any traffic, although that is why we WATCH. It gets muggy and cool at night, and sometimes the seas get rough no matter what time of day it is, so I'm practicing my Yachtie Pilates a lot! This is sheer survival wherein you balance using whatever limb of your body is available and not too bruised to brace yourself or to hold on to something supportive while doing simple
things, like using the toilet (without falling in!), preparing AND eating meals, putting on clothes, taking a shower, typing on the laptop which I am now doing with one leg wrapped around the chair.

Frank continues to be my hero! I watch him in amazement and learn as much as I can from him. He sure gets banged up a lot though. Nothing serious but he bleeds like a stuck pig, and I am constantly on him to quit bleeding all over everything, hence he is covered in band-aides because I am constantly chasing him around armed with Neosporin and various sized bandages.

We got to talk to our folks today over the Sat phone, and it was so nice to hear our parents' voices. Ma is really good at checking our website and staying up to date on our activities and progress. I'd like to say THANK YOU to those of you who have been emailing us. We love to hear what is going on back home and to know that you are sending us your kind thoughts and prayers. If any of Frank's pals are reading this, you should write him. He would be thrilled to get an email from you. We are
like children at Christmas every time we turn on the HAM (SSB) radio and get a connection for one thing, and then to see that we have bytes coming through, meaning we have messages! OK, this is getting long enough and if messages are too long they take forever to send. By the way - a friendly reminder - if you do email us, especially via "reply" please delete all previous messages thus sending only your new message without forwarding ours back to us. This blog and all emails transmit via a radio
frequency which times out if messages are too long.