-----Original Message-----

Sent: Friday, May 14, 2010 6:28 PM
Subject: Estrela Log Entry -- Thursday, May 13, 2010 (Preparing to depart St. Martin, West Indies for Bermuda)

1430 local time Thursday, May 13, 2010 (1830 GMT). LAT/LON: 18º02.89'N, 063º06.08'W. LOCATION: Moored in St. Martin's Simpson Bay Lagoon. COURSE AND SPEED OVER GROUND: N/A WIND: ENE 10-20kts (gusty). SEA: Slight chop in this well-protected harbor. SKY: 7/8, overcast. AIR TEMP: 88ºF outside and 86ºF inside. BAROMETER: 1017 mb. WATER TEMP: 88ºF. HUMIDITY: 60%. CURRENT: N/A. DEPTH: 11'; tied to a friend's generously provided mooring. SAIL/ENGINE COMBINATION AND TACK: N/A. FISH, BIRDS, AND OTHER WILDLIFE: Not much in evidence here, except for a profusion of big, creepy jellyfish that keep us from doing much swimming. LAST 24 HR RUN: N/A. AVERAGE DISTANCE COVERED PER DAY DURING PASSAGE: N/A. FORECAST: Blustery NE winds to 20+ knots through Friday, moderating to 15-20 on Sat and becoming more E. THOUGHTS FROM THE BRIDGE: We're about to set sail from St. Martin to Connecticut, via Bermuda. Mid-May is a good time to depart for Bermuda, 875 NM almost due north of St Martin. We are looking to leave late next week, possibly Thursday. If conditions remain typical for this passage, we would anticipate NE trades for the first half of the passage, gradually diminishing in strength as we approach an area of high pressure in the "horse latitudes." We may run out of wind altogether and have to motor for a couple days. But eventually, as we approach Bermuda we should start to pick up gradually increasing SW winds. The next passage, from Bermuda to CT (650 NM) will likely be a lot more challenging, with stronger and more unpredictable winds, complicated by our having to cross the Gulf Stream. Can't quite believe we are getting so close!

* * * * *

Dear Friends and Family,

It's been a long time since our last Estrela Log Entry. Our apologies to those who may have grown concerned that something not-good had happened to us. Just the contrary. On January 14^th, we left Estrela sitting in a boatyard in St. Martin/Maarten, West Indies, and flew to the US to begin what turned out to be a 3 1/2 month, five-state, 7,000-mile, whirlwind search-for-teaching-jobs-extravaganza. With many pounds of school books in hand, Eliza and Abigail maintained an orderly home school life at my parents’ house in CT, while Doug and I clocked internet and iPhone hours and odometer miles. And . . .

We are excited to report that Doug and I have signed contracts to begin teaching full-time in the fall at Buffalo Seminary, in Buffalo, NY – Doug’s hometown!!!

Buffalo Seminary, the only independent all-girls’ secondary school in Western New York, is a day school in the heart of Buffalo. This feels like a perfect match for the whole family. Our dream of teaching together, in the same school where our daughters can also attend, has become a reality. Eliza will enter Sem right away as a sophomore, while Abigail attends Nardin Academy, a coed parochial school nearby, for 7th and 8th grades.

We're buying a house an easy walk from both Nardin and Sem, in Elmwood Village, a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood (Buffalo's version of Boston's Cambridge) with shops (including a food co-op on our block), a university, restaurants, schools, museums, churches, hospital, and a library, intersected by tree-lined residential streets with Victorian homes on either side. We fell in love with this vibrant, culturally alive neighborhood, and look forward to a pedestrian/bicycle/one-car lifestyle.

We are so thankful for the many friends and family members who have supported us in our quest over the last ten months to launch new careers as secondary school educators upon our re-entry to land life, after completing our circumnavigation. This successful job-search outcome would not have been possible without lots and lots of help from many people, reading versions of our resumes, networking for us, keeping us fed, connecting us with schools, putting us up as overnight guests, and most importantly, believing in us. “It takes a village” couldn't be more apt.

Well now Estrela's back in the water after a grueling couple weeks of sanding, grinding, fiberglassing, and painting to get her ready. Over the last week we've been finalizing myriad other boat maintenance projects, filling holds with food and tanks with water and diesel, writing emails, sewing canvas, and preparing the crew to go back to sea to finish the last leg of our circumnavigation: St. Martin to Bermuda and then, after a short break, Bermuda to our home port of Groton, CT, from where we left almost seven years ago. We should arrive in Connecticut sometime in early June.

We'll keep you posted.

Fair winds,

Kyle, Doug, Eliza, and Abigail

Relaunching Estrela after 3 1/2 months on the hard -- May 3, 2010

-----Original Message-----
Sent: Friday, May 21, 2010 10:44 PM
Subject: Estrela Log Entry -- Friday, May 21, 2010 (Day 1 of passage from St. Martin, West Indies to Bermuda)

1900 local time Friday, May 21, 2010 (2300 GMT). LAT/LON: 20º03.93'N, 063º21.30'W. LOCATION: 740 NM south of Bermuda. COURSE AND SPEED OVER GROUND: 350ºT at 5.4 kts. WIND: ESE 15-20 kts. SEA: Bouncy but regular seas. SKY: 7/8 overcast, various types and levels of clouds. AIR TEMP: 81ºF outside and 86ºF inside. BAROMETER: 1016 mb. WATER TEMP: 84ºF. HUMIDITY: 68%. CURRENT: None detected. DEPTH: Off-soundings (about 15,000' deep; we just crossed the Puerto Rico Trench, over 25,000' at its deepest). SAIL/ENGINE COMBINATION AND TACK: Single-reefed main and staysail, broad reach on starboard tack. FISH, BIRDS, AND OTHER WILDLIFE: Small bits of floating sargassum "seaweed" everywhere. LAST 24 HR RUN: 121 NM. AVERAGE DISTANCE COVERED PER DAY DURING PASSAGE: 121 NM. FORECAST: Wind to shift more to the SE and even S over the next couple days and remain about the same strength. THOUGHTS FROM THE BRIDGE: We have some interesting weather to keep an eye on. A small low is forming NE of the Bahamas, to our NW. If it tracks as forecast, slowly to the NE, we won't experience much of anything from the low but a southerly shift in the wind and some cloudiness. But north and east of the low a gale is developing, forecast to extend across much of the area between us and Bermuda. So if upcoming weather forecasts show the movement of the low changing direction more toward the east, or slowing down, we will slow our boat speed by reducing sail, or even by heaving-to, to let the low and its gale pass safely north of us. Without our SSB radio to receive weather forecasts, we'd just be watching the barometer and the clouds.

* * * * *

We started sailing to Bermuda at dusk yesterday. You're never quite ready to start an ocean passage; there's always something more you'd like to do, either ashore or on the boat -- more nervous energy than anything else, I suppose. But we felt about as ready as we ever have and even took a last swim in the warm, blue water of St. Martin's Marigot Bay just before raising anchor. The water temperature was 88ºF; it'll be a long time before we swim in water this warm again. Amazingly, we found barnacles, lots of them, growing on Estrela's bottom. It's been only a couple weeks since we re-launched her after scraping, sanding, and re-painting the bottom with anti-foul paint. Tough creatures, barnacles.

-- Doug

-----Original Message-----
Sent: Saturday, May 22, 2010 7:23 PM
Subject: Estrela Log Entry -- Saturday, May 22, 2010 (Day 2 of passage from St. Martin, West Indies to Bermuda)

1900 local time Friday, May 22, 2010 (2300 GMT). LAT/LON: 21º54.07'N, 063º36.00'W. LOCATION: 630 NM south of Bermuda. COURSE AND SPEED OVER GROUND: 310ºT at 0.8 kts. WIND: E 8-13 kts. SEA: Gentle, regular seas. SKY: 100% overcast and drizzling. AIR TEMP: 76ºF outside and 84ºF inside. BAROMETER: 1014 mb, dropping. WATER TEMP: 82ºF. HUMIDITY: 70%. CURRENT: None detected. DEPTH: Off-soundings. SAIL/ENGINE COMBINATION AND TACK: Heaved-to on starboard tack with double-reefed main and staysail. FISH, BIRDS, AND OTHER WILDLIFE: Not much, a few gannets and some flying fish. LAST 24 HR RUN: 111 NM. AVERAGE DISTANCE COVERED PER DAY DURING PASSAGE: 116 NM. FORECAST: Overcast and rain with wind ESE to SSE 10 to 20. THOUGHTS FROM THE BRIDGE: The Low NW of us, which I described in yesterday's log entry, and which the National Weather Service is calling "unseasonable," is defying the efforts of experts to forecast its movement. We learned two and a half hours ago from volunteer HF radio operator Herb Hilgenberg, who runs his daily Southbound II Atlantic passage-making weather net on 12.359 MHz, that five weather forecast models disagree on what the Low is going to do. So, following Herb's advice to another sailboat also bound for Bermuda and located about 75 NM NW of us, we have decided to stop, to heave-to for tonight and probably all day tomorrow. We'll be patient and wait to learn where the Low and its gale are headed.

* * * *

We'd been planning to set sail for Bermuda on Saturday, the 15th of May. A weather window was supposed to open. Estrela was watered, provisioned, and fueled. Our traditional big pot of "passage" beef stew was ready in the pressure cooker. Instead, Thursday morning we learned that my dear college friend Kate Levin had lost her two-year battle with cancer. And Saturday I flew from St. Maarten to Chicago for her funeral.

I had really thought I was going to see Kate again. We all did, I suppose. Kate was going to beat this thing. I almost flew to Chicago to visit Kate when we were in the US job hunting. But we'd be sailing back in June. I'd go see her then. We only had 1500 NM left to go.

See, Kate was one of our biggest fans. From the very beginning, she was supportive and encouraging. With her frequent emails, usually short and to the point, and all in lower case -- keep going! i'm thinking about you! happy birthday! -- Kate had been on board with us. All the way. She'd be there, ready with high fives, to celebrate the completion of our dream of sailing around the world. I'd go see Kate in Chicago as soon as we got back.

Two of our favorite on-board field guides were gifts from Kate and her husband Rob and their two young daughters Isabel and Claire -- National Audubon's "Night Sky" and "North American Fishes, Whales, and Dolphins." They gave us these when I visited in Chicago with Eliza and Abigail weeks before we started our voyage in October 2003.

She had often called me her hero. I was flattered of course, but in truth, she was mine. Many times over the last two years I handled frightening moments at sea by thinking about Kate -- about her courage and bravery.

Hero? How about Super Hero! Kate Silverberg Levin, Wonder Woman, 1964-2010.

--Kyle

-----Original Message-----
Sent: Sunday, May 23, 2010 9:40 PM
Subject: Estrela Log Entry -- Sunday, May 23, 2010 (Day 3 of passage from St. Martin, West Indies to Bermuda)

1900 local time Sunday, May 23, 2010 (2300 GMT). LAT/LON: 22º21.93'N, 063º40.79'W. LOCATION: 603 NM south of Bermuda and 260 NM north of St. Martin. COURSE AND SPEED OVER GROUND: 015ºT at 4.8 kts (temporarily off our 355º rhumb line to dodge a squall). WIND: ESE 7-9 kts. SEA: Good-natured and gentle (according to Abigail). SKY: 100% overcast and squally. AIR TEMP: 81ºF outside and 86ºF inside. BAROMETER: 1013 mb, rising. WATER TEMP: 82ºF. HUMIDITY: 70%. CURRENT: None. DEPTH: Off-soundings. SAIL/ENGINE COMBINATION AND TACK: Engine @ 1250 RPM with double-reefed main and staysail sheeted tight to prevent slatting. FISH, BIRDS, AND OTHER WILDLIFE: Several storm petrels and gannets seemed to divert from their meandering flights to examine us. While we were hove-to Kyle noticed an odd and so far unexplained behavior of the sargasssum weed: all over, little clumps of sargassum seemed to be rising slowly from deeper water. We could never have observed this phenomenon when we were sailing. LAST 24 HR RUN: 28 NM. AVERAGE DISTANCE COVERED PER DAY DURING PASSAGE: 87 NM. FORECAST: Overcast and squally; SE to S wind gradually increasing from <10 to 15-20 Kts. THOUGHTS FROM THE BRIDGE: After heaving to for 21 out of the past 24 hours, we've decided to carry on again northward, running the engine now to maintain our speed in this light breeze. The future movement of the Low is becoming clearer to the weather forecasters; the models and analysts agree that it will first move steadily north and a little east, meaning that it is now safe for us to recommence sailing north at about 5 knots (120 NM and 2º latitude per day). It is projected to intensify, generating very strong gale force winds in its NE quadrant, where the isobars (lines of equal barometric pressure) become tightly bunched as they're squeezed between the Low to the SW and a high pressure ridge to the NE. By tomorrow afternoon the Low will bring Bermuda winds of 40 to 45 knots. We have to watch its movement carefully and be prepared to stop and heave-to again, depending on which way it heads next. At this point the forecasts project it will trace almost a loop, first shifting to the NW and W and then reversing direction by 180º and heading E, maybe even a bit ESE. Not clear is whether the Low will then pass north or south of Bermuda. If to the south, we could encounter strong NE wind for 12 to 24 hours as we neared Bermuda. In this case we would heave-to until the contrary wind eases as the Low moves off to the east and weakens.

* * * *

I have become Estrela's pastry chef. Though Mom still rules the galley and Eliza cooks a lot of main meals, I love working with flour. My favorite recipe is Passage Cookies.

My mom invented Passage Cookies in New Zealand because she couldn't find any affordable, nutritious snacks. Combining Betty Crocker's peanut butter cookies with Mom's Kiwi friend Helen's oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, she created a delicious, hearty treat. We dubbed them Passage Cookies because they turned out to be gentle on a seasick tummy. I took over the job of baking the cookies and began experimenting with the recipe. Now, before every passage, I make them. This last batch was my best yet. So here is the recipe:

1/2 c white sugar

1/2 c brown sugar

1/2 c peanut butter (crunchy, if possible)

1/4 c shortening

1/4 c butter

1 egg

vanilla to taste

1 1/4 c flour (I do 3/4 c regular and 1/2 c whole wheat)

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 scant tsp. salt

cinnamon to taste

1 c rolled oats

1/2 c quick oats

1/3 c (or 50g) chocolate chips

1/8 c mixed seeds

1/3 c chopped walnuts

desiccated coconut to sprinkle on top

In first bowl: Cream sugars, peanut butter, shortening, butter, egg and vanilla. Set aside.

In second bowl: Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Stir in oats, chocolate chips, seeds, and walnuts.

Slowly add the dry to the wet, stirring continuously. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Shape dough into 1 1/4 inch balls and place 3 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten in crisscross pattern with fork dipped in flour and sprinkle with coconut. Bake 9 to 15 minutes until cookies are light brown. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheet. Enjoy!

-- Abigail

-----Original Message-----
Sent: Monday, May 24, 2010 9:44 PM
Subject: Estrela Log Entry -- Monday, May 24, 2010 (Day 4 of passage from St. Martin, West Indies to Bermuda)

1900 local time Monday, May 24, 2010 (2300 GMT). LAT/LON: 24º00.8'N, 063º42.5'W. LOCATION: 504 NM south of Bermuda and 359 NM north of St. Martin. COURSE AND SPEED OVER GROUND: 025ºT at 2.2 kts. WIND: S 5 kts. SEA: Wicked cross swell rolling us around and knocking the wind out of the sails. SKY: 4/8 cloud cover; towering, classically anvil-topped cumulonimbus around the horizon from east through south to west. AIR TEMP: 80ºF outside and 84ºF inside. BAROMETER: 1014 mb, steady. WATER TEMP: 82ºF. HUMIDITY: 75%. CURRENT: None. DEPTH: Off-soundings. SAIL/ENGINE COMBINATION AND TACK: Wing and wing with single-reefed main, starboard tack, and 3/4 genoa poled to starboard; sails slatting badly in dying wind. FISH, BIRDS, AND OTHER WILDLIFE: We passed a distinct band of more concentrated sargassum this afternoon with some large, dense mats over 20' in diameter. We looked closely as we sailed slowly through, but didn't observe any fish or crustaceans among the weed. These dense mats of sargassum in the open ocean can be complex, teeming worlds with creatures that spend much of their life-cycles feeding, finding shelter, and reproducing among the sargassum. LAST 24 HR RUN: 99 NM. AVERAGE DISTANCE COVERED PER DAY DURING PASSAGE: 90 NM. FORECAST: Some convection; S wind 10 Kts. THOUGHTS FROM THE BRIDGE: The story of the Low is keeping us in suspense. All eight weather models agree, according to Herb Hilgenberg, that the Low, currently NW of us, will loop first NW and then back east, passing Bermuda on Friday. But they still disagree whether it will pass north or south of Bermuda. If to the south we will have to stop or slow down on Thursday to let strong NE winds blow themselves out as the Low moves eastward. The forecasters also cite a 30% probability the Low will evolve into a "tropical depression." Needless to say, we're paying attention, gathering all the weather information we can (now including weather faxes, daily grib files, the official Bermuda national weather forecast, NOAA high seas text weather forecasts, and Herb's reports). We've never had more weather forecasting input during a passage. After running the engine all last night we began sailing again at 9AM and have sailed all day, with diminishing results as the wind has slowly died and strong winds off to the NE have built a NE swell conflicting with the normal SE swell. It's time to start the engine again and pick up the pace.

* * * * *

I'm glad to be back on passage. After four months of being mostly on land, it's almost a relief to stare out and see nothing but ocean swell against the horizon. All the clutter and hustle of land life seem to recede with the last glimpses of land itself. The four of us create a cycle of shifting watches and naps that works for the weather conditions, and then let our bodies adjust to the sleeping patterns.

Time slows down. The only reason to count the days is to measure how many miles we've covered since we began. The only reason to count the hours is to calculate how much longer my watch is. Sometimes I feel as though when we set sail, we actually drop out of time and enter into another dimension, one where anything can happen, especially in the dark hours of night watch. Everything takes on a strange, almost magical quality, a vivid sense of presentness, like that described by Emily Dickinson in one of her poems. "Forever -- is composed of Nows," she wrote. A passage is a kind of forever, each instant stretching itself to the next, reluctant to end. In that moment, I feel it never will end; life will continue in this regular, self-contained pattern for eternity, the days blending into its grand tapestry, isolated from the outside world. But eventually we reach our destination, Earth's land-time floods back, and I forget about that queer dimension of Passage. Even when I try, I can never truly bottle that quality, nor properly remember it or describe it with words. Like dreams, it makes perfect sense while you're in it, though when you wake and arrive at port, the pieces don't cohere in a way recognizable in the conscious, land world. It's intangible, incomprehensible, wonderful.

So while my skin may be sticky, my hair well-oiled, my eyes fuzzy from lack of sleep, it doesn't truly matter. It's all part of the dimension, part of the experience. It's an experience I keep coming back to for more.

-- Eliza

-----Original Message-----
Sent: Tuesday, May 25, 2010 10:41 PM
Subject: Estrela Log Entry -- Tuesday, May 25, 2010 (Day 5 of passage from St. Martin, West Indies to Bermuda)

1900 local time Tuesday, May 25, 2010 (2300 GMT). LAT/LON: 25º48.13'N, 063º51.53'W. LOCATION: 397 NM south of Bermuda and 466 NM north of St. Martin. COURSE AND SPEED OVER GROUND: 351ºT at 2.0 kts. WIND: S 7 kts. SEA: A big, slow E swell and much less cross swell than we were experiencing 24 hours ago. SKY: 7/8 cloud cover; mostly a high, thin haze. AIR TEMP: 79ºF outside and 84ºF inside. BAROMETER: 1017 mb, rising. WATER TEMP: 81ºF. HUMIDITY: 71%. CURRENT: None. DEPTH: Off-soundings. SAIL/ENGINE COMBINATION AND TACK: Single-reefed main, starboard tack, and staysail poled to port to prevent slatting. FISH, BIRDS, AND OTHER WILDLIFE: Spotted a tiny sargassumfish today lurking, camouflaged beneath a 1' diameter patch of floating sargassum weed. We had heaved-to in virtually no wind and were drifting so slowly that we could closely examine several patches. In another a small shrimp-like creature darted about. LAST 24 HR RUN: 108 NM. AVERAGE DISTANCE COVERED PER DAY DURING PASSAGE: 93 NM. FORECAST: Light S wind. THOUGHTS FROM THE BRIDGE: The Low will pass just south of Bermuda on Friday, according to the latest forecasts, bringing a wind shift from SW to NE within 130 NM south of Bermuda along our intended route. North of the frontal line that the Low will drag along 30ºN, the wind will blow NE to N (right on our nose) beginning on Friday, all Sat, and into Sunday. We could not reach Bermuda before the Low and front arrive, even if we were to run our engine non-stop until we finally find the reasonable SW wind. So our alternative is to accept our fate, slow down, try to sail as much as possible, even slowly, and arrive in Bermuda on Sunday at the earliest. Hence our decision to sail now at 2 kts instead of cranking up our engine again.

* * * * *

We're reading aloud the Patrick O'Brian novel, "The Far Side of the World," which provided much of the inspiration for the fabulous movie, "Master and Commander, the Far Side of the World." Captain Jack Aubrey and his mercurial friend, ship-surgeon and some-time spy Stephen Maturin are now just settling in to ship-board life early in a long passage from the Mediterranean south around Cape Horn. The Aubrey/Maturin series, of which this book is the tenth of twenty, has utterly enthralled all four of us. We love its historical and nautical accuracy, the rich and often obscure language, and most of all the characters, who are all flawed and vividly real. Reading aloud while on passage ourselves has become our favorite way to enjoy Patrick O'Brian.

-- Doug

-----Original Message-----
Sent: Wednesday, May 26, 2010 10:48 PM
Subject: Estrela Log Entry -- Wednesday, May 26, 2010 (Day 6 of passage from St. Martin, West Indies to Bermuda)

1900 local time Wednesday, May 26, 2010 (2300 GMT). LAT/LON: 26º53.4'N, 063º49.5'W. LOCATION: 330 NM south of Bermuda and 530 NM north of St. Martin. COURSE AND SPEED OVER GROUND: 005ºT at 4.6 kts. WIND: S <10 kts. SEA: A gentle easterly swell and little else. SKY: 100% cloud cover; surrounded by thick, dark rain clouds; frequent lightning off to the east. AIR TEMP: 72ºF outside and 83ºF inside. BAROMETER: 1015 mb, steady. WATER TEMP: 81ºF. HUMIDITY: 74% (nothing closes; everything is sticky). CURRENT: None. DEPTH: Off-soundings. SAIL/ENGINE COMBINATION AND TACK: Engine @ 1200 RPM, single-reefed main, centered. FISH, BIRDS, AND OTHER WILDLIFE: Today a tropic bird, with its characteristic striking, long tail feathers, circled Estrela for a half-hour, seemingly determined to land somewhere on the rig, but eventually flew off, thwarted by the boat's erratic roll. LAST 24 HR RUN: 65 NM. AVERAGE DISTANCE COVERED PER DAY DURING PASSAGE: 93 NM. FORECAST: S to SW wind 15 kts; squally rain clouds through morning and then less overcast. THOUGHTS FROM THE BRIDGE: The Low seems to be morphing into something much less scary. It will still bring us a wind shift from SW to NE on Friday, as we reach 30º N latitude about 140 NM S of Bermuda, but not packing the wallop once anticipated. Our plan, given this forecast, is to continue north or maybe a little east of north, at 100 to 120 NM per day (4 to 5 kts), running the engine as necessary to maintain this pace, and to arrive in Bermuda Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning. If we gain a little easting now we'll be able to bear off in the NE wind, instead of bucking it, as we approach Bermuda and the east-facing entrance through the reef and into St. George harbor.

* * * * *

I chuckled last night as I stood alone on deck about 0300, looking forward, bracing with both hands on the dodger, knees bent, legs apart, Estrela rolling side to side under my feet. I used to be so active during night watches early in our voyage. I'd exercise, bake bread or muffins, write in my journal, read, and hone my star gazing, besides scanning the horizon for ships every 15 minutes and keeping Estrela on course. Now I like to stand on deck and . . . think.

In 2004, sailing from the Galapagos to Pitcairn Island, I checked into an early morning radio net I'd dubbed The Mommy Net, with two veteran sailor moms and swab Kyle. After I described a particularly productive night watch, Christine -- 5-years at sea aboard Delos -- exclaimed, "Wow, that's ambitious. Just wait a few more years and then see how much work you get done on your night watch." At the time I didn't really get what she meant.

But last night looking out into the distant clouds and stars, sea rolling past on either side, I finally got it. When in life does one ever have the chance to just . . . be, for hours at a time? The closest equivalent could be waiting in line at the Department of Motor Vehicles. But then you can read signs, people watch, and use your iPhone, all while being angry at having to wait so long. Nope, that doesn't count.

We're less than 1,000 NM from Connecticut, and this gift of time standing still won't last much longer for me. I'll try to treasure these last night watches by just standing and thinking, riding Estrela through the dark. Of course I'll still make a big mug of Earl Grey tea (milk, no sugar) to go with one of Abby's Passage Cookies.

-- Kyle

-----Original Message-----
Sent: Thursday, May 27, 2010 11:13 PM
Subject: Estrela Log Entry -- Thursday, May 27, 2010 (Day 7 of passage from St. Martin, West Indies to Bermuda)

1900 local time Thursday, May 27, 2010 (2300 GMT). LAT/LON: 28º33.9'N, 063º47.9'W. LOCATION: 233 NM south of Bermuda and 632 NM north of St. Martin. COURSE AND SPEED OVER GROUND: 029ºT at 3.0 kts. WIND: S 7-9 kts. SEA: Mild but uncomfortably irregular because of Estrela's slow pace. SKY: 4/8 cloud cover; full moon just emerging from behind a cloud. AIR TEMP: 76ºF outside and 79ºF inside. BAROMETER: 1012 mb, steady. WATER TEMP: 77ºF (4º cooler than yesterday). HUMIDITY: 81% (yuck). CURRENT: None. DEPTH: Off-soundings. SAIL/ENGINE COMBINATION AND TACK: Wing and wing, port tack, single-reefed main and staysail poled to port. FISH, BIRDS, AND OTHER WILDLIFE: Early this morning three dolphins, the first we've seen this passage, swam briefly in our bow wake, and we found a small, dead flying fish in the cockpit. At dusk we sailed through a widely spread cluster of nearly transparent, eerily beautiful Portuguese man-of-war sails. LAST 24 HR RUN: 100 NM. AVERAGE DISTANCE COVERED PER DAY DURING PASSAGE: 90 NM (note: the average through yesterday was 88 not 93 NM). FORECAST: SW wind 15 kts, shifting to SE and then NE late tomorrow afternoon as we cross a frontal boundary. THOUGHTS FROM THE BRIDGE: The multi-day forecast looks about the same as it did last night. We're sailing for a waypoint 15º east of the rhumb line, or direct, course to Bermuda. And once we cross the frontal line and the wind shifts to NE we'll bear off for Bermuda, by then only 150 NM away. A Sunday morning ETA is our best guess right now. But a lot depends on the wind strength and how much we're willing to run the engine.

* * * * *

>From 12:30 am to 2:30 am, Eliza and I manage Estrela. Although Eliza has taken solo night watches before, and occasionally I've helped her stay awake, this is the first passage I have felt part of Estrela's night time crew. For the first couple nights after departing St. Martin my head kept drooping and then jerking up with every lurch of the boat. One night (I can't remember exactly which; the days seem to blend together) I fell asleep before dinner, so I ate my bowl of beef stew at one in the morning. It seemed to help me stay awake. I contemplated skipping dinner every night, but decided against it. Another night I merely sat on the navigation/chart table making up random stories in my head, while Eliza was in the cockpit looking around every fifteen minutes and reading Bill Bryson's "A Short History of Nearly Everything."

But last night was different.

Dad woke us at midnight. While I put on my life jacket, he turned off the engine, and we began sailing on port tack at about 4 kts . . . but in the wrong direction! Instead of heading 353 degrees true, we went 010 degrees. Dad gave us a few tips on how to get back on course before he flopped into bed and fell asleep almost immediately (an ability I greatly envy). Eliza and I set to work teasing the boat back to 353 degrees. We adjusted the wind vane and trimmed the sails while watching COG (Course Over Ground) intently. At last we were aiming in the right direction . . . and, to my surprise, our watch was finished. After waking Mom, I went to bed, pleased with our accomplishment.

-- Abigail

-----Original Message-----
Sent: Saturday, May 29, 2010 7:58 AM
Subject: Estrela Log Entry -- Friday, May 28, 2010 (Day 8 of passage from St. Martin, West Indies to Bermuda)

1900 local time Friday, May 28, 2010 (2300 GMT). LAT/LON: 29º58.7'N, 063º29.2'W. LOCATION: 155 NM SSE of Bermuda and 717 NM north of St. Martin. COURSE AND SPEED OVER GROUND: 339ºT at 4.8 kts. WIND: NE 19-24 kts. SEA: NE waves building in freshening wind. SKY: 7/8 cover; various types of clouds; very dark aft and some rain bands forward. AIR TEMP: 76ºF outside and 79ºF inside. BAROMETER: 1006 mb, rising. WATER TEMP: 76ºF. HUMIDITY: 72% (finally dropping again). CURRENT: None. DEPTH: Off-soundings. SAIL/ENGINE COMBINATION AND TACK: Double-reefed main and staysail, close-hauled on starboard tack. FISH, BIRDS, AND OTHER WILDLIFE: Last night Eliza rescued a flying fish that had leapt into a fold of the reefed mainsail. LAST 24 HR RUN: 85NM. AVERAGE DISTANCE COVERED PER DAY DURING PASSAGE: 90 NM. FORECAST: NE wind 20-30 overnight, diminishing to 15-20 tomorrow morning. THOUGHTS FROM THE BRIDGE: We crossed the frontal boundary we've been anticipating for days, marked by a towering wall of white cloud -- becoming grey and then black, a dramatic windshift from 15-20 SW to 15-20 NE in less than half an hour, booming thunder and blinding tree trunks of lightning striking the water, gusts to 30 kts, and rain -- lots and lots of rain, torrential rain. If this "weakening" Low is a mere shadow of what it had been a few days ago, we can see why meteorologists had been toying with designating it a tropical depression.

* * * * *

It was too rough and busy to finish the log entry. We'll post it tomorrow.

-- Doug

-----Original Message-----
Sent: Saturday, May 29, 2010 10:42 PM
Subject: Estrela Log Entry -- Saturday, May 29, 2010 (Day 9 of passage from St. Martin, West Indies to Bermuda)

1900 local time Saturday, May 29, 2010 (2300 GMT). LAT/LON: 30º00.1'N, 064º16.0'W. LOCATION: 85 NM SSE of Bermuda and 779 NM north of St. Martin. COURSE AND SPEED OVER GROUND: 003ºT at 3.4 kts. WIND: NE 15-20 kts. SEA: Multi-directional steep wind waves from N through E causing Estrela to hobby-horse. SKY: 5/8 cloud cover. AIR TEMP: 71ºF outside and 80ºF inside. BAROMETER: 1017 mb, up 11 mb in 24 hrs. WATER TEMP: 73ºF. HUMIDITY: 56% (doors already closing again!). CURRENT: None. DEPTH: Off-soundings. SAIL/ENGINE COMBINATION AND TACK: Motorsailing with engine at 1000 RPM, double-reefed main and staysail close-hauled on starboard tack. FISH, BIRDS, AND OTHER WILDLIFE: Dolphins. LAST 24 HR RUN: 73 NM. AVERAGE DISTANCE COVERED PER DAY DURING PASSAGE: 88 NM. FORECAST: As a high pressure center moves over Bermuda tomorrow we can expect NE wind of 15 kts through tomorrow morning, backing to N and then NW during the day and diminishing to 10 kts, and W 10 by Monday morning. THOUGHTS FROM THE BRIDGE: Checking in to the Southbound II radio net this afternoon we learned that three other sailboats within 50 to 80 miles of us had also experienced sustained 40 kt winds last night as the Low swept across and high wind built in the squash zone behind it. It was quite a night aboard Estrela. We are now only 85 NM from Bermuda and if we can average 4 kts we will arrive off the entrance tomorrow, Sunday, in time to enter the harbor and anchor before dark. To do that we'll have to keep running the engine to assist the sails, at least until the seas diminish enough that we can maintain our momentum and stop hobby-horsing through steep, irregular waves. This has been a much more challenging passage than we'd anticipated

* * * * *

At 8:45 PM my legs were literally quaking with fear. Hanging onto the dodger, ducking underneath it whenever blue water came flying overhead, I was watching the sea and sky grow angrier by the minute. The forecast we'd received just five hours earlier had called for NE wind 20-30 overnight (strong, uncomfortable, but manageable), diminishing to 15-20 by the morning. But it had just hit 40 kts, and this wasn't just a passing rain squall. What was going on . . . ?

. .

Doug had awakened from his nap at 8:00 PM and smiled up to me; I was standing in the cockpit. He said that before he came up to change watch he wanted to write the rest of the log entry for the web and type in the part that Eliza had already written. Estrela was sailing close-hauled in 25 kts with the staysail and double-reefed main. We were gong fast, starting to jump off waves, and it felt we could soon be pushing Estrela too hard.

"Doug, the wind is around 25 kts. I think we should do something."

"No worries. It's fast, but the forecast says it shouldn't get much stronger and will soon diminish. We need to keep sailing to get to Bermuda in good time. Can you manage your fear?"

"Sure."

"Let me know if it gets over 30. I'm working on the web-log entry."

At 8:20 -- "Doug, the wind is now over 27."

"Dump the wind out of the main. Let it luff. I'm finishing the log entry. Are you managing your fear?"

"I think so."

At 8:30 -- "Doug, the wind is 30."

"How's Estrela?"

"She's fine. The main is luffing. I think you need to come up."

"I'll be up in a minute. How's your fear?"

"OK," now I'm lying.

By 8:45 PM, the forecast was completely obsolete. Doug (finally!!) came up from the computer to find Estrela sailing with her staysail and double reefed main in 34-40 kts of wind (too much canvas for these Force 8, fresh gale conditions) and a shaking First Mate.

Time for action! While dodging bucket loads of waves and spray, we shouted over the wind to make our plan. We would heave-to with just the staysail, dropping the mainsail altogether. Even though we'd never tried to douse the main in such high winds before, my legs stopped convulsing instantly as we set to work: set wind vane to sail as close to the wind as possible, sheet in the staysail on the opposite side to backwind it, center the traveler, pull down the main, secure main with five sail ties, release the preventer, center the boom, drop boom into boomgallows, attach port running back-stay, lash tiller to leeward. Done. Heave-to safely completed. High Five the awesome teamwork . . .

Accept Doug's apology. Kiss.

-- Kyle

-----Original Message-----
Sent: Sunday, May 30, 2010 8:17 PM
Subject: Estrela Log Entry -- Sunday, May 30, 2010 (Day 10 of passage from St. Martin, West Indies to Bermuda)

1645 local time (now Atlantic Daylight Time or GMT -3) Sunday, May 30, 2010 (1945 GMT). LAT/LON: 32º22.75'N, 064º40.35'W. LOCATION: St. George's Harbor, Bermuda -- 862 NM north of St. Martin; 765 NM almost due east of Charleston, SC; and 670 NM southeast of New York City. COURSE AND SPEED OVER GROUND: N/A. WIND: S 5-7 kts. SEA: Tiny wind ripples. SKY: 6/8 cloud cover. AIR TEMP: 75ºF outside and 75ºF inside. BAROMETER: 1021 mb, steady. WATER TEMP: 74ºF. HUMIDITY: 49%. CURRENT: Slight ebbing tidal flow. DEPTH: 16 feet. SAIL/ENGINE COMBINATION AND TACK: Anchored over sand with 35 lb Bruce anchor, 65' chain, and 15' snubber. FISH, BIRDS, AND OTHER WILDLIFE: Passed more Portuguese man-of-war and two dolphins in glassy seas this morning. Two petrels swooped around us almost the whole night. LAST 24 HR RUN: 89 NM. AVERAGE DISTANCE COVERED PER DAY DURING PASSAGE: 88 NM. FORECAST: A high pressure center has moved over Bermuda bringing gorgeous, dry weather and almost no wind; we should have at least two days of sun and light and variable winds. THOUGHTS FROM THE BRIDGE: We made it! The wind died abruptly to nothing about 11 pm last night and we've had virtually none since. What a glorious morning as we motored the last miles to Bermuda across glassy seas. The check-in was fast and painless; amazingly, Her Majesty's Customs and Immigration is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The check-in fees, $35 per person, are more than we've been charged in any other country. But the fees help to underwrite what we understand is an excellent search-and-rescue service, Bermuda being famous in nautical history (and in the modern scuba diving world) for shipwrecks.

* * * * *

We are so thankful to have arrived in Bermuda with crew in good spirits and reasonably well-rested, and Estrela suffering few ills from the passage, the most notable being salt-water dampness in the girls' homeschool books cubbies and in the parental clothes hammock.

We experienced an adrenalin moment last night when a 1000' tanker passed 3/4 mile in front of us about 4:00 AM. It appeared to be passing well in front of us, until we realized late that the angle of the fore and aft lights, seeming to show that the ship was sailing away from us, were misleading. In fact, the ship had begun altering course to avoid us, but though it could turn it's bow, the ship's momentum had continued to carry it in the same initial direction, towards us. In effect, the ship was skidding through the water. It passed much, much closer to us than we would have liked. A lesson in how easy it is to screw up on a small, slow sailboat.

-- Doug

-----Original Message-----
Sent: Wednesday, June 09, 2010 11:21 PM
Subject: Estrela Log Entry -- Wednesday, June 9, 2010 (Start of passage from Bermuda to Groton, CT)

2030 local time Wednesday, June 9, 2010 (0030 GMT June 10). LAT/LON: 32º12.7'N, 065º00.4'W. LOCATION: 9 NM WSW of Bermuda's SW corner and 640 NM SSE of Groton, CT. COURSE AND SPEED OVER GROUND: 270ºT at 5.6 kts. WIND: N >5 kts. SEA: Glassy with refracted slight swell rolling us side to side. SKY: 0/8 cloud cover; moonless sky with emerging canopy of stars. AIR TEMP: 79ºF outside and 79ºF inside. BAROMETER: 1023 mb. WATER TEMP: 74ºF. HUMIDITY: 54%. CURRENT: Slight west-setting tidal current. DEPTH: Off-soundings; just passed over precipitous edge of the reef bank surrounding Bermuda. SAIL/ENGINE COMBINATION AND TACK: Motoring with no sails and engine at 1200 RPM. FISH, BIRDS, AND OTHER WILDLIFE: One Portuguese Man-of War and several tropic birds (aka Longtails, the national bird of Bermuda). LAST 24 HR RUN: NA. AVERAGE DISTANCE COVERED PER DAY DURING PASSAGE: NA. FORECAST: On the assumption that we will head basically due W for the next 48 hrs, very little wind and that from N through E to ESE through tomorrow afternoon. Then late Thurs into Friday AM, wind building to 15 kts and continuing to veer through S to WSW to W and WNW, and to NE to E by Friday evening. THOUGHTS FROM THE BRIDGE: This is complicated weather, a bit more complicated, we gather, than is typical for this time in June. Low after Low moving off the US Atlantic seaboard have made our departure and route planning tough.

* * * * *

We're underway again! We've been waiting for the most recent cold front to pass over Bermuda, which it did late yesterday with strong SW to N winds and lots of rain, then the wind dropping and shifting to N and NNE, and the sky clearing. We left Bermuda late this afternoon in the fair weather High building behind the front. The rhumb line, or most direct, course to Groton, CT, our destination, is only 640 NM NNW. Already, though, we have plotted a course that will take us due W for the next couple days and will add 100 to 150 NM to the total. Our aim is to stay south of 32º 30' N latitude until after the next one or possibly even two frontal systems, associated with Lows, pass over us. The first Low will bring strong gale to storm-force wind conditions (30 to 50 kts) to the waters S of New England; its front and uncomfortably strong winds will extend as far south as about 33º N; so we plan to stay south of 32º 30' N until the front is well passed. The second Low will leave the coast around Sunday, but much further south, in the vicinity of Cape Hatteras, and then should track NE. At this point the second Low looks to be fairly weak; even still, we will be close to it and if it were to deepen we would see our forecast change quickly. We will have to turn NNW eventually, and will have to cross the Gulf Stream, both preferably when we have moderate to light SW winds and conclude we won't be sailing into a gale.

-- Doug

-----Original Message-----
Sent: Friday, June 11, 2010 12:41 AM
Subject: Estrela Log Entry -- Thursday, June 10, 2010 (Day 1 of passage from Bermuda to Groton, CT)

1530 local time Thursday, June 10, 2010 (1930 GMT). LAT/LON: 32º06.6'N, 066º49.6'W. LOCATION: 100 NM W of Bermuda's SW corner and 605 NM SSE of Groton, CT. COURSE AND SPEED OVER GROUND: 268ºT at 4.6 kts. WIND: WSW 8 kts. SEA: Gentle, small wind waves. SKY: 5/8 cloud cover, cirrus and cumulus. AIR TEMP: 75ºF outside and 79ºF inside. BAROMETER: 1020 mb, dropping. WATER TEMP: 77ºF. HUMIDITY: 56%. CURRENT: None detected. DEPTH: Off-soundings. SAIL/ENGINE COMBINATION AND TACK: Sailing on port tack with full main, staysail and 3/4 of genoa. FISH, BIRDS, AND OTHER WILDLIFE: Scores of Portuguese Man-of-War today, and many tropic birds and flying fish. LAST 24 HR RUN: 120 NM. AVERAGE DISTANCE COVERED PER DAY DURING PASSAGE: 120 NM. FORECAST: Consistent with yesterday's forecast, we can expect the wind to remain moderate -- not to exceed 15 kts -- and to continue to veer to the W tonight, and as a weak cold front approaches tomorrow morning, to veer further to the NW and then the N and NE as the front passes. THOUGHTS FROM THE BRIDGE: If the wind strength forecast is accurate, we should be able to keep sailing through this veering wind pattern and maintain a pace of 4+ kts toward our next objective of 36º30'N, 071ºW, where we expect to enter the Gulf Stream. We need to maintain this pace to reach the Gulf Stream Sunday and across it by late afternoon Monday, before another approaching Low arrives.

* * * * *

We've altered course to the NW 24 hours before we'd thought we'd be able to, after receiving the latest weather forecast and routing advice of HF weather guru Herb Hilgenberg. Hailed as "Southbound II," the name of the sailboat he and his young family cruised aboard extensively many years ago, Herb provides an amazing amateur, volunteer service over high frequency (HF) radio to dozens of sailboats dispersed across the Atlantic. Most are now sailing either between the Caribbean and the US East Coast, typically via Bermuda, or between the Caribbean or US East Coast and Europe, typically via the Azores. If Herb can hear you during his daily check-in time (1930 to 1940 GMT on 12359 kHz) -- and putting out a signal strong enough for Herb to hear is the biggest trick for most boats, including us -- he will talk with you each day of your passage, providing customized, and very specific local forecasts and his recommendations of where you should head over the next 24 hours. In this region of complex, fast-changing weather systems his advice is invaluable. A boat we have listened to the last two days has heaved-to SE of Cape Cod in 40 to 50 kts SE wind, and is working with Herb to form a plan to avoid the worst of the next gale system heading his way. We are especially grateful to have Herb "on board" with us on this passage as we approach the Gulf Stream and look for the best place to cross it quickly, without being caught by wind opposed to the current direction during the 18 to 24 hours we will need to get across. South Africa is the only other country where we've encountered weather radio volunteers as sophisticated as Herb, and as deeply appreciated by sailors. Ironically for Estrela, Herb's radio "shack" and home are in southern Ontario, Canada, not far from Buffalo, our ultimate destination and new home town.

-- Doug

* * * * *

[Note: Eliza hand-wrote the following the day we were hit by the gale during our passage to Bermuda. It was too rough that evening to type it into an email, so we saved it to post with another log entry.]

"It's a hard, hard life, life on the hard," sings Eileen Quinn, a cruising singer/songwriter, in one of her spot-on songs. Almost every cruiser has spent some time high and dry in a boatyard, slogging long hours on a boat in need of a little scraping and polishing, and knows the truth in Eileen's words. We have hauled out Estrela six times on this voyage, each time with its own delays, painful discoveries of unanticipated problems, and well-earned satisfaction at the end. In the past Dad and Mom have done most of the work, Abby and I helping out with various jobs between bouts of schoolwork, but that all changed during our haul-out a month ago in St. Martin.

On April 20, after three months in chilly New England, Mom and Dad searching for and landing jobs, we four staggered off the plane and back into the hot, humid air of the Caribbean, an enervating blend of steam room and brilliant UV light. Estrela was on the hard in a boatyard right next to the airport and, despite our absence, was in great shape - no mildew or mustiness - so we didn't take long in scrubbing her interior. Instead, we used the first couple days to acclimatize to the heat and the inconveniences of boatyard life: the urgent trips down the ladder to the bathrooms at the other end of the yard, the extreme energy conservation (since we can't charge our batteries with the engine out of the water), the griminess and the noisome chemical smells from other people sanding or varnishing or painting their boats near ours.

There's something sad about a boat divorced from water. The shape of its smoothly fared hull seems alien to the flat ground supporting it. Boats look out-of-place and, quite frankly, useless out of the water. This sense bothered me more than ever before; perhaps that's one reason why Abby and I worked so hard this haul-out, completing key jobs that once Mom and Dad had to do alone. We wanted to get Estrela back in action.

Each one of our 13 days aboard Estrela on the hard was packed from morning till well past dark with an endless number of projects to prepare Estrela to sail again. Abby and I serviced winches, replaced the ancient gaskets on the scuttles (aka portholes), patched the holes in the wind-vane servo rudder with epoxy filler ("bog") and painted it with anti-foul bottom paint, sanded and greased the propeller, serviced the thru-hull seacocks with Mom, polished the stainless steel, and re-taped the turnbuckles as chafe protection. And this wasn't counting the jobs Dad and Mom worked on: grinding out and "bogging" the 34 osmosis bubbles on the hull (Abby helped), painting two coats of primer and three coats of anti-fouling on the bottom, and re-bolting the lightning grounding plate, among much else.

To space out the intensity, at almost every meal-break we read aloud from "Speaker for the Dead" and then "Xenocide," books in Orson Scott Card's sci-fi Ender Quartet. Luckily, the boatyard owner needed us out as soon as possible so she could fit in other boats, or our To Do list might have grown so long we never could have finished it.

The moment the travel lift splashed Estrela back in the water, I felt a part of me relax. Abby and I grinned at each other. No more sanding for us!

-- Eliza

-----Original Message-----
Sent: Saturday, June 12, 2010 8:57 AM
Subject: Estrela Log Entry -- Friday, June 11, 2010 (Day 2 of passage from Bermuda to Groton, CT)

1530 local time Friday, June 11, 2010 (1930 GMT). LAT/LON: 33º08.3'N, 068º20.8'W. LOCATION: 380 NM ESE of Cape Hatteras and 520 NM SSE of Groton, CT. COURSE AND SPEED OVER GROUND: 295ºT at 5.2 kts. WIND: NW 10 kts. SEA: Big northerly swell and confused wind waves. SKY: 7/8 cloud cover, mostly high, thin cirrus plus some scattered fluffy cumulus. AIR TEMP: 81ºF outside and inside. BAROMETER: 30.03 inches, steady (our trusty Oregon Scientific digital weather station barometer, which reads in millibars, died today). WATER TEMP: 77ºF. HUMIDITY: 67%. CURRENT: None detected. DEPTH: Off-soundings. SAIL/ENGINE COMBINATION AND TACK: Motorsailing at 1300 RPM on starboard tack with single-reefed main, staysail, and a hankie of the genoa. FISH, BIRDS, AND OTHER WILDLIFE: Two small pods of dolphins swam with us last night and this afternoon, for about ten minutes each time. The lighting was beautiful and we took videos. LAST 24 HR RUN: 105 NM. AVERAGE DISTANCE COVERED PER DAY DURING PASSAGE: 113 NM. FORECAST: The wind is still blowing from the NW, and is lighter than forecast yesterday. Its shift to the N and NE have been delayed, but is due by tomorrow morning. Wind should continue veering (shifting clockwise) to the SE and S tomorrow. Then sometime Sunday it will veer SW, building steadily to 20 to 25 kts by evening. THOUGHTS FROM THE BRIDGE: We did manage to keep sailing all last night, though the diminishing wind strength, with short, choppy seas and the wind coming at us from the same direction we were trying to go, meant our speed was only 3 kts or less much of the time. Only by falling way off the wind, and to the east of our course, could we gain enough momentum to punch through the waves and increase speed to near 5 kts. Frustrated, we cranked up the engine about 0900 and have motorsailed since. According to Herb Hilgenberg, the track of the approaching Low has changed a little, and he now advises that we head farther west before turning north to cross the Gulf Stream. We hope to hit the south "wall" of the Stream on Monday near 36ºN, 072ºW, and exit it at about 37ºN, 072ºW. With any luck we will cross the Gulf Stream while sailing fast on a broad reach in strong SW winds (20-25 kts) before the next Low and its associated cold front cause the wind to shift to the NW. We want to be safely across the Gulf Stream before any strong NNW to NE winds arrive that would quickly build a nasty chop in the Stream's current, which sets approximately NE in the region where we intend to cross. This is now our main objective.

* * * * *

It was 1430 on June 9th. Doug, who had just come back from Bermuda Customs with the clearance paper and our bonded flare gun in hand, was now down below with me, he at the Nav table and I at the dining table working on the computer, doing last minute Facebooking. The girls were on deck deflating, rolling, and tying the dinghy.

"Kyle," Doug paused his navigation work. I looked up. "this is it."

Instantly my nose stung and tears welled. A bullfrog-sized lump lodged in my throat. Our eyes held each other. "I know."

An hour later the girls had hauled anchor and then taken their posts, Eliza steering at the helm and Abby navigating from the chart plotter down below. As I videoed this scene I was overcome by the stark contrast between this, the last leg of our journey, and the very first leg, departing the Shennecossett Yacht Club in Groton, CT on that very cold October 30th afternoon.

It was time to go -- way past time. Snow had already fallen. We were several months behind schedule. Close friends had begun hinting politely that we could always stay with them through the winter, if we needed extra time to get ready. So we decided just to go anyway, and to finish the important projects on the 25-page "To Do" list along the way, while en route to Florida via the Intracoastal Waterway. The stove, the solar panel, stainless steel tubing, V-berth paneling, and much more were packed into our remaining car, which Doug would later retrieve once we arrived in Westport, our next extended-stay port of call. Leaving our stuffed car in the yacht club parking lot, we looked around at the deserted, winterized yachts, waved goodbye to the boatyard crew, and backed Estrela out of her temporary berth and into the club's small protected harbor. The girls, with life vests donned over their winter ski parkas, scrambled onto the bowsprit to get a better view. The yacht club launch followed us out so that the yard manager could take pictures of our departure.

We didn't even think to check the weather or tides. So it was quite a surprise to us when Estrela started heaving up and slamming down short steep waves once we left the refuge of the Pine Island Harbor to motor west past New London Ledge Lighthouse -- a brisk SW wind blowing against a strong outgoing tide. The poor girls, only 5 and 8 years old, were stranded on the bowsprit, clinging to the stainless steel pulpit, crying from fear, and screaming to their preoccupied parents to be rescued. It was a turbulent beginning.

But the Aurora Borealis that shown overhead that first night at anchor in Niantic Bay, each lick and shimmer of green light, seemed to dissipate our qualms, at least for the moment, and filled us with wonder and thanksgiving.

And now some 40,000 NM later, we are still filled with wonder and thanksgiving. . . . AND we're getting better at checking weather and tides!

-- Kyle

-----Original Message-----
Sent: Sunday, June 13, 2010 12:37 AM
Subject: Estrela Log Entry -- Saturday, June 12, 2010 (Day 3 of passage from Bermuda to Groton, CT)

1530 local time Saturday, June 12, 2010 (1930 GMT). LAT/LON: 33º59.6'N, 070º39.0'W. LOCATION: 250 NM ESE of Cape Hatteras and 450 NM SSE of Groton, CT. COURSE AND SPEED OVER GROUND: 313ºT at 5.6 kts. WIND: ESE <5 kts. SEA: Gentle with a big long-period NE swell from a distant storm system -- a surfer's swell. SKY: Bright and sunny with lots of blue and 4/8 cloud cover -- fair-weather cumulus. AIR TEMP: 84ºF outside and 83ºF inside. BAROMETER: 30.03 inches, dropping slowly. WATER TEMP: 81ºF (At first shocked by this reading, we thought, "How could we possibly be in the Gulf Stream already? Is it a warm water eddy?" Then more sensibly we concluded that the thermometer, dragged along inches below the surface, was measuring the sun-heated topmost layer of water, which in normal, rougher conditions would have been mixed with the cooler water even a few inches deeper. HUMIDITY: 62%. CURRENT: None detected. DEPTH: Off-soundings. SAIL/ENGINE COMBINATION AND TACK: Motorsailing (but basically motoring) at 1200 RPM on starboard tack with single-reefed main. We dropped the staysail to keep its leech (the aft or back edge) from chafing on the radar dome as the sail slatted uselessly from side to side, matching the boat's roll. FISH, BIRDS, AND OTHER WILDLIFE: More dolphins, some making acrobatic leaps. Spinners? Frequent sightings of bits of floating plastic have disturbed us. We are hundreds of miles offshore, and yet it is almost impossible to watch for five minutes without spotting another piece of plastic, or styrofoam junk. LAST 24 HR RUN: 131 NM. AVERAGE DISTANCE COVERED PER DAY DURING PASSAGE: 119 NM. FORECAST: No SE wind shift yet, still NE . . . sort of. The wind is essentially non-existent, but should increase and veer to the S and SW tomorrow, up to 20-25 kts and squally by tomorrow evening, just in time for us to begin crossing the Gulf Stream! THOUGHTS FROM THE BRIDGE: Our Gulf Stream entry waypoint is 36ºN, 72ºW, about 130 NM from here, which we should reach by 1800 Sunday. We are committed to maintaining 5 kts until we've reached AND crossed the Gulf Stream, even if that means motoring most of the way. The alternative is unappealing -- sailing at a slower pace that could leave us in the middle of the Gulf Stream when the wind shifts from SW to NW and N, creating a wind against current situation. At least we know that we'll be able to rest the engine and sail fast once the forecasted strong SW wind arrives.

* * * * *

"Strike the bell, second mate, let us go below/Look ye well to windward, you can see it's going to blow/Lookin' at the glass, you can see that it has fell/And we're wishin' that you'd hurry up and/Strike the bell," so goes "Forebitter's" sea chantey in their album "American Sea Chanteys."

A quick translation: "Strike the bell, second mate, let us go below (if the second mate strikes the bell it means a change of watch; the crew on hand is relieved by another group who then has to deal with anything that comes up, like a storm)/Look ye well to windward, you can see it's going to blow (a storm is coming from where the wind is blowing)/Lookin' at the glass, you can see that it has fell (the glass is the barometer and the mercury in it has fallen, meaning bad weather is coming)/And we're wishin' that you'd hurry up and/Strike the bell."

On our last passage (St. Martin to Bermuda), I remembered this song when Eliza and I were going off night watch and Mom was taking over. We had been watching a dark rain cloud, hoping it wouldn't reach us until Mom was on watch. Just for fun, I rang our fog bell, which is attached to the boom gallows, when she was ready to take over. And this began a new Estrela tradition. Whenever someone goes off watch, she (or he) hands the wristwatch to the person coming on and then strikes the bell, which makes it official.

-- Abigail C. H.

-----Original Message-----
Sent: Monday, June 14, 2010 12:26 AM
Subject: Estrela Log Entry -- Sunday, June 13, 2010 (Day 4 of passage from Bermuda to Groton, CT)

1530 local time Sunday, June 13, 2010 (1930 GMT). LAT/LON: 35º53.0'N, 071º55.3'W. LOCATION: 215 NM ESE of Norfolk, VA and 330 NM S of Groton, CT. COURSE AND SPEED OVER GROUND: 337ºT at 5.7 kts. WIND: SW 18-24 kts. SEA: Choppy, short and steep. SKY: 7/8 covered by various types of clouds, showing that the weather is definitely changing for the worse. AIR TEMP: 79ºF outside and 84ºF inside. BAROMETER: 30.00 inches, steady. WATER TEMP: 86º We think we've been in a warm eddy of the Gulf Stream since about noon, when the temperature suddenly jumped 3ºF as we crossed a distinct line of floating sargassum visible to the horizon in both directions, and our speed dropped one knot. Since warm water eddies revolve clockwise, our loss of a knot of speed-over-ground indicated that we were on the eddy's eastern, or south setting, side. HUMIDITY: 67%. CURRENT: One knot against us. DEPTH: Off-soundings. SAIL/ENGINE COMBINATION AND TACK: Beam-reaching on port tack with single-reefed main, staysail, and full genoa. FISH, BIRDS, AND OTHER WILDLIFE: Petrels, terns, dolphins, Portuguese Man-of-War, and flying fish. LAST 24 HR RUN: 130 NM. AVERAGE DISTANCE COVERED PER DAY DURING PASSAGE: 121 NM. FORECAST: The SW wind has built rapidly over the last half hour. It should remain at this strength for another 9 hours, says Herb (How's that for a detailed weather forecast?!), and then should moderate and shift more westerly and then to the N and NE, but lighter, through the day tomorrow (Monday). Possibly some convection tonight, with gusty winds, thunder, and lightning in squalls. As we approach Montauk Point, Long Island on Wednesday we will have increasing southerly winds generated by a fast-moving Low expected to be crossing Connecticut. THOUGHTS FROM THE BRIDGE: We are reaching our Gulf Stream entry waypoint (36ºN, 72ºW) about when expected. We had to motor all night and morning until the anticipated strong SW wind finally, and suddenly, arrived at 1315. What a relief! Now we will carry as much sail as feels safe and will sail hard to cross the Gulf Stream as quickly as we can.

* * * * *

In some ways, it's impossible for me to think about this passage as anything except as just another passage. I can't quite get it in my head that it's our last ocean passage for a long while, and the last one on THIS circumnavigation. It's our final sea-crossing as a family with Abigail 12 and me 15. When we arrive on the Connecticut shore, we will have completed 6 1/2 years of sailing, visited 27 countries*, and grown from a nervous, green young family to an interdependent and independent tight-knit crew of four (well, of five for a while.) This is my life. I know nothing else.

I have collected so much random knowledge during this voyage, little things that are useful on a boat: how to keep a stew going in the pressure cooker for five days in the tropical heat without a refrigerator; how to bathe in the cockpit, (including washing hair) with just a small plastic mixing bowl, a rag, and about half a gallon of fresh water; which pen to use in the log book so the ink doesn't run if the pages get wet; how to crawl into and out of my tiny sea-berth when the leecloth is up so I don't bump the electric fan or a sleeping crew member on the lower bunk (Dad says I look like a calf being born -- all legs and arms.); how to listen to the lurching crackles of the SSB radio while we're sending email and eagerly translate the alien sounds into something meaningful about our connection strength and speed. All this information is utterly useless on land. I mean, who really cares if a cloud is cirrus or cirrostratus?

But all this useless knowledge, so vital to the smooth well-being of life on Estrela, is part of who I am. What will happen when I no longer need it?

Because all this IS my life, all that I know, I can't conceive of it ending. It's like trying to imagine life without the sense of taste: you realize how horrible it would be, never to be able to eat ice cream or a good curry with the same relish, but you can't truly know what having a non-tasting tongue is really like, until the tastebuds are gone.

So instead of trying to make myself feel the significance and importance of this "last and final passage," I'm simply enjoying it the way I've done other ones -- laughing, doing school work, worrying about the weather (and the Gulf Stream), feeling annoyed about waking up for night watch right in the middle of a good dream, cooking meals, listening to Dad read aloud the Patrick O'Brian novels, . . .

I'll live in the moment for now, leave the future for tomorrow.

-- Eliza

-----Original Message-----
Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 2010 8:51 AM
Subject: Estrela Log Entry -- Monday, June 14, 2010 (Day 5 of passage from Bermuda to Groton, CT)

1530 local time Monday, June 14, 2010 (1930 GMT). LAT/LON: 38º01.0'N, 071º56.3'W. LOCATION: 150 NM ESE of Cape May, NJ and 185 NM S of Montauk Point, Long Island. COURSE AND SPEED OVER GROUND: 37ºT at 5.0 kts. WIND: NNW 15 kts. SEA: Regular NW wind waves. SKY: 8/8 cloud cover, stratocumulus (low ceiling). AIR TEMP: 73ºF outside and 81ºF inside. BAROMETER: 29.98 inches, rising. WATER TEMP: 73º. HUMIDITY: 60%. CURRENT: None detected. DEPTH: Off-soundings. SAIL/ENGINE COMBINATION AND TACK: Close-reach on port tack with single-reefed main, staysail, and 3/4 genoa. FISH, BIRDS, AND OTHER WILDLIFE: A humpback whale swam within sight for a few minutes and then sounded, its big flukes rising up and then following the creature down in slow motion. LAST 24 HR RUN: 137 NM (thank you, Gulf Stream!). AVERAGE DISTANCE COVERED PER DAY DURING PASSAGE: 125 NM. FORECAST: Continued NW to N winds through tonight, veering to NE and building to around 20 kts as we cross 40º north tomorrow, and then veering to SE around 15 kts late Tues and into Weds. THOUGHTS FROM THE BRIDGE: Weather forecasts seem to change as fast as the weather does in these parts. This reminds us how different weather is at higher latitudes than in the tropics, where it can remain virtually unchanging for weeks, with just regular daily fluctuations of temperature, precipitation, and wind direction and strength. Herb Hilgenberg was spot on yesterday afternoon with his forecast for last night, though. As he foretold, we encountered a series of powerful squalls just as we entered the Gulf Stream. With truly torrential rains and sustained winds in the low to mid 30's for 20 to 30 minutes at a time, and wind otherwise in the mid-20's, we had a pretty dramatic Gulf Stream experience. But because the SW to WSW wind was blowing in the same direction as the current, the ride was relatively comfortable (especially for Doug and the girls, who were tucked warm and dry in the cabin while Kyle was being fire-hosed at the tiller), and even exhilarating. We notched a peak speed over ground of 9.9 kts and a peak half hour average of 8.6 kts. The winds were strong enough that we could not quickly move across the Gulf Stream, as planned. Instead we had to steer almost north and consequently stayed in the Stream longer than expected, about 11 hours altogether.

* * * * *

This passage, Bermuda to East Coast America, has lived up to its reputation -- anxious calculating about where and when to cross the Gulf Stream, crossing the Gulf Stream itself (do we try to ride it like a wild horse going our way? or just get on and off quickly without breaking any bones?), dodging the numerous lows that keep spinning off the mid-Atlantic and New England coasts, and dealing with increased ship traffic. But no one ever talked about fog. And fog was a real problem last night. The distant light that appeared suddenly, like a bright star or planet rising, turned out to be a tanker.

I've conditioned myself over many nights at sea not to be misled by the illusion that a suddenly appearing star on the horizon is a ship. But hang on, stars don't rise in the NW. Nor do they turn up on radar, and sure enough, now there was a radar blip to our NW only six miles away. How had I missed it when I checked radar 15 minutes ago? Six miles quickly became four, minutes zipping past as I assembled the clues to calculate which way the ship was moving relative to us! Four miles doesn't give you much time to avoid a ship. I can usually see a ship's lights at least ten to twelve miles away at night.

It was around 3:30 in the morning. Thankfully, Doug has just awoken (nature's call) and he quickly confirmed my assessment from the ship's lights and rapidly changing radar position that we could be on a collision course. While I tacked the sails, turned on the engine, and steered us 90 degrees from our course, Doug hailed the ship on the VHF radio. The tanker (now I could see its distinctive shape in silhouette) had not seen our running lights nor had seen us on his radar. He told us that our red port running light wasn't working ("That's very dangerous for you!" he scolded.) and that he was "maintaining his course," which in English means that the situation was our fault and that WE were the ones to do the maneuvering!

We passed safely, two ships in the night, at a distance of a 1/2 mile, and we at least thanked our lucky stars!

Without realizing it we had entered a fog area just north of the Gulf Stream. It must have been very thick, and when it cleared a little, suddenly the two vessels could see each other's lights (we checked later and confirmed all our running lights were working fine).

Could this fog have something to do with very warm Gulf Stream water (86 degrees) converging with cooler northern water (73 degrees)? That's my junior meteorologist theory -- too bad I can't Google at sea.

-- Kyle

-----Original Message-----
Sent: Wednesday, June 16, 2010 6:28 AM
Subject: Estrela Log Entry -- Tuesday, June 15, 2010 (Day 6 of passage from Bermuda to Groton, CT)

1530 local time Tuesday, June 15, 2010 (1930 GMT). LAT/LON: 39º49.3'N, 071º20.0'W. LOCATION: 80 NM S of Montauk Point, Long Island and 105 NM S of Groton, CT where we'll cross our outgoing tracks to complete our circumnavigation! COURSE AND SPEED OVER GROUND: 352ºT at 5.2 kts. WIND: NE 10-15 kts. SEA: Diminishing wind waves. SKY: 5/8 cloud cover (mostly cirrus), sunny. AIR TEMP: 71ºF outside and 75ºF inside. BAROMETER: 30.03 inches, rising. WATER TEMP: 66º (finally in cool water). HUMIDITY: 51%. CURRENT: None detected. DEPTH: Off-soundings. SAIL/ENGINE COMBINATION AND TACK: Close-reach on starboard tack with full main, staysail, and genoa. FISH, BIRDS, AND OTHER WILDLIFE: Fished unsuccessfully (trolling feathered lure) for third straight day. Caught a piece of sargassum when hauling in the line; on it was attached what looked like a young gooseneck barnacle -- more evidence of what interesting collections of life these floating mats of sargassum are. LAST 24 HR RUN: 111 NM. AVERAGE DISTANCE COVERED PER DAY DURING PASSAGE: 122 NM. FORECAST: Wind continuing to moderate and veering to SE around 10 kts tonight and into Weds. THOUGHTS FROM THE BRIDGE: We think we've passed our last big weather hurdle. This morning, on Kyle's dawn watch, the wind veered to the NNE and built to the mid-20's. We had to power through it, sailing part of the time and motorsailing part of the time. We were hard on the wind, the motion uncomfortable to violent, as we shot off the short, steep waves and slammed back down, struggling to stay close to our course toward the eastern tip of Long Island, where we would turn to port for the last 25 mile approach to New London. The low and associated cold front set to sweep across the CT coast Wednesday evening would bring a shift to strong northwesterly wind and rainy, stormy weather. We knew we had to keep up our pace to get in to New London before the arrival of the bad weather Wednesday evening. So we toughed it out for about seven emotional hours. Finally the wind diminished bit by bit and veered to the SE and the seas became regular and gentle again. We're going to make it in!

* * * * *

We expect to reach the Shennecossett Yacht Club in Groton, CT Wednesday afternoon. Once we clear Customs in New London Harbor, we will motor across the Thames River to Pine Island Harbor and SYC. We've requested a transient slip there for three nights. Then Saturday we will carry on toward Westport, CT, where we hope to arrive early Sunday afternoon. Anyone interested in stopping by to visit us at SYC Thursday or Friday will be more than welcome. It shouldn't be hard to find the groggy crew with the permanent smiles on the ragged-looking little sailboat.

-- Doug

-----Original Message-----
Sent: Thursday, June 17, 2010 10:22 AM
Subject: Estrela Log Entry -- Wednesday, June 16, 2010 (Day 7 of passage from Bermuda to Groton, CT and Day 2,420 of our circumnavigation voyage)

1345 local time Wednesday, June 16, 2010 (1745 GMT). LAT/LON: 41º19.065'N, 072º03.640'W. LOCATION: Slip D25, Shennecossett Yacht Club, Groton, CT. COURSE AND SPEED OVER GROUND: NA. WIND: S 5-10 kts. SEA: Calm in harbor. SKY: 8/8 cloud cover, low overcast. AIR TEMP: 70ºF outside and 75ºF inside. BAROMETER: 30.04 inches, falling. WATER TEMP: 63º brrrr. HUMIDITY: 67%. CURRENT: None detected. DEPTH: 9'. SAIL/ENGINE COMBINATION AND TACK: Tied to dock, sails furled, engine off. FISH, BIRDS, AND OTHER WILDLIFE: Lots of seagulls following small fishing boats, very New England coast. LAST 24 HR RUN (actually 22 hr): 105 NM. AVERAGE DISTANCE COVERED PER DAY DURING PASSAGE: 120 NM. FORECAST: Low and its associated cold front due to arrive tonight with wind, possibly strong, veering to W and NW, and some rain. THOUGHTS FROM THE BRIDGE: We crossed our outgoing track to officially complete our circumnavigation at 1150 as we motored in glassy, flat calm by the New London Ledge Lighthouse en route up the Thames River and into New London Harbor. To starboard we passed an eerily beautiful sight, a train of blue-garbed sailors passing boxes of provisions across the curved, black deck and down the hatch of their US Navy submarine, tied to a dock at Electric Boat. The ship's American flag waved beside them. Minutes later a Customs and Boarder Patrol officer, automatic pistol at his side, met us at the New London Customs dock. We'd called ahead. He scanned Estrela with a sort of geiger counter, apparently a standard CBP precaution in this era of heightened security. He checked our papers, confiscated our last French saucisson (due to risk of Mad Cow Disease) and then, incongruously, kindly waited as we scrambled and cooked our remaining two dozen eggs, otherwise also condemned to the CBP incinerator. We asked to have our passports stamped (not actually required) to prove (to ourselves?) we'd made it home. A half hour later, Kyle's brother George Holt snapped pictures and caught our lines at the Shennecossett Yacht Club, a bucket of iced champagne and sparkling cider on the dock beside him. Whoops and tears. We'd made it in!

* * * * *

Please stop by to say hi anytime Thursday or Friday. We'll be tied up at slip D25 at the Shennecossett Yacht Club in Groton, CT until early Saturday morning. Then we sail for Westport, CT, where we expect to arrive in time for a big celebration at the Compo Yacht Basin Club House (41º06'N, 073º22'W), Sunday 6/20 from 5-7 PM. Anybody's welcome there too

-- Doug