20 Years Ago Today -- April 20, 1996 -- Day 12

Sat. 96-04-20 - Day 12 - 13° 31' N  120° 06' W  Log: 951nm

Up at 1700Z. Mostly overcast. Seas ~9', wind NE 17 - 20 knots all day and all night.

Dinnertime was today's highlight. John cooked up some canned chicken with rice for supper, along with a salad. Between courses in the cockpit, I looked aft and saw a freighter crossing our stern (westbound) about 5 miles off. First one of these we've seen since the Revelling Gigalos. Then, as I started to clean up, I saw a dolphin jump past the starboard portholes. Rushing on deck, we were entertained by a pair of high jumping Pacific White-sided Dolphins for about 20 minutes as the sun set and the soundtrack of the Phantom of the Opera played on the cockpit speakers. Great!

I had a lot of trouble with the windvane unable to keep us on course during the more boisterous part of the night, although it was OK when things quieted down. I was damn angry by the end of my first watch, as I was tired, cold, and couldn't even write the log without the boat rounding up.

The highlight of the night watch was another visit by 5+ dolphins for at least 20 minutes, playing around our bow. The night was dark and they were hard to see, but excited enough bioluminescence to see they were there.

No CDs.

Lottery: Dave: 141; John: 140.5; Log: 135; GPS: 137. John wins. 4:5