Surfin' USA

I'm pleased to report that the troubles with the radar mast and George, our
autohelm, now seem to be behind us and we've made excellent progress along
our route towards the Newfoundland coast. We flew the reaching spinnaker for
a while in the early evening yesterday, but the heavy, confused seas and
building wind made the jib top - a reaching headsail - a better choice for
the overnight run. The wind built quite a bit overnight, but we hunkered
down under two reefs and emerged into a grey morning none the worse for
wear - fairly chipper, in fact!
By morning the seas were a little more ordered, with a swell in the right
direction, giving us some surfing practice. I say George didn't misbehave,
but he did seek a little more attention by setting off his "shallow" warning
alarm in the middle of a spectacular surf down a huge wave - not really a
problem out here!
The good wind has continued, allowing a fast reach more or less along our
track - we couldn't sail as much downwind as we would have liked, because of
a combination of fierce windshifts - up to 30° - and the heavy seas always
threatened an accidental gybe - not something you want to do anywhere, let
alone1200 miles from home...
Love to all family and friends and many thanks for all the comments and good
wishes
Trevor