Saturday, July 05, 2008

July 5, 2008 - Darwin Dash, Day 8

We're pushing to try to get into the Great Barrier Reef before sunset tomorrow night so that we can anchor up and catch a full night's sleep before tackling the Torres Strait. We've got as much canvas up as possible, and are really pushing Mata'irea. Our friends on Kika decided a few days ago to aim for arriving at day break the following morning. So they have a couple of reefs in and are rolling along nicely.

4 nights ago we were 120 miles behind Kika. Every night on our radio schedule we check in with Kika and a few other boats. We check in before Kika. By the time we talk to Kika, Nick has already compared both of our positions and calculated how much mileage we've each made that day. The highlight of our day these past few days has been hearing how much mileage we've made on Kika. Competitive, much?

We passed Kika this morning. But then Nick and Charlotta decided that getting a good night's sleep sounded pretty good, so they threw up more canvas and started to haul. Overnight tonight we were always within a few miles of each other.

Last night on the radio, Nick asked how we had celebrated the Fourth of July. I joked that I'd tossed some tea in the ocean. Nick then said that he had prepared something special for us and proceeded to serenade us over the radio with the Star Spangled Banner. On a trumpet! Definitely one of my more memorable Fourths. And it sure beat the one I spent in the office.

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