Day 18 (Monday, June 30) by Mike

Sailing with Dummies (Hawaii to Alaska Edition)

We missed the possible underwater mountain during the night. Our depth finder, which registers more than 1000 feet didn’t get a return anywhere in the area. Therefore, I think that the one out of three charts that showed this underwater mount was wrong. I’m a pretty deep thinker.

The wind started out light in the morning and then picked up. We started doing 6-7 knots mid-morning and carried on at that speed for most of the day, occasionally hitting 8 knots.

With about 3.5 hours of daylight left, we decided to try out a spinnaker. Bob and I thrashed while Melinda laughed and Josh videotaped. It took us quite a bit of time and deliberation just to figure out how to hook up the ropes. Then, as soon as we raised it in its sock, it started twisting. Then came the hard part – raising the sock.

Eventually we got it to work. It was stable and we went much faster. Our speed was 9, 10, 11, and even 12 knots once in a while. We should have about 24 hours of this before winds change.

Daily Cuisine:

I started out the morning with bacon, fried eggs, and French toast. I wasn’t all that hungry but it all sounded good. And it was! We enjoyed fresh, fried dolphin (sautéed mahi-mahi) for supper, compliments to Chef Josh.

Fishing Report:

This morning I landed an 11-pound dolphin. It was bright green. In the afternoon Bob caught a 13-pound dolphin. Mine was brighter green.

Arts and Entertainment:

Some of us attempted Pictures at an Exhibition on the piano. It wasn’t pretty, but it was played with enthusiasm.