[arbarnhart]

Here are some excerpts from today's entry:

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It was pretty eary to be watching out for this ship by the light of lightning. The seas have been confused, coming from different directions. Sometimes 2 waves will come towards each other and slam together. At night when they hit there is a spray of phosphoresence that goes everywhere including on the boat. It is really awesome.
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I am getting very fast at reefing and can get all the sails reefed (shortened) and set in 2 minutes. It used to take me 15!
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I had sustained winds of 25 knots for most of the day. I had a squall hit me with 35 knots gusting to 40 knots. I ran up on deck to secure some lines. I didn't have time to put on a shirt. The rain was coming sideways and felt like pins hitting my skin. Before I was able to reef for this squall I was nearly knocked down because I still had so much sail up when it hit.
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You could say it has been a rough week. I am so tired and I have to be extra vigilent because there are islands and reefs all around me. I am considering going hove to so I can get some sleep. I have to wait until I am clear of some nav hazards first.
On a positive note, I ate some freeze dried food that my Grandma sent to me in Majuro. It was terriyaki chicken and rice and it was great. I have also been eating power bars and soup trying to keep up on eating because the weather is going to be pretty much the same for awhile as far as I can tell.
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This is a 16 year old alone in the Pacific; he is really out there having this stuff happening to him right now while other teenagers are hanging out at the mall or playing Wii. Methinks he will have a different perspective than his peers...