Preparation and departure

Mon May 16
Nick Jr, Dan & I arrived at the Puerto del Rey marina at about 5pm,
unpacked and stowed all the food and then dinner and bed.
Tue May 17
We did chores around Wassail until about 11am when Dan and his father drove
back to San Juan to pick up Adam & Frank. Meanwhile I stayed on Wassail to
do some maintenance work that's easier when there's nobody else on the
boat. The whole crew arrived at about 2:30pm, raring to go. Nick Jr spent
the rest of the afternoon cooking while Adam, Frank & I prepared the boat
for going offshore(remove the anchor from the bow roller, stow the dinghy,
rig a new spinnaker halyard, etc.) Then Frank treated us all to dinner at
the Metropol in beautiful downtown Fajardo.
Wed May 18
Spend the morning and early afternoon getting ready. Had to retrieve the
engine key from a mechanic who forgot to give it back, refill the propane
tank for the stove, fill the water tanks, etc. Finally ready to cast off
at about 2:30pm, then motored over to the fuel dock to fill the boat's
diesel tank and four jerry cans in case we run out of wind. Cast off from
the fuel dock at 3:38pm 5/18/11, next stop Newport, RI some 1425 miles
away. We cleared the reef on the north side of Puerto Rico at about 5pm
and then settled into a watch schedule: Adam, then Frank, then Nick Sr,
then Nick Jr. We're standing 3 hr watches so we all have plenty of time
for sleep. Late afternoon a school of dolphin came to play around the bow.
Then light dinner and bed for all but the watch keeper.
Thu May 19
Woke this morning to heavy rain and lots of wind. The autopilot couldn't
cope so Frank steered while Nick Jr and I reefed the main. Big seas and
wind in the 20-25 knot range for the next couple of hours and since then
the weather has been pretty benign, wind about 12-14 knots, overcast skies,
and seas not bad. We've been averaging close to 8 knots since we cleared
the reef yesterday so we're all anxious to see how much distance we covered
in the first 24 hours; 163 miles so far with another 1.5 hours until the
end of the first 24 hour period.

Dan got a little seasick last night and again this morning and the adults
are all a bit damp from this morning's rain, otherwise life is good.
Tonight at dinner we're going to collect money and predictions for our
arrival time in Newport, I'm guessing sometime before midnight on the 26th.

Nick Sr.