Leander is at 19 12 N, 39 50 W, motor-sailing at 7 knots on a course of 235 magnetic. We have good wind (perfect, actually), and have the engine on just now to charge the batteries.

With somewhat calmer seas, these last two days have been a wonderful relief. We’ve washed some clothes, cleaned out the Racor fuel filter, repaired a banging locker, filled up the fuel tanks, repaired an electrical connection on an I-pod charger, cleaned up the boat inside and out, run the watermaker, and generally caught our breath. Leander is still rolling in these seas, but the conditions are considerably calmer.

Just now, Aylin is asleep on the cabin floor. Alexander is in the cockpit playing with a new Lightning McQueen car that we gave him today. Sima is up there too, talking with Alexander and knitting a scarf for Aylin. I am at the nav station checking on the weather.

The winds are supposed to pick up again tonight, but not too much. The forecast calls for them to be 16-20. Just now they are 12. 16ish would be wonderful. 20 gusting 25 will kick up the seas again, and make things lumpier, and are less favorable We still have a significant cross swell rolling in from the north, but because the wind waves are so much calmer, and the swell is long-period, it isn’t much of a problem. If the wind waves pick up again, however, that will make things rough again. We’ll see what happens.

We sailed 135 nautical miles during the last 24 hours, for a total of 1,535 miles done, and 1,273 to go. We’ve passed the half way mark! It was a nice milestone, and we can start to sense the finish line, though we’re still quite a ways off.