1300utc, 48/14S 81/15E, 25-30 knots west wind, making 12.9 knots at 065deg course True, solent and 2 reefs in the mainsail. Distance covered in last 24 hours: 201.9 nautical miles.

Had the reacher up for several hours this afternoon, much effort to get it up , much more effort to get it down when the wind built to 30 knots, one of the sail changes that shows very little result for the effort. Thinking of Yann all the time on the foredeck. Went SE much of the day, then gybed when a bit of a wind shift with the system movement, also, want to get to NE to get out of the way of the big low coming up behind, now west of Kerguelen. For the last week, I’ve been wearing my helmet all the time on deck, and now I’m even wearing it down below, at these high surge speeds.

Spoke with my mother and sister back in Boston today. It was evening for them, morning for me. Quite emotional for me, as my mother is 92. She is the original adventurer in our family, and an incredible inspiration for me, having moved from Seattle to Fairbanks, Alaska in 1938 to help build the first radio station there. She had a program called Tundra Topics! If Alaska is still considered a frontier now, what can it have been like 70 years ago, and for a single woman no less, 20 years before it became a state? Should I be so far away at Christmas time? I have two goals: finish the racecourse, and deliver a great school program. But do those outweigh family? In light of Yann’s terrible distress, all questions are valid.