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> If you looked up the word grey in the dictionary, you'd find a picture of the North Atlantic ocean. We've had varying shades of grey, along with varying degrees of moisture for most of the race so far. Our "sunny" day is a lighter shade of grey than the rest. On the other hand, we're motoring along at 7-8 knots plus in a fair breeze so we have nothing to complain about. Sunny weather is only a few days away in the UK. Hmm, did I mention sunny and UK in the same sentence? We'll see...
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> We're counting the miles down, we have less than 800 to go now and we're closing in on about one Newport to Bermuda race to go. Seems short when you put it that way, doesn't it?
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> Life without electricity provides some special moments. Picture everyone lurching about the cabin as we race along with the seas jouncing and bouncing Dawn Star around, bright red headlamps shooting rays of light in all directions. The scene is a cross between being attacked by one-eyed zombie aliens or partying hard at a rave party.
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> Dawn Star is equipped with a single vacuum activated toilet in her one head. Unfortunately, this means it doesn't work without electricity. Did I mention we don't have electricity? So, we're on the "chamber pot" program. This is a bit like an obstacle course. First you use the bucket while ensconced in the head, which is at a 35 degree angle and jumping up and down two feet at a time. Then you must climb up the seven companionway stairs while swaying back in forth in a roaring seaway, carrying a bucket of deadly cargo that must be dumped over the side... Needless to say, failure is not an option.
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> Besides all the intense racing, today's highlight included gift shopping at the North Atlantic boutique. We reached over the side, approximately halfway across the ocean, and bottled some fresh ocean water to give as gifts and keep as a memento of the race. The gift set includes a picture of you reaching over the side, hand held GPS in hand showing the Lat/Lon coordinates of your actual seawater. You have to come a couple of thousand miles to shop here, so we figure this stuff will be worth something when we get it home.