You Know You've Been at Sea Too Long When...

You wake up from a miserable couple hours of sleep (countless angry swells had kept you from a deep sleep, including one mother that decided to unleash her fury over the entire boat and deposit a gallon in your lap thanks to a bloody skylight that won't seal), make for the head and go about your usual morning routine, and end by sitting before the computer to start the day with a position report, and perhaps an e-mail and a blog. You spend an hour typing away, followed by thirty minutes figuring out why the e-mail modem won't work and fixing the problem. And then you father looks at you and asks, "Do you want me to go relieve Kevin?"
"Why? He seems to be doing okay."
"Isn't it your watch?"
A quick glance at the time. 0930. Is it my watch? You'd figure after 22 days this would be well-engrained in my thick skull; but sure enough I've been dilly-dallying around for the first 90 minutes of my watch and happy-go-lucky Kevin has been enjoying his battle with the swells too much to let me know. Such are the strange occurrences that let you know you've been at sea too long. Time falls away and you become so tired that even after waking your mind can't process time and turn the day into a reality just yet.
Off watch now and we're moving along at a good clip again, thanks to a full jib and double-reefed main. Wind is easing, but swells persist. Forecast looks bleak with but little wind called for, and my thoughts are already back on our dire fuel situation. Surely we won't be forced to drift offshore after some 25 days at sea.

July 7-1125
33.45N by 123.58W

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