Plenty Wind, Sloppy Swells

This isn't exactly what I was expecting to have today weather-wise, and I must say it's quite unpleasant. Forecast called for 18 knots and we've got closer to 28. Blowing straight down out of the north, and since the wind came up quickly the swells have come up into short, choppy little devils whose goal is to knock us as far of course as possible and see how far underwater they can bury our lee rail. If you want to look on the sunny side of things we've averaged over five knots the past 30 hours, and our speed remains over five so the miles are ticking away at a reasonable rate. But these sloppy seas have me feeling traces of seasickness once more, have made sleep nearly impossible, and make watchkeeping much more intense with the need to constantly monitor the autopilot, and often help it steer. It has been 24 hours of adjustments--adjusting to our new-found wind, adjusting to the fact that for the first time this trip (and in quite some time for me) we're heeling to starboard on the port tack, and now adjust to more sloppy seas. And in the midst of it all the water temperature has plummeted since daybreak, falling from 67 to 61. What is it in San Diego, 51? Wind is forecast to keep up as is for twenty-four hours, then slowly subside and shift northwest before dying out altogether. What we need is to make enough mileage before it dies that we can motor the rest of the way home if need be. For now it feels like victory at sea, and I can only hope the weather forecasts are prolonging the agony more than will actually be the case.
Fishing report: Threw back an albacore last night since nobody was willing to fillet yet another. Now have no line out since we wouldn't be able to pull in a fish in these conditions, and no fish left on board for the first time in a while. And yet I'm not the least bit saddened by that.

July 6-1120
33.50N by 126.01W

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