14 deg 55.4 min N, 094 deg 38.3 min W Course 124 deg, Speed 11 knots

It wasn’t long out of Huatulco when we started to see why the local advice-stay on the beach so the waves don’t have a chance to build-is correct. But as a designer you don’t learn anything that way, so with Linda’s forbearance we beat out into the Gulf. With just 50 miles of fetch the waves couldn’t get very large-not more than 15 feet or so, but they have been really, really steep!

As the wind built to to the 35-40 knot range we put the second reef into the mizzen, leaving the main with a single reef, and feathered both sails a bit to keep our speed down. Beowulf has plenty of stability, but with these almost square waves she is more comfy at slower speed.

Ten hours have now elapsed and the wind and waves have gone from 60 degrees to now just aft of the beam making our ride quite pleasant. We’ll probably leave the reefs in for the night even though we are now undercanvassed.