Smelling the barn - Rodrigues

After 8 days sailing under jib or partial jib our gale force winds finally calmed the afternoon of the 11th, The seas were still too big to raise the main because the boom would have dipped into the water on every roll but the 20 - 25 knots of wind were a welcome change. We raised the main on the morning of the 12th, launched the towing generator and made some water. Our batteries are now recharged and our water tank is once again full. We're sailing down wind, with only 165 miles to go to the
island of Rodrigues. We expect to arrive tomorrow if the light wind holds. We've had rain showers off and on all night so the deck is getting a welcome and thorough rinsing. We've considered opening all the hatches and just letting it rain down below as well to clean off some of the salt. With such a rough trip cooking was all but impossible for a week so we still have some carrots and cabbage to eat. Spirits are high and we're looking forward to making landfall. Our Dutch friends on White Haze
should be arriving within an hour or two of us so we'll have an arrival celebration with them when we all get there.