Girl Power!

It's Father's Day and I am so proud of my girls!

Between Poland and Lithuania lies Kalinigrad, which is part of Russia. To avoid using our only Russian visa prematurely, we must leapfrog 100 nautical miles around Kalinigrad all the way to Klaipeda, Lithuania's only port, staying at least 12 miles offshore at all times. This makes the next passage the longest of the entire season.

A weather check revealed a tight window for heading northeast from Hel to Klapeida, Lithuania. Only 24 hours remained before the winds would turn against us, not to shift our way for awhile. We'd be trapped in Hel for days!

I put the option to the girls -- stay in Hel or leave right away for a 17-hour overnight passage to Lithuania. The girls chose to leave Hel behind.

We shoved off shortly after lunch under cloudy skies with 12 knot westerlies. After assuming a northeasterly course, we turned the helm over to Cousin Nav, our autopilot. I asked if Jocelyn and Emily wanted to set sail themselves.

Though they'd participated many times, this was their first time setting sail all by themselves. After thinking it through, they executed flawlessly, and we were sailing. This was a big moment. All the females -- Jocelyn, Emily, and Windleblo -- got to know each other a bit better.

The hours wore on. We decided on a watch schedule to get us through the night. Jocelyn and Em would take the watch together until midnight, and I would see us the rest of the way. I assumed sea galley duty, preparing a dinner of salad, boiled potatoes, and Polish sausage. The wind died, and we fired up the motor, which made the evening watch team's job easier. I then got a couple of hours shuteye.

Under my wee hours watch, the wind shifted to the south and strengthened, allowing me to set sail again and kill the engine. Fortunately, the seas were mellow and everyone slept fairly well, though Jocelyn reported some discomfort. We arrived in Klaipeda, Lithuania, one hour after a 4:30 a.m. sunrise and found a berth at the Old Castle Harbor, greeted even at that early hour by the harbormaster and Border Patrol, each with obligatory paperwork. Then, more sleep.

I can't say enough about my crew's performance. They crossed several big thresholds. Before, they had never set the sails by themselves. Before, they had never stood night watch. Before, they had never been out of sight of land. Before, they had never slept while under way. Now, they are experienced sailors, having done all of these.

In contrast with the last crew, we are now running on Girl Power! And it feels all right.