We are fated to encounter almost the whole spectrum of Mother Nature’s bounty.  Today it’s rain.  And lightning.  Then more rain.  And for some fun – torrential rain.   Darold takes Dante up above to take a shower in the rain.  He delights in splashing in the rainwater that has collected in the sides of the boat and declares it the best shower he’s ever had.

Most of the day we stay down below due to the lightning.  We try not to get too close to the mast (editor’s note (Darold) – the lightning wasn’t even remotely close.  A little dramatic writing on Jen’s part – but hey she tells a good story).   I do a thorough cleaning of the boat.  Maybe I’m OCD – but it makes me feel better to have Benevento “ship shape.”  Plus, there was seawater sprayed everywhere after our bout sailed the papagayos.  I decide to bake brownies as a mid-passage treat. The lightning gets worse and we talk about how we would have to put all of the portable electronics in the oven to protect them from a lightning strike if it increases.  Only now, the oven is hot from the brownies.  I sit in front of the oven, fanning out the heat, sweating.  Have I mentioned how hot it is?  I’m not exactly sure what compelled me to make brownies.  Perhaps delight in actually being hungry after two days of not eating.

In the afternoon, while on watch, I notice the fuel gauge is below zero.  Either the sensor is broken or we have reached the bottom of the tank.  I suspect it’s the former, but I wake Darold and we decide that now is as good a time as any to fill the tank with our jerry cans.  It’s raining lightly but the sea conditions are calm.  For an hour we drift around while we slowly fill up the tank.  While we’re hunched over, siphoning the fuel from jug to boat Darold says to me, “You know, real courage is when you are scared of something and you do it anyway.  You have real courage.”  I swear it must be the lack of sleep because I want to cry again.

Later that evening Darold calls me and Dante above deck.  Dolphins are surfing the bow and in the light of the moon their path makes a phosphorescent wake.  No words to describe…

I need to repay Darold’s super-human effort during the papagayos and I take nightwatch until the wee hours of the morning.  Darold relieves me at 2am and stays on until dawn..