Sleep, Squalls and Storms

Latest Position: 10/30/08 0255Z 16 32.397S 80 57.703E

Last night the wind shifted around to be directly behind me. The swells are still confused making it hard for Intrepid to stay on track downwind especially in confused seas. This meant another rough night of sleep. I had a few squalls again which means keeping watch until they pass to see if I would need to reef down or not. It is really hard to wake up and reef quickly because your arms are still asleep and your fingers don't want to do what you tell them to do. I had one squall that hit pretty hard taking the wind from around 15 knots to 25 knots instantly. It also brought tons of rain that came down so hard it actually hurt.
My mom was asking me about my thoughts as I pass so slowly through the Indian Ocean day after day. I think that rather than thinking about one day at a time, it is better to think about the goal of getting into port and fixing the boat, doing laundry and oh yeah, having some fun!
At this pace, I should be arriving in Mauritius around November 8-10. I am scheduled to take one week there before timing my departure for Durban, South Africa. When I watch the weather forecasts on Clearpoint Weather I can see the storms passing through that area every 3 days or so. Amazing!