Email on Michael's birthday

(here is an email from Nina and Clark to Samantha and Michael) Well, here's the short story... We made it to Bodega Bay at 4:30 AM after an aborted attempt at rounding Point Arena on an overnighter. Conditions were downright pleasant with rafts of by-the-wind sailors and dolphins. We enjoyed dinner in the cockpit at 6 PM. Then the wind started, waves grew, starting breaking, and we went from glassy to crashy in about an hour. By 9:30 we were taking a lot of water on the dodger windows & it was rough. I got soooo sick! We kept going but finally turned around at 1 AM & set a new course for Bodega. The motion smoothed out but it was damn hard to steer, from what Clark has told me (my Phenergan knocked me completely out & I missed the next seven hours. We were stuck at "Blow-dega" for eleven days as gale force winds whipped things up pretty good, even at the dock! Bob headed back to Sacto on June 1 with our car, which my family had picked up at Alameda & delivered to us. The autopilot was delivered to Spud Point & Clark got it installed over 3 days suffering in the wind. We took the bus to Santa Rosa for food at Costco & TJ's. There was a one-day window June 8 when Clark & I decided to make Fort Bragg/Noyo River, which turned out to be a 14 hour run in drizzly rain and sloppy seas, but light winds. We averaged 6.5 knots! The USCG volunteered themselves as escorts from the sea buoy when we called for a bar report about an hour out. They then, of course, wanted to do a Safety Inspection, which they did in the pouring rain, dripping all over as they read labels on fire extinguishers, flares, and PFDs. We spent the next couple of days recuperating. The weather was expected to worsen so we took the local bus to Mendocino. Small craft warnings were up but the sea was flat & lovely as we looked out from the steps of the little shops. Today there are gale warnings up & this time we believe it- the sea is white with blowing waves as we walk to Fort Bragg (no bus on saturday!) to be able to send email. We are doing well, the boat is performing wonderfully, & Clark is a most capable skipper in trying conditions. I battle seasickness constantly & have tried nearly every remedy. We are not in a hurry, so we'll wait for good conditions before we set out again. We are very glad to be underway & Rikki-tikki is having his biggest adventure yet! We'll try to keep you updated as we go. What stories we will have to tell... Love you both very much, Mom & Clark