Roughish night!

So you are all back there nice and cosy in your homes or offices, thinking what an idyllic adventure we are having! Right? Well, not last night anyway....we have moved from the squally region to the full blown frontal systems. Last night they hit us all night. It's relatively calm now at daylight but we are showing the effects. They are actually not that bad once you get used to them. These ones last for hours instead of minutes and have up to 25 knots of wind in them. Oh, and the torrential
downpour of rain of course. They do move us along in the right direction, sometimes at 7 knots! Then they pass and we wallow with virtually no wind and the seas toss us around.
Where are these peaceful gentle consistent trade winds we expected? We have not really had them on this side of the equator yet. There must be some tropical disturbance in the area. Tried downloading weather files but by the time I get them they are usually out of date.
Our batteries were low and we are in a calm spot now so we are motoring for a while to charge up and hopefully get further south to where the winds are more predictable. Having a harder time getting a winlink connection too so if I miss an update or position report, it was because I could not log in. Hawaii seems to be the best bet lately but still hitting S Cal at times.
Our friends on Tarun are still within VHF range, though we get separated when the fronts come through, we usually have a rendezvous plan that gets us back in range. 627 miles to go! Sure looking forward to them French baguettes!