Are we there yet?!

Well i can't say this is plain sailing or particularly pleasant!
It's 0130 and I'm still on watch until 0400hrs. I've just come down for
my 30min off deck to warm up after helming and am sitting in the nav
station stuffing my face with chocolate and a hot chocolate laced with
coffee to keep me awake. It's cold and wet up there and we're rolling
around like we're in a washing machine. I'm already wearing my full
base layer, midlayer and foulies!
We were basically hit by a very large confused sea as soon as we left
the breakwater outside Hua-Lein which after 3 days back on land and very
little sail area to keep us stable almost turned us straight into a
vomit comet! We still have a few confined to thier bunks while the rest
of us are keeping a close watch on each others sickness and coldness
levels and sharing around sea sickness pills and patches like lollies
(translation - sweets). The sea has settled a little and we're not
crashing down the back of as many waves but it's not nice helming. Its
raining too so its a matter of sqinting into the pitch blackness trying
to make out the tops of any breaking or steep waves while the rain is
like needles hitting your face and eyes! We have no idea what winds we
are in or from what direction exactly as all our wind instruments are
currently at the bottom of the south china sea along with the top
section of our mast!!
It's already quite hard to sleep, with only our trysail up we're not
heeled over which is easier but we're being rolled around a lot more
(picture a toy boat or rubber ducky in the surf!). I found for most of
my first off watch I was in a half wake half sleep state and constantly
thought i was up on deck, lying in our cockpit. Everytime the boat
crashed down a wave i cringed as i expected to be hit by a wave. Only
when it never came I would realise i was still off watch and in my bunk!
Until the next time it happened that is!!
We're nearing the top of Taiwan and actually not making to bad a
progress. With the current behind us we were making about 10 knots at
one point but are down to about 8 knots now as we seem to be out of the
current and have had to cut back the revs to stop launching ourselves
off the top of the waves.
Right time to go back up, wish me luck from your toasty warm beds!!
xx