Hi everyone,
We are currently in position 11 43S 015 59W, saillng at 6 knots on a course of 340M. The wind is ESE at 15-18 knots with a 1.5m SE sea and a low S swell. We are sailing under full main and double-furled yankee. Broken mid-level clouds with scattered rain-bearing cumulus. Our day's run was 145nm, our DMG was 91nm and we have 3240nm to go.
Yesterday afternoon the sea state settled down and we had a nice sail in 10-12 knots of breeze. It was partly cloudy but nice sailing. Late in the afternoon the clouds cleared away which was very nice.
Before 1100 we had a moonless sky which was spectacular. Then we had a beautifully clear sky with a little more than half a moon. Jupiter was very bright, and Saturn and Mars were clearly visible. Spent a while identifying various stars which is easier with a moon since the main stars are clear and the others invisible. Love their names - Procyon, Canopus, Sirius, Achernar etc.
In the small hours a layer of mid-level cloud came in. That was followed by low cloud, some rain bearing. We missed the rain but the wind got up to 20+ knots and we were double-reefed (trisail sized) for a while. It's amazing how little wind this boat needs to move along comfortably.
By mid-morning the clouds had cleared away and the wind decreased to 15 knots. Would have been champagne sailing apart from the leftover sea which was quite messy. It's always uncomfortable when the seas are bigger than the actual wind would make - the seas are breaking all over the place and sometimes over you!
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