At noon today we are at 14 52N 054 17W sailing at 5 knots on a beam reach under double-reefed main and single-furled yankee. The wind is NNE 13G18. The seas are 1.5m with a long 2m NNE swell. The air temperature is 25C, water 27C and above is a clear blue sky. Our noon to noon daily run was 102nm. We have 450nm to go - 117nm closer to Antigua today. Only a Fremantle-Albany to go!
Traffic - sv Beatitas
Yesterday afternoon the showers and clouds gradually cleared, eventually leaving scattered mid-level stratus clouds. By nightfall they had just about gone, and by midnight we had a marvellously clear night sky with no moon. The rain had cleared away the haze. We could see scores of stars within individual constelations. For example Orion, normally a very conspic constellation, was so filled with stars the main ones seemed less obvious. Really spectacular.
In the small hours of the morning we encountered a yacht which appeared to be going to pass very close. They didn't respond to VHF calls and didn't change course, despite being the give way vessel. Presumably having a nice kip. We altered course to avoid them. Then just after dawn sv Beatitas also appeared and passed safely behind us. They're shown in the photo above.
It's seeing each new PredictWind route start a significant fraction of its length closer to Antigua. We really are getting close. At noon today we're changing ship's time to Antigua time. That's a 'milestone'! We'll contact Antigua in the next day or two to confirm entry procedures.
Last night's SSB sked was the last for this passage since Lady of Lorien, the only other remaining yacht in the group, will make landfall in Grenada today. It's been great chatting with the other yachts. And it's been amazing to see the range at which we can communicate in good conditions. Up to 2000nm.
Trust all's well where you are.
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