More blue skies and seas. A few light rain squalls. Whales again this morning, closer to the ship and swimming along the port beam. Medium sized and with white markings, more Minke I think. Captain held a fascinating all-hands lecture on Atlantic slavery on the quarterdeck this afternoon. It’s particularly relevant as we sail this
‘middle passage’ from Africa to the Caribbean, but the impact was so much wider and still has far reaching impacts on the world today. From the wealth and great institutions of the west that were largely built on sugar, tobacco and slavery, to big political questions, and the subtle but pervasive African influence on all of our art and culture today, from modern dance, abstract art to jazz, blues, rock&roll and even how we dress today.
SHIP’S WORK: Wooden boat KARL mast and planking continues; Corner patching and tabling on KARL sails, stitch canvas rope cover onto main t’gallant staysail; scrape, sand and two coats of vanish on the quarterdeck rail, another coat of vanish on the quarterdeck grates, paint buff on the galley house strong backs; reinstall overhauled port cranelines to fore and main lower yards. The celestial classes were worked examples of lines of position (LOP) today; we took sun lines in both the morning and afternoon sessions and worked our real live examples through from a measured height to a line on the chart.
FROM: Mindelo, Sāo Vicente, Cape Verde
TOWARDS: The West Indies
TIME ZONE: ZD+3
NOON POSITION: 16°19.1’N /050°38.6’W
DAYS RUN: 126nm
PASSAGE LOG: 1,581nm
DISTANCE REMAINING: 596nm
COURSE AND SPEED: West by half North (CMGT 267°T)
WIND: Force 4, East x South
WEATHER: 5/8 cloud cover (cumulus), air temp 80F (27°C), barometer reading 1020 millibars, visibility good
SWELL HEIGHT & DIRECTION: approx 4-6 feet, East by North
SAILS SET: All square sails to the royals, the mainsail clewed up to allow the breeze to reach the fore; fore topmast staysail. Braced square and running downwind.