It looks to be our last full day at sea of this most excellent transatlantic tradewind passage; we’re expecting to make our landfall in Martinique tomorrow. It’s a little sad to be coming to the end of these long moonlit nights and sun soaked days at sea but a port stop in a sweet French Caribbean Island doesn’t sound so bad either! The watches wore ship every 4 hours or so through the day and night, making long tacks down wind – the ship makes more speed slightly on the wind than on a dead run.
SHIP’S WORK: Varnish galley house trim, varnish quarterdeck rails; install middle spanker horses (a sort of foot-rope); paint buff and green starboard fruit locker; paint water cooler holder tropical blue; continue work on KARL planks, spar and sails. The spanker was set this evening for the first time in a while so the watches drilled striking and setting it overnight. Celestial navigation class moved onto star sights today.
FROM: Mindelo, Sāo Vicente, Cape Verde
TOWARDS: St Pierre, Martinique
TIME ZONE: ZD+4
NOON POSITION: 15°26.2’N /058°56.8’W
DAYS RUN: 128nm
PASSAGE LOG: 2,074nm
DISTANCE REMAINING: 93nm
COURSE AND SPEED: West North West(CMGT 275°T)
WIND: Force 4, East North East
WEATHER: 1/8 cloud cover (cumulus), air temp 82F (28°C), barometer reading 1021 millibars, visibility good
SWELL HEIGHT & DIRECTION: approx 3-5 feet, East
SAILS SET: All square sails to the royals, fore topmast and t’gallant studdingsails, fore topmast staysail, inner jib, outer jib, braced up a point on the port tack.