Day’s Run – 11 April 2019

Squally day today. But fair winds and a good drill for the gang to take in sail and set sails again after the squalls. We are well into the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), the fancy modern name for the equatorial doldrums. So far, pretty good fair winds through this area. I still expect calms and motoring though. Soon.

On deck between squalls, sailmaking continues and Jack and Tyler are with sailmaker John. Arne and Carlos are working on setting up frames for our boat project. Deyan discovered that a porthole to the engine room door is brass so he got all excited and is stripping the paint off to polish it in amongst his more pressing projects. Today’s workshop is on determining wind direction – more complex than one would think – and then delving into the nuances of the compass, variation, deviation, etc.

Date: April 11, 2019

From: St Helena Island, South Atlantic Ocean

Towards: Grenada, Windward Isles, Eastern Caribbean of the West Indies

Noon position: 05-15S / 025-54W – we are now 500 miles west of Natal, Brazil

Course and speed: WNW1/2N or 302° true at 4 knots

Wind force and direction: East South East (ESE) at force 3, more in squalls

Seas/swell: moderate seas of 1+ metre from the east and SE. Also a northerly swell, a bit lumpy

Barometer: 1015 steady – we are headed towards lower pressure in general but not towards any storm

Sky: cloudy and squally today with periods of clear skies

Water temperature: 29C – 84F

Distance made good in 24 hours: 85 nautical miles

Passage log: 1,428 nautical miles

Voyage log: 23,486 nautical miles

Distance to next port: 2,371 nautical miles as the frigate bird flies