Date: 14 May 2024
Sailing from: St. Helena
Bound towards: Grenada, West Indies
Noon position: 06°37.4’N 053°09′ W
Course: NW 1/2 N
Speed: 6.5 knots
Wind force and direction: Force 2 ENE
Seas/swell: 2m NE
Barometer: 1016
Sky: 7/8 st, cu
Water temperature: 81.8°F
Distance made good in 24 hours: 157nm
Passage log: 3,467nm
Voyage log: 26,716nm
Distance to next port: 609nm
Remarks: Squalls during the night kept the watches busy taking in and setting sail. Royals in and stay in. T’gallant staysail and flying jib, spanker. Sometimes on the edge with t’gallants. Again these squalls are not hitting us like sledgehammers but as surges in wind power with little shift in wind direction, a point backing or veering at most. But these winds get us up to 9 knots and more at times. Crew doing a good job steering through all these. We could use some sunny skies soon though. We are in the heart of the Brazil Current now, getting an extra 2-3 knot push along the coast of French Guiana and Suriname. Making a few 150 mile days and more. By midday blue sky patches are breaking out of the clouds on the starboard (and windward) quarter. Hopefully we will see more throughout the day. Bosun Line is happy for a break in the rain to get some ship’s work done. The sail is being worked on again for the first time in almost a week. Hopefully the leeches will get roped on and tomorrow the wire for the foot can get spliced. Clara has the new t’gallant yard tapered and almost round. Dan is putting a mast step into dory Sea Never Dry so we can sail she soon in the islands. Dustin has overhauled a 15 hp 4-stroke outboard for ship-to-shore skiff use. These use much less fuel than the two stroke and are quieter and less smoky. All’s going pretty well. Pizza for lunch.