We passed by tiny Ascension Island last night, leaving it fifteen miles to port at midnight. It was quite a rare sight to see lights on the horizon – there’s been hardly any shipping since we left St Helena a week ago and we’re not used to neighbours. It was helpful for the celestial navigators to have such a handy island to verify the ship’s position. A salt water power shower on deck this afternoon helped cool everybody off after another sultry tropical day of trade wind sailing.
SHIPS WORK: Bent the main t’gallant staysail, riggers are overhauling the starboard side foresail footrope, and generally getting very tarry. Sailmakers are working on a bunch of different sails on the quaterdeck.
BOUND FROM: James Bay, St Helena, South Atlantic Ocean
TOWARDS: Grenada, Windward Islands, Caribbean Sea
TIME ZONE: GMT -1, the same time zone as the Azores
NOON POSITION: 07°21.4’S /015°07.3’W
DAYS RUN: 116 nm
PASSAGE DISTANCE RUN: 766 nm
DISTANCE REMAINING: 2,999 nm
COURSE AND SPEED: North West, Course made good 288° true, 4.3 knots
WIND: Wind Force 4, South East by East
WEATHER: Fair, 3/8 cloud cover, barometer 1016.5 millibars and steady, visibility very good
SWELL HEIGHT & DIRECTION: South South East 1m
SAILS SET: All square sails set, the main goosewinged up on port side, and all braced square as the wind comes dead astern.
Turi tars the starboard fore shrouds