There was a little more wind today making for exhilarating sailing weather, and evidently good weather for fishing too – Jack caught a tuna for our supper. More dolphins and pilot whales today, and heaps of bioluminescence in the water – this part of the African coast has been truly wonderful for wildlife. As Joni Mitchell said; the winds are in from Africa…
SHIP’S WORK: Start work prepping the new Monomoy oars for use with a light sanding, oiling and a nice piece of leather chafe gear stitched on where the oar will sit in the rowlock. Paint the foclsehead cowl vents white, salon hatch buff, stern chocks black and ‘engineer’s’ ladder to the quarterdeck stone; clean super structure, re-rig overhauled port fore upper topsail footrope and tarring aloft. Sailmaking was in the salon today as some of the clouds looked ominous and it’s important to keep our new sails dry.
TOWARDS: Dakar, Senegal
TIME ZONE: GMT – 1/2 hour
NOON POSITION: 17°34.0’N /017°48.3’W
DAYS RUN: 130nm
PASSAGE LOG: 680nm
DISTANCE REMAINING: 176nm
COURSE AND SPEED: South half East (CMGT 182°T)
WIND: Force 5, East North East
WEATHER: 6/8 cloud (cirrus, cumulus and haze), air temp 72F (22°C), barometer reading 1019 millibars, visibility good
SWELL HEIGHT & DIRECTION: approx 3 feet, North East by East
SAILS SET: Square sails to the t’gallants except the mainsail; inner jib, fore and main topmast staysails.