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+
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