Motoring now. Pretty calm. Big squalls last night. Head winds coming out of the west so we hove to. Saw no reason to sail back to Africa, as charming a land as it is. Torrential downpours. Sunny now. In the calms while steaming we loosed all sail to dry and just furled it. Drying out all around. I had a nice Captain’s dinner in the mess last night with Suzi, Brian, Dirk and John G. Looks like we will be motoring for a few hundred miles through calms. Now steering for a point south of Fernando de Noronha in order to catch the current along the coast.
Date: April 12, 2019
From: St Helena Island, South Atlantic Ocean
Towards: Grenada, Windward Isles, Eastern Caribbean of the West Indies
Noon position: 04-48S / 027-07W we are now 312 nautical miles east of Fernando de Noronha
Course and speed: WxN or 280 degrees at 7 knots
Wind force and direction: East and light at Force 2
Seas/swell: moderate seas of 1+ metre from the east and SE. Also a northerly swell. Pretty smooth
Barometer: 1015 steady – we are headed towards lower pressure in general but not towards any storm
Sky: cloudy and squally earlier today – nice clear skies now
Water temperature: 29C – 84F
Distance made good in 24 hours: 80 nautical miles
Passage log: 1,508 nautical miles
Voyage log: 23,566 nautical miles
Distance to next port: 2,300 nautical miles as the frigate bird flies