Jan 13th. – We’ve had good sailing conditions for the most part and covered 206 NMs in one 24 hour period. However, the winds are somewhat fickle…. Sometimes they are quite strong and light at other times. With the lighter winds, the sails don’t stay full, so the boom bangs back and forth, creating a hell of a racket of squeaks and grinds.
Fickle winds also mean lots of sail changes…One evening we were flying Jenny, (a light air sail), but winds began gusting above 25 Knts, so she had to come down. Anthony woke me to help … so I’m on deck in my PJs!
The good news is we continue to make steady progress toward St Martin. As of 1/13, we had <2000 miles to go (about 10 days).
Thus far, we haven’t seen too many other boats until a few nights ago. We had to maneuver around two smaller sailboats, (gybe twice) to avoid and then pass them. They were sailing within a mile of each other – probably ‘buddy boats’, maybe single handers, who were on watch for each other, while the other slept.
Winds continue to be favorable with 15-20kts from behind us and 8+ foot waves. Weather forecast says winds will be intensifying over the weekend…. Enjoy last night’s (1/14) sunset!