We continue to bounce and roll our way towards St Maarten – now less than 400 miles to go.
Sailing conditions in the past 5 days have been ‘sporty’! When we go straight downwind, the ride is lovely and smooth. But when squalls come through, we are often pushed left or right by 20-30 degrees, diagonally across the waves, and the cross-swell on top makes the ride more like a rickety, jerky rollercoaster ride.
We are often surfing at 11+kts (Vmax for the trip is 20kts) and the water rushing by is very noisy. It’s especially loud down below in our cabins and makes sleeping difficult.
Moving around the boat is not easy – and requires a three-point stance. The three points can be any one of foot, hand, butt cheek, calf, thigh, shoulder, or elbow. Whatever it takes to stay upright – We’ve nicknamed this the Biden shuffle. It also means that all dishes, coffee cups, computers, etc. must be securely positioned so they don’t slide off the table!
We entertain ourselves by removing flying fish that hopped on board overnight, making repairs underway and counting the number of popcorn kernels in a bag of Skinny Pop!
The ride is much more comfortable today . The cross swell has reduced, and the winds are down a few knots. Thankfully! We have very pleasant sailing conditions in sunshine, averaging about 8.6 kts with surfing regularly 10-12 knots.
Next Stop: St. Martin! We’re already dreaming of the first meal ashore … cold drinks, burgers, prepared by someone else, on plates that don’t slide across the table 😊 🤞
