Day 6 – Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Noon AST position: 27* 43.33'N, 67* 33.38'W; approx 575 nm NNW of Jost Van Dyke.

We sailed on the main and Code 0 through the daylight hours yesterday, then switched to the genoa and put one reef in the main for overnight. Of course, the wind promptly decreased at that point.

There is a possibility that a LO will form NE of the Virgins as early as Sunday or Monday, so we want to make best time possible to arrive before then. Wanting to keep up boat speed above 6 kts we set a plan to motorsail overnight as needed. Regardless, we'll begin feeling the effects of this weather feature by Friday. We are not too concerned as the potential for much higher winds from it will be from behind our beam - similar to the high winds we experienced leaving the Chesapeake - and good for making time.

A few squalls passed overnight and these brought welcome temporary wind speed increases and a little rain to wash the salt off the windows. The last squall arrived just before dawn and we got a pretty good rinse. Unbeknownst to us at that point, this squall line marked the boundary of the anticipated trade winds to the south. Like turning on a switch, after the squall passed the wind increased to 15-17 kts from the ESE and the skies were clear of any more squall clouds upwind. We had crossed sailing's Mason-Dixon Line. In just a few minutes with boat speed up to 7-9 knots, the windows were salty again from sea spray off the bows. Oh well. But finally we were in the trades and hopefully shut down the engine for the last time for awhile.

The trades built in a direction that puts the wind forward of the beam, so we're pounding into chop on a tight reach and it's hard to move around the boat as it's bouncing around so much. Those with queasy tummies would not be having a good day. To keep up boat speed we're spending some of our hard earned "easting credits" and have turned slightly to the west of a direct line to the Virgins to improve our wind angle. The wind is forecast to "back" (gradually change direction in a counterclockwise direction) so we'll regain our easting as this takes place.

Fishing report: No 1030 fish this morning, but yesterday afternoon we got a small mahi on the short hand line attached to a stern cleat. As the bigger mahi caught earlier was already cleaned and packed in the fridge, this small one immediately went to the front of the dinner line. But the easy fishing is over. As soon as we got into the trades it became too bouncy to do much of anything other than sitting down, so there are no rods out now.

The weather today again is stunningly beautiful.


Day 7 – Thursday, November 17, 2011

Noon AST position: 24* 45.18'N, 66* 39.05'W; approx 391 nm NNW of Jost Van Dyke.

Distance traveled since departure: 965 nm

It has been a wet and lumpy ride over the last 30 hours. The wind backed nicely yesterday to about 80*T resulting in having the true wind on the beam, but overnight it veered down to 110* T at 15-20 kts which puts us on a tight reach into chop and building seas. It was a restless night, but we have been making good time. A daylight arrival Saturday in the Virgins is possible if we can maintain better than about 7.5 kts. We're having difficulty maintaining that right now so this could be close. Success will hinge on whether we get wind backing as is forecast over the next 24 hours. A larger wind angle will increase our speed considerably.

Starting Friday (tomorrow) and continuing through our arrival we'll see backing, higher winds due to a LO approaching from the east. This will increase our speed in the last 24 hours of our passage but this LO has a possibility to become tropical early next week. But we'll be tucked in someplace in the islands by then. We are watching this closely and have ample weather information and time to seek a safer location if necessary. Current forecast models have this weather feature tracking north of the Virgins, but another developing system may be close behind.

We're currently sailing with double reefed main and full genoa. Of notable achievement, dinner preparation and cleanup last night was accomplished without any major spills, despite the galley seeming more like an amusement park ride. The empty glass coffee pot tumbled off the range to the port side lower level, fortunately without breaking. This wouldn’t normally happen, as we have the means to secure any pots being used or left on the range.

We had to reef the genoa for a while over night as the wind frequently gusted up at about 25 kts. For a couple hours before reefing the genoa we maintained 9-11 kts boat speed, preventing any sleep for off-watch crew (except Donna—who can sleep through any sailing conditions but has no appetite for a running engine).

Sea spray now keeps the boat constantly wet, so any salt crust that manages to form is quickly replaced by a wet, fresh supply. The isolated and cleansing fresh water rain showers are no match.

At 2000 AST we crossed the Tropic of Cancer, officially entering the Tropics.  

Fishing report: We have not actively fished since Tuesday as it's too difficult to move around the cockpit. We are dragging two short hand lines that require little attention until someone notices we're dragging a fish. We have three dinners of fresh mahi remaining in the bank.