Day 51, Year 1: A Cruiser’s Dream
Date: Wednesday, December 7, 2005
Weather: Winds NE 12-15, Sunny and Warm
Air Temperature: 75 degrees F
Latitude: N 24 degrees 44.29 minutes
Longitude: W 63 degrees 58.72 minutes
Location: Passage from Norfolk to St. Martin, Day 11

Today is that kind of day. The kind of day cruising sailors dream about. The winds have been a steady 12 to 15 from the northeast, which is allowing us to sail south and be right on course for St. Martin. It has been a sunny, glorious day and the cobalt blue water has been calm. We have been out here eleven days since leaving the Chesapeake and probably have four more days before we reach St. Martin which is about 405 miles from where we are right now. The winds should continue to come from the north and then east, although the prediction is for 20 to 25 knot winds by tomorrow afternoon, calming back to 20 on Friday, and 15 on Saturday. Actually, we couldn’t ask for a better forecast, so it looks like our pushing to get to this latitude and longitude by today is going to pay off. The winds will be strong, but we’ll just reef down and enjoy the ride.

When I reached for a banana this morning, I realized we ate the last one yesterday. We have also run out of fresh green veggies except for some baby spinach and lettuce. We still have Clementine’s, apples, and a cantaloupe, but other than that we are going to have to start digging into the canned goods.

I finally found the strength to tackle the piles of books on the v-berth today and get them back on the shelves. Most survived, but I found a few damp ones that I have brought out into the cockpit to dry. Other than that, reading is the activity that fills our time. We have both finished reading Kite Runner-great book, and now I am reading By the Grace of the Sea and Mark is reading a Nicholas Sparks book, The Guardian. By the Grace of the Sea is the story of Pat Henry’s circumnavigation. She called herself the oldest woman to first round the world in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. The book was given to my by Laura Wuellenweber, our office assistant back in the Concord, NH, school district. Thanks, Laura. It is a great story.

Moonsong, Shaboomi, Tranquility, Abudea, Sweet Mary, Alvin, Traveler, Alice, and Paradise are the nine other boats in our general area headed for Puerto Rico, the British Virgin Islands, and St. Martin. One of them passed us during the night last night, but that was our only ship traffic for last night. The moon is helping us out at night now. It is starting to fill and serves as our night light during the early part of the night. It is directly overhead right now and is ready to guide us as soon as the sun goes down.