Day 88, Year 5: Passage to Cochin, Day Seven
Date: Friday, January 22, 2010
Weather: Clear Skies; NE and NNE Winds 12-18
Latitude: 06 degrees 28.537 minutes N
Longitude: 085 degrees 10.076 minutes E
Miles Traveled to Date: 799
Yes! We have passed the halfway point. We have traveled 799 miles and have 782 to go. And we have had another day of beautiful sailing. We have NE winds 12-15 putting us on a broad reach most of the time, but then we get periods of NNE winds 15-18 putting us on a beam reach. We are making great time averaging 140 miles every 24 hours for the past three days. We had one twelve-hour period where we averaged 150 miles, so no complaints here. Constance had another problem with their auto pilot last night, but once again Ed was able to come up with a fix. We’re all hoping things will hold together until we arrive in Cochin.
It now looks like we will be passing under Sri Lanka during the daylight hours on Sunday. Other boats doing that part of the passage in the last few days have had 25-30 knots and rough seas if they went offshore and calmer seas and less wind if they traveled about five miles offshore. The inshore route means negotiating the fishing grounds, but doing that in the daytime is not nearly as intimidating as doing it at night. We hear that the winds and seas in that area should be settling in the next couple of days, so a final decision will be made as we get closer and get a feel for the wind and seas and the time of day.
Congratulations to Ed and Lynne on Constance on the birth of the seventh grandchild, Arthur Edward Kurwin. He was born on the 20th, so doesn’t share a birthday with Sam, but is a healthy baby. We are happy for all. Welcome to this world, Arthur Edward.
One last note-We just had a late afternoon dolphin show. I love watching the dolphins race toward our bow, cross over and then jump out of the water. They look like they are jumping for joy.
