Day 87, Year 6 Passage to St. Helena, Day 2 – Smooth Sailing
Date: Wednesday, January 19, 2011, 1430 UTC
Weather: Sunny; Winds SW 10-15
Temperature: Water 59 degrees F; Air 61 degrees F
Latitude: 32 20.407 S
Longitude: 016 14.930E
Miles Traveled: 191
Miles to Go: 1560
Location: Passage from South Africa to St. Helena
Yes, there really are fair winds and following seas that make for delightful sailing and we are experiencing our second day of this. So much of our downwind sailing has been with too little wind and choppy seas that make us rock and roll, but since we passed under the Cape of Good Hope yesterday we have had smooth sailing and have barely had to touch a sail. The wind went from SE to SSW to now SW so we have adjusted course just a bit to keep the best wind angle, but otherwise we have been free to continue life as if we were in a calm anchorage. The winds basically hover around 15 knots, sometimes down to 12 knots, sometimes up to 20 knots. We did have a period of Midnight Madness with winds up to 24 knots, but just before my watch ended at 1:30 am, the winds had settled back down. Tonight is full moon for us at about 11:21 pm South Africa time (2121 UTC), so I expect I’ll have a little madness again tonight at the bewitching hour.
