We all got up around 4:30 this morning to finish prepping the boat and we brought up and stowed the anchor just as it was getting light. It was a neat but almost plain sunrise. It was one where the sun was banded in several red layers.
We put up the main, 2 staysails and pulled out the #3 jib (which is now on the roller), and hoisted the weather fisherman. The sails started out on the Starboard side, and sometime when I was napping they moved over to the Port side. Hmmmm... Must have been a bit more tired than I thought.
The winds are currently light, and predicted to go even lighter later, and the seas are a bit rolly with the occasional speed bump that we stuff and lose a bit of speed.
By coincidence, MV Jenny (a Nordhaven) headed out behind us and ran us down in these light conditions and got some great pics as they went by. We are also both following Southern Belle (a 42 Fountain Pajot catamaran) on their trek south. They are maintaining about 3mi at 355 on my radar.
We seem to be in a strange back-eddy wind condition off the coastline. Our autopilot is working hard trying to keep the correct wind angle on the sails, but our path displayed on the computer is pretty wacked and wavy. We got pretty close to the beach and had to tack off for a couple of miles, then back again due to a rowdy wind shift. Richard thinks we really need the practice before we get to Antigua. We did manage to work in a really good sausage-dog and fresh pineapple for lunch. It was a busy watch.
1 comment:
The mood in your blogs have taken a somewhat ominous turn....Is that typical when you're leaving the comfort of the coastline? Either way, I'm very envious. Guess I have to keep my adventures local for now....We have some extra wind up here right now. Patrick says he's going to tell the wind to blow to Byron instead
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