Lüderitz to St. Helena - Days 3 & 4
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Day 3
Miles to go: 1080
Ahhhh...sunshine! Amazing what a couple of hours sleep can do for a body. I woke refreshed from a solid 3 hour nap and David, on his off-watch, did the same. The seasickness has passed and there were scrambled eggs and toast on the breakfast menu this morning. The passage soup went overboard. The bright sunshine does wonders for our demeanors. We've shed our first layer of clothes...our weather jackets aren't necessary in the cockpit, at least during the day.
We've seen a few birds ...a pair of gannets, some petrels and shearwaters and one fine albatross that swoops down to check us out every once in awhile. No dolphins, no whales, no flying fish...yet.
The wind has maintained at about 12-15 knots with 1-2 meter (3-6') seas..a few gusts into the 20s, but nothing uncomfortable. We're moving along at 5.5 knots on average and could probably eke out another half knot if we wanted to shake out a reef, but we're not in any hurry. Maybe later. Despite the cold, rocky start, it's good to be back on the sea again. Now that we can read again, the watches pass more quickly.
By mid-afternoon, a blanket of dense grey clouds obliterated the sun, and we were back to a bleak, overcast sky. We think the cold African coast waters meeting with the subtropical warmer waters might be responsible or ... it's just South Atlantic weather this time of year.
Day 4
Miles to go: 956
Rain? We haven't seen rain since we left Cape Town and it kind of surprised me. I scurried to get everything below before it got wet, but it was just a quick shower and it passed as suddenly as it appeared. It's been misty on and off, a nuisance when everything gets damp.
The night was another pitch black one...overcast, no moon, no stars, no light at all. David had to use a flashlight just to find the wind gen on the aft deck. On an up note, between the wind gen, the solar and the new prop gen, we haven't had to start the engine at all...a savings in diesel, engine wear and noise pollution. The solar, however, has definitely not been doing its share. We're looking for much sunnier weather in the very near future. The sun did peek out this morning briefly, but after one brilliant shine, it retreated behind a dense grey cloak of clouds, not to be seen again. Every once in awhile we spotted a small patch of blue sky, just enough to convince us that blue sky still exists above the grey.
We crossed the Tropic of Capricorn early this morning. We're officially in the tropics, but you can't prove it based on the temperature. It's still mighty chilly.
Continue on Days 5 & 6 ... bundle up!