Day 7
June 1, 2024 | 1857 UTC
Our last few weather forecasts have been uncertain. As we are getting closer to the Azores, we have been monitoring a shallow low that keeps shifting in unpredictable ways from day to day. The center, originally predicted east of the Azores by the time of our arrival, is now predicted to be west of the islands, seemingly at our exact latitude. This means that a big no-wind zone could lie just ahead of us. Our point of sail for the next few days will now depend on the movement of that center. If it stays as predicted, we might have to motor for a while. If it moves north by just a few miles, we could have some favorable westerlies, but if it moves south, we might end up beating upwind for some time. As of the time that I am writing this, we have good wind from the NNE, which indicates that we are in the northwestern quadrant at the moment. We will keep a close eye on the evolution of that system, as our ETA in Horta will depend on it, as well as our comfort onboard.
In another department, there has been a strong desire to see wildlife, and so far we have seen dolphins on multiple occasions, birds regularly, and electric dolphins once (dolphins in bioluminescent algae). But yesterday definitely stood out as we were visited by a small group of whales just before sunset. A humbling few minutes, observing each other, before they disappeared again in the distance.
- Manot
Our last few weather forecasts have been uncertain. As we are getting closer to the Azores, we have been monitoring a shallow low that keeps shifting in unpredictable ways from day to day. The center, originally predicted east of the Azores by the time of our arrival, is now predicted to be west of the islands, seemingly at our exact latitude. This means that a big no-wind zone could lie just ahead of us. Our point of sail for the next few days will now depend on the movement of that center. If it stays as predicted, we might have to motor for a while. If it moves north by just a few miles, we could have some favorable westerlies, but if it moves south, we might end up beating upwind for some time. As of the time that I am writing this, we have good wind from the NNE, which indicates that we are in the northwestern quadrant at the moment. We will keep a close eye on the evolution of that system, as our ETA in Horta will depend on it, as well as our comfort onboard.
In another department, there has been a strong desire to see wildlife, and so far we have seen dolphins on multiple occasions, birds regularly, and electric dolphins once (dolphins in bioluminescent algae). But yesterday definitely stood out as we were visited by a small group of whales just before sunset. A humbling few minutes, observing each other, before they disappeared again in the distance.
- Manot
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Dolphin party!
Kate was about to yank the spinnaker’s sock down when I spotted a stampede of fins heading straight for us. ”Dolphins!”, I yelled back to the cockpit excitedly. Post dinner dish duty was halted down below for the show.
The pool is open!
We stopped the boat, got the ladder down and put out a line with a fender behind the boat. I love swimming in the middle of the ocean, and a bit scary when you realize its more than 4000+ m deep! Love it!
Big Pink Sail Day
I had a most fashionable pointed striped hat at dinner, and out of the depths of a cupboard a cake was created, after 14 days at sea. A group of people I had never met two weeks ago made me feel very special today.