Day 23 - Maiden Update - Sharon Ferris-Choat
24° 45.663N
62° 37.901W
COG 265°
Boat Speed 9.7 knots
Wind spend 8-14 knots
Wind direction 90 to 120°
Because we are still on our original departure boat time, we are 6 hours behind on when the sun comes, so our meals are out of whack. That's given all the watches the chance to have all the good sunsets and rises, and a bad deals for those on the graveyard shift being from 2am to 6am local time.
After 23 days we have a very discreet difference in our watch pairings we have the:
The "That sounds reasonable watch"
The "Analyst data and record watch"
The "Slick and mini me Slick"
And the Procket Rocket and the Owl.
The last 48 hours have in some way been the toughest after such a successful trip across the bottom from the Verde Islands to the Caribbean, always pointing in the right direction. We've been going fast to hand brake on, light winds, slamming sails in the sea state, heading 50° off course because the wind is directly behind us and we cannot sail any closer than what we are doing. We have gybed on several shifts, always being on the closet gybe to the Bahamas.
The next one to get some more sleep was me! 2 hours in my watch when there was only 20 mins left of my off watch, and I was still on deck helping with sail changes and try to stop Maiden from slamming. That 2 hours was golden. Who's next?
We are also managing the heat, with several feeling not 100%. It's hot. Very hot. Erica has been busy getting work lists organized for Miami and running her watch, with April backing her up.
This morning's clouds have been interesting, with a great show of Cirrocumulus clouds (mackerel sky) spotted by Lucy which announces a change in the weather. Hopefully after the rain, our NE wind will arrive so we can gybe onto starboard again and head straight to our way point with good speed.
Marie has fixed the zip on the A5 by sewing it back on. Ami and Heather have refilled the portable water which produces an amazing 2.2L of sea water into lovely drinking water in 1 minute. That the fastest water maker I have seen! Go Maiden!
