January 26

46 NM sail to Norman's Cay was hard on the wind building from 10 to 25 knots. Latest forecast indicates conditions worsening, both angle and velocity. Glad to be here today with more protection and better angle for run to Staniel Cay.

Warning! Potentially boring paragraph, sailors may skip. A more accurate description of yesterday's relative wind direction would have been 'two points abaft the port beam'. This means that the wind was coming from the left, 22 1/2 degrees behind, or toward the back of the boat, from a line perpendicular to its fore and aft axis. A point is 1/32 of a full circle, that is to say 360 degrees divided by two, five times. In absolute directions, two divisions create North and West (90 degrees).
Then there are, for example, Northwest, then North Northwest, then between those directions Northwest by North. North by Northwest only describes how Cary Grant got to Rapid City. This explains two additional things as well. Nautical phrases sometimes serve an actual purpose, but mostly, they sound really cool. I particularly like 'splice the main brace', an old English Navy term that has nothing to do with actual sailing.

Sitting at anchor with the wind blowing up over 20 knots. Wind generator is pumping its little heart out. Listening to Beethoven's 6th, roughing it with 10 year old Talisker (18 was sold out - bugger).

Jack