L'Eau Commotion Westabout

Day 172 4pm Tuesday 26th November 2019 ( UTC-4 )
It was fully light at 3am this morning after a clear starry night and at that time no sail change is so urgent that can't wait till sunrise at 4am. I have since been fiddling around with the sails to try and take advantage of a basically beam reach and now pleased to settle on full jib, staysail and single reefed main which balances well in the small but confused chop. In contrast to the previous two days we have enjoyed bright uninterrupted sunshine all day with the cabin soon reaching 14C and giving plenty of push to squeeze out another 25 litres of Eau de Vie. I am far from an expert on ocean currents but used to consider them like broad rivers flowing in the sea which is definitely not the case. Instead they seem to consist of twirls and whorls which defy predictions and the only ones who know what's what are the seabirds. Whenever you notice the GPS speed is different to what the boat seems to be doing have a look around and most likely you'll see pairs of albatross or cape pigeons or if it's rough enough Mother Carey’s Chickens, the effect of which is enhanced by a shoaling bottom which brings up the nutrient rich waters from the deep ocean.