2nd day out of SJdS -- All's well
18 May 2011 | Off the coast of El Salvador
Peter
Jim and I made it through our first night last night, trading 3 hour watches. It gets tiring and you don't get enough sleep during the night. So we take turns taking naps during the day to catch up. Last night was pretty peaceful as we motorsailed through most of the night and into the morning.
Just before lunch today we had a nice 12-18k breeze come up from the south and we have been sailing on it ever since under jib and full main. We are beam reaching and we have been seeing speeds as high as 7.5k. But a beam reach also means beam seas, so the ride is a little uncomfortable. Fortunately the seas are pretty round, so we've been letting Otto do most of the driving. It is a nice relief not to constantly have the engine on.
And the big bonus these days is the full moon. No sooner does that big, orange ball set in the west than we have another big, orange ball rising in the east!!Both sunset and moonrise have been quite dramatic. The full moon helps us see at night, although there is absolutely nothing out here. We saw one fishing boat this morning. Other than that, we are the only boat out here, it seems. But the evening is wonderful under a full moon and we are starting to see a cooling in the uncomfortable heat to the south.