We crossed the line! From summer to winter in the blink of an eye.
Now the numbers of Latitude are getting bigger again. We’re affirmed and re-affirmed Trusty Shellbacks- no Slimy Pollywogs here. That’s right, we sailed across the equator at about 2:30pm this afternoon. We toasted King Neptune, and asked for him to look a tad bit more favorably upon us with regards to the wind and seas and currents. Then we drank a shot of rum and gave an equal share to King Neptune.
In the “be careful what you wish for” department, last night’s very light winds turned into surprisingly strong winds about midnight, and right on the nose, of course, with rapidly building seas to go with it. So we have been forced to head more south than east, hoping to find some relief along the coast. On the plus side, we have been sailing fast- mostly 8 and 9 knots all day, which is why we crossed the line so early.
All the books and guides talk about the light NE winds to be found here, and how it never blows more than 15 knots from any direction, with July and August having the lightest winds. And how the current should only be about one half knot. Yeah, right. We’ve had winds in the 20’s most of the day, and last night saw 3 to 4 knots of current against us. We’re making the best of it, but if the coast doesn’t offer better conditions, it is going to be a long slog to the eastern tip of Brazil.
00.02S 45.56W 1884nm gone, 3102nm to go. 2:45pm 7/10