It seems we can’t catch a break. With less than 100 miles to get to Fortaleza, a big harbor of refuge, the wind perked up dramatically this morning, and has been blowing 28-32 knots all day. Right on the nose, of course. So we are back to a double-reefed main and half a jib, and slowly tacking our way down the coast, trying to eke out whatever protection we can. Generally, we are within a mile of the beach, in 15 to 25 feet of water.
Other than the wind, the rest of the day is normal- sunny and clear, temps in the 80’s day and night, and when we do catch spray, which happens a lot in this wind, it is warm water- also in the mid-80’s.
We are seeing lots of jangadas, the small wooden fishing boats, almost like a scow, with a crab-claw sail on a tree mast. They are everywhere, and as the sun set last night we counted 12 sailing in just our neighborhood. Today I’ve only seen 2, and one of them had the sail rolled up and was headed for the beach under bare poles. I know how he feels…
On the food front, Steve ate his last fresh apple today, and that marks the end of our fresh produce. As we have been out for 17 days now, that’s actually pretty good.
With some luck, we may pull into Fortaleza sometime tomorrow, at least for a short break and to check it out.
02.55S 39.43W 2466nm gone, 2689nm to go. 3pm 7/14