Happy 1st of September! It’s a good day for me, as Cabo Branco, the eastern-most point of land in all of South America, is in my wake. That’s right, I made it around the corner. My maximum easterly reading was Longitude 34.45 West. Then there was another 60 miles of due south, and after passing Recife early this morning, I have a little westerly in my course, and it feels good.
The weather is better, too, with relatively calm seas (1-3 feet) and an easy 8-10 knots of wind. Its still a close reach, with the wind angle at about 45 degrees, but much better than beating into 25 knots. The boat is well-balanced doing 6 to 7 knots, but that includes another bonus- current going with me! After all those miles of fighting it, the current is finally in my favor. Only about a half-knot right now, but I’ll take it! Hopefully as I travel farther south the wind will move back into a beam, then broad reach, and the current may boost me by a full knot. It is another clear sunny day in the 80’s, I am cruising along over the warm turquoise waters of tropical Brazil, and its really hard to complain.
08.19S 34.53W 3064nm gone, 2169nm to go. 8am 9/1