I have enough of going east, and I don’t want to do it anymore. At least not for a long while. I am at 34 degrees west longitude, and heading due north until tonight, then I finally turn left and point my nose to Trinidad, just 2000nm away.
Looking at the numbers, I realize that I will likely go to longitude 140 west, before angling back to San Francisco, which is at 122 west. Which means I will sail over 100 degrees of longitude- more than 1/4 of the planet!
Thankfully, I started tasting the trade winds yesterday, a steady 15 to 20 knots from the southeast, and have been rollicking along north at boat-speeds of 8 to 10 knots, making the miles tick away. It made the last 24-hour run 184nm, the best since the first day out of Uruguay. I should start getting favorable current in a day or two, after turning left, and that will help, too, although by going more downwind my boat speed will be a bit lower.
While relaxing in the cockpit last night, I heard a strange “splot” noise, very close. I looked over, and within reach from me was a big fat flying fish- a good 12 inches long, one of the largest I’ve seen. I ran inside to get the camera, but by the time I came back out he had already wriggled away. So no fried fish for breakfast. Ah well, the one that got away…
3/30 8am 6.40S 34.46W 2380nm gone, 3101nm to go