It seems we can\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
Other than the wind, the rest of the day is normal- sunny and clear, temps in the 80\u2019s 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\u2019s.<\/p>\n
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\u2019ve 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\u2026<\/p>\n
On the food front, Steve ate his last fresh apple today, and that marks the end of our fresh produce.\u00a0 As we have been out for 17 days now, that\u2019s actually pretty good.<\/p>\n
With some luck, we may pull into Fortaleza sometime tomorrow, at least for a short break and to check it out.<\/p>\n
02.55S\u00a0 39.43W\u00a0\u00a0 2466nm gone,\u00a0 2689nm to go.\u00a0 3pm\u00a0 7\/14<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It seems we can\u2019t 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, … Continue reading