Day 21, Friday, 25.02.2011, 12:00 UTC (08:00 local), 18:23.0N 60:03.0W, 26°C, 1015 mBar

 

Yesterday was one of the best sailing days ever. Blue sky with traces of cirrus clouds, wind of 10 to 15kn from NE, and a calm sea. I had full sails up all day and Gudrun was going fast and steady westward. An easy 180nm, absolutely fantastic. The boat was so steady that I finished reviewing and classifying the video footage and did some rough editing too.

 

The night sky was clear and dark, the moon rising only early in the morning. Great for spotting stars and shooting stars, there were a few. But about five in the morning the wind increased and I had to reef. Now the sky is full of cumulus, the sea is getting rougher, spray is washing over the deck and yesterday's pleasant cruise is already a distant memory. Today is a holding-on-to-something-day. So, is this what my last day at sea is going to be like? Well, at least it's fast going and unless the weather is playing tricks on me I'll reach St. Martin before noon tomorrow (local time). And I have enough battery power left to run the fridge and have a cold beer ready for Henk, who is waiting for me.

 

Incidentally I have just passed the 60th longitude and entered a new time-zone, UTC-4. Four time zones in 21 days. Well, three really, the canary islands are right at the border of UTC. Which means that at this pace I would circle the world in 168 days. Not that I intend to. This was a fun and interesting trip, but I'm looking forward to make landfall and sleep through a full night for a change. Without having to get up to have a look around or reef the mainsail.

 

180nm to go. Only one more day!