COG 312T

SOG 5kts

Motoring

Just an overnight run into Antigua now where we hope to be arriving in daylight tomorrow morning. A few heavy showers to watch out for this afternoon and early evening but otherwise it should be hot, humid but rain free. We are about to pass close to Guadeloupe but with the hazy cloud cannot make out the land, despite being only 23nm away.

Last night we had a line of thunderstorms to starboard but with a slight change of course they came no closer than 8 miles. Exactly as predicted by the local weather forecast for our coordinates downloaded on the Garmin InReach (how I love that device) the lightning diminished in the early hours and the thunderstorms became a line of heavy rain that came closer but was no threat.

Although not as long as the 26 days from Galapagos to Marquesas this passage has seemed particularly interminable. I think because there is so much motoring and worry about the weather and things going wrong with the boat. It’s just a state of mind given the nearness of the end of our circumnavigation but often sailing is as much a mental challenge as physical. One great comfort is that a few are actually reading these posts. Brother in law Mo reads his with his morning cup of tea in bed and the fact that we have that connection is immensely heartwarming. One reader with a touch of insomnia resorts to the post as a final effort to induce sleep. I hope it works! Illustrious forebears such as Joshua Slocum, Bernard Moitessier and so on revelled in the solitude of single handed sailing. We aren’t single handed of course but, despite initial thoughts of adventurous isolation, have come to appreciate the companionship and friendships developed along the way.

Colin on Endorphin now has his two sailing buddies, Mel and Glen, on board for the North Atlantic crossing. They are preparing supper for us on arrival at Jolly Harbour where they are anchored along with Dick on Maia (Laura is visiting family in the US). We haven’t seen them since Cape Town in January and it will be a wonderful reunion and celebration of our respective circumnavigations.