As the saying goes ”every cloud has a silver lining” This could not have been more apt. Having motored out of Fortaleza in overcast  and raining conditions, we were not too confident of being able to sail much if our previous leg from Fernando of 400nm of motoring, was anything to go by.

We are overjoyed to be able to report that we have motored only the equivalent of 1 day in a week of exhilarating sailing. We have been averaging 200nm days, with an all time record of 244nm. The 2-3kt current has been the main contributor to this coupled with a constant wind of force 5/6( 35-45km/h) from the ENE.

It has remained overcast with plenty of squalls to keep us awake at night. We had a near broach when a seemingly small benign squall turned into a raging 40kt+ howling wind, lasting for no more than minutes, but frightening no less. Lesson learnt, treat every squall as if it could get angry. Ted noticed the lashing on the tack of the mainsail was nearly frayed through. We deep reefed the main(put a lot of it away) and sailed like that for the night until we had some settled weather to effect a fix. All done and we will tidy up in Grenada.

We crossed the equator at 14h00 on Friday the 27th of February. This is the second time on this voyage for Shaya Moya and myself, having crossed it in the Pacific on passage from the Panama canal to the Galapagos all those years ago just my son Reece and myself. Wish he was here onboard now to share the sense of achievement I feel. We are now back in the Northern hemisphere  with about 1350nm to go to the end of this journey of mine.

In the true nautical tradition of crossing the equator for the first time, young Tom Pedley was named and shamed on the aft deck of the good ship Shaya Moya.The origins of the tradition are not really known, likely having developed sometime in the 17th century when European ships started crossing the equator. Usually King Neptune arrives on board with his court, including Davy Jones, Amphitrite(jestor), a doctor and a barber. The ceromony involves the Shellbacks(those who have already crossed the equator) making the Pollywogs( those who have’nt) perform a number of disgusting acts and having their hair shaved off. 

Tom was made to wear a plastic nappy, have his body painted, drink a foul concoction, and horror of horrors, kneel down before King Neptune to have his locks shorn.As he is due for a spot of leave to visit his dearly beloved, King Neptune had pity on him, and instead of shaving his head, annointed it with rotten eggs.