This looks like being a slow crossing!! As forecast, the wind was reducing yesterday---we put up the chute in 15Knots of wind---and this continued into the night. Winds fluctuate from 10 to 15 knots and the forecast suggests this will continue until Tuesday, Christmas Day! And even then winds will be in the 15/16 knot range rather than the 25 knots we had last time. So the bad news is we will not be in Martinique for New Year and the crossing will likely exceed 14 days which was my outside estimate. But there are compensations. The swell is down so much more comfortable for sleeping and cooking/eating. And so far no squalls nor any suggestion of them, so we left the chute up overnight and will likely continue to do so if my sunset scan of the sky looks benign.

Currently just under 1600 miles to go, but with the wind way down we are only averaging 5 to 6 knots speed and will be no better for the next few days.

So much for the guidance that a late December/January crossing guarantees good trade winds!!