Wallowing off the Dom Rep

A year afloat: to the Caribbean and back
Sam and Alex Fortescue
Sat 9 Apr 2011 11:47
20:00.90N
69:24.80W
 
Not another soul for 24 hours. It's as if we're the only boat in the sea. The only event of note during the night was the shipping of a good sized flying fish, which came to grief in the bimini cover with a wet 'thunk'. He has been put aside for rigging as bate on the fishing line today.
 
The day has dawned bright and hot, but sadly windless. We've been bobbing about for a couple of hours now wondering what to do. We're still making about 3 knots in the right direction, but the sails are flailing and flogging about unhappily with the waves. By Atlantic crossing standards, that's reasonably good pace, but it is a sorry contrast with our 7 or 8 knots of yesterday and the day before. We may have to donk up for a spell until the wind returns. Failing that, we're only 80 miles from a good port on the Dominican Republic's north coast, so we could dive in there and wait for better winds.