Day 116 – Getting Warmer
Where Next?
Bob Williams
Fri 8 Apr 2022 08:47
Course: NNW Speed: 6.5 knots
Wind: E F5 Sea: moderate
Swell: ESE 2m
Weather: cloudy, warm
Day’s Run: 156nm
The fresh E’ly breeze has remained pretty much constant for the last 24 hours and we have continued to broad reach to the NNE under double reefed main and 50% jib. The weather of course grows much warmer as we head north. The maximum daily air temperature is 22 degrees and the sea temperature is a little bit warmer, at 22.5 degrees. I think it is safe to say that we have now entered the Indian Ocean SE Trade Wind belt, which we should hold until we get close to the equator, where, with any luck, we should arrive just in time for the SW monsoon to kick in, which will then carry us back east before we head south again, back across the trade wind belt and back into the Forties for the final leg home.
But that is getting a bit ahead of ourselves. Sylph has done an amazing job so far, having sailed in four months what many blue-water boats do not achieve in a lifetime, and often in conditions that most people would, most sensibly, choose to remain at home in bed. So far everything seems to be holding together okay (apart from the engine). Hopefully all the important stuff, including the crew, will continue to do so as we look forward to about 2,000 miles on a starboard reach rolling to a beam swell.
All is well.