Position:     24:15.40N    20:40.25W

Monday January 6, 2014

A good start weather wise. A pretty consistent breeze from 040 to 090 degrees varying strength from high teens to low twenties yesterday and between 10 and 15 knots today. In general it has been sunny.

We have had to put up with a 2 to 4 meter swell the whole time which can be a little aggravating when you try to get a good night’s sleep. We seem to be averaging around 6 knots.

Our new pole rigging has been a really worthwhile addition in this swell and must have added a half knot to our average speed besides making a smoother ride.

We are trying to balance heading west (to get to our final destination faster) with heading south (because we know that the wind may be stronger in the south rather than along a northerly route). Actually we would rather be heading a little more westerly but the angle of the wind isn’t helping us at this time. Anyway, it’s all good at present - south or west we get some benefit.

 Butter not quite melting but the yogurt chips did, a good sign! Instant decision! We are going west now! (Well, 260 degrees.)

It would be nice for a little more wind strength but I’m thinking we have to wait another day for any significant change.

Try as we might we have had no fresh fish yet.  Bob D. rigged up a little tape gadget to alert us of any action on the lines but we still wait patiently. Some wait more patiently than others.

Off watch time is being enjoyed with relaxing, reading and some skill building.  We watched an instructional video and did preliminary reading on proper use of the sextant.  So far John has practiced shooting the position of the sun with Lesley’s assistance on the iPad, they got pretty good results for a first try.  Hopefully we will not need to reply on this technology but we look forward to more practice and a clear night to move to the galaxy.