Total distance covered: 1700 nautical miles
Last 24 hours: 103 nautical miles (4.29 knots average)
To Martinique: 1614 nautical miles
After yesterday’s very bad 24 hour average, we finally managed a bit more distance today, although we are still below our normal daily average of 132 nautical miles. So not a nautical mile caught up yet. After we had freshly baked bread in the morning, the mainsail was hoisted and we were able to make good speed with an average of 14 knots of wind the whole afternoon with full sails up. In order to fully charge the batteries again, we let the engine run for 2 hours in the evening. In the hot conditions, our large fridge draws a lot of energy, which we can just charge with our solar panels and wind generator during the day. That was never an issue for us on our way south along the European coast. Therefore, from now on, we will pay more attention to our energy consumption, especially after sunset, and switch off unnecessary devices early. Shortly before dinner, Papa had another fight with a large mahi mahi, which he had fetched to the boat with a rod with a lot of conviction and muscle strength. Unfortunately, at the last moment before we could lift him on board, our line broke and the fish with Papa’s bait disappeared into the deep blue. The deep blue that has been around us for weeks now. Yesterday during my night watch I tried to imagine that below us there is up to 6000m of ocean with all the different layers and living species that live in them. An incredible thought when you sit in a floating plastic bowl only 12 meters long (no offense to Porky). Instead of fish there was carrot, cabbage and orange salad with sausages for dinner. Since the sunset was already approaching and we were still drifting too fast due to the remaining wind, we did not swim in the sea, but washed ourselves thoroughly on the coachroof. Our boat is equipped with 3 fresh water tanks (150L each) that we had refilled in Cabo Verde. Since we have only been using one tank so far and it is not empty yet, our water reserve should be sufficient until we reach the Caribbean. In addition, we have bunkered several extra water jugs in case a tank becomes contaminated. We try to not waste any fresh water and use sea water whenever possible, for example when washing dishes, cooking, washing clothes and washing hands and our bodies. Before the darkness fell in with the setting sun, we set up the Genoa with the spinnaker pole on port side and drove the night with the wind to the west. In the morning we were woken up by the blazing sun and are now all trying to find a shady spot on board.
Por Que No Sailing 