It's 03:30 Tuesday morning, just after the watch change and about two hours before the start of dawn. We have just passed the halfway mark to Mauritius with 1,166 miles to go. We continue to make our way south, away from the equatorial weather conditions and for the first time in months it is cool enough on deck to feel goose bumps!
The most recent weather forecast for the next few days is for E-SE winds at 15-25 knots which are fairly good tradewind conditions. Although we may not be able to sail quite as fast as we had been with the higher winds of the past few days, the increased comfort will be welcomed by the entire crew. Morale has improved markedly as the rocking-and-rolling has decreased and we are returning to our normal ship board schedule.
Our original plan was to sail around the north end of Mauritius to Port Louis on the west coast but based on the winds becoming more ESE we may alter course and approach the island from the south end instead to have a better sailing angle. We are still expecting to arrive late Monday/early Tuesday.