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Miramar - Calm



We left the Chesapeake a week later than the rest of the Caribbean 1500 in part due to the possibility of some 40+ knot winds we'd otherwise be experiencing -- as the slowest boat in the race, we didn't expect to be able to outrun the weather as other boats had hoped to. A week later, we left as soon as the gulf stream calmed down enough following the storm, motoring south two full days to pick up forecasted favorable winds. We ended up close hauled and beating uncomfortable south before those winds died. We then cranked up the engine again and powered east, pounding even more uncomfortably directly into the ocean swells.

Now a week later as we approach Tortola, the forecast keeps getting more mild. We've seen variable winds most days, rarely able to sail more than a few hours before the sails start flogging and we lose steerage and have to fire up the engine to stay comfortable and make forward progress. Now less than 300 miles from the islands, our fuel reserves are nearly depleted and the forecast remains calm -- it seems that in avoiding the 40+ knots winds, we have inadvertently avoided the 10+ knot winds, too!

With the light winds, the ocean swells are shrinking, now no more than 3 to 5 feet.

We've certainly gotten south far enough to change the air temperature: it doesn't drop below 75 at night, and the ocean temperature is consistently over 80 degrees. We're all dressed in shorts, and shirts are optional. When it's not raining, we open all the hatches to bring some refreshingly cool air into the otherwise sticky hot cabin down below.

At normal speeds, we're about two days out of Tortola. If our fuel runs out and the winds remain calm, we may be enjoying Thanksgiving on the ocean, not an overly horrible notion -- though we're all looking forward to a full night's sleep upon arrival.

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