Agua Dulce - Log Day 3 – Searching for the elusive trade winds

It was a fairly low-key day with not much to report. We had such light winds earlier that we decided to try sailing with the spinnaker. We even tried using the poled out genoa on one side and the spinnaker on the other. But, the wind was even too light for that to work very well. After we got tired of going less than 3 knots, we broke down, brought in the sails and turned on the engine. We only ran it for an hour when we hit some nice 13-16 knot winds on the beam, so we’ve been sailing on a beam reach since then. The winds have dropped off a touch, but we’re still sailing. UPDATE: As I’ve been writing this log, the winds have continued to slacken. Where’s the wind???

We’re sailing SW at the moment because that’s the best angle for the wind, but we’ve been trying to sail south for a while longer before we make the turn west so we can avoid some big pockets of very light wind. It seems odd to sail south when our target is west, but sailboats sail better with wind, so we’re paying attention to weather forecasts and searching for those famous trade winds!

It was sunny and warm today, which was nice after a gray day yesterday. We should have the barest sliver of a new moon tonight, so it will be a dark night on watch again. But the stars are really stunning out here. There is no light pollution in the middle of the Atlantic!

I had fun talking with the fleet today as Duty Net Controller. One boat reported that they had caught a 5 foot mahi. They just weren’t sure where they were going to put it since their freezer is so full just now at the beginning of the voyage – I feel very sorry for them. (Is my jealousy showing?)

The highlight of my day was listening to the kids from a couple of the boats chat with each other on the SSB. They were excited about seeing dolphins and the bioluminescence in the water at night. One of the kids said, “What’s bioluminescence?” and the other gave a very intelligent answer that it was little sparks of glowing light given off by tiny sea creatures when they are disturbed by something moving in the water (like the hull of a sailboat!). The kids were even planning to play a game of Battleship over the SSB later that evening! Then, they had to go “back to school.” I wish I had their classroom as a kid!