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American Spirit II - Day 430; A Meteorite Breaks Up Inside the Southern Cross and a Great Day Sailing; Thursday, March 12, 2015



One year ago today:



"Day 68; Sleigh Ride at Night; Wednesday, March 12, 2014. Great sunrise. Lost of blue sky, low wispy trade wind clouds. Wind 16-20 knots, seas 8 feet, speed 7 knots. A small .2 to .3 knot helping current. No flying fish on deck this morning. The reason is because with a 3/4 moon the fish fan see the boat and therefore they can miss it. We'll know if this hypothesis is accurate when we have no moon again."



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At 12:15 AM Joel sees a huge flash out of the corner of his eye. Second time he's seen this recently. At around 1:00 AM Joel sees a meteorite break up into 3 separate pieces inside of the Southern Cross constellation, over a 2-3 second period. Some stuff you can't make up.



Clouds came in around 5:00 AM. I relieve Heidi at 5:55 AM. At 6:06 AM the wind is 17 knots and we're sailing at 5,7 knots thru the water and 7.0 knots over the land. Two BIG black clouds are approaching from windward.



At 6:25 AM rain drives me into the area under the dodger at the top of the cabin stairs. However, the showers don't show much wind increase. I get rained on by another rain shower at 6:38 AM.



At 7:03 AM the wind is 20 knots and we're sailing at 6.6 knots thru the water and 7.8 knots over the land.



Sunrise is at 7:12 AM above a T shaped rain cloud, 15 degrees above the horizon.



At 8:02 AM the wind is 19 knots and we're sailing at 6.0 knots thru the water and 7.2 knots over the land. There is a solid, low overcast. The weather forecast said 'isolated showers.' Maybe our Tropical Trough is back. So far the wind and waves today are OK; and the two rain showers have been short in duration with no significant increase in wind. Not bad.



At 8:59 AM the wind is 16 knots and we're sailing at 5.9 knots thru the water and 6.9 knots over the land. Its clearing; the sun is out and I can see some blue sky all around me. The foul weather pants are coming off as its getting warm out now. Blow torch is back.



At 11:21 AM I see the Hellas Enterprise on AIS; a 600 foot tanker going to 'USHOU,' United States Houston. It is 16 miles away with an ETA near us of 2 hours.



The only two boats on the 10:00 AM net are Civetta II and us.



Breakfast at 10:20 AM consists of eggs; sausage with potato; and pineapple slices. Heidi is still a little queasy.



From 11:36 AM to 1:11 PM I type one log and do some emails.



Our noon position is 7 degree, 40 minutes South; 53 degrees, 31 minutes West; and we're 552 miles to Grenada. We've traveled 187 miles since yesterday at an average speed of 7.8 knots. Maybe a boat record.



We turn on the generator at 12:25 PM.



At 12:55 PM Joel sees a big boobie type bird surf down a wave and then take off. That's right, I said 'surf.' Very interesting.



Heidi naps from 1:00 PM to 3:35 PM. She feels better after her nap.



At 1:12 PM I call the tanker Hellas Enterprise on VHF channel 16 and ask them for a weather report. They call back a few minutes later and say that we can expect Force 6 (22-27 knots) winds tomorrow. Bummer.



At 1:21 PM we pass 9 miles to the east of an area on our chart that is 88 meters deep, even though its more than a hundred miles offshore.



Before sending and receiving our emails using the satellite phone, Joel types up an email requesting a GRIB weather (forecast) file.



At 2:15 PM we empty out a lot of the starboard, aft cockpit locker and Joel sprays Teflon spray and injects Teflon grease into the bushing and shim area at the top of the rudder that is making all the noise.



We have pop corn at 3:00 PM.



Joel naps at 3:30 PM.



At 3:38 PM the wind is 13 knots and we're sailing at 5.1 knots thru the water and 5.7 knots over the land.



At 3:45 PM I shake one reef out of the mainsail and our boat speed picks up from 5.7 to 6.6 knots.



At 4:18 PM the wind is 15 knots and we're sailing at 6.4 knots thru the water and 6.7 knots over the land.



At 4:25 PM I turn the generator off after 4 hours.



At 4:59 PM the wind is 15 knots and we're sailing at 6.3 knots thru the water and 6.6 knots over the land.



Dinner at 6:00 PM is freeze dried Chicken Alfredo, country herb instant mashed potatoes, and mixed vegetables.



At 6:22 PM the wind is 15 knots and we're sailing at 6.0 knots thru the water and 6.1 knots over the land.



At 9:00 PM the wind is 17 knots and we're sailing at 6.3 knots thru the water and 7.3 knots over the land. There are no clouds and a sky full of stars.



The hydro generator keeps getting fouled up by sea weed. Usually it gets on the shaft, but sometimes its the propeller. I'm constantly raising it up to get the yellow, evergreen looking stuff off of it.



At 11:07 PM the wind is 18 knots and we're sailing at 6.9 knots thru the water and 7.4 knots over the land.



At 11:35 PM I put another 1/2 reef in the mainsail. The wind has picked up to 21 knots.



Brian Fox


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