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Second Wind - Follow the Yellow Brick



Wednesday was scheduled as a free day so we decided to divide and conquer. 

Hope and Karen headed off to the nearest coffee shop with Internet access, while Howard and William stayed at the boat and worked with the local expert on swinging compasses and fishing for tuna. Same guy. We had noted that the compass was reading off by up to 30 degrees and since we will be steering across the Gulf Stream by compass course thought if the expert was around, let's use him. Of course it turns out that the nearby chartplotter was to blame for a lot of it, so the next job is to move it as far as possible away. Compasses and electronics don't mix.

Meanwhile, two cups of coffee later, Hope and Karen got to the bottom of subscribing to weather synopsis 'grib' charts over the SSB radio, and the right software to see them. Since we will be deprived of international access by sea, knowing what the weather will be ahead is probably the most important concern to us all.

And the Yellow Brick has arrived! This will track us by satellite throughout the rally, and will be activated on Thursday, we think. 

The big topic of conversation on the docks now is our departure date. There is a large front moving over us on Saturday night, with 45-55 knot winds from the north, so the Gulf Stream could be messy on Sunday. But when it passes through we have a few days of light winds from the south, so that's not great either. What will Andy decide?????


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