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American Spirit II - Day 466; The Horse (American Spirit II) is Heading to the Barn (Home); Friday, April 17, 2015



One year ago today:

"Day 104; Arrived Captain Cook's Bay, Moorea & Pearls; Thursday, April 17, 20114. 7:10 AM Land Ho! Sighted Tahiti 48 miles away. Still no sign of Moorea. Clouds on that part of horizon. Have to take what you can get. Mount Orohena rises to 7,340 feet on Tahiti. I could see the lower left and right sides, and extreme top, of this mountain, as the middle of it was obscured by clouds. In daylight I probably could have seen Tahiti 60 miles away."

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Up at 6:50 AM. Joel and Darlene up at 7:05 AM.

Breakfast at 8:15 AM: bacon, 3 eggs, cut up and spiced potato, chilled pineapple and cinnamon bread.

At 8:35 AM Joel put on his face mask, snorkel and flippers and hops into the water to rub and scrape away the algae along the waterline.

At 9:16 AM I turn on the engine and by 9:30 AM we are underway. Its 1,060 nautical miles to Key West. We expect to reach Key West in 7 days, Friday, April 24 before sunset. The weather GRIB files indicate we'll sail the first day, then probably will have to motor sail the other 6.

At 9:35 AM the wind is 12 knots and we're motor sailing at 5.5 knots thru the water and 6.2 knots over the land; with an engine RPM of 1,400. Its cloudy, with some rain showers around.

Joel takes down our courtesy flag, the BVI flag, as we're under sail. Its the last time we'll fly a foreign flag on this trip. Whenever you enter a new country, you have to fly a yellow quarantine flag until you clear into the country; and the country's flag from a line attached to your spreader for the duration of the time you're in that country.

Darlene goes down for a nap at 10:15 AM for 3 hours.

At 10:24 AM we jibe the mainsail from port to starboard tack after clearing the last island on the right; then we turn the engine off and go wing-on-wing with the pole on the starboard side. The pole isn't as long as it used to be since Joel had to cut off 2 feet to 'fix' it. So we only roll the jib out to a little less than the first reef. We then put the hydro generator in the water, as most of the Saragasso seaweed is gone.

At 10:34 AM the wind is 14/16 knots and we're sailing at 5.9 knots thru the water and 6.1 knots over the land.

At 10:37 AM we turn the generator on to charge the boat batteries, so we lift the hydro generator up out of the water so we don't overcharge our batteries. We're down minus 81 amps. Not a lot.

At 10:55 AM we're passing St. Thomas, a US Virgin Island, on our left. There are a lot more houses on St. Thomas than on the BVI islands. The BVI are now behind us.

At 11:20 AM we turn the generator off and put the hydro generator back into the water. The wind is 17 knots and we're sailing at 6.4 knots thru the water and 6.7 knots over the land.

Our noon position is 18 degrees, 28 minutes north; 65 degrees, 0 minutes West; and we're 1,003 miles from Key West. The wind is 18 knots and we're sailing at 7.0 knots thru the water and 7.4 knots over the land. We've left the US Virgin Islands behind; and our next landfall is Puerto Rico on our port side.

I take a nap from 12:11 PM to 1:45 PM; and Joel naps from 1:45 PM to 3:54 PM.

At 2:49 PM I read a note on our chart plotter that says we're in a 'Submarine Operations Area.' Earlier I thought I heard one or more military aircraft flying around. We can now see on our port bow the island of Puerto Rico, 17 miles away.

At 2:59 PM the wind is 17 knots and we're sailing at 5.6 knots thru the water and 6.2 knots over the land. The wind is directly behind us. The waves are 5-7 feet and its partly cloudy.

Darlene and I have some Ritz crackers and cheese at 2:00 PM.

At 3:24 PM we're getting wind gusts of 24 knots. I'm glad the wind and waves are behind us.

At 4:00 PM the wind is 19 knots and we're sailing at 6.1 knots thru the water and 6.6 knots over the land.

At 5:00 PM the wind is 18 knots and we're sailing at 5.9 knots thru the water and 6.3 knots over the land.

At 6:00 PM we hear the US Coast Guard on VHF channel 16. First time we've head that since leaving the US in January, 2014. Its a good sound.

Dinner at 6:00 PM is spaghetti with butter and garlic for Joel; and with pasta sauce for Darlene and me. Plus we have garlic bread and Joel has some chopped spinach.

At 6:02 PM we change our VHF setting from 'international' to 'USA.'

At 6:25 PM the wind is 19 knots and we're sailing at 6.4 knots thru the water and 6.7 knots over the land. We're sailing into a cloudy area where there might be rain. The sun is on the bow, but behind clouds now. There will be no green flash tonight.

During the afternoon I was able to send and receive text messages from Janet, even though we're 14-17 miles off the coast of Puerto Rico. Halfway down the northern tip of the island I lose the connection and have been in 'no service' since then.

The sun sets and the clouds on the bow look like Canyon Lands National Park buttes set onto a red background. I take some pictures but they don't do the view justice.

From 7:20 PM to 8:53 PM I take a nap while Joel stands watch. I'm so tired I sleep thru my alarm and Joel has to wake me. That's unusual.

At 9:14 PM the wind is 16 knots and we're sailing at 5.5 knots thru the water and 6.1 knots over the land. A lot of stars are out, and I see the Southern Cross abeam to my left. Some lights on the mountains and the shoreline are visible from Puerto Rico. Standing watch is more tedious than usual because we have to be alert to the auto pilot turning itself off and the boat rounding up. With a pole up, rounding up like that will break the whisker pole, again.

At 10:03 PM the wind is 21 knots and we're sailing at 6.3 knots thru the water and 7.3 knots over the land.

At 11:00 PM the wind is 14 knots and we're sailing at 4.4 knots thru the water and 5.1 knots over the land.

At 11:11 PM I see on the AIS and then visually, a 128 foot tug boat called the Captain Lathan, 7.3 miles away, 'towing a large vessel.' That's what the AIS says. Its on our port heading east.

At 11:47 PM the wind is 17 knots and we're sailing at 5.6 knots thru the water and 6.0 knots over the land.

Joel relieves me at midnight.

Brian Fox




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