We have broken the 700NM to go mark, and at 750NM to go, we were three-quarters of the way to St. Lucia. During my 11pm-1am watch tonight, we should break the 600NM mark as well. We’re all getting excited to be in the Caribbean! I wish I had downloaded some steel drum Christmas music to get us in the island holiday spirit. I will have to be content to listen to Kenny Chesney’s “All I Want for Christmas is a Real Good Tan”.
We had a much more comfortable night last night. This morning, the size of the swells dropped dramatically and so did the terrible rocking from side to side. Unfortunately, the winds have also died down so we are not just flying along toward our destination. We could probably fly the spinnaker if squalls weren’t threatening, but they’ve been a constant companion for the past few days. In any event, we are making steady progress.
This afternoon, we noticed quite a bit of seaweed in the water as we were sailing. The pieces were spaced 10 yards or so apart, but it continued for quite a while. I know the Caribbean has been afflicted with large amounts of seaweed rolling in on their beaches in recent years, and I wonder if we went through some that will end up there eventually.
Update @7pm
The swells are back, and they are very confused right now, coming at us from several different directions. So, we are back to rocking side to side, again making all moving around (cooking, showering, walking, putting away things in cabinets, making a cup of coffee or tea) challenging. But, the winds have picked up as well and we are sailing at 7-8 knots. The weather forecast for the rest of the week looks good, and we hope to make some substantial forward progress in the next 2 days.
We should be in the vicinity of the drifting Mini-Transat race boat in about 90NM. Unfortunately, that will probably be when it is dark outside. From reports, we believe it will show up on AIS (which means it is equipped with a device that sends a signal to boats within VHF range – or basically line of sight – that shows its location.) Other than that, we will be keeping a very close watch on the radar and on the sea itself as best we are able in the dark.
Time to go get ready for my night watch!