Date: Wed, 25 Nov 2009 06:42:36 -0800
Ahoy Friends and Family of Campechano!
We hope you all are doing well.
We have heard that many of you are following our progress online, which warms our hearts and raises our spirits! Thank you for your love, support and positive thoughts.
We are at hour 68 of our journey and have been blessed to date with warm weather, clear skies, good winds and fairly calm seas. We have heard that the entire journey could be like this (except that it will get warmer as we approach the Caribbean) and we are crossing our fingers. Everyone was exhausted when we started the regatta and it took us a little over a day to get on schedule and to get some rest. We have learned that the crew must eat and sleep according to schedule, otherwise we get distracted with other tasks and everyone ends-up tired and hungry.
For those of you who have been wondering why Campechano seems to be in ahead of the fleet when you go to bed, and further behind when you wake-up, it is because our position is updated every six hours and the majority of the fleet is only updated every 24 hours. Also, the ranking is measured by distance to St. Lucia. So for those boats who have already turned west, they are closer to St. Lucia and appear ahead in the rankings. We have been told that the best strategy is to head south -- almost to Cape Verde -- before heading west. In theory, this route has the most favorable winds and currents. We will know in about 10 days whether this strategy pays-off.
Speaking of strategy, "speed made good" continues to be an active discussion aboard. There is no question that the Campechano can go fast: we have hit 19 knots. "Speed made good," however, means that we have to go fast in the right direction. Since we are going to neither Senegal nor Greenland, we cannot go at the maximum possible speed at all times. Some people forget this when they are at the helm and become hypnotized by our speed. Maybe it is a good thing that most of us have not bought a ticket home from St. Lucia. Let's see where we end-up. ;)
Speaking of speed, we knew that the Campechano could go fast, but we did not know that she could actually fly. Last night at 2:00 am, after the moon set, a few of us were sitting around the stern gazing in awe at the Milky Way and the millions of stars above. There was not a cloud in the sky. When we looked down, we were shocked to see that the Campechano had actually taken flight into the galaxy. Not only were there millions of stars above us, but there were suddenly hundreds of stars below us. It seemed as if the horizon had disappeared as we stared in wonder at the hundreds of bioluminescent creatures in our wake, some of them seeming to be the size of dinner plates. It was truly an awe inspiring experience and a reminder that our tiny planet Earth is a fascinating and diverse miracle.
We look forward to the other miracles we will encounter along journey home where the greatest gift of all awaits: our family and friends.
Abrazos a todos,
Campechano Crew