27’04.9S 033’26.4W course 225′ speed 5,4
We have found them, the horse latitudes on the South. The Bowditch, bible for nautical persons, says normally speaking these are referred to, in the North of the Atlantic.. but we are sure, these are the ones in the South Atlantic. Horse latitudes stand for the high pressure area’s on the outside of the trade wind area. And we sailed right into them. The reason, some say, that these are called Horse latitudes.. is because by this time, after doldrums, and no landfall for long periods… they would eat the horses on board.
We won’t have to do that, our freezers are still full, we have fresh vegetables and lots of rice, pasta and potatoes! Last night we had a pumpkin risotto and for today, Josu’s birthday, we have hamburgers on the menu!
Food becomes increasingly important during a long voyage like this one. Tomorrow may be our last tomato salad, but we have been relishing tomato salads for the last 10 days now, saying “eat your salad, because soon we will run out”. Also in the beginning of the voyage there was hardly an extra person to be seen for the 15:30/16:00h snack, but now, almost everybody is there for some apple, orange, and of course some cookies and chocolate!
Last nights sailing was exciting, we had showers around, we were dodging most of them, but then this morning after a shower, the wind decreased, but never returned. So we have been under engine, after having tried a gybed and trying to find a better course on the waves.. But alas, right now we feel a small breeze over the deck, as we are heading down wind with 5 or 6 knots.. and its just not enough to keep the sails full. Hopefully the ocean will calm down over night and tomorrow we can use these 8 to 10 knots of wind to try and sail for a few hours.
Today was also one of the hottest days in a while! It was movie day, a series of Darwin movies has been started, and it was very welcoming for most to get out of the sun for a bit. In the shade the thermometer got up to 32 degrees. The water temperature is still 27 degrees, but a swim stop was just not possible with the 1,5 to 2 meter swell that is still running.
All is well on board, Jet
