Time to cast off lines and put Cape Town to our rudder as we set sail for Sint Maarten
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Sunrise also means time to swab the deck
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Enjoying the Vapor Wave aesthetic this sunrise, mostly since it means we're almost done with this watch and can go eat breakfast.
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We paused during the stunsail hoisting to appreciate the actual sunrise.
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Noon sight just below the equator during the equinox means the sun is nearly 89° overhead and shadows are almost straight down.
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Sanding and oiling is never finished.
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Nearly two knots of northward current as we transit the doldrums at the equator, which means that around a third of our distance per day is not coming from our sails.
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1°S and the sun is directly overhead, making the nearly windless downwind run even hotter.
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One last night watch to enjoy the southern stars before we cross into the northern hemisphere.
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And we're past the equator on a fast beam reach! The line crossing ceremony will be later today once all the watches are awake.
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We still have to swab the deck in the northern hemisphere.
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Although the northern trade winds mean we will be on a beam reach for the rest of voyage, so we can properly furl the stun sails for stowage, unreeve the gear, and ship the booms inboard to lash them securely to the yards.
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Stun sail gear stowing continues.
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We encountered squalls during the night watch and doused the skysail plus the main and mizzen royals. This also helped reduce the heeling.
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Since crossing the equator we've been seeing more sargasso and am curious how the winds and currents create such long straight lines.
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The northern trade winds bring more waves too.
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Sunrise means it's almost time for breakfast and a nap!
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There's nowhere the Dutch won't bring their bicycles.
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Be careful tightening the course tack on the capstan or you might be going aloft to repair the head lashing.
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Chaffing inspection found wear between the main upper topsail halyard and a backstay deadeye. The three sheave block will need to be relocated next time the yard is down.
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Due to the heeling and the waves we have moved the lookout station to the sloopdeck.
