Having spent a great month in Antigua, it was time to get
moving. Unfortunately, our
forecast for the passage to the Azores was squally and high(er) winds, so the
crew decided it might be fun to run up to another island and see new things
while we waited for the Tropical Wave in the Atlantic to move on.
As we sailed out of Jolly Harbor headed towards St Barth’s,
about ten big dolphins danced on our bow and led the way north. We were on a run with light and
variable winds at 8 kts apparent from 180 degrees. We haven’t seen those conditions in the seven months since
we have been in the Caribbean.
The
slow motor sailing gave us time for fun projects, including raising the
spinnaker for the first time on Terrapin. When we bought Terrapin, there was a traditional spinnaker so we had that cut/modified to an asymmetrical by North Sails while we were in Antigua and it
was fun to watch it fly. The
spinnaker material is very delicate, which helps it inflate in light air, but it
started to slap when we surfed down a wave, so we decided to bring it back
down, since we didn’t want to rip it the first time we used it. The process was good practice and we
were able to implement a workable, repeatable system when we’re ready to deploy
it again.
Soon after bringing in the spinnaker, Baxter and John
spotted three whale spouts in the distance…and then they were gone. We watched for quite a while since
surely they have to come back up at some point, but they eluded us. It is always such a nice peaceful
feeling knowing these beautiful creatures are out there.
We woke up last night to 30kts of
wind in the mooring field with higher gusts and rain. Wow, we’re really glad
that we listened to the weather router and didn’t leave for the Azores until
this low passes.
Until then, Welcome to St Barthelemy John and Daniel!
She's a beauty! |
1 comment:
Gorgeous! Im so glad to see this shot!
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