That meant, under full sails, we changed our COG (Course Over Ground) to take a more southerly route to get a minimum SOG (Speed Over Ground) of 5 Kts, in the hopes of picking up the trade winds sooner rather than later.
Under light winds we continued southwards overnight, then, after breakfast this morning, Elaine and Roy changed our sail configuration to wing-on-wing, allowing us to alter our COG to a more southwesterly direction, thereby increasing our VMG (Velocity Made Good) in doing so. This, together with another very dark night after the waxing gibbous had set, gave way to another beautiful clear, sunny day, making for a very peaceful sail in flat seas.
On our early morning watch, Elaine and Justine took the opportunity to stargaze after the moon had set, a fabulous treat as always when under passage and something we will undoubtedly miss when we return to landlubber life.
It was, however, Justine’s concern at realising the sun was rising in the exact same spot, relative to Paw Paw, as she’d seen it set before she went to bed last night. Perplexed at what she was witnessing, she plucked up the courage to ask Elaine if she had perhaps lost her sanity and questioned why the sun was rising in the same location it had set. It was then that Elaine realised Justine wouldn’t have known that her, Roy and Paul had jibed Paw Paw after Justine had retired to her cabin for her off duty time and just before Elaine had headed to bed. With that the world was set to rights again, the sun had indeed set in the west and was rising in the east, much to Justine’s relief!
With Roy and Paul back on watch this morning, Elaine retired to her cabin to enjoy a much needed morning nap, while Justine chose to enjoy her off duty time napping in the sunshine of the cockpit.
Once Elaine had surfaced and made lunch, Roy went for his nap, while Paul relaxed in the cockpit, keeping a watchful eye on the fishing line in the hopes of getting another bite.
By 1400 we had winds out of the east-northeast at 10-12 Kts, giving us a SOG of 5.2 Kts on a COG of 240T. We were roughly 90NM north of the trade winds belt, where we hoped to pick up some decent and, more importantly, consistent winds.
At around 1600, Paul spotted dolphins off Paw Paw’s stern and, with that, a magical 30-40 minutes unfolded when a pod of at least 100 dolphins came to play in Paw Paw’s bows, some performing for us with slapping their tails, others jumping out of the water or doing summersaults, while a few juveniles did bellyflops. It was indeed a special moment, bringing Elaine to tears as the realisation hit her that it’s these moments she’ll miss the most of this sailing lifestyle, a lifestyle we’ve relished so much.
By the time the show was over, Roy had almost finished cooking dinner; mac and cheese.
When the girls came on watch at 2200 tonight, Paw Paw was still trundling along in 10-12 Kts of wind, a waxing gibbous was shining brightly and we’d almost completed a fifth of our passage.
