Location: Underway to Azores
Watch Team One started the day off with a bang this morning! Our 4 am to 8 am watch came with the excitement of increased wind speeds. The increased wind speeds this morning, along with the light showers and associated temperature drop, set the tone for today. “For a second, I thought we would never get a chance to wear these things, Nazz,” Chaz said to me as he donned his foulies. This was pretty much an echo of what most of us were thinking. Everyone who came up on deck was rocking their foulies and trying to get as snuggly as possible in whatever way worked best.
After we got the chance to enjoy some delicious BBQ wings n’ tings for lunch, we got word that we would be shaking the reef from the mainsail and hoisting it again. Everyone was fired up about the possibility of finally setting (almost) full sail and turning the engine off for the first time since we cast our lines off in Tortola. We hardened the foresails to the center line and then turned head to wind to get the main set. Once the main was in full bloom, we eased all of the sails out again, and finally, we were making way under sail power only.
The impact of the big engine turn-off shone through at our nightly “squeeze,” when many people chose to appreciate the fact that they could finally feel the relaxing sway of the ship under sail power. As I write this, our GPS shows that we are moving at a stable speed of 6knts and that we have covered over 928nm. I am feeling great about the journey thus far, and I think I speak for all of us when I say that we are genuinely excited about what the rest of this one-of-a-kind journey will bring.
-Nazz
P.S Hi Mom. Love You.