Saturday, December 29, 2007

Madeira to Caribbean - Day 19 - Arrival

The day was covered in clouds, which we didn't mind because they provided heat relief from the sun, that were often filled with rain so it was a while before someone was able to shout "land ho". Then, as always, the remaining 20nm were the longest. We arrived in Marigot Bay at 1800 hours, 6-hours into our 19th day, as the sun was setting and just in time to drop anchor before dark. With Immigration closing, we opted to have dinner before we pumped up the dinghy to head for shore and request off-hour formalities. We celebrated our crossing with a glass of Portuguese vinho tinto and ate another pasta supper. Shortly after, my crew mates were snoring. In fairness to them, it was past their bedtime as they regularly went to bed at 8pm each night as I started by 4-hour night watch.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Portugal (agricultural bounty), Barry's Irish Tea, chocolate and cookie/biscuit companies too numerous to mention, Marks & Spenser, Petzel (headlamps), Apple (iPod), and Olay (moisturizer & face wipes), who did not contribute product or money, but without their products my days at sea would have been looong and certainly less enjoyable. Oh yeah, and I should also thank Coca Cola for Diet Coke, which consumed in vast quantities kept my captain cooler and relatively sane during an "eternity of sailing downwind", according to him.

Logged 3068nm (rhumb line 2860nm) in 18-days and 10-hours. (Includes time zone changes.)

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Thursday, December 27, 2007

Madeira to Caribbean - Day 18

Similar conditions to yesterday. We celebrated shipmate Joseph's birthday and watched the outstanding miles drop below 100. Day's run 187nm, an average of 7.8kts. We've started to see land-based birds. Expecting to make landfall in about 6 hours, hopefully before Customs & Immigration closes.

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Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Madeira to Caribbean - Day 17

For Christmas we got the gift of wind. We are traveling along a broken frontal boundary belonging to a stationary depression to our northeast. This system created small squalls that gave us 20-30kt winds through the night and noticeable waves. It's been a wild ride with the boat occasionally surfing at 10kts down the face of a wave. We logged 192nm over 25-hours - we had the last of our time zone changes, we're now -4 GMT, 1-hour ahead of EST. About 200nm to go so our ETA in Marigot, Saint Martin is Friday evening, Dec 27th.

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S/V Event Horizon Position Update

12/26/2007 @ 12:00 PM(UTC)
18°10.30'N 059°09.46'W
Course 291T Speed 8.3kts
Wind 087T @ 24kts

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Tuesday, December 25, 2007

S/V Event Horizon Position Update

12/26/2007 @ 12:00 AM(UTC)
17°47.44'N 057°31.55'W
Course 286T Speed 7.8kts
Wind 068T @ 17kts

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Madeira to Caribbean - Day 16

Because our day (each 24-hour period) starts at noon, today was both Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. It was festive considering we're offshore struggling to sail fast and the warm sunshine makes us forget it's December. Trying to keep us in the holiday spirit, I through an impromptu Christmas party. I served appetizers, a platter of sweets and popped a couple of corks. Just between you and me, I think they only came for the food and booze. I know for sure that the holiday cocktail napkins, Christmas music and festive decorations were wasted on them. But we still had fun. It was a beautiful afternoon, slow sailing but easy and comfortable due to following seas, and a magical night with perfect weather, a full moon and progress made in the right direction. The comfortable sea state also made for a good night's sleep. Christmas morning began with breakfast burritos and fresh squeezed orange juice on deck and later we retreated to the shade of down below and opened presents. Actually, they opened presents and I watched. After all, it's about the joy of giving. We logged 151nm and have about 400nm to go. If things hold steady, we've only 3 days / 2 nights more at sea.

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Monday, December 24, 2007

Madeira to Caribbean - Day 15

I should just cut and paste yesterday's blog...the lack of wind is maddening. The last quarter of our trip should have been the fastest, according to the computer models and their grib outputs, but instead we are logging shorter distances. Day's run was 131nm, a paltry 5.2kt average, the worst of this passage. In our delirium we are questioning if the trade winds even exist...could it be folklore? Actually, the trade winds have diminished due to a storm system to our north that is causing westerly airflow and therefore reducing the easterly trades. The cloud cover (4/8 to 8/8) that has followed us throughout most of the passage started to gradually diminish the other day making the sun's rays feel stronger. This is when I started fantasizing about ice cubes. We don't have a freezer and with the ocean temperature at 80°F / 27°C I doubted my usual trick would work, but it did. I managed to make ice by filling a plastic bag with water and placing it on the refrigerator cold plate while the generator was on running the refrigeration. I then placed the ice in sugar rimmed (plastic) glasses filled with fresh-squeezed lemonade for our afternoon snack. Now I fantasize about more ice cold lemonade...Based on our current excruciatingly slow pace we're still several days out from any of the islands but we live in hope. Fortunately we always provision for twice the intended length of passage so we'll go mad before we starve.

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Madeira to Caribbean - Day 14

Plagued with light wind from an unfavorable direction, which is increasing our distance and creating more of the painful main sail flogging. Trying to maximize the wind direction and minimize the flogging keeps us busy with sails and has forced us on a southerly course. Where are the trade winds?!? We resorted to using the engine for 3 hours during a period of almost no wind. Where are the dolphins? We remain disappointed and surprised by the lack of sea life sightings. (Only one pod of dolphins, a few flying fish and a couple of sea birds in 14 days.) Our four daily meals - breakfast, lunch, mid afternoon snack and dinner - continue to be the highlights of our day. Sad really, especially now that most of our food is coming from a can. In the evenings we're all getting involved in the celestial navigation and having fun playing with a gadget called a Sky Scout (great family gift) from a company called Celestron. Logged 160nm, a 6.7kt average.

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Saturday, December 22, 2007

Madeira to Caribbean - Day 13

Our new day started with furling the 100% jib and hoisting the cruising chute, which is still flying and managing well in winds ranging from 10 to 25kts. We're back on our regular watch system and the near full moon lights up the deck at night so life is easier. My captain noticed another reoccurring crack on the other side of the gooseneck. He attempted an offshore fix by making a spacer for the boom/gooseneck hinge. We took down the sails and with the skill of two engineers managed to insert it. Not an easy task in a rolling sea, but all (30) fingers are accounted for and so far the temporary fix is working. Despite hanging out in the open ocean for our repair job we logged 184nm, a 7.6kt average.

The seas were calmer this morning so I perused my cookbook and then spent time playing with the convection oven while the generator was on. (I can't believe I waited 5 years to learn how to use this magical oven!) I made stuffed red peppers for lunch and banana bread for tomorrow's breakfast. Due to my limited stores and selfish preferences, I created an original banana bread recipe and since it turned out so tasty (we sampled it warm) I'm including it.

- Banana Oat Bread -
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) butter
1/3 cup canola oil
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
3-4 ripe bananas (depending on size), mashed
2 cups flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream butter, oil and sugar together. Add eggs and beat well. Mix in bananas, flour, oats, cinnamon, soda and vanilla. Grease and flour 1 large or 2 small loaf pans. Pour dough into pan. Bake for 1 hour or until brown at 300°F (150°C) - or 30 minutes on convection low mix.

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S/V Event Horizon Position Update

12/22/2007 @ 12:00 PM(UTC)
18°47.95'N 049°34.06'W
Course 239T Speed 8.0kts
Wind 086T @ 17kts

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Friday, December 21, 2007

Madeira to Caribbean - Day 12

Today was the first day we found the need to seek out shade while on deck. Shifting wind directions required frequent jibes making it a busy day on deck. Everyone appears to be better rested and certainly perkier after getting to take showers now that the sea state is less cantankerous. Logged 197nm over a 25-hour day (another time change), an average of 7.8kts. Finally broke the 4-digit distance barrier - now we've only 900nm to go! ETA in St Martin is Dec 27th.

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S/V Event Horizon Position Update

12/21/2007 @ 12:00 AM(UTC)
20°09.96'N 045°22.82'W
Course 223T Speed 7.7kts
Wind 069T @ 20kts

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Thursday, December 20, 2007

Madeira to Caribbean - Day 11

We're tired. The continuing uncomfortable boat motion and lack of sleep has taken a toll on all of us. One of us remains in recovery mode (it's typically at least a 48-hour recovery period) so the other two of us are covering the formal watches. When not tending to sails or on watch, one tries their best to get some sleep but it's easier said then done. As if we weren't feeing cranky enough, the day is ending with a bad discovery. My captain has just discovered a new crack in the gooseneck caused by the excessive flogging of the sails and boom. It's the same situation we had after our light-wind July Atlantic Crossing but the gooseneck has since been hand-delivered to Newport, RI and supposedly "super" repaired. We'll keep a close eye on the crack and try to contain it until it can be repaired, hopefully upon our return to New England in the spring. (The gooseneck holds the boom to the mast.) Day's run 186nm, an average of 7.75kts. Approximately 1060nm - maybe 7 days? - yet to go.

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Madeira to Caribbean - Day 10

The day started with excitement caused by a fish to reel in - another of the same unknown variety. The Boga Grip that's been taking up space and adding weight has finally come in handy. Spirits dampened as light winds necessitated taking down the sails. We opted to use the engine to help steady the boat from swells, charged the house batteries (verses using the generator) and went in search of wind. Two hours later we found some good wind and were back in business. While the 3m / 9ft waves are allowing the boat to surf and increase our speed, their short intervals and confused state have created an uncomfortable boat motion. The different motion has gotten the better of our visiting crew who's since taken up full-time residency in the center cockpit. He's on the mend though thanks to his determination and the patch behind his ear. Day's run was 178nm, an average of 7.4kts. We now have 1700nm behind us and another 1200nm to go. We're hopeful the back end of the trip will be faster with a few 200nm/days.

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Wednesday, December 19, 2007

S/V Event Horizon Position Update

12/19/2007 @ 12:00 PM(UTC)
20°56.20'N 040°54.10'W
Course 275T Speed 8.8kts
Wind 058T @ 23kts

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Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Madeira to Caribbean - Day 9

The wind trends were more consistent for a couple of days so we figured the wind was here to stay and that we'd experienced the last of the painful sail flogging but we were wrong. So very wrong. Hard work and a long night to log 168nm, a 7kt average. No sightings.

With the birthday over, it was time to decorate for Christmas. I hung my 4-inch wreath on the hatch and a handful of decorations in the salon - all saved from a care-package delivered to me while afloat in stormy Bermuda 2 years ago. Then I placed wrapped presents for the guys and giant pine cones from Portugal on the bookshelf, each carefully wedged in place in hopes of it not becoming a projectile. Now I'm ready for Santa.

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S/V Event Horizon Position Update

12/19/2007 @ 12:00 AM(UTC)
20°53.87'N 039°09.02'W
Course 271T Speed 8.8kts
Wind 047T @ 23kts

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Monday, December 17, 2007

S/V Event Horizon Position Update

12/18/2007 @ 12:00 AM(UTC)
20°55.25'N 036°17.28'W
Course 255T Speed 8.6kts
Wind 040T @ 18kts

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Madeira to Caribbean - Day 8

The day we caught a fish! Actually, Joseph caught the fish. My captain and I stood by watching the small tuna jumping out of the water as Joseph reeled it in, but then it got away. Hours later there was another catch and this one didn't get away. We've no idea what kind of fish it was, but it was delicious. It was beautiful too - as if it was gold-leafed - with a narrow body about 2 feet in length and a blue Mohawk-like fin that ran from its head to its pronounced forked tail. We took a photo in hopes of identifying it someday. Any guesses? As if this wasn't enough excitement for one day, we also had two quick spinnaker take downs due to approaching squalls. The second take down was in the dark just before night watches so we opted to sail wind on wing with the 100% jib through the night. A good move, which avoided what would have been another rush take down when hard rain arrived just before first light. Overall wind is more consistent but we've not yet reached the trades. Day's run was 171nm over a 25-hour period (we had another time change) making our average 6.8kts. We finally saw a sailing vessel off in the distance and another sea bird. Surprised we aren't seeing more.

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S/V Event Horizon Position Update

12/17/2007 @ 12:00 PM(UTC)
21°17.27'N 034°42.36'W
Course 266T Speed 7.6kts
Wind 062T @ 15kts

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Sunday, December 16, 2007

S/V Event Horizon Position Update

12/16/2007 @ 12:00 PM(UTC)
21°52.47'N 031°59.67'W
Course 243T Speed 6.8kts
Wind 037T @ 13kts

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Madiera to Caribbean - Day 7

We've been at sea for a week now with 1,115nm behind us and about 1,760nm still to go. The nights have gradually gotten warmer and last night was very comfortable. We're starting to see flying fish and a sea bird circled us this morning, but still no ship sightings. In summary of week 1, I'm sharing commentary from my captain, "Wind a little more consistent - 15kts NE - hopefully the bulk of the light stuff is behind us. We are sailing with wind angles of 155/165 true, about 145/155 apparent, which appears to be the sweet spot for these conditions. As day 7 comes to a close we have now been flying a spinnaker for 5 days. The spinnaker pole is about 12 feet off the deck for these deep wind angles, keeping it high and forward away from the main. When the fully battened main inverts due to a combination of the swells and back-draft from the spinnaker, the entire boat shakes and the crew starts to show signs of being sleep deprived. Logged miles are finally starting to trend in the right direction 173nm, 170nm, 154nm, 146nm, 137nm, 173nm and 162nm. Overall the numbers are a little below expectation. The boat has never been drier now with the centerboard fixed and tightened keel-bolts. Fuel consumption is approx 2.5g/day - all generator usage for house batteries, water and refrigeration."

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Saturday, December 15, 2007

Madeira to Caribbean - Day 6

Another beautiful day in the Atlantic Ocean and our third straight flying the cruising chute. We can't imagine making this trip without spinnakers! We had more wind enabling us to log 173nm and average 7.2kts, which is getting closer to Eve's overall average. At some point Joseph got a nibble on his fishing line because something chomped off half the lure. (Maybe a good thing this one got away?) So as you can tell, things afloat are looking up. Plus we've adjusted to the motions of the sea and our night schedules so we're doing more than just sailing, eating and sleeping. The guys have been practising celestial navigation and I've been working on a web project.
For the second year in a row I celebrated my birthday at sea. (Turned 39, again.) For my birthday I got a shower, a shorter night watch and we each got to enjoy a cold beer with our Tex-Mex inspired lunch. However, the best part of the day was the nice unexpected emails I received from friends even though they knew I was at sea and probably wouldn't see emails for days. My captain has recently started using SSB (single side band radio) to download shadow mail from our gmail accounts. (Shadow mail shows us who has sent an email and the subject line.) Each day I get to select a few for retrieval and then sometime during the night my captain performs magic with the SSB and I get the full email text to read. So, if anyone wants to send me a quick message you can email me and place a short message in the subject line or enough info to know I should try to retrieve it when the air waves allow. Heads up though, for now this is only working in one direction so I won't be able to respond.

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S/V Event Horizon Position Update

12/15/2007 @ 12:00 PM(UTC)
23°10.60'N 029°16.34'W
Course 241T Speed 8.1kts
Wind 037T @ 16kts

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Friday, December 14, 2007

S/V Event Horizon Position Update

12/15/2007 @ 12:00 AM(UTC)
24°00.05'N 027°50.11'W
Course 230T Speed 7.8kts
Wind 026T @ 16kts

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Madeira to Caribbean - Day 5

Another 24 hours with the cruising chute working hard and a couple of jibes to keep us on course. We had hoped to hang a right soon to take more of a rhumbline course but there is little wind to our west. So we continue south where there is more wind and eventually should hit the sought after trade winds to take us west. The light winds have caused bouts of flogging that today resulted in a broken top batten on the main sail. Fortunately we brought a spare. Overall a comfortable day but our slowest so far with only 137nm logged. Still no sighting of wildlife or vessels. Joseph is now managing a fishing operation off the stern, determined to catch us dinner before we reach land. (Attempts to fish off Eve over the past five years have yielded zilch. Not even a nibble.)

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Thursday, December 13, 2007

S/V Event Horizon Position Update

12/14/2007 @ 12:00 AM(UTC)
25°41.45'N 026°06.12'W
Course 243T Speed 7.2kts
Wind 041T @ 14kts

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Madeira to Caribbean - Day 4

Hard to believe it's only day 4. Feels like more, although each individual day does seem to pass quickly. This day started with decreasing wind and the hoisting of our cruising spinnaker, which 24hrs later is still flying. The day's extra curricular activity was manually winching my captain up the mast (while under sail) to replace the steaming light bulb. He managed to take some interesting bird's-eye photos that I'll share once we reach land and internet access. It was a perfect sunny day, warm but not hot, and the wind never completely died as we feared. The nights have been especially dark due to clouds and no or little moon but this night was clear and spectacular with an amazing amount of falling stars. No traffic or wildlife sightings. Day's run 146nm, average speed 6kts.

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S/V Event Horizon Position Update

12/13/2007 @ 12:00 PM(UTC)
26°20.46'N 025°01.79'W
Course 234T Speed 6.1kts
Wind 029T @ 10kts

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Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Madeira to Caribbean - Day 3

Flew the all-purpose spinnaker most of the day. We stayed "suited up" while off watch throughout the night just in case there was cause for an emergency takedown. Night was noisy with flogging main and additionally uncomfortable sleeping in gear and with one foot on the floor, ready to spring into action. Wind increased too much for this spinnaker by 0630 which is when we all took part in a flawless mailbox drop takedown. Sailed wing on wing until around noon as day 3 came to a close. Day's run was only 154nm but we're happy with our 6.4kt average and progress made given the wind strengths we had to work with. No visitors. Few ship sightings.

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S/V Event Horizon Position Update

12/12/2007 @ 12:00 PM(UTC)
28°20.90'N 024°07.27'W
Course 231T Speed 6.7kts
Wind 089T @ 14kts

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Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Madeira to Caribbean - Day 2

Calmer seas made for an easier night. Finally had a pod of dolphins visit us this morning. Otherwise only sightings have been 3 ships, always in the distance. Wind has begun to lighten (10kts), as forecasted, so my captain got that spinnaker feeling. We're flying the all-purpose chute. Day's run 170nm. Only about 2,500nm yet to go...at the current (slow) rate, another 18 days.

I'm proudly getting handy with the intimating convection microwave oven. Yesterday baked chocolate chip muffins for mid-afternoon snack and today a lemon loaf. Thankfully we did manage to get a cooking gas refill in Madeira. But now the sport of baking and broiling with this multi-functional appliance (while the generator is on) has me hooked.

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Monday, December 10, 2007

S/V Event Horizon Position Update

12/11/2007 @ 12:00 AM(UTC)
30°31.09'N 020°43.13'W
Course 243T Speed 6.7kts
Wind 120T @ 11kts

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Madeira to Caribbean - Day 1

Our 3-person crew pushed off the dock at Quinta do Lorde Marina around noon. We left in the lee of Madeira so the wind was light for several hours but by evening the winds increased enough to enable us to maintain an average of 7.5kts and log 180nm for the first 24-hrs. Rolling seas caused our fully battened main to flog and the boat to pitch which made for a noisy and bouncy night but our short watch system helped keep spirits high. We continue to be on a run with the wind at 150° true. Mostly cloudy skies with a few showers. Only one ship sighted near Madeira suggests we are off the beaten path. Increasing sea temperatures - 20°C/68°F - so we must be headed in the right direction.

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S/V Event Horizon Position Update

12/10/2007 @ 12:00 PM(UTC)
31°12.07'N 019°16.34'W
Course 259T Speed 6.8kts
Wind 104T @ 19kts

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Sunday, December 09, 2007

S/V Event Horizon Position Update

12/10/2007 @ 12:00 AM(UTC)
31°54.47'N 017°52.27'W
Course 227T Speed 5.6kts
Wind 082T @ 14kts

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Saturday, December 08, 2007

Farewell Madeira

Only hours away from setting sail on our non-stop 2,800nm (hopefully) passage to St Martin. Joseph Burke, who sailed with us before has just arrived to accompany us. Now if Mother Nature is kind enough to allow for one-person watches, we’ll each have only one 4-hour watch and get to sleep more at night. It will be our longest trip to date, about 3 weeks, and our first Christmas at sea. (Probably canned ham for Christmas dinner.) As usual, you can follow our passage through Shiptrak (http://shiptrak.org/?callsign=WDB4885) or this blog.

Madeira

Upon arrival we knew we should have allowed more time to explore the unique island of Madeira. The island is comprised of steep once volcanic peaks that rise sharply out of the sea. There are no sandy beaches, only dramatic mountainsides or cliffs created through erosion. One side of Madeira is lush while the other is more arid as shown in my photos. Quinta do Lorde Marina is at the end of the arid side. The island is laced with man-made terraces that allow for farming (and hinder erosion), and tunnels through the mountains.

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Porto Santo

Porto Santo is a small (11km by 6km) island of volcanic origin surrounded by gold sandy beaches and turquoise water (one is immediately reminded of the Caribbean). Large palm trees and colorful hibiscus and bougainvillea flowers decorate her interior which has only about 5,000 inhabitants and one town, Vila Baleira, where Christopher Columbus lived for many years. The town feels wonderfully Portuguese – old world charm yet modern – and offers most important amenities including several pastelarias and a bench filled square with free WiFi, which is where my captain has spent most of his time. The town is a 15 minute walk along a beach rimmed shore line from the marina. The marina offers basic necessities but overall it pales, especially the dock, compared to the last three marinas we’ve visited. We are the only sailboat in the harbor, another sign that we are late to head south.

Next stop is the larger island and namesake of the archipelago, Madeira.

Sunday, December 02, 2007

Southwest to Madeira - Day 3

Today I ran out of cooking gas just as I finished cooking lunch. Normally I would switch over to my other tank but my captain refuses to let me touch it until we are underway to the Caribbean. Filling an American propane tank (with propane or butane) has been near impossible in Europe. We discovered this inconvenience upon our arrival to Ireland so I've tried to use the gas sparingly, which hasn't been easy with the cool temperatures and my daily afternoon tea ritual. But then I'll admit it's been sweet having a legitimate excuse to eat out a lot. Anyway, now I'm being forced to use our microwave convection oven that for the past 5+ years has merely been a galley decoration. Now each meal begins with me reading the operations manual... The water temperatures continue to rise. A sign to me that we're headed in the right direction - to warmer weather! The water is changing color too, more blue.
It's been a fun 3-day passage to Madeira in part because we've sailed what has been a popular explorer and trade route for hundreds of years. We also over took a square rigger (think Pirate's of the Caribbean) on a reach. We arrived in Porto Santo, the most northeastern of the Madeira islands before noon today.

Saturday, December 01, 2007

S/V Event Horizon Position Update

12/2/2007 @ 12:00 AM(UTC)
33°35.46'N 015°06.75'W
Course 247T Speed 6.6kts
Wind 038T @ 15kts

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Southwest to Madeira - Day 2

Uneventful day with shifting light wind that kept us busy tending sails. Only logged a modest 139nm despite our labors. Night was sightly warmer but I still found my ski hat comforting. Continued to see lots of ship traffic, which we find ourselves growing more accustomed to. We're more than half way to Madeira.

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