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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