Location: 12° 01.44 N, 57° 53.87 W
Thursday 10:00, 06.08.2006

At 1000 today, we were at 12° 01.44 N, 57° 53.87 W. We are about 140 miles ESE of Barbados, having left yesterday at 10:30. The wind is 20 knots from 100-105. Our course is 155 degrees at six knots.

Leaving Barbados was hard due to the endless details to get together, but we were all eager to get going. Even with our “Slippy Bottom” paint, algae was growing on our bottom at an alarming rate. We would scrub it off in the morning and it would be an inch or two long by evening.

Much of the crew is a bit under the weather as we perhaps lost our sea legs being ashore a bit and the waves are rather big and somewhat confused. There is a 10 foot NE swell mixed with a sharp SE’rely chop. Makes even a big boat like the Maggie B move around a bit.
We are close hauled on the port tack and have been for the last day. The wind has been pretty steady at 20 knots, with occasional variations to 15 or 25.

Right now we are going more south than east, and we would like to be doing just the opposite. We are headed now towards French Guyana (think penal colony) where, if we get close to the coast there will be a strong adverse current. We probably don’t have to worry until we get south of about 10 degrees north, but that is not too far. Our course to our planned turn point is about 120 degrees, and the wind would have to back a lot for us to make that.

We did a marvelous job of provisioning in Barbados. We made friends with Pierre, owner of the lovely Mango Restaurant and he put us in contact with his best suppliers. Unfortunately, all most are eating now is dry crackers.

The crew is Frank Blair, Bori Kiss, Nadia Mohammedi, Mounira Almeida, Valentine Michon, and Max Hofman. On to Brazil!

All is well.