Location: 32° 23N, 64° 41W
Wednesday, 04.30.2008

The Schooner Maggie B is safely docked in St. Georges, Bermuda, at Captain Smokes Marina, at 32° 23N, 64° 41W. Our last day coming in gave us a lovely sail, though it did end in a rather heavy downpour this morning as we danced around a huge Norwegian cruise ship waiting for dawn to enter the harbor.

Bermuda is lovely, even in the rain, and we look forward to testing the Dark and Stormies at the White Horse Inn.

We expect to be here about a week, depending on the weather.

All is well.

Location: 30° 31N, 64° 13W
Tuesday, 04.29.2008

The Schooner Maggie B was at 30° 31N, 64° 13W at noon on April 29th. We were finally under all plain sail with The Bird, our G2 gennaker up, making 6.2 knots in a 10-12 knot SW’erly, straight for St. Georges. We have 113 NM to go to Bermuda and have come 833 from Antigua. It looks as if we will arrive, assuming that the wind freshens a bit, on schedule a little after dawn on the 30th. That should get us nicely tucked into Captain Smokes Marina in St. Georges Harbour before the cold front arrives with fresher winds.

We are now at that perfect point of sailing with the wind about on our beam, with just long swell and no wave chop. It is a relief to have the engine off. The big prop is stopped with a short lasso in the engine room. It is still like towing a bucket, but Maggie seems so happy to be under sail, she is not complaining.
I neglected to mention yesterday that Curtis had caught a marvelous large Mahi Mahi after a bit of a struggle. It is the biggest fish we have landed on the Maggie B. How big? Curtis is 6′ 3″ and it came up to his shoulder (photos soon up on the web). We should get six meals for five out of it. It was delicious in garlic and butter, flash fried in a hot pan and even more so the next day in a thick fish soup concocted by Rik.

Last night, or actually this morning, Curtis and I did our star sights once the moon rose enough to give us a satisfactory horizon. We use a fine program called StarPilotPC to do the math. We shot the moon, Jupiter and Arcturus and were delighted that of six observations, none were more than 7 NM from our actual GPS position. We might even be able to find Bermuda without GPS!

Bermuda tomorrow!

All is well.

Location: 28° 14N, 63° 35W
Monday, 04.28.2008

The Schooner Maggie B was at 28° 14N, 63° 35W at noon on April 28th. We were motoring north towards St. Georges at 7.5 knots in a 3-5 knot northerly. There are long swells from the north, courtesy of a gale off Newfoundland. The skies are clear and the barometer is rising. We have come 671 NM from Antigua and have 274 to go to Bermuda. We are on schedule to arrive the morning of Wednesday, 30 April.

We are still hoping to get some sailing in on this leg. There is a new low coming off of the continent which should give us a nice SW’erly starting perhaps noon tomorrow. We are slowing our speed a bit so as not to arrive earlier than dawn on the 30th. I know Town Cut into St. Georges Harbour, and I know not to try it at night.

Two more stories from Antigua. Two years ago there was a lovely big yacht at the 2006 Classic whose cockpit light was a Chambered Nautilus shell with an internal bulb. It was stunning. Maggie B has a lovely old-fashioned brass oil-fired lamp we use as a cockpit light. But when we were in Cape Town, one store specialized in ostrich eggs that had been cut and carved with designs. Many were terrible touristy things, but one was cut out with constellations and the Milky Way. I was unable to resist it. It got packed away and mostly forgotten. Arriving back in Antigua for the Classic, I got John Steele to wire it up and we now have an absolutely stunning cockpit light that both is lovely to look at directly, but also casts light shows of the galaxy around the cockpit like in a planetarium.

The second Antigua story is that when we went to fill up with diesel for this leg, we had formally checked out of Antigua, which normally allows you to buy fuel duty free. I enquired if Duty Free was available at the Cat Club and the lovely lady in charge said, “Yes, Dear, but you don’t want it.” I inquired why not, and she replied that it was more expensive that non-duty free. I asked why and she said, “The elections is coming up.” Not being able to argue with logic, I happily bought 199 gallons of non-Duty Free.

Two more sleeps to Bermuda!

All is well.

Location: 25° 16N, 63° 08W
Sunday, 04.27.2008

The Schooner Maggie B’s noon position on 27 April was 25°16N, 63° 08W. We are motoring directly north towards Bermuda in a 5-8 knot headwind. The skies are clear, the barometer is up to 1011 and there are long swells from the north. We have come 513 NM from Antigua and have 430 NM to go to St. Georges. We are on schedule to arrive Bermuda the morning of the 30th.

It appears as if we might have a nice SW’erly to blow us into Bermuda, but it may not arrive until we make landfall on the 30th.

We have been trying to fish. We have been very successful in catching lots of sargasso weed. It is a brown seaweed whose 150 cousins are attached to rocks in shallow water. Sargasso weed is the exception. It lives in the center of a giant eddy called the Sargasso Sea. This is an area east of the Bahamas Islands bounded between 25 and 30 degrees north, 40 to 60 degrees west. The name comes from the Portuguese word (they do get around!) “sargaco,” meaning grapes. This is a unique habitat that includes the Sargassum anglerfish which has the same coloring as the weed and bodies that are covered with protuberances that resemble the grapelike fronds. It is also the main breeding ground of the eels whose elvers swim to Europe in the Gulf Stream.

With Curtis’s encouragement, we broke out the sextant today. Following a ten-minute lecture on celestial navigation, we took the sun’s altitude to get an afternoon line of position. With total beginners luck, it came out within 1/10 of a mile of our actual position. I confess that we used a computer program to do the math, but still it was an excellent introduction. The computer program has very strange sign conventions (minus four time zone is represented as plus four, west longitude is minus, etc.) but once we got them right we were right on. We’ll try for a three star fix tonight and probably plot ourselves in the middle of North Africa.

Last night the moonrise was just after midnight. The half moon seemed to be cradling Jupiter, which was bright as a diamond. It was hard not to think of ancient stories of the stars and the gods.

All is well.

Location: 22° 30N, 62° 34W
Saturday, 04.26.2008

At noon on April 26th, the Schooner Maggie B was at 22° 30N, 62° 34W. We are motorsailing directly towards Bermuda, helped a little by a 10 knot NE breeze. It is 599 NM to Bermuda, we have come 345 from Antigua. The sky is mostly clear and the humidity is significantly lower. On night watch last night we had to dig out a jacket. Blankets are beginning to make their way back from the linen closet to the bunks.

When in Antigua, different members of the press and public would ask: “Whichplace is most beautiful?” or “which is your favorite harbor?” It was a tough question to answer, partially because I didn’t want my favorites overrun because they had been written up in widely-distributed sailing magazines. But it got us all thinking about what are the attributes of the “best port.” Every person values different attributes differently, but we all should be able to agree on the general attributes.

Here’s what we came up with after serious consideration over popular local beverages:

1. Technically good anchorage: Good holding, no swells, shelter. It doesn’t matter how pretty the beaches are if you are rolling out your masts in the anchorage (Fernando de Noronha).

2. Water quality and clarity.

3. Character of town: history, shops, artistic community, vibrant, culture. Not too big, not too small.

4. Attitude towards foreigners and strangers.

5. Technical support: laundry, showers, Internet, phones, water, fuel.

6. Costs.

7. Distance from amateurs. Martinique is lovely, but 1000 catamarans get rented every week and every nearby nice harbor is filled up with plastic floating
condos, many manned by incompetents. Conversely, places that attract cool
“traveling boats” and their seasoned crews are significantly more attractive.
Puerto Williams, Chile being a good example of the latter.

8. Food - local specialties.

9. Yacht support. Can you get critical supplies and skilled help? Are there
specialists who can make your life easier.

10. Security. Not just are there night watchmen at the marina, but is town and the local area safe.

This is just a preliminary list and I would love to hear more ideas of what I missed.

All is well.

Location: 19° 45N, 62° 02W
Friday, 04.25.2008

The Schooner Maggie B was at 19° 45N, 62° 02W at noon on April 25th. We were making 7.2 knots due north, motorsailing in a light SW’erly. We are flying The Bird, our lovely G2 gennaker. We have come 175 NM from Antigua and have 765 NM to go to Bermuda.

It is 4562 NM from here to Cape Horn and only 1469 left to Halifax.

The weather is clearly changing. Last night at sunset there were high cirrus Mare’s Tails. Today at noon the high clouds were mostly obscured by Alto Stratus, with some lower Cumulus working their way in. Rain showers are on the horizon to the Sou’west. The barometer is still mostly steady at 1006, but the wind has shifted around from the Sou’east to the Sou’west and increased a bit.

It would be lovely to have a few days of a nice SW’erly blow, but Commanders says that a weak low is coming through, with NW and North behind it. Whatever.

We must be trailing a big school of fish from the Caribbean. There has been a very aggressive Juvenile Masked B@@by following us and diving regularly, apparently mostly successfully. (I cannot use the “o’s” in Sula dactylatra’s name because it triggers offending language alerts in some network watchdogs). Perhaps it is time to get the lines out to share in the ocean’s bounty.

We are all beginning to settle into the watch routine for passages. But being such a short leg, we will be there before we fully get our inner clocks readjusted.

All is well.

Location: 17° 00N, 61° 49W
Thursday, 04.24.2008

At noon on April 24th, the Schooner Maggie B was at 17° 00N, 061° 49W, just a few miles off the coast of Antigua at Curtain Bluff. We were underway for Bermuda, motorsailing in a light sou’easterly. The sky is clear and the air is hot and humid. We will be happy for a little cooler weather.

We have 931 NM to go to St. Georges, Bermuda, which should take us about five days, probably arriving April 30th. The weather forecast is not particularly favorable. Commanders Weather comment was: “light winds to start and then upwind to Bermuda followed by a possible gale the middle and end of next week. Welcome home, I guess!” We should be into Bermuda before the gale.

Onboard for this leg is Frank Blair, Hannah Joudrey (aboard since Cape Town), Curtis Weinrich (aboard since Puerto Montt, Chile), and Danette Eden and her partner Rik Hansen. Danette was our landlady when we lived in Lunenburg for the completion of Maggie B and Rik spends part of the year in Russia or Northern Canada working oil exploration, and the rest of the time messing about in boats. Danette has a marvelous business in Lunenburg converting worn out sails into very imaginative high-end purses, packs and bags.

It is great to be back in Blue Water. It will probably take us most of the way to Bermuda to recover from the frenzy of Antigua Classic Race Week.

Please check PhotoAction and search in Antigua Classic 2008 for new hot photos of the Maggie B.

All is well.

Location: 17° 01N, 61° 47W
Wednesday, 04.23.2008

The Schooner Maggie B is in Falmouth Harbour, Antigua, moored at the marvelous Catamaran Club, at 17° 01N, 061° 47W. We are more or less ready for the 930 NM run to Bermuda tomorrow morning (which means at least afternoon in the Islands). The weather going north should be somewhat interesting (see Commanders forecast on the web). We hope to be in St. Georges harbour by the end of April.

I will have some photos up from the Antigua Classic Race Week, but not too many, because I was too busy racing. We all spent much of the time simply gaping at the stunning boats all around us.

Sometimes way too close. The best photographer here is perhaps Tim Wright, and he has photos up of the race at Photoaction.com

We had a lot of press attention. One day we had the official Antigua Classics film crew on board, plus writers from Wooden Boat, Boat International and Classic Yachts. There were many more coming by at different times.

There was a bit of a saga also. Regular readers remember that our J-Prop feathering propeller self-destructed in Martinique. We put the 28″ fixed prop on and it worked fine after I sawed out the prop aperture. But we’ve sailed the boat enough to know what to expect and the fixed prop is like towing a bucket in comparison to a feathering prop. In a decent breeze, a 15-20 knot beam reach, it makes easily 3/4 of a knot difference, if not a full knot. Not nice for racing.

We raced with the fixed prop on the first day and it was awful. I was faced with a mutiny. Knives were out to force me to take it off. Nigel Irens was ready to get back on an airplane, John Steele of Covey Island had a very long-suffering face, Sandy MacMillan of North Sails was ready to go to the Chinese Olympics. Did I mention it wasn’t nice?

I said the I’d take it off if we talked to the skippers of the boats we were closest to, and got approval from the Race Committee. We did that, talking especially to the Head of the Race Committee. The morning of the second race we motored out to a safe cove and jumped over with our Hookah breathing apparatus. Every boat going racing could see everything we were doing. One boat even stopped to videotape the operation.

We smoked that race and there were smiles all around, at least on the Maggie B. After the race, the skipper of one boat came to visit and inquire about the prop and what we were rated for. He had the video, and had taken it to the Ratings Committee. We told him the whole story — who we talked to and when. His boat was slow and uncompetitive, and I hadn’t mentioned it to him beforehand because I couldn’t imagine why it would be important to him. The Ratings Committee decided that I should have written them a letter asking to be re-rated and not done anything until I had a written response. Talking to the Head of the Race Committee and what he said was not relevant. I could withdraw or be successfully protested. We withdrew.

We raced the next two days without the prop. We would motor out, anchor, take it off, up the anchor under sail, race “bare,” sail in, anchor, put the prop back on and motor back to the dock. We remained gentlemen and gentle ladies, but we also took every opportunity to do entire legal “positioning” to disrupt the race plans of the boat that had ratted us out. I wonder if his video made it to You-Tube?

We all had great fun. Probably a bit too much rum, but the work and heat of the racing sweated each night’s excesses out of us. Lovely parties and kind reception for our circumnavigation everywhere.
I single-handed Maggie B on the fifth day of racing and I’m pleased to report that we came in second, despite our new, very high, “propless” rating. We had a photographer for the Race Week on board, so there should be some fun photos coming. After the morning single handed race there was gig racing in the afternoon, and the Reepicheep was well admired and much borrowed by different rowers. I regret that in the Men’s Singles I didn’t fully understand the course and when out at the head of the pack of 13-14 boats continued to a further mark and was astonished when the others turned at an earlier mark. I came in fourth. It was still a fun day and Reep won in the Woman’s Singles and the Family Race.

We are looking forward to a nice peaceful(?) Blue Water Passage.

Location: 17° 00N, 61° 46W
Saturday 04.12.08

At about sunset yesterday, April 11th, the Maggie B docked at Nelson’s Dockyard, English Harbour, Antigua. We are at 17° 00N, 61° 46W. This is probably one of the most famous marinas on the planet. It is so cool to know that we are treading on the very stones that the Hero of Trafalgar trod. The area has been marvelously restored.

All around us are the most lovely sailboats in the world, all varnished to perfection. We are definitely not entering the Concours d’Elegance. But we are doing our best to look OK after 34,000 NM. Writers from “Ocean Navigator” “Wooden Boat” and “Boat International” have asked for interviews and to sail with us in one of the races.

It is hard not to get racing fever. We are now handicapped by having a fixed propeller, which probably will take 1/4 knot off our speed. I even imagined the possibility that we could get a diver to take it off just before the race and then reattach it afterwards. But no.

After the difficulties putting the spare prop on in Martinique, we sailed up to Isle des Saintes, Guadalupe. It is still one of the most perfect anchorages in the world. The town is big enough to have several good restaurants, fast Internet and a grocery store and bakery, but small enough to feel very personal. The beaches are just lovely: clear water, white sand, great snorkeling, and lovely palm trees for shade. We got into Les Saintes at about midnight on the 9th, had a beach day on the 10th and then got up early on the 11th for the 60-70 NM to Antigua.

When we hoisted the main in Martinique, we spotted (hard to miss!) a two foot tear near the leech, just below the second reef point. The Captain, always on his toes, ordered two reef in the main, and we still had a great sail while I emailed North Sails, Lunenberg in a panic. Sandy MacMillan, our contact there calmed my fears and immediately got me in touch with North Sails, Antigua, who picked up the main on Saturday the 12th and promises it back, fixed, on the 16th so we can race the 17th. Great Service!!

All is well.

Location: 14° 32N, 61° 08W
Wednesday, 04.09.2008

At noon on April 9th, the Schooner Maggie B was at 14° 32N, 61° 08W. We were sailing on a close reach in 15-20 NE’erly Trades along the Caribbean Coast of Martinique. At noon we were just about

directly off Fort de France, the capitol and main port. It is sunny with only a few rain showers around. Martinique is protecting us from any Atlantic Swell.

Headed to Les Saintes

We are headed to Les Saintes, which is an island group just south of Guadalupe, and have about 80 NM to go. We should arrive tonight about 2200. Antigua is only 45 NM from Les Saintes.

Update on the J-Prop

I previously reported that something has gone wrong with our J-Prop feathering prop. On arrival in Cul de Sac des Marins, it would not give any pitch in reverse. We worked on it in the anchorage, lubricating it and trying different pitches and it just got worse. Finally it would only give forward or forward (either way the shaft rotated, we got forward propulsion) and then it stuck in position. We have a spare fixed prop, so we got to work to remove the J-Prop, which only took an hour in the water (using the Hookah underwater gear). Then we installed the spare fixed prop, which only took 1/2 hour. It fit perfectly on the shaft. Unfortunately it did not fit in the opening, having a shorter shank than the J-Prop. The blades would touch the wood of the hull. But we were ready for that. The prop shaft is in two sections, with a massive coupling. All we had to do was open the coupling and slide the prop shaft out a bit and reclamp the coupling. It only took an hour to get the four nuts off the coupling. But the shaft had long since fused to the housing and no amount of force, lubrication or heat guns could persuade it to slide.

So, now we have discovered another good reason to have a wooden boat. You can cut into the hull in the water and open things up enough to allow the prop to turn. Only took another hour in the water. We now can motor both forward and reverse! It will be one more thing to fix when we get back to Lunenburg. We can feel the drag of the fixed prop. We are guessing that the feathering prop gave us 1/4 to 1/2 knot more speed, which after 34,000 NM adds up.

When we put the main sail up this morning, we found a two foot rip just below the second reef luff cringle. So we quickly adapted and set the main only to the second reef. Hannah will have busy fingers tomorrow in Les Saints. We are also going to try to get professionals on it when we get to Antigua, though we would need a quick turn-around.

Cul de Sac des Marins was a lovely little harbor. Only slightly marred by 1000 rental catamarans. The restaurants were great (fresh vegetables!) and even the little supermarket had 200 different cheeses. But everything was very expensive, a combination of the weak dollar against the Euro, and the generally high living costs in Martinique. The ship stores are well stocked and have knowledgeable staff, something we haven’t experienced since New Zealand. Isle des Saintes should be a lovely break for a day or two and then we jump into the craziness of Antigua Classic Race Week.

All is well.

Location: 14° 28N, 60° 52W
Sunday, 04.06.2008

The Schooner Maggie B was safely anchored in Cul de Sac des Marins at 14° 28N, 60° 52W, Martinique at approximately 1130, April 6th. The trip from Salvador was 2732 NM. We covered the 2046 NM from Fernando de Noronha to des Marins in 10 days. Antigua is about 160 NM away.

The last day was very eventful. At approximately 2130 last night, when we were about 25 NM off of Barbados, Thomas saw a distress flare. Rising from the surface to the base of the clouds at a 45 degree angle. Color unknown as he had his tinted sunglasses on (having lost his regular glasses). He called me and we checked the radar for any targets. We were then going about 10 knots in moderate seas. We watched for another flare for a while and then called the Barbados Coast Guard on VHF. They answered, but were impossible to understand, so we gave the report as best we could.

The clearest communications equipment we have on board is the Iridium Sat Phone. The question was: “who to call?” Despite having lots of reference material on board, we only had the number of the Barbados Port Captain, which didn’t answer. But New Zealand is really well organized for this sort of stuff and I had their Rescue Center number handy, and they answered immediately. They gave me the number in Barbados, which went right through. I gave the report and suggested a helicopter search. The weather was wind 20-25 with perhaps five meter breaking swells. About an hour later I got a call from a Barbados Government boat called the Lady D, which had been dispatched. About four hours after the siting, I got a call from a rescue helicopter doing a sector sweep in the estimated area.

Today, calling the Barbados Rescue Central, the news is that the searches turned up nothing. You never know. It would have been a tough night to be in the water.

We arrived in the safety of Cul de Sac in very sloppy seas - big and unkempt - and 20-25 knots of wind. The marina said that they could find a space for us, though they were full and we hadn’t reserved. Rather like a Headwaiter who doesn’t want to be taken for granted. French. The engine had behaved a bit strange on start up, but motored us in OK. The berth they had for us required a tight turn and then backing between tightly packed buoys about 50 meters. With very shiny boats all around. All primed for the landing, after we committed to the turn, it quickly became apparent we had zero reverse. We were able to bail out, missing a lot of expensive maritime real estate by a few hairs breath. When there was a clue that something might be wrong with the engine, I should have troubleshot the problem a lot more before committing to tight quarters.

After a few tries, we found a good spot to anchor. Once established, a dive on the prop showed that the feathering J-Prop would almost go into the right setting for forward, but reverse left the blades at zero pitch. Must be something screwed in the gears. We will seek advice and pull the prop to find out what is wrong. The is the same type of prop that came off two years ago somewhere between Barbados and Brazil. Perhaps there is something in the water here? We carry a spare non-feathering prop, which we can install if we need to.

It is very strange for all of us not to have the boat moving around a lot.

All is well.

Location: 12° 55N, 58° 00W
Saturday, 04.05.2008

The Schooner Maggie B was at 12° 55N, 58° 00W at noon on April 5th. We were making 8.4 knots for Martinique, which is only 189 NM away. We have come 2531 from Salvador. It is mostly clear weather with an occasional rain shower marching through with a bit more wind. Mostly we have 15-20 knots at a relative angle of 120 degrees on our starboard. We still have a reef in the main and in the fore, which is essentially like taking in topsails in a traditional schooner. The long swells are 3-4 meters and rather unruly and splashy, but Maggie isn’t paying them much attention.

We made 224 NM in the last 24 hours. We have come 1127 NM in the last five days, or an average of 225 NM per day. We expect that when we post these marvelous times on our “story board” at the Antigua Classic, the Race Committee will increase our handicap. Whatever. Fast is fast.

We are really in the midst of Flying Fish grounds. This morning there were a dozen on deck which Curtis collected and gutted. They were delicious for breakfast, quickly cooked in a hot fry pan with garlic and butter. Hannah made raisin tea biscuits — a perfect breakfast with black, black, black Brazilian coffee! We have been out for two weeks but having no hardships.

The wind has lessened a bit and veered (Thomas says from the French “virer” - to turn) more to the East. The sailors expression for wind shifting in an “expected” direction is to veer, the other way is to back, which can bring bad weather. In the Northern Hemisphere, veering is shifting clockwise, in the Southern, counterclockwise. As an example, in Maine, if the wind shifts, backs, from South to East, trouble is coming. Conversely, veering from Southwest to Northwest is clearing for good weather.

We are about 60 NM from Barbados and are already seeing some light sport fishing boats that are essentially invisible on radar in these swells. The Watch is shifting to “Inshore” levels of attention.

We expect to be in Cul de Sac de Marins, Martinique tomorrow morning. Just in time for church, or croissants and chocolate chaude, or whatever.

All is well.

Location: 11° 06N, 54° 22W
Friday, 04.04.2008

At noon on April 4th, the Schooner Maggie B was at 11° 06N, 54° 22W. We were making 8.6 knots for Martinique. The wind has veered a bit to almost Easterly and increased to perhaps a steady 20 knots. We have reefed the fore down to one reef, like the main. We have come 228 NM in the last day, 470 in the last two days, 701 in the last three days, and 903 in the last four days (average 226 NM).

We have come 2289 NM from Salvador and have 429 to go to Martinique. At this speed, we should arrive, if God is willing, the morning of April 6th, Sunday morning.

The seas have come up a bit. In the Southern Ocean, the swells helped us along, surfing down their long sides. Here, they really don’t help as they are from a little behind abeam, and throw us around a fair amount. Jorge, our trusty Furuno Autopilot, is working very hard, and effectively. The general sensation is that of a skier doing a long traverse on a very steep hill with endless 3 to 4 meter moguls to cross or negotiate. Most of the time it is a marvelous rhythm that keeps us hanging in the windward shrouds to watch. Occasionally there is a bit of a “big guy” shoulder to shoulder hit, with the wave wanting us in one place and the Maggie B wanting something else. We are earning our fresh croissants and French Government subsidized Pinot Noir!

The drink of the islands is “Ti Punch.” White rum, sugar cane juice, and lemon. Short glass. Shaken with ice, but poured “dry.” We have our research teams ready to evaluate them in respect to Chilean Pisco Sours and Brazilian Carparhinas. Work, work, work.

We set our clocks to Caribbean Time, -4 Zulu. Same as the Eastern US. It is the first time in two years we have moved the clocks that way.

All is well.

Location: 9° 21N, 50° 54W
Thursday, 04.03.2008

The Schooner Maggie B was at 9° 21N, 50° 54W at noon on April 3rd. We were making 10 knots for Martinique. We have come 2061 NM from Salvador and have 655 NM to go to Martinique. We expect to arrive in Martinique the morning of April 6th. The skies remain a thin overcast with occasional small rain showers. The wind has been very steady from the Northeast at 15-20 knots.

We are very excited to have gone 242 NM since noon yesterday. Our best 24 hour run was 245 NM. Thomas did our best watch with 33 NM in three hours. In the last three days we have covered 675 NM, or averaging 225 NM per day. Schoonering along in the Trades!

The term “Schooner” has interesting origins. Oxford’s Companion to Ships and the Sea says that the origin is probably from the Scots word “scon” or “scoon,” meaning to skip across the water like a stone. When the first vessel of the type was launched in Gloucester, Massachusetts in 1713, a spectator said “there she scoons!” And the name stuck.

Schooners were always somewhat looked down on by square sailed ships crews, because the simpler sails were so efficient. When I worked on the Roald Amundsen, a 130 foot German sail training brig with two masts full of six square sails each, my Captain remarked that “schooner” was a Dutch word meaning “lazy man” because even a big schooner could be worked by “a man and a dog.” Hmmmm - some dog!

All is well.

Location: 7° 30N, 47° 24W
Wednesday, 04.02.2008

The Schooner Maggie B was at 7° 30N, 47° 24W at noon on April 2nd. We have come 1819 NM from Salvador and have 896 NM to go to Martinique. From noon yesterday, we have come 231 NM and as I write this (1500), we have come 236 NM in the last 24 hours. We are currently making 10.2 knots for Martinique, sailing in a nice 20 knot beam reach.

The sky is overcast, but we have avoided any rain today. Actually, a little rain would be nice as the somewhat boisterous seas keep everything, especially the Watch, wet with salt water. The Maggie B has no bad characteristics….but, every now and then she takes a sea, usually not that big a one, on her hip.

There is a sound like “whump.” By the time you hear it, it is too late. A millisecond later there is a gallon of sea water laser-focused on the tiniest opening in your gear, and striving to make it all the way to your armpits and underwear. But, it isn’t a bad price to pay for a 231 NM day. And it is warm.

Modern communications and good technical support has made this trip so much easier. Yesterday, while running the Spectra watermaker, I noticed an anomaly on the system read-out. It said that the salinity of the water being made was 0-20 PPM salt. I knew that I should expect to see numbers in the 200-300 range. We tasted the product water and it was fine. I emailed Spectra Watermachines in California, reporting my concern that I might have a failed salinity probe. Two hours later Spectra Technical Support emailed back the suggestion that we should check the connector to the salinity probe for corrosion. Curtis and I found the connector (it only took an hour to dismantle enough things to get to the probe), cleaned it and all now works fine. The watermaker has been a real star for us. It has made about 5000 gallons of water for us, which has vastly increased our comfort and flexibility. It only uses 10 Amp hours to make six gallons of water.

The water we are sailing on is, amazingly, very affected by the Amazon even though we are 200 miles from the mouth. The seawater tastes only brackish and the watermaker input water, which is usually at least 1000 PPM salt, is only 250. Lot of water in that river.

We are in good time for Registration in Antigua on the 12th, so we have changed course for Cul de Sac des Marins in Martinique. Martinique is fascinating in itself, and we will be able to get clearance there to go to Isle des Saintes, near Guadalupe, a lovely spot. We should be in Martinique in three or four days.

Thomas is already muttering about croissants and petit pain au chocolate. We were last there May 24, 2006.

Hannah has just made tea biscuits — time for tea!

All is well.

Location: 5° 10N, 44° 21W
Tuesday, 04.01.08

At Noon on April First, the Schooner Maggie B was at 5° 10N, 44° 21W. We were under sail with the main with one reef, making 8.5 knots directly for Antigua, which is 1242 NM away. We have come 1588 NM from Salvador. We are headed NW in a solid 15 knot NE trade. The relative wind is steady at about 60 degrees starboard and Maggie B is loving it.

We had our first Flying Fish on board this morning, which is appropriate because Thomas reminded us that the French call April Fools Day “Poisson d’Avril” (Fish of April). They apparently pin fake fish on people’s backs as jokes. We tried to pin the dead flying fish on Thomas, but it didn’t work.

The skies have cleared up to a high, thin, overcast. The barometer remains relatively low (remember the ITCZ) at 1002 Mb. We have resumed our varnishing and oiling of the exposed wood, though the combination of our speed and the wind keeps some parts of the deck wet with spray. Hannah has reverently touched up Tawhirimatea.

Reading Robert Fagles great translation of The Aeneid has given me the germ of an idea for perhaps the next voyage of the Maggie B - to retrace the voyages of Aeneas from Troy to Thrace to Crete to the Western Greek islands, up the Adriatic to Acroceraunia (modern ?), across to the Temple of Minerva in the boot heel of Italy, down the coast to Sicily, across to Carthage, back to Sicily and up the coast of Italy to Rome. Just a thought.

I have just heard of Robert Fagles recent death. We celebrate his life, vastly enriched by his wonderful translations of the Iliad, the Odyssey as well as his recent Aeneid.

All is well.