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.