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.