Location: 10° 57S, 36° 30W
Thursday, 03.20.2008

The Schooner Maggie B was at 10° 57S, 36° 30W at noon on March 20th. We were under full sail, making 8.2 knots for Fernando de Noronha. We have come 183 NM in 23 hours from Salvador and have 487 to go to F de N. Antigua is 2243 NM away. We have a nice 15-25 SE’erly that lets us just make rhumb line for F de N as we slip along about 20 NM off the Brazilian coast. It seems to us as if it has been a long, long time since we had a full day’s sail under a fair wind.

The weather is somewhat overcast with occasional rain showers marching past, messing with our wind. We should continue to have a more or less favorable wind to F de N, possibly dying out tonight.

All systems are working well, with almost nothing for the crew to do other than getting everything back in place after an extended shore period.
Back on the subject of how much we had to motor from Puerto Montt, Chile to Salvador: From Halifax to Puerto Montt was 28,833 NM. We used the engine 1527 hours (includes some before we left Nova Scotia). That is, we traveled 18.9 miles for each hour the engine was run (12 miles sailed, 6.9 miles powered?). From Puerto Montt to Salvador is 4977 NM and we used the engine 615 hours, or 8.1 miles traveled for each engine hour (6.9 miles powered, 1.1 miles sailed?). We hope to sail much of the rest of the way home.

We were saddened to hear today of the death of Capt Svend Friis Hansen, skipper The Eye Of The Wind, the tall ship which was home to Hannah and Thomas at one time. I am sure we will see him again as an albatross in our wake.

All is well.