Location: 31° 15.6 S, 13° 12.5 W
Sunday 12:00, 08.13.2006

The Schooner Maggie B was at 31° 15.6 S, 13° 12.5 W at noon on August 13th. We did 202 NM in the last 24 hours. We have gone 2078 miles since Salvador and Cape Town is now 1627 miles away. Tristan da Cunha is just 350 miles South of us.

The wind is backing around as forecast. Currently it is 120 degrees at 12-15. We have shaken out our reefs and are under all plain sail. The barometer is way up to 1030 as the next high (Hector) forms just South of us. We should have easy sailing for the next three or four days with the wind backing to Northwest and steady at 15-20. The next big wave of pressure should catch up to us on the 17th or 18th.

As Commanders say, we are seeing a bit of a “large sea” (up to 20 feet), generated by the storms to the South of us. While the waves sound big, they really are not a concern as they have a rather long set, and rarely combine with the other series to peak up. Occasionally the Maggie B will be perched like a skier just at the top of a Black Diamond run, looking rather far down, but then the wave passes smoothly on its way to Africa, perhaps just leaving a little splash of water for the face of the duty watch.

We have flocks and flocks of sea birds around us, petrels and shearwaters, probably all nesting on Triastan da Cunha.

All is well.