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November 27
Last night when I was going to turn-in for the evening, I recorded the
distance to land in my deck log. Seeing that I was still more than 350
miles from land made me angry. It seems I've been stuck between 400 and
300 for WEEKS. I still had a light head wind, but in a mild tantrum I
resolved not to rest until my GPS read 299 to land (any land). I sprang
out of the cabin like a jack-in-the-box as soon as the moon rose. I rowed
for the better part of the night. This was not difficult rowing, as the
moon is only a few days past full and the headwind tends to die down a
little after dark.
The morning was good. The wind rose from the southwest, but I had the bit
in my teeth and was not about to abort my see 299 mission. By mid-morning
the wind shifted to coming from due south. This was not a helpful wind,
but at least it was not against me. By mid afternoon, the wind was
beginning to come around more to the southeast. This was better. It took
until almost 6:00 PM (Eastern Standard Time) for me to reach the 299 goal,
but I did it.
November 28
Whoooo-haaa! This is Tori-speak for "I'm very happy because for the first
time in weeks there is not a headwind of any kind!" My whoop for joy
awakened the bird. I named the bird "Polo" for Marco Polo, because if it
survives this voyage, it will have quite a tale to tell. As the sun was
not yet up, Polo was not amused by all my shouting and carrying on. After
rousing himself from his makeshift birdhouse, he flew off. I've not seen
him since.
Over the last three days, I've managed (with the help of a favorable
current) to move the boat more than 50 miles to the south. Having done
this, it is time to decide where I should land. As I approach the islands
the currents will tend to carry me north. Over the course of the last
month the winds have tended to push me north. For this reason, I think
Antigua should be my target. Today, I will attempt to reach 16 degrees 30
minutes north and 58 degrees 00 minutes west. If I can hold my latitude as
I approach 60 degrees west (staying near or south of 16 degrees 40 minutes
north if possible) I should have a good shot at English Harbor in Antigua.
Once I cross 60 degrees North, I will let the currents help carry the boat
to the northeast. English Harbor is at 17 degrees 00 minutes north and 61 degrees 44 minutes west. If the winds don't become too squirrelly (and there are no more big storms) I estimate I could be in Antigua by next Tuesday or Wednesday.
Note: As I approach land, my E-mail may become shorter and less frequent.
The reason for this is that as I approach areas with more boat traffic, I
must save power for turning on the running lights at night, powering up the
collision avoidance radar detector and keeping the VHF radio charged. I
am sure you will understand that safety must take precedence over telling
folks bird stories.
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