It’s strange to post these with the inaccurate titles, but it’s true to what I thought we were doing. We left Mindelo for Brazil, probably Recife, went the thinking, but things changed. Cabo Verde to Brazil Day 0 Sunday, October 20 We sailed off the anchor in close company with the sailboats that had clustered around us since we’d come back to Mindelo. The anchor chain is grassy and inside the links there are hard white growths, more coral than barnacle looking. It’s going to smell funky in the forepeak until that life gives up the ghost. The anchor came free at 9:22 am, Cabo Verde standard time, and we spent the next couple of hours on a starboard tack. That could be the last time we’re on that tack for weeks, and it’s the more comfortable for napping because the full-length settee is on the port side. James took us out of the harbor and then had a lie-down while I got us clear of the first few points. A little way through James’ next watch, he gybed us to a port tack and now we’ll settle in. Things will shift inside cabinets, knock against each other. Hopefully we did a great job and nothing goes flying, but there will be a lot of socks being stuffed into loose places for a few days, or a few weather changes. By the time noon hit, we were clearing the southwestern point, the one with the lighthouse Farol de Dona Amelia. Noon position: N 16° 50.237’ W 025° 06.883’ Distance 0922 to noon: 9.5 NMAverage speed: 3.65 kn Trip distance covered: 9.56 NMDistance to destination: 1683 NM Cabo Verde to Brazil Day 1 Sunday, October 20 Coming south of São Vicente, we’ve already had the wind veer (yay, yankee), strengthen, then[…]
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