Salamander - Strange Weather

We now have less than 350nm to go until we arrive at Rodney Bay. Our decision to put the motor on several days ago has been fully vindicated as we still haven't seen wind above about 10kts apart from when a squall comes through.

The very large low pressure system sitting to the north of where we are has meant that instead of enjoying easterly trade winds that are normal for this location we now have wind on the nose and it's barely above 5kts most of the time! There is just no way we would have made it without the use of our "iron mainsail' aka the engine.

The squalls are coming at us from in front rather than from behind and we are busy taking regular hand bearings to see if we are going to get a dousing! They take around 20 minutes to pass over so it's not so bad, indeed it can be very refreshing!

The sea is also pretty much as flat as a millpond! Hardly matching my expectations of mountainous swells and hanging on to the boat for dear life. Never underestimate the power of the ocean though, even with the gentle swell I can feel it's latent power waiting to be unleashed on the unsuspecting!

This situation is very unusual and unexpected but we are using the time creatively thinking about future plans and how to implement some of the learnings in our lives.

With these strange weather conditions we are enjoying beautiful sunrises with striking colours and we also had a beautiful moon set this morning just before sunrise. It wasn't a full moon but very close to it. Absolutely stunning!

Tim - Salamander Tour Manager and Guest Social Media Editor


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