Sailing conditions were interesting today. The wind was from ENE I the mid- teens all day but there were waves and swells of 10+ feet for most of the day. This is due to the coast line of Venezuela projecting seaward at Lake Maracaibo, which, incidentally has historically been a major oil producing region going back to the 1930s. The other effect of the outflow from the lake is that the sea temperature dropped by 2+ degrees and so the air felt cooler, which was very welcome.
We sailed all day with the Parasailor and set a new speed record for Sapphire of 13.3 kts while surfing down one of the large rollers. Jerry was driving at the time and was delighted with the performance of his sail.....as we're we all.
With winds forecast to build into the 20s overnight, we took down the kite and enjoyed a relaxed evening and for me a good nights sleep under Main and Genoa. We spotted Serendipity on AIS some 12 miles ahead and have been closing ever so slowly. We are no longer pushing the boat because we want to arrive at our destination in daylight. If we arrived at night we would not be able to access an anchorage because of the poorly charted reefs and we have no wish to motor in circles, waiting for the dawn. So, tomorrow should be a nice, relaxing dawdle!