29 49.4N 80 41.7W
Passing St. Augustine, Florida
The wind piped up around 03:00 last night and we started sailing at a good clip. Too good, in fact. The wind was blowing 17-plus knots and we were bolting along on a broad reach at over 6 knots under jib and a reefed main sail. At that speed, we would arrive at Port Canaveral around 23:00, way too early.
So, I furled the jib and sailed under just the reefed main. That pulled our speed down to a bit over 5 knots, just about right for arriving at dawn. Later, the wind dropped a little to help with our arrival timing.
A pod of dolphins visited twice while I was on watch, playing in the bow wave. I entertained myself and I hope, them, by flashing a light on them when the surfaced next to the helm. The light revealed their sleek grey bodies and their white underbellies as the twisted to look up at the light. Dolphins' bright eyes and slightly upward curved beaks always make them look like they are smiling to me.
Kyndy stood her first night watch. She did very well, experiencing the displeasure that all sailors do of having to get out of a warm bunk and out into the elements and alert after just a few hours sleep.
It's mostly cloudy, with patches of blue sky peeking out between strata clouds. The sea color ranges from a grey-blue steel to a rich dark blue where the sun is shining on it. We are sailing under reefed main and jib, making a nice 5.5 knots.
It's almost warm! The sunlight streaming into the salon is very uplifting and encouraging. Today should be a good one for sailing.
