Warm

28 February 2013

A small ship, in the middle of the ocean. 800 miles (1500 kilometres) from mainland. Little to no wind and it is warm, very warm. You can imagine how it must have been for the ships in the Golden Age, on their way to Cape of Good Hope just like us, but then with 400 people packed together in small holds swarmed with louse and other vermin. Drinking water has gone bad, the last vegetables were finished days ago and the first deaths due to scurvy and other diseases are already thrown overboard. Even a tiny bit of wind only brings humid warmth and the 800 miles can take a long time with an average speed of 3 knots per hour. You would almost long for Dutch weather… almost.
The weather has gone through a big change. Altostratus and Cumulus clouds promise rain and we see this around us. As a precaution for the thunderstorms we take down the topsails, we can really us the extra speed but we choose safety for everything. Last night we had the first real shower in weeks. The Sahara dust has been rinsed off, but it did not cool down much. Also the rain is warm here.
We are 160 miles from the equator, but as said we are not going fast. We have to wait and see where we can catch the southeast trade wind.