Playing with the wind

14 February 2025

Playing with the wind

The last message ended with a warning that we would be entering an area of light winds. This happened very soon after writing that message! The sails started to flog, and we lowered the for-and-aft sail. With only the square sails, we could just about maintain a course, and we had enough space to drift along slowly.

After this period of calm, the wind was forecast to come from the west and quickly strengthen to around 7 Bft. We were preparing for a tough night and rounding Staten Island. But there was a small backdoor… If the wind kicked in on time, it might be possible to head straight north towards the Le Maire Strait. If we could reach it on time and have the tide in our favor, we would avoid the strong wind and save a significant distance. And we got lucky!

A few hours before the tide started flowing north, the wind began to pick up, so we set as much sail as possible and headed north! By the time (almost) all the sails were set, the wind had already strengthened considerably, and we had to take some sails down. It became a busy, exciting, but also very enjoyable watch because we made it beautifully!

And that’s when the current picked us up. At night, with heavy rain and the full moon behind the clouds, we entered the Le Maire Strait. This is an area with a lot of Dutch history. It was a few hours of extra vigilance, but secretly, we also enjoyed the fact that we were making our way through. Guest Gijs gave a presentation on the Le Maire Strait, the VOC, the maps and Atlases of Blaeu, and so on. Although we, as a crew, were focused on navigation, we all learned something about Dutch history—except for one guest, who turned out to have fallen asleep…

Once we exited the Strait, the wind completely died. So, we hoisted all the sails again to avoid being ‘pulled back’ into the Strait once the tide turned. Once the sails were set, the wind picked up a little, and we sailed into the morning.

For the coming days, strong winds were forecast again, and our plan was to sail northward, cross the 50th latitude, and complete our rounding. But the wind completely disappeared, and we spent most of the day drifting.

Therefore, we revised our plan and are now sailing as close to the wind as possible, to make as little eastward progress as possible. Tomorrow morning, a strong wind will hit us, which we will need to take. So, all the hatches are closed, and the lifelines are on deck. We expect to maintain a northeast course with the first strong wind and arrive just before the second big wind blast at 50 S.

Coincidentally, the weather forecast says that above 50 S, the wind will be much calmer, so we will stay north of that line for a while. As soon as the wind eases, we will head south towards our final destination.