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April 16, 2008
Cane Garden Bay, Tortola
We both fell sound asleep in the cockpit last night after dinner. I awoke at some dark hour and went to bed. Chis came down at some later dark hour. It must have been early because Chis woke before 7, which is rare. We finally figured out that the time on the stereo was set to GMT.
We left after breakfast for our downwind sail to Cane Garden Bay on Tortola's north coast. We had a choice between motoring through the narrow passage between Tortola and Great Camanoe Island, or sailing out and around the island. Of course, we chose to sail.
Starting out with the wind dead astern, we sailed under genoa alone. As we reached our first waypoint at the tip of Great Camanoe Island, we rounded up into the wind 20 degrees and found a much more comfortable broad reach. We put up the main to give us more sail power and soon found ourselves peeling along at 7 knots. Hardening up yet again at our next waypoint, the beam reach found us flying along at almost 8 knots.
We picked up a mooring and had a desperately needed swim and shower. We went ashore to walk the beach, poke our heads into a couple of the shops, and then returned to the boat.
Tonight, we will barbecue steaks. This should be an adventure.
Posted by dave at April 16, 2008 12:31 PM