Position 39 47 N 69 59 W
Course 310 degrees
Speed 4.5 - 5 knots
Wind South 20-25 knots
Distance in 24 hours - 154 miles
We popped out of the Gulf Stream about 2pm yesterday and the conditions calmed down so quickly it was amazing. The sky was clear blue and we had a fabulous sail all night - I even wrote 'glorious' in the log at 1800.
Just before sunset we were treated to a stunning display by a group of dolphins - they didn't come that close but they were leaping and spinning out of the water. At one point four did a synchronised leap - just beautiful. The night was really cold and we had incredible clear stars all around but we could see poor visibility ahead. This was confirmed when Andrew brought in an up to date weather forecast and the report was to expect a band of dense fog from New Jersey to New foundland. When we spoke to OCC boats in Newport on the radio this morning they advised visibility was less than half a mile. We had better start practising our radar skills….
The wind was great all night and we sped along so by 7.30 am this morning we had less than 150 miles to go. The latest weather update gave a mixed report - the fog was still there but was set to move off as a cold front moves off the US east coast tonight. The cold front would possibly bring squalls with strong winds, thunder and lightening. Our fast progress meant we could find ourselves in shallow water, with reduced options and storm force winds plus dark and maybe fog - great! Hence we have opted to slow down and head more west to give us more sea room to deal with any squalls. This also means we will make landfall in daylight, hopefully without fog and lighter winds. That's the plan anyhow!!
It kind of feels like we are sneaking along right now as it's pretty windy but we only have a smidge of both sails up so it's a slow motion and very quiet aboard. We have removed our solar panels, stowed the bimini and tidied everything away inside just in case things get a bit rough as the front passes - we didn't have anything else to do and its good to be prepared.
119 miles to Newport, RI - even if we are not on a direct course for it right now.
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