Today at 11:17 ships time we passed 23°-27' North. It is the latitude on earth where the Tropic of Cancer is situated.From this parallel to 23°-27' South (till the Tropic of Capricorn) we define as the tropics. In this area it is possible that you find the sun in its Zenith or in other words, straight above you head.

 

Today at 11:17 ships time we passed 23°-27' North. For many of you these numbers won’t ring a bell I suppose. Even most of the modern sailors will probably have a question mark in their eyes. It is the latitude on earth where the Tropic of Cancer is situated. From this parallel to 23°-27' South (till the Tropic of Capricorn) we define as the tropics. In this area it is possible that you find the sun in its Zenith or in other words, straight above you head. It all bubbles up again from your High school times? ;-)

Then you probably also realize that this number of 23°-27' is not a coincidence. It is the tilting angle of the earth-axis and the origin of our seasons… and a lot more. Anyway, we are in the tropics right now and are encountering a very nicely developed Northeast Tradewind which pushes us with a good speed towards the Cape Verde Islands. The usual Azores High pressure system is pushed down South at the moment and lies like a long snake from the Golf of Biscay to Madeira just North of the Canary Islands and then with a large southerly bend crossing the Atlantic towards Bermuda.

The reason of this phenomenon is the Tropical Cyclone with the beautiful name Joaquin. Last week he made havoc in the Bermuda triangle and now he is closing in on the Azores and forecasted with an easterly track to the Portuguese coast. We are out of his reach.

Alles Wel
Klaas