Hello all,

POS:    18* 08.6 S 137* 23.3 W         
SOG:    2.8
COG:    325
DTG:    506 NM to Marquesas
BT:      UTC -8

When you start sailing in a new area it always takes a bit of time to get to know the new surroundings. What are the prevailing winds, how are the squalls behaving, and what is the response of the waves in combination with the wind. All questions that might get an answer by observing and sailing lots of miles in the area.

Until now the winds have been most variable. It is interesting how fast the wind speed drops or picks up without the clouds clearly changing for example. Sometimes there are squalls, then definitely the wind shifts quite big degrees. At least a couple times a day we set or take away
sails. The wind varies between 3 and 25 knots every day although by far not always predicted.

The waves also vary a lot. When the wind picks up the general waves almost feel like the north sea sometimes. Short and steep. Because the wind speed changes so much, the waves never really build. In opposite of the swell. We've seen at least 5 meters in very calm conditions. Or big
cross swells. Or confused swells. Those are easier to see where they come from. South of us there were some big depressions passing. They must have caused the swell.

Now we've gotten into the "trade wind" area and the wind finally shifted to the east. At least the direction seems to stay stable for a few days. Let's cross fingers that the speed will also stay above 10 knots to help us forward onto the Marquesas.

In the meantime, we learn about the area continuously. Nice and interesting.

Janke Kingma
Captain bark EUROPA

📷 Jordi Plana Morales