Showers

Showers

After 4 days of beating upwind under a blistering equatorial sun, the boat was caked in salt. For the last 3 days, dusk had brought no relief in the form of rain showers beneath the normal evening build-up of cumulus clouds.

Last night, however, it looked to not just shower but rain proper. From dusk till well after dark, Seaburban got a much-deserved fresh water rinse. I decided personal hygiene be damned and watched from the companionway hatch. There will be opportunity still once closer to the ITCZ for me to do something about the ape-like odours that trail me like a bad reputation. I had no idea how many different ways a live body could reek. And besides, I reckoned, there was still work to do as I thought one of Seaburban’s light air sails would need to be up after the rain had passed.

Turns out the wind never let up after veering into the South and never dropped to the 1O knots forecast by the weather models. We breezed along all night and even made back some easting given up while close-hauled.

Same conditions this morning. Proper Southeast Trades me mateys. Proper Trades at last.

Follow my tracks in real-time:
https://bit.ly/svseaburban