Part 2/6 Atlantic Crossing West – East and Astronavigation 
RONDÉE ATLANTIQUE
RONDÉE ATLANTIQUE
Our Atlantic crossing West-East on Aaron’s daily English expressions and Astronavigation🤓
Installing our passive radar reflector
07 We see another sailer after one week Fr the 1st of May and contact Matlo via VHF. We have to make hay, while the sun is shining. Together we figure out that after installing our passive radar reflector the visibility increased from 4 to 6 nm.
You have to make hay, while the sun is shining.
In the afternoon Hendrik spots something white in the water. We do a buoy-on-board-maneuver Strike!… while the iron is hot. We hope to use the round fishing buoy as our new long longed ball fender.
Strike, while the iron is hot.
Cut shaved top end of main halyard
08 The doldrum in the morning Sa 2nd of May is a mixed bag. We lower sails to prevent them rocking in the swell to keep them whole, and just let us float. So Hendrik could cut the shaved top end of the main halyard, make a new takeling and fix it again. This prevents the risk of loosing the halyard in the mast, what would have been really hard to clear in the middle of the Atlantic. One hour later we again had a nice wind to go on sailing.
I am a mixed bag.
Regatta with Portuguese Galeere
09 It’s a really fast sailing in the night to the Su 3rd of May. At times we make around 6 knots although it was predicted a light wind. We are glad, but should not count the chicken before they hatch. In the morning the wind dies down and we are so slow, that I take the advantage to swim around our boat in the middle of the Atlantic! With the rest swell the sails start rocking and we lower sails like yesterday for more than one hour. Hendrik discovers a Portuguese Galeere sailing besides us and the regatta starts;-) We win a little bit of unfair, passing by on its windward side;-D
Don’t count the chicken before they hatch.
Swim in the middle of the Atlantic!
10 At 03:00 am the early morning of Mo 4th of May the light wind changes to ENE. And the course changes in the wrong direction to SE. We tack but the wind dies down and the sails flap in the swell. So we decide to douse the sails and let us float under bare pole until noon. After sunset we take the opportunity to go swimming and snorkeling around the boat like in an amazing blue dessert in the middle of nowhere, nobody and nothing.
douse the sails
Astronavigation
11 After the minimum record of 35 nm ETMAL we believe in the promising prediction of 7 knots wind for Tu 5th of May. With the speed of more than 3 knots, the smooth swell, and a stable beam reach course, we find perfect conditions to do some astro navigation, and use our sextant for the first time on sea. At noon the sun burns, the wind dies again, we are sweating. Good time for bathing and getting on board alive and kicking, fresh and clean, not knowing wind and speed will stay around 0.0 for the next 9 hours.
Alive and kicking
Always safe travels, pleasant winds, and friendly seas wishes
Silvi
with Hendrik
sailing 
…by the winD
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