May 1, 2012-Leaving Dos Lencois

wingssail images-fredrick roswold
Fishing Boat off Rio Macuripana

Wings left Ilha Dos Lencois on 28 April and, beating out of the mouth of Rio Macuripana against the wind and the tide driven chop, stood out to sea.

Seventeen miles and five tacks later the shallow banks and breakers of the delta were behind us and we cracked off for Trinidad, 1200 miles to the NW, making good time in a fresh breeze.

In the early morning hours of the next day the Equator was crossed (without ceremony as this was only the latest crossing of many) and for the first time in two years Wings returned to the Northern Hemisphere.

One day more, hundred and thirty miles to seaward but still on soundings, and we sailed past the mouth of the Amazon on a fast but wet close reach, with, at times, nearly two knots of favorable current, and carried on towards the Guyanas and the Caribbean and closer to home.

Reoccurring battery problems make it imperative that we get to Trinidad where new ones might be purchased and therefore we will skip stops in Cayenne and Surinam.

Meanwhile we are making over 190 miles a day, with easy sailing, and should be in Trinidad this weekend or soon after.

Other than the battery concerns we have a happy ship.

Fred & Judy, SV Wings, On Passage off Guyanas

Note to the Volvo boys, whose paths we've crossed before during this iteration of their race (they passed us going opposite directions at Cape Agulhas in December) and are now again sailing the same stretch of ocean as we are, going, this time, the same way:

You've probably passed us in the last 24 hours and we didn't get a chance to say hello, but if you haven't, here's a tip, there is steady breeze along the coast here and very good, positive, current.

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com