Even occasional readers will likely have noted our almost obsessive interest in the rain while we were in Patagonia. Summary – it rained a lot!
It’s a big change, then, that since leaving Puerto Williams three and a half weeks ago we haven’t had any meaningful rain. There have been a few stray showers from squalls here and there, and a day of dense fog north of the Falklands, but no real precipitation that has lasted more than a couple of minutes.
That changed today. A huge squall caught up to Madrone and immediately unleashed torrential rain. Our speed and direction must have been very similar to the that of the squall, because we were inside it for about 5 hours. Our easy sailing wind of 10-15 knots jumped to 20-25, and the rain was so hard that it actually drove right through the canvas cover over the cockpit, drenching us under the cover.
But the fresh rain did a great job of rinsing the accumulated salt from the deck, sails, and rigging (at least temporarily), and the strong wind let us add a few extra miles on our long course to the northeast.
All’s well onboard.
Day Eighteen
152nm
20 59.6S 37 13.3W
