Squalls!
Today featured a steady procession of squalls. Lines of small storm cells, easily visible with radar, sweep across our path.
The background wind is 15-20 knots from the southeast, nearly perfect for our course to the northeast about 150 miles off the coast of Brazil. As each squall approaches, though, the wind swings further south before building to 20-25 knots, usually swinging by 30 degrees or so. It rains, sometimes just as a light mist and sometimes as an end-days downpour.
As the squall blows through, it seems to suck the wind with it. Madrone is left to roll in the chopped up seas left in the squall’s wake, trying to build up speed again in the light air.
Eventually the background wind fills in, and we enjoy another 30 minutes of good sailing before the cycle begins again.
All’s well onboard.
Day Twenty
166nm
15 57.1S 35 28.4W
