We left on November 22nd and were excited to finally get a REAL crossing under our belt. 

Blair was a bit concerned because the guys had installed the boom at the last minute. The guys used the same slider was used to hold the boom vang to the boom, even though we now had a boom that was twice as big. The track to hold the slider was also twice as big, but since the guys were installing it at the last minute, and told Blair that they were the EXPERTS, and it was getting dark, Blair let it go. 

Needless to say... 24 hours from Cabo Verde, we hear a big "BANG" . I look out and notice that the boom vang in now lying on the deck. Luckily this didn't happen at night, so Blair went out on deck and secured it. This ment that we could still use the main, but it wouldn't be as effecient. 

On the morning of day 3 we did get a wonderful visit from False Killer Whales. At first we thought they were dolphins but they were way bigger than I had ever seen. Then Blair thought they were Killer Whales, but they didn't have the markings for Killer Whales ( Orcas) . Thanks to Starlink and being able to communicate to the outside world. I was able to figure out they were False Killer Whales. I didn't even know there was such an animal. They visited us for about 20 minutes. It was definately a highlight of my trip across the Atlantic. Most of the next 7 days was realatively uneventful. 

We loved putting the Parasail up, as it made the boat stable and go fast. We did struggle with taking it down, as we were usually left with about 6 feet of sail over the rail, and then both of us needed to be on foredeck to bring the rest of the sail in. 

 We go into the true tradewinds. On December 1st we officiall were half was across, and the winds started to increase during the night.  So we took down the Parasail at dusk and put up the Genoa, with the pole and were running the main. So we were running wing on wing.  

As the winds increased in the evening so did the pressure on the pole. One night around midnight  I heard a "BANG" this is never a good sign at midnight with the winds above 25 knots. I looked out to see that the pole was now forward and the Genoa was just flying free. I had to wake Blair up. He went immediately to the foredeck in big winds to bring back the pole and resecure the dynima line to the pole. The knot at slipped and that was what release the pole. Unfortunately this happend 2 more times always at night.

The 3rd time it happend, I asked Blair to wait 15 minutes before running up to the foredeck to see if the winds would subside before he went up to fix it. The boat or us wasnt't in any danger, and the Genoa was just flying forward of the boat, but without any pressure.  Wonderfully they did. I learned that often these big winds are only for a short period of time, and then the seas lay down again. Often things break with they get hit with the big winds, but if you wait 15 or 20 minuites then everything calms down, and you have time to think about how to make the repair. I also took a photo of the way he tied the knot the last time, so we would know what to do in the future. 

As we got close to the Caribbean, we started to get more squalls. They usually hit with a lot of power in the beginning and then peater out. Usually lasting for only 15 minutes but sometimes lasting up to 45 minutes. During these times, Blair needed to drive the boat as it was too hard on the autopilot even with the hydrovane. 

The biggest winds we saw were 42 knots. I did get this photo of 37 knots. But the boat performed beautifully. It did make me neverous when Blair had to drive during a squall if it was at night.