Ship's Log April 24 - Departure

Official Morpheus Transatlantic Crew Departure Portrait

From this point forward on our Atlantic Passage we are outside the range of conventional internet access and blog posts will be via "sailmail". I understand this to be a service where we connect to the internet via sideband radio one or two times per day to collect and send e-mail. It's limited bandwidth so text only - no formatting or pictures. Those of a certain age may think back to a 1200 baud modem. Yeah. It's like that. I don't have the skills to do ASCII graphics, so will be losing those who only check in for the pics.

Jim apparently had second thoughts after leaving me behind at the Saint Martin Yacht Club to photograph the departure (see prior post).  For better or worse, he returned on the dinghy to bring me back to Morpheus.

Or... perhaps he returned for beer and happened to pick me up also.

Buh Bye - to the brilliant blue waters of the Caribbean

We anchored off of Mary's Boon to clean and stow the dinghy, review safety procedures, and go through a final checklist. By 4:45 we were under sail.

Kim takes us out

Anguilla Isle was our last sight of land.

After a lasagna dinner the formal watch cycle began. We are working a continuous 2 hours on - 6 hours off cycle. I have the 1:00 AM, 9:00 AM, and 5:00 PM watches.

The term "smooth sailing" was invented to describe our first night underway. Full moon, clear skies, steady 15 knot breeze, no meaningful wind shifts, comfortable temps. The moon lit up the ocean like it was daylight. I was going to hang around for the pre-dawn watch in the hopes of catching the Lyrid meteor shower. As it turns out, we are past the prime viewing time. The moon did not set before sunrise. So... it was not a problem that I slept through it.

If any of my relations who read the blog are interested in reposting these logs on my FB page, it would be appreciated.

Well I've used up enough sailmail bandwidth for one post. We are underway. There is a big Ocean in front of us. Out.

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