Dueling with Murphy

At Sea, N 39 22 W 73 27

Murphy's law says that the time for the wind to come up would be as soon as we set anchor and went to sleep. Well it happened, that way but we got the best of the deal. We went to sleep at 2200 and got four solid hours of sleep before the wind started at 0200. Further, the wind blew at 13 knots. Ideal. So we got the best of Murphy that time.

I retrieved the anchor, set the sails, sent Libby back to bed and away we went. If only the fresh wind hadn't been from the NE. That's exactly our course. So we had to beat upwind the whole time. The breeze lasted about 10 hours. Then it dropped off.

This really is going to be a slow passage. After 36 hours on port tack, we had only made 60 miles good toward Block Island. Now we're on starboard tack and headed toward NYC. But we're only making 2 knots, so it would take us two more days to get there unless the wind changes again. If we get close to land before arriving at Block Island, I'm guessing that we'll succumb to the temptation to put in and anchor for a day.

The forecast is for more days of light winds. In fact, headwinds. It really will take days to get there.

Libby has had a slight touch of seasickness both days. It's a mild case, but nevertheless it makes one very uneasy. I hope it passes.

We've only seen two or three ships pass by. No whales or other sea creatures. So there's not much exciting news to report.

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