It was pretty intense yesterday, with 30 sustained gusting more. I put myself on the helm for 9 hours straight to make the best progress possible with the small running spinnaker. Following a backing shift in the wind we were still able to make good miles east with flatter sails and as the squalls intensified we ended up broad reaching under just the staysail and double reefed main (our current set up).

 The sea state is still well established but the wind has moderated for now before building again significantly for a time. Current routing is unequivocally around the east side of the Falklands. The current frontal system will provide good southerlies, SW, up past the islands whereupon we’ll have a soft transition before getting boosted again around the western side of a fast moving Rio de Plata low. Realistic ETA to Punta is 7 days.

 I finally had a nap just before crossing the magic line of longitude and snuggled in the sleeping bag with a huge smile on my face. A pretty special place to be and what a way to do it! First in my first circumnavigation after all the challenges just to get here. Very memorable.   Now, there’s a capful o’wind out there still with my name on it.

Thanks,   – Conrad