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Where has the wind gone? We are making very slow progress and some hard decisions are going to need to be made very soon. With the present wind and speed, we will be able to make Jakarta only if we sail directly without any stops. This will be tough on the crew, as I know that we have a very heavy itinerary once we have arrived and this will wear my people down. So we will sail directly and hope that the wind will pick up allowing us to stop somewhere and let the crew have a break. We have finally passed Alor and making a good course westward. Interesting place Alor, the people on the island still practice bronze age traditions that are unique to this area, mostly ceremonial but still very much a part of their culture.
Sail trimming is constant as always and we need to make the most of every scrap of wind, some aboard are still not sensitive to the vagaries of changing wind and the consequent changing of the sail settings. We only have five sails set but the combinations are varied and numerous which makes it quite confusing for some but we are gradually working on the theory of sail trim and results are slowly showing themselves. It is thinking in three dimensions that is hard, always having to know where the wind is and what it is doing, making the necessary sail adjustments to gain the maximum from what breeze we have.
It was so hot today that I had to let everyone have a swim over the side, with the proviso that I was not going to stop the vessel and people should judge for themselves whether they could keep up with the ship. Fortunately we were not sailing too quick and even our slowest swimmers could keep up. A much needed break from the heat and humidity for all.
Shannon is cooking today and this evening has produced the largest vegetarian shepherds pie I have ever seen, along with bucket loads of mashed potato and gravy. It is a huge feast and even our biggest eaters could not finish it, tasted very good though.
Need some more wind, preferably from the right direction.
Glenn R. Williams
Master
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