Today is Tuesday 4th August, our fifth day at sea. We’re now about 80 miles West of the Portuguese islands of Madeira and Porto Santo, with a further 360 miles to run to Lanzarote. The sea is flat calm today, and it’s hot on deck, but the air pressure is slowly dropping again. and we have a forecast of strengthening winds for later today through the rest of the week. By Friday, we can expect up to 30 knots from the Northeast. I may decide to sail into Arrecife on Thursday evening instead of Friday, depending on the forecast.
The crew have settled well into the rhythm of life on board, with watchkeeping, rest, trawling, cooking, cleaning, and keeping Sea Dragon running smoothly. We have continued our twice daily trawls off the stern, and our scientist Adam is pleased with the results. He’s collecting enough data to keep him busy in the laboratory at Exeter University over the long winter months.
This part of the Atlantic Ocean, between the Azores and the Canaries, is very quiet indeed. We’ve seen few other vessels and heard no VHF chatter. This adds to the beauty and magic of the voyage. We’re alone, independent, happy and, in some small way, helping to make the world a better place.
– Dai Rice, Skipper, Sea Dragon, Gyre to Gaia II, August 4, 2015