Author: Pete
Location: 07°54.559N’ 79°18.846W’
Date: 17:00 March 9 to 17:00 March 10
Day 1 at sea.
Dawn breaks on our first full day at sea! Left the shelter (and chaos) of Panama City yesterday afternoon and sailed southwest into the sunset.
Miranda saw night dolphins on watch last night! Heard their breathing before seeing them, and at 1:00 am when you think you’re the only thing awake for miles, it can be a little startling. Also saw a lot of ships. Too many ships. No dodging required, but still requires careful watch. By our AIS, looks like we were right in the middle of the shipping lanes. Boats headed south to our starboard, northbound on the port (our heading is straight south).
Light winds and calm, following seas made for comfortable sailing… and sleeping! Now that we’re out of the planning mode we have time to relax! It’s freeing to know that no more prep work can be done- now we just concentrate on sailing and enjoying the tranquility of the sea.
Weather ahead looks good. The ITCZ is farther north than normal, which should decrease our chances of squalls.
Off we go into the Pacific.