Crew Log 145 – The End of Easting

Open the below photos in a full-screen slideshow in Flickr

December 9th, 2009 – At Sea, 09º 37′S, 035º 01′W
by Mark Schrader and Herb McCormick

The bright orange sun rose to the east right as the skyline of Recife, Brazil, hove into view to the west. Ocean Watch was sandwiched between the two, and the result was illuminating. Recife is home to millions and millions of Brazilians, many of whom have taken up residence in the endless array of skyscrapers that line the waterfront for miles and miles and miles on end. The glowing solar orb reflecting off the glass facades of those tall, tall buildings was fiery and brilliant. It looked like Recife was aglow and burning, until the sun had ascended a few degrees above the horizon, at which time all returned to normal and the day was allowed to proceed. At that juncture, the city just looked huge.

“Holy smokes,” said my watchmate, Dave Logan. “This place makes Manhattan look small.”

It was, indeed, an epic sight. But there was no more time for sightseeing.

The ongoing voyage of Ocean Watch continued apace today, with a couple of very notable moments. The first came in the wee hours, and was of a positional nature. The second occurred a few hours later, and was of a progressive nature. Skipper Mark Schrader remarked on both matters in the latest installment of his skipper’s log:

“We’ve made special note of several milestones along the way over the past six and a half months, and early this morning at mile number 14,408 we recorded a big one,” wrote Mark. “On the 8^th of July in the middle of the Bering Strait we sailed through the westernmost point of the Around the Americas voyage. At Zenith Point, midway through Bellot Strait, on the 26^th of August we rounded the northernmost point of the voyage. And, at 0015 hours this morning, we sailed through the easternmost point. It is particularly satisfying to have this eastern one behind us. It was a long slog up a high mountain in uncomfortable shoes. All points have had their unique challenges, as will the upcoming southern point at Cape Horn, but this one was sweet.”

To recap, Ocean Watch has now negotiated the far western, northern and eastern extremes of the voyage Around the Americas. And though it’s still a fair spell away, we’re en route, with dispatch, towards the southernmost terminus, Cape Horn. We say “with dispatch,” for the second highlight of the day was the best day of pure, unadulterated sailing in quite a while. Here’s the skipper’s description:

“At the early morning watch change we were able to hoist and/or unroll all the plain sails, shake the flattening reef and give the Lugger engine a rest,” noted Mark. “It is one of those magic, flat water, gentle breeze, cloudless-sky days on the ocean. With 11 knots of breeze OW is close reaching at a steady and very quiet 7 knots. We’re doing a little better over the ground thanks to a half-knot current that is now flowing with us along the coast toward Rio and points south.  It is no longer necessary for us to call in to Maceio so we’re making direct for Rio, 940 nautical miles on a heading just west of due south.

“Our voyage from Seattle has now partially encircled an impressive amount of land touched and surrounded by

one ocean, and it has attracted the attention of a significant number of people along the way,” he continued. “We still have a long way to go with lots of work and sailing ahead but sometimes it’s just nice to look behind you to see where you’ve been. The weather for this area of the Southern Atlantic Ocean at this time of year suggests very favorable conditions, typical of today, for our run to Rio and Punta del Este, Uruguay. Our intentions are to have a few days to relax and celebrate Christmas in Punta, so the stop in Rio will be a food and fuel program – two days at the most. Sorry guys, Ipanema will have to wait.”

No problemo, skip. No problemo.

As if to underscore the day’s perfection – and perhaps to celebrate the long-awaited end to our easting around the Brazilian coastline – at sunset, a good distance south of Recife, the setting sun, against a razor-sharp horizon, winked at the crew in the form of a lovely green flash. It had been an orange dawn capped by a green curtain call, and all of a sudden, the southern sky was full of stars. As dusk said hello to darkness, it was a good day to be a sailor, bound south on gentle winds for new horizons and fresh adventures.

- Mark Schrader and Herb McCormick with photographs by David Thoreson

This crew log submitted by Iridium OpenPort and Stratos

To add a comment to this story click on the comment link below the post title. Please direct your messages for the crew to crew@aroundtheamericas.org instead of submitting them here. Thanks for following the Around the Americas Expedition.