Hello all,

POS: 2839.2S 11939.1 W
SOG: 5.1
COG: 285
DTG: 597 NM to Pitcairn

Stunsails and squally sailing in the day. The rain jackets can't be left in the cabins yet. I find it nice to be able to stand in shorts and a rain jacket in the rain. Only when a squall lasts too long will your socks be wet from the rain running in along the legs.

Since last night we have been sailing broad reach. A nice change from the close hauled of the previous days. Many crew had to get used to the new steering and also the rolling of the ship. Now slowly the renewed sea legs come into use. I fear that rolling in the bunks while trying to sleep is a different and new game. We'll hear the outcome tomorrow at breakfast. Or see it on the faces of the crew if they slept well or not. The moods are not often affected I find. Even after a lesser night most of us stay as nice as always.

An hour ago we did wear ship. The wind shifted from ESE to ENE after a line of squalls. Luckily the wind did pick up a bit again, so the rolling is a little less. Of course, while writing that last sentence I almost fell backwards off my chair. Luckily that chair is tied to the floor. So that, in combination with an inelegant acrobatic move that nobody saw, saved me from falling over. A little laugh escaped there.

This morning we had a two-hour visit from a dwarf minke whale. She was very curious and kept swimming around the ship. A pair of times she breached (jumped out of the water) and all the crew on deck got quite loud with enthusiastic cheering and enjoying. It was a beautiful sight. And a beautiful day. Now it is almost bunky time. But first, a little more sail trimming to do...

Groetjes,
Janke Kingma
Captain bark EUROPA