Atlantic crossing - Day 4 - bioluminescence and stars light up the night

After an initially slow night, we are now cruising along with a whopping 6 to 7 knots. It is 4 Beaufort, and the wind has been shifting forward more and more. We are still on a broad reach, but any more wind shift, and it will be a beam reach. Our course takes us just past the untamed savage islands. I am contemplating whether we can stop there. The maps in this area are apparently unreliable, and we will only approach in daylight and settled weather.

Small flecks light up in the water at night. The stars are extremely bright. It is, as if someone dialed up the power setting. I can only imagine the impression the stars must have made on the cave man. Not only do we know what they are, we hide them from view by the light pollution.

Day break starts good. We are now on the first reef, and going over 8 knots. The sea is still relatively calm, and we are having a smooth and fast ride. A little bit later the reef comes out again. I need to wash the deck, again, as we are hit – again – by dirty rain from Africa. Hopefully this is the last time. We keep up a high speed during the day, and out 24 hour distance is 147 NM. We have seen 3 big ships today, and one came close enough, so that we hailed it over the VHF. They could see our radar signature at a distance of 16 NM.

There are some clouds, making the sunset even more spectacular. We set a reef to slow down the boat for the night, and in anticipation to some gusts from the clouds.

Another sunset at sea